How I Successfully Upgraded My Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card from Mastercard to RuPay Variant

[Deepak_9155]

Hey guys,

Just got my Airtel Axis Mastercard swapped for the Rupay variant, and thought I'd share the process and a little trick I figured out.

So, I called up Axis Bank today and asked them to switch my card from Mastercard to Rupay. The rep on the line said it was possible, but a joining fee would be charged.

I told her I had already paid the joining fee when I first got the card in September 2023, so they should waive it. She put me on hold for a couple of minutes but came back and said the fee is compulsory for a new card issuance, and a waiver is not possible.

This is where I had a thought. My annual fee for the old Mastercard was due next month (September 2025) anyway. I would have had to shell out ₹500 + GST for it regardless.

So I thought, what the heck. I might as well pay this "joining fee" now. The bright side is that my annual fee cycle for this new card will start from today, meaning the next renewal fee will only be in August 2026.

I agreed and told her to proceed. The rep then explained the card's benefits and sent me an SMS where I had to provide my consent by verifying it with an OTP. This was successfully done.



Basically, I paid the fee I was going to pay next month anyway, got the Rupay card I wanted, and pushed my next payment out by an extra year. It seemed like a fair deal to me.

The process was very fast! The new Airtel Axis RuPay card is already showing up in my Axis mobile app. The strange part, however, is that my old Airtel Mastercard has already disappeared from the app and the net banking website.



Now, it only shows my other cards (like my Privilege card) and the new Airtel RuPay card.

The rep confirmed that the physical card will arrive within 10-14 working days. She also clarified their official policy on the old card: my existing Airtel Axis Mastercard will be deactivated precisely on the 45th day from the new card's setup date.

Just a heads-up for anyone else in the same boat whose renewal is coming up. This might be a decent trade-off.


EDIT - customer care representative told me that no welcome benefits will be provided(as it was already provided during 1st time ). In the CIBIL report, a new account will be created and the previous account will be closed.

So, basically, they are issuing a new credit card instead of just changing the network.

 

[mailmenow]

,m

Since this card is just a upgrade for few.
Does they levy joining fee,if yes do we receive amazon giftcard( if given as new card)
Since it's majorly upgrade or change in network can we use older usage to get annual waiver or will the card even though given as network change or just upgraded still function as new so have to complete new waviver criteria

It's a upgrade one only. Joining fee will be there. It doesn't means that its seperate new account card. All chargeable upgrade card works in this way. We can use older card physically as well as for online(personally checked). The card is only vanished from app , but it's still active. All transaction transferred to new card. Regarding annual waiver we can confirm it once we got the physical card after activation. Just check annual spends as of now in WhatsApp banking on new card .

 

[mailmenow]

1. Annual Waiver: From my understanding, you have to treat it as a fresh start. old spending on the Mastercard will not count towards the annual waiver for this new RuPay card.

Basically, for anything related to fees and waivers, it's being treated as a new card.

I added the rupay card in paytm&CRED now. @Deepak_9155 is absolutely correct.The annual spends is restarted. As you said it is treated as a fresh start only. It's a very negative thing for those who already met waiver or going to met. Please note it❌❌❌❌❌