My Credit Card strategy post Atlas devaluation

[aswathsm]

Kindly feel free to add your suggestions for best cards for different spends mentioned here and also new cards and modification to my portfolio and strategy. This strategy might be useful to most of you too.

1. Axis Atas (5000 + tax)- Yes! its still a very good card for majority of the offline and online spends. Flat 4% miles is no brainer and I love instant gratification instead of waiting months/whole year to get the rewards. I am planning to use this for all spends majorly on education (thankfully not devalued), Definitely for direct hotel and flight bookings, medical bills, offline shoppings. I am on Gold category now with 8.5L spends and my renewal is up on May this year, will continue to hold and will target 3L next year and might extend above 3L if I make more travel plans. Being in gold, it also justifies my renewal fees as I would get 2.5K edge miles .
   Reward Rate - 6.8% value back without 5X, 10 to 12% with occasional 5X miles. (For 3L spends)
   Calculation -
   6000 (base) + 2500 edge miles => 17000 Partner points (1 edge mile = 2 partner points) and each point valued at average 1.2 rupees if transferred to following - ITC, Accor, Vistara.
   With occasional 5X on hotels/flights rewards -> might go up to 10 to 12%. (Percentage is once you convert it to partner points and the value back you get).
   (I did make around 9 to 10% last year on reaching 7.5L milestone (32K edge miles -> 64K partner points -> 80K approx value back ) with less than 10K transaction on 5X miles, so you can still go with this if you have no or less direct hotel/flight bookings)
2. Amex Gold (1000 + Tax FY,4500 + Tax from SY)- Got this card last week after Atlas announced devaluation. Will be moving all my Utility, Fuel expenses to this card. Will be using 1000*6 Amazon pay vouchers for Utility and other online expenses like food, grocery ordering and online lifestyle shoppings. Not interested to spend more than 72K per year on this and will negotiate for fee during renewal. You get 5K points on renewal and still feel card is good even if you pay fees (Unpopular opinon!).
   Reward Rate - 19.4% value back on first year. Value back considered on spending it for Taj vouchers or Bonvoy which I am interested in more than others.
   Calculation -
   72K -> 600 5x points per month => 7200 per year
   milestone -> 1K * 12 => 12000 MR points per year.
   Bonus points -> 4K + 2K joining on spend criteria of 10K in 90 days => 6000 MR points
   Total - 25200 MR points.
   Taj voucher - 14000 Rs/ Marriot Bonvoy value back approx- 12000-13000rs.
3. SBI Club Vistara Prime (2999 +TAX)- Would be using this card for Gold/Jewellery expenses and any government spends. Might use this even for Tax payments. Sadly rewards on rent is discontinued from April 15,2024 but no communication is made on milestone accrual for rental transactions. I spent around 2L last year and I renewed this card again. I would mainly eye for milestone vouchers and not for CV points I get on this card. I am only targeting for 1.5L milestone achieved mostly using yearly jewellery purchases for my mom. So more the jewellery expense and govt spends more the milestones you hit.
   Reward Rate - 13% value back on 1.5L spends.
   Calculation -
   Welcome voucher Premium economy worth 10K (I mostly use this for longer routes and are flexible with dates). Fees paid - 3.5K, 10-3.5 => 6.5K value back.
   First Milestone voucher - 10K value back.
   Total -> 16,500+3000 CV points (1cv=1rs) => 19,500 value back. SBI Discounts on Amazon and offline are cherry on the top.
4. Induslnd EazyDiner (1999 +TAX)- I watch movies once or twice a month and go out on family/friends dine-out once a month and this card comes as a saver. It’s not a BOGO and flat 200rs discount on single ticket twice a month. Can save 25% on every time I go for dining saving huge. I got this for FYF offer last year and up for renewal in August,2024 and would continue with this card as I feel the fees justifies. My spends on this card is average 30K per year.
   Reward Rate - 43% Value back if movie tickets are included. Still its 20 to 25% with just dining expenses.
   Calculation -
   One dining per month -> 2000rs per month saves 500 => 6000rs per year saved. (I have put the bare minimum dining expense and it’s on average and might go up).
   Two movies per month -> 400 per month -> 4800 value back.
   Total -> 10800 rs for spends of approx 25K.
5. Amazon Pay ICICI (LTF)- I would be using this card for Amazon shopping to get the 5% cashback. Might use this along with Atlas and Amex vouchers. It’s a very good card to keep with as it’s a LTF cashback card to have.
   I don’t have fixed or estimation on spends I do on this card.
   Reward Rate- 5% on Amazon and 1% on other expenses.
   These are the 5 Cards I Use as of now. Have spent good amount of time to document these and finalise my strategy. Thanks and I am grateful if you have reached here reading. Kindly add in your suggestions.
   My total essential spends as per above - 5.5L per year.
   My spends can touch 10L as it did in FY23-24 and it depends on the additional travel plans and other unavoidable expenses and I might leverage Atlas for spends above 5.5L. So total spends range between 5 to 10L per year. Also planning to get Amex Platinum Travel for spends above 5.5L and as a back up plan if Axis comes with more devaluations.
   So Total Value back I get is approx 13% (Atlas, Amex, Vistara prime considered) and can go up if I spend more on 5X atlas miles.
   Also Note - I mostly redeem my points on domestic travels. No international plans as of now. Even if I do (mostly SEA) will book them by revenue and might redeem Accor points for hotels.

 

[ronnie147]

At this stage, wouldn't Amex platinum travel make more sense than Axis Atlas since you most likely will achieve 4L milestone?

 

[Namans]

Thanks for sharing, it was a good read.

 

[hysteriadoc]

Nice review and neatly explained.

 

[ShreyansJ]

I spent 1-2L on travel each year, most of it on flights (mostly international), I was thinking about getting the Amex Plat Travel, what would you recommend?

 

[Lobogris]

The strategy is good but in reality, Axis Edge miles are not as useful. I was very excited and transferred them to Vistara and now I have found that most of the time, the miles required for flights is far higher than their chart. For example, Del to Colombo is supposed to be 10k miles each way but it is never available for less than 15k. I will have to use these miles for Delhi to Bombay or Goa as those are available at the stated value of 5k each way. So I will most likely stop using my Atlas.
Infinia seems far more useful to me as you can redeem the points with any airline or hotel. However, my problem with the Infinia is that I can never make myself use the points as the categories for using them (flights and hotels), provide very high cashback. For example, I booked a hotel in Poland a couple of days ago and I could have paid 70% by Infinia points. However, the lure of getting 33% cashback on the entire amount was too strong.

 

[eravindhar]

Nice explain thanks

 

[bhanubryant]

Kindly feel free to add your suggestions for best cards for different spends mentioned here and also new cards and modification to my portfolio and strategy. This strategy might be useful to most of you too.

1. Axis Atas (5000 + tax)- Yes! its still a very good card for majority of the offline and online spends. Flat 4% miles is no brainer and I love instant gratification instead of waiting months/whole year to get the rewards. I am planning to use this for all spends majorly on education (thankfully not devalued), Definitely for direct hotel and flight bookings, medical bills, offline shoppings. I am on Gold category now with 8.5L spends and my renewal is up on May this year, will continue to hold and will target 3L next year and might extend above 3L if I make more travel plans. Being in gold, it also justifies my renewal fees as I would get 2.5K edge miles .
   Reward Rate - 6.8% value back without 5X, 10 to 12% with occasional 5X miles. (For 3L spends)
   Calculation -
   6000 (base) + 2500 edge miles => 17000 Partner points (1 edge mile = 2 partner points) and each point valued at average 1.2 rupees if transferred to following - ITC, Accor, Vistara.
   With occasional 5X on hotels/flights rewards -> might go up to 10 to 12%. (Percentage is once you convert it to partner points and the value back you get).
   (I did make around 9 to 10% last year on reaching 7.5L milestone (32K edge miles -> 64K partner points -> 80K approx value back ) with less than 10K transaction on 5X miles, so you can still go with this if you have no or less direct hotel/flight bookings)
2. Amex Gold (1000 + Tax FY,4500 + Tax from SY)- Got this card last week after Atlas announced devaluation. Will be moving all my Utility, Fuel expenses to this card. Will be using 1000*6 Amazon pay vouchers for Utility and other online expenses like food, grocery ordering and online lifestyle shoppings. Not interested to spend more than 72K per year on this and will negotiate for fee during renewal. You get 5K points on renewal and still feel card is good even if you pay fees (Unpopular opinon!).
   Reward Rate - 19.4% value back on first year. Value back considered on spending it for Taj vouchers or Bonvoy which I am interested in more than others.
   Calculation -
   72K -> 600 5x points per month => 7200 per year
   milestone -> 1K * 12 => 12000 MR points per year.
   Bonus points -> 4K + 2K joining on spend criteria of 10K in 90 days => 6000 MR points
   Total - 25200 MR points.
   Taj voucher - 14000 Rs/ Marriot Bonvoy value back approx- 12000-13000rs.
3. SBI Club Vistara Prime (2999 +TAX)- Would be using this card for Gold/Jewellery expenses and any government spends. Might use this even for Tax payments. Sadly rewards on rent is discontinued from April 15,2024 but no communication is made on milestone accrual for rental transactions. I spent around 2L last year and I renewed this card again. I would mainly eye for milestone vouchers and not for CV points I get on this card. I am only targeting for 1.5L milestone achieved mostly using yearly jewellery purchases for my mom. So more the jewellery expense and govt spends more the milestones you hit.
   Reward Rate - 13% value back on 1.5L spends.
   Calculation -
   Welcome voucher Premium economy worth 10K (I mostly use this for longer routes and are flexible with dates). Fees paid - 3.5K, 10-3.5 => 6.5K value back.
   First Milestone voucher - 10K value back.
   Total -> 16,500+3000 CV points (1cv=1rs) => 19,500 value back. SBI Discounts on Amazon and offline are cherry on the top.
4. Induslnd EazyDiner (1999 +TAX)- I watch movies once or twice a month and go out on family/friends dine-out once a month and this card comes as a saver. It’s not a BOGO and flat 200rs discount on single ticket twice a month. Can save 25% on every time I go for dining saving huge. I got this for FYF offer last year and up for renewal in August,2024 and would continue with this card as I feel the fees justifies. My spends on this card is average 30K per year.
   Reward Rate - 43% Value back if movie tickets are included. Still its 20 to 25% with just dining expenses.
   Calculation -
   One dining per month -> 2000rs per month saves 500 => 6000rs per year saved. (I have put the bare minimum dining expense and it’s on average and might go up).
   Two movies per month -> 400 per month -> 4800 value back.
   Total -> 10800 rs for spends of approx 25K.
5. Amazon Pay ICICI (LTF)- I would be using this card for Amazon shopping to get the 5% cashback. Might use this along with Atlas and Amex vouchers. It’s a very good card to keep with as it’s a LTF cashback card to have.
   I don’t have fixed or estimation on spends I do on this card.
   Reward Rate- 5% on Amazon and 1% on other expenses.
   These are the 5 Cards I Use as of now. Have spent good amount of time to document these and finalise my strategy. Thanks and I am grateful if you have reached here reading. Kindly add in your suggestions.
   My total essential spends as per above - 5.5L per year.
   My spends can touch 10L as it did in FY23-24 and it depends on the additional travel plans and other unavoidable expenses and I might leverage Atlas for spends above 5.5L. So total spends range between 5 to 10L per year. Also planning to get Amex Platinum Travel for spends above 5.5L and as a back up plan if Axis comes with more devaluations.
   So Total Value back I get is approx 13% (Atlas, Amex, Vistara prime considered) and can go up if I spend more on 5X atlas miles.
   Also Note - I mostly redeem my points on domestic travels. No international plans as of now. Even if I do (mostly SEA) will book them by revenue and might redeem Accor points for hotels.

Very nicely elaborated article. 👍🏼

 

[bhanubryant]

The strategy is good but in reality, Axis Edge miles are not as useful. I was very excited and transferred them to Vistara and now I have found that most of the time, the miles required for flights is far higher than their chart. For example, Del to Colombo is supposed to be 10k miles each way but it is never available for less than 15k. I will have to use these miles for Delhi to Bombay or Goa as those are available at the stated value of 5k each way. So I will most likely stop using my Atlas.
Infinia seems far more useful to me as you can redeem the points with any airline or hotel. However, my problem with the Infinia is that I can never make myself use the points as the categories for using them (flights and hotels), provide very high cashback. For example, I booked a hotel in Poland a couple of days ago and I could have paid 70% by Infinia points. However, the lure of getting 33% cashback on the entire amount was too strong.

How about converting edge miles to some other airlines miles. For eg. Singapore airline or united airlines etc.

 

[bhanubryant]

At this stage, wouldn't Amex platinum travel make more sense than Axis Atlas since you most likely will achieve 4L milestone?

Can you please elaborate the benefits in case of both of these cards? Or maybe the difference in using one in place of another.

 

[kiri]

Thank you for this post. I have newly taken Axis atlas and AmEx Platinum Travel card mainly for my rental payments. But, unfortunately, AmEx is not supported in many of the portals (phonepe, paytm, RedGiraffe, etc) and rental benefits are withdrawn from Axis Atlas. In this regard, I have 2 quiries:
1. Please suggest a portal where I can use my AmEx card to make rental payments
2. Can I take an add-on card on my elder brother's name? This will make me reach milestone easier.

 

[SSV]

Thank you for this post. I have newly taken Axis atlas and AmEx Platinum Travel card mainly for my rental payments. But, unfortunately, AmEx is not supported in many of the portals (phonepe, paytm, RedGiraffe, etc) and rental benefits are withdrawn from Axis Atlas. In this regard, I have 2 quiries:
1. Please suggest a portal where I can use my AmEx card to make rental payments
2. Can I take an add-on card on my elder brother's name? This will make me reach milestone easier.

1) Load into Mobikwik Wallet and pay to Landlord's bank account just like normal transfer. Rent payments asxa concept dead and buried a long time ago
2) Yes. You can ..

 

[Divyank gulabani]

1) Load into Mobikwik Wallet and pay to Landlord's bank account just like normal transfer. Rent payments asxa concept dead and buried a long time ago
2) Yes. You can ..

But loading into mobikwik wallet would cost around 2.36% charge would it still be useful ?

 

[Raulnoob]

Thank you for this post. I have newly taken Axis atlas and AmEx Platinum Travel card mainly for my rental payments. But, unfortunately, AmEx is not supported in many of the portals (phonepe, paytm, RedGiraffe, etc) and rental benefits are withdrawn from Axis Atlas. In this regard, I have 2 quiries:
1. Please suggest a portal where I can use my AmEx card to make rental payments
2. Can I take an add-on card on my elder brother's name? This will make me reach milestone easier.

Try Housing App. Amex is accepted.