Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card Review

By | January 23, 2024
Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card Review

Axis Bank has very many premium and super premium credit cards and also the Atlas Credit Card which serves multiple segments at once: from travel to super premium (or) even an Ultra premium segment, based on spends.

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card is one of a kind, quite unique the way it works but at the same time looks complicated for most. That said, here’s a simple guide to help you understand it better and use it effectively, if you choose to apply for one.

Overview

TypeTravel Credit Card
Reward Rate4% to 18%
Annual Fee5,000+GST
Best forDirect Hotel & Airline Spends
USPTiered benefits based on spends

Axis Bank Atlas credit card has been recently face-lifted by increasing the regular reward rate and adding more spend categories that earns accelerated rewards.

Ideally its best suited for most premium credit card users with a focus on travel and it also serves as a good replacement for Axis Magnus in 2024.

Fees

Joining Fee5,000 INR+GST
Welcome Benefit5000 Edge Miles (10,000 INR value easily)
Renewal Fee5,000 INR+GST
Renewal Benefit2,500 Edge miles (Silver)
5,000 Edge miles (Gold)
10,000 Edge miles (Platinum)
Renewal Fee waiverNil

The welcome benefit of 5K edge miles can be transferred to ITC (among others) and can be redeemed for 10,000 INR worth of stay, food, etc at ITC hotels.

Or, if you’re into Accor hotels (Ibis, Novotel, Sofitel, Fairmont, Raffles, etc) then you would get about 18,000 INR in value.

It means you’re paying 5K INR and getting value upto 18K INR – that’s like an overnight multibagger. 🙂

apply now

Note that there are also many more airline partners with a good conversion rate and we’ll explore them later below.

While there is no renewal fee waiver option on this card, the good thing about the Atlas Credit Card is that it gives attractive renewal benefit if you spend well during the card anniversary year, especially with the Platinum tier (15L spend requirement).

But remember that even gold tier (7.5L spend) is sufficient to get 4X value of the renewal fee paid. More about various tiers shortly.

Design

Axis Atlas Credit Card Design

The design looks not only neat, simple and beautiful but also relevant to the type of card, so is the choice of name: Atlas.

If you’ve had the card in hand, you would agree that the card looks and feels as good as you see in the image above.

Rewards

Unlike all other Axis Credit Cards, Axis Atlas doesn’t earn “Edge Rewards”, but it earns “Edge Miles”.

It’s a separate miles balance that reflects on the Axis Edge Rewards account and is not linked with any other product so far.

SPEND TYPEEdge MilesREWARD RATE (EDGE REWARDS PORTAL)REWARD RATE (POINTS TRANSFER)
Regular Spends2 / 100 INR2%~4%
Axis Travel Edge Portal5 / 100 INR5%~10%
Airlines & Hotels (Direct)5 / 100 INR5%~10%

It is to be noted that if you intend to pre-pay for flights/hotels using travel edge portal, Axis Magnus [burgundy variant with 5:4] might be a better option.

Redemption

There are multiple options to redeem edge miles, broadly divined into two, as below:

  • Redeem on Travel Edge portal: 1:1 (for flights/hotels)
  • Transfer Edge miles to airline/hotel partners

While redeeming on travel edge portal is the super simple option with a static value, we don’t get great value there.

Instead, one can transfer the points to airlines and hotels and get pretty good value. Here’s a quick look at the transfer ratio.

AirlineConversion Rate (Edge Miles:Partner Miles)
All Airlines*1:2
Hotels: IHG & ITC1:2
Hotel: Marriot Bonvoy2:1
  • Airlines: United, Singapore Airlines, Turkish, Etihad, Qatar, Air France, Ethiopian, Vistara & Spicejet

As you can see, the transfer ratio is 1:2 across all airlines & hotels, except for Marriott Bonvoy which is at 2:1. So it’s not wise to transfer these points to Marriott from Atlas Credit Card.

If you’re into Marriott, you can however transfer your points to ITC and then to Marriott (2 ITC points = 3 MB points), but this is limited to 15K points per quarter or so.

Generally, ITC is the goto option for most cardholders to get better value, as it’s lot less complicated and also allows to transfer the points further to Marriott Bonvoy.

If you wish to explore international airline redemptions, our simple guides are here: Singapore Airlines – KrisFlyer & United Airlines – MileagePlus (more to follow soon).

Milestone Benefit

Spend RequirementMilestone Benefit
3 Lakhs2,500 Edge Miles
7.5 Lakhs5,000 Edge Miles
15 Lakhs10,000 Edge Miles

Assuming you’re able to do “regular” spends of 15 Lakhs, you’ll get 40,000 Edge miles that can be easily valued at 80,000 INR or even ~1,44,000 INR (Accor & airline sweet spots), with amazing reward rates as good as 5.3% and 9.6% respectively.

But remember that wallet & rental spends wont be considered for milestone benefits.

Membership Tiers

Annual SpendsMembership Tier
< Rs. 7.5 lacsSilver
Rs. 7.5 lacs to Rs. 15 lacsGold
Rs. 15 lacs & abovePlatinum

Axis Atlas Credit Card comes with membership tiers and it’s a unique system in the credit card industry.

The membership tiers are purely based on credit card spends with Platinum tier on top that gives access to most of the airport benefits, including luxury airport transfers which is available only with the expensive Axis Reserve.

Airport Services

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card gives you access to below airport services depending on the membership tier you’re in:

Here are the complimentary limits on respective tiers for airport services.

Membership TierAirport Meet & GreetAirport Transfer
Silver
Gold2
Platinum42

However, note that these airport services can neither be booked on the Extraordinary weekends portal nor through concierge line, unlike the other cards like Magnus & Reserve.

With Atlas, airport services can be booked only through the Atlas Dashboard on app/website and that’s not something you would enjoy doing.

Airport Lounge Access

The complimentary lounge access limits on Axis Atlas Credit Card also works as per the tiered system mentioned below.

Membership TierDomestic VisitsInternational Visits
Silver84
Gold126
Platinum1812
  • Note: Above visits covers both Primary cardholder + guests, if any.

So, as you see above, the good news about the Atlas Card is that we can avail these complimentary lounge access both for primary cardholder & guests, just like the Axis Reserve Credit Card.

However, note that sometimes you might be charged for the guests (glitch) and if that happens, just drop them an email requesting for the reversal just incase if the charges are not auto reversed as confirmed by Axis customer support.

Should you take Atlas?

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

For all those who were enjoying the Magnus at 5:4 points transfer in 2023 and unable to get the “Magnus for Burgundy” post devaluation, Axis Atlas is a wonderful option to take in 2024.

You get 4X value for the joining fee, 9.6% reward rate on 15L spend, and 4% beyond. These are huge numbers for this segment and perhaps the highest rewarding card in the country at the moment with 15L spend.

Infact, over ~70% of old Magnus Cardholders are expected to switch to Atlas within a year, as soon as their Magnus renewal kicks-in.

However, remember that after Magnus devaluation, Atlas is destined to be devalued (perhaps by mid 2024) and you may expect a 50% drop in reward rate.

As the devaluation is inevitable, it’s wise to get hold of the Amex Platinum Travel Card (issued as First Year Free) which has been the best travel credit card in the country for ages.

My Experience

Axis Atlas Credit Card Experience

I got the Axis Atlas Credit Card few months ago and it was a smooth ride.

The dedicated card management dashboard for Atlas on Mobile & net-banking works wonderfully well.

Apart from that, the 5X rewards gets credited for hotel spends on time, hopefully so for airlines. I did a small txn few months ago to check the same and it does work as expected.

Axis Atlas - 5X edge miles on Hotel Spend

Eligibility

  • Annual Income: 9 Lakhs & above
  • Existing other Bank Credit Card: ~3 Lakhs (or) above limit

It’s historically easy to get approved, so you may not need to worry about it. Further, not to forget that you may hold upto 3 Axis Bank Credit Cards simultaneously at any point in time.

How to Apply?

You may apply online on Axis Bank website in a matter of few clicks. Axis Bank is recently known for processing fresh credit card applications pretty fast, like card delivery in 5 days at times.

Generally you may get the card approved within a week from the date of application and one more week for card delivery.

apply now

If you’re new to bank, not to worry, you don’t need to open a fresh Axis Bank Savings A/c to get an Axis Credit Card.

Bottom line

  • Cardexpert Rating: 5/5

Overall Axis Bank’s Atlas Credit Card is a fully loaded card at this fee range and has the ability to give experiences that only an ultra premium credit card can offer – all you need is the high spend potential.

That said, time is ticking and you may hear the devaluation news anytime soon. Until then,

Make hay while the sun shines!

If you intend to have 3 best premium credit cards from Axis Bank, this can be one among – others being Axis Magnus for Burgundy & Axis Vistara Infinite.

Do you’ve Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.

Author: Siddharth

Helping Indians to choose right credit cards, pick right offers and enjoy luxury vacations for less. Day & night exploring the spiritual reality of our human existence.

59 thoughts on “Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card Review

  1. Avijeet

    Hi Sid,
    I got the Atlas card just 3 weeks back.
    I want to add something…
    Atlas card has a capping of 100 Edge Miles for Insurance transactions.
    Further, there is no clarity on whether govt. services payment and insurance will be counted towards milestones or not.

    I did a pos transaction at St.Laurn Hotel, Shirdi…
    Got only 1X points. I am unsure if this reward comes (1X + 4X) or 5X …

    Regards,
    Avijeet Mohanty

    Reply
  2. MJ

    Is it worth spending (Direct International Hotel) via Atlas than Reserve?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Both are at similar reward rate for intl hotel spends. But reserve is better as you don’t need to worry about MCC issues.

      Reply
      1. Ajai Singh

        @Sid Does this give 5 / 100 INR on makemytrip or yatra also in addition to direct bookings.

        Reply
  3. Kevin

    Hi Sid, I have activated my Atlas card on March 4th and did a number of transactions until today. But, I’m yet to receive atlas miles for any transactions and even the welcome gift miles is also not credited. What might be the reason?

    Reply
  4. witz

    Hi sid, Thanks for such nice articles. I wish to know that will i get edge miles for using atlas card for government payments like income tax payments. It seems to be a grey area. I got 2% cash back using ace and edge points using Magnus but customer care says there wont be any cash back in ace or points in magnus. Can you please clarify from your experience. Thanks

    Reply
  5. Sachin Gupta

    Hi Sid,

    As per this line from Axis Bank site,
    You would get 17,500 milestone edge miles in total (all milestone benefits) for spending Rs. 15L. So when you do Rs.15L regular spends, you would get 47,500 miles and not 40,000 miles which makes it a minimum of 6.3% benefit on transferring miles.

    Milestone Benefits
    Unlock upto 17,500 EDGE Miles on achieving the Spends Milestone.

    Reply
    1. Mouli

      No PP, its a dragon pass and that no physical card. Just you can manage all in the app itself right from booking lounge ,M&G and Airport transfer

      Reply
  6. Krishnapratap Vedula

    Can we use Atlas for mobile wallet topup like paytm & mobikwik? I am unable to add money into mobile wallet using Atlas and need it to be done urgently.

    Reply
  7. Suyog

    Axis Atlas doesn’t seem to have Emirates as an airline partner. Can the Edge Miles be transferred to ITC and then from ITC to Emirates? If yes, what’s the ratio there?

    Also, with regard to the 4 visits to international lounges under the Silver tier, is there a list of lounges covered? And are these visits fully complimentary or it’s just a complimentary Priority Pass with paid access, as is the case with Amex Platinum Travel?

    I’m confused between Axis Atlas (Silver tier) and Amex Platinum Travel. Although I probably won’t be meeting the annual spending thresholds on either of them, I’m looking for a card that would offer international lounge access and work with (incl. conversion) most number of international airlines. Which one would be your pick?

    Reply
  8. MD

    Hi Sid,
    Nice reviews on the site. I am a Millennia user since 2 years and looking to get second card. All my banking needs have been taken care by HDFC till now so the obvious step is to get a new / upgrade to a Regalia. HDFC recently launched Regalia Gold. Comes with complimentary MMT Black and Vistara Silver memebership. Another option that seems attractive to me is Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card. As I plan to keep usage mostly for flights / shopping, what is your recommendation from the two above? Also, any other recommendations ?
    Are you planning on reviewing the new Regalia Gold ?
    Cheers

    Reply
  9. Aka

    @sid
    In light of recent devaluation of magnus , does this card make sense for Miles and hotel points transfer ?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Ofcourse. Everyone who can’t meet Burgundy criteria will move to Atlas.

      Reply
      1. ALI -

        Hi Siddharth
        Would that statement be fully accurate ?

        One would be paying the annual fee
        12000 including GST for old members
        Vs effectively Zero for the Atlas considering the annual benefit

        So that 12000 would need to be setoff
        Against what extra advantages you get

        So I’m.sure there must be a point of diminishing returns vs the Atlas

        Reply
  10. Ali

    I mean
    Even the magnus + burgandy
    Paying 12k annual

    Will have to be compared with the atals
    Which would effectively be zero annually

    Reply
  11. Anuj

    I am new to atlas and got it approved last week.
    One basic question if anyone can help – I am in silver tier at the beginning and if I spend 7.5 lacs in an anniversary year, I will move to the gold tier. So will the gold tier be applicable only for the remainder of anniversary year, or is it gold tier for the next year? If it is remainder of anniversary year, does it mean that the tiering gets refreshed and back to silver at the start of every year?

    Reply
    1. Pseudo

      Atlas credit cardholders’ tier will be evaluated at the beginning of the each anniversary year on the basis of the previous year card spends. (copied from latest T&C document)

      Reply
  12. Sahil Sharma

    Hi Sid,
    I already have Magnus credit card LTF and have an offer of LTF Atlas credit card as well. Should I go for it?
    Considering I have Axis Burgundy account as well.

    Reply
  13. Anand Sancheti

    Hi,
    i am currently using Magnus and after the devaluation even a regalia is a better card for me to use. I am looking for a credit card to use exclusively to make utility payments, as most cards have stopped giving reward points for utility payments or give out reduced rewards for the same. This brings me to atlas, I have been reading about it a lot but nowhere it mentions about utility rewards. I want to know if i get 2 reward points per 100 for utility bill payments. As my utility bill spends are close to 1lk per month, I am looking for a card that gives me best benefit in terms of rewards. If not atlas which other card would be sensible given my high utility bill payments.

    Reply
    1. Swapneil

      My whole utility bill payments have been shifted to Amazon pay voucher 25k per month per amex card + 2 add-ons which makes it 75k per month Amazon pay.

      So accordingly I buy the vouchers and keep it to pay for the utility , insurance premiums, and bills etc.

      For insurance premiums greater than 1 lacs and govt spendngs I use stan chartered ultimate card which gives me 3 points per 150 instead of usual 5 points per 150.

      Reply
  14. Manish

    Hi sid, thanks for the info of the card. I currently have DCB and trying to get one more from axis. I don’t have any account with axis. Do they provide this card LTF and also C2C basis?

    Reply
  15. Gaurav Jagdish Walawalkar

    Please clarify whether we get Edgemiles on utility bill payments while doing payments on Axis Atlas card.

    Reply
  16. Basant

    1)Can atlas guest visits be used for international lounge access also or only for domestic?
    2) do atlas addon card holder can avail both domestic and international lounge access?

    Reply
    1. Rishabh Chauhan

      Atlas has both international and domestic lounge access via Dreamfolks. It can be availed for both primary card holder as well as guests.

      Reply
    1. Mouli

      You can check in the app while booking. It will show whether its complimentary or not for guest. I have taken 3 guest along with me in Singapore lounge. Really its an easy way to get into the lounge rather than using PP as they dont do any checks

      Reply
    1. Pavan

      Yes , I got 2 percent points for income tax payment ( some extra charge 0.8 %) and considered for milestone

      Reply
  17. Adhav

    Is it a good choice to take axis atlas after the devaluation of axis magnus?

    Reply
  18. Arun

    Atlas provide 2X for Gyftyr vouchers? Then it is equivalent to hotel transactions 😉 . I got the card activated today. I will find put in next couple of weeks. But if somebody knows let’s reduce wait time.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth

      But I’m not able to buy gyftr vouchers using atlas card and somewhere even i read it can be only used for traveledge not for giftedge. Correct?

      Reply
  19. Shrinidhi Bhat

    Hi Sid,
    Thanks for the details review you write on credit cards. Nowadays I just come to this site for any card related details. It’s easy to find the benefits in your article than searching it in card website.
    I have applied for this Atlas card. I have a question though. Assume that I transfer my edge miles into my Accor Plus membership (I Accor Plus which is equivalent to Silver in ALL). Do we need to do some minimum nights booking or spending in Accor to use these transferred miles? Or it can be used without any pre-conditions? I remember something like this long back in Jet Airways loyalty program.

    Regards,
    Shrinidhi

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      There is no spend requirement, but min. points that can be burned is 2000/1000 (and in chunks of) depending on the tier.

      Reply
  20. Amrish

    Hi, any idea on what the devaluation is going to be like. I’m sitting on the fence to get a new card after completing 4 lacs on the plat travel. Atlas is good as of now but worried if I take it now and it gets devalued before I hitting any milestones then it won’t make sense. I’m not worried if deval only to mean exclusion of rent/ utility/ insurance etc. My spends are not much in those categories anyway

    Reply
  21. vadakkus

    I am expecting the devaluation / changes to be like:

    – Earn 4 Edge Miles per Rs.100 spend for non-airline/hotel transactions AND change the conversion ratio for airline transfer partners to 2:1 (base rewards will be cut to 2% from 4%). Yes, to align it with Citi PremierMiles.
    – No more Edge Miles for Government and Utility (like all Axis cards).
    – The milestone bonus Miles will go away.
    I am sure they won’t touch the Tier structure as it is way too much of a USP and it also would require a lot of tech revision and possibly vendor re-contracting which is expensive.

    In this case then Atlas will become absolutely useless for everyday usage because even OG Magnus with 2.4% return will be better than this and it also has Gift Edge.
    Only an extremely small set of very niche people who have huge direct bookings on airlines and hotels will find it useful.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      If they drop the reward rate, they may not drop the milestone benefit, it would only improve.
      But let’s not get into too much prediction for now.

      Life is lot better to live in the moment, granular prediction maybe good for choosing stocks though. 🙂

      Reply
  22. Saurabh

    Do we get Atlas Edge miles for payment made on the Adda app towards Apartment maintenance changes. Adda charges a 2.7% charge on credit card payment and it doesn’t support Diner/Amex, so only option is VISA/Master and I dont want to give it 2.7% unless I can get 2% back from the card and also move towards spend based benefits

    Reply
  23. Javed

    Hi Siddharth,

    Axis Bank has suspended my Edge Reward account because I used my Atlas Card on the BhartNXT application to transfer money to my friend’s account.

    They said that these transactions are non-personal and asked me to provide the invoices that I downloaded from the BharatNXT application. Still, they are not convinced and are not ready to reactivate my Edge Rewards account.
    So I am wondering if there’s a way I can convince them to get my Edge Rewards account activated again.

    Please assist and provide some tips.

    Regards

    Javed K

    Reply
  24. Sumeet

    If you use the axis edge miles to convert it in Turkish miles it gives you 1:4 ratio.

    so for 1 edge miles you get 4 turkish miles. you get 4x reward redemption.

    Reply
    1. Mouli

      Normal conversion ratio is 1:2 only and occasionally there will be an offer of 1:4.Did you get any update for 1:4 ?
      Considering the recent devaluation announcement effective Feb 16th, don’t think Turkish Miles is that attractive now

      Reply
  25. Ankit

    I just had to post this comment so that it can help others. I hold an Axis Vistara Infinite card and wanted to switch to Axis Atlas card due to better value in rewards (Vistara Business class vouchers do not work very well for me as my travel is usually last minute) I applied for Atlas on the Axis bank website, submitted all details, hard copies of income documents with the representative and waited for 2 weeks for Atlas to be approved (status showed as pending). Meanwhile, I just called Axis helpline and they told me I am eligible for an Atlas card and it can be processed within 10 days. I reluctantly agreed since 1 application was already pending. and behold! it was approved in 2 mins and I got a digital Atlas card on my Axis Mobile app! Dont know why would they want someone to fill in all the details on their website when it can happen in 2 mins on the phone!!!!!

    Reply
  26. Mouli

    Atlas miles are not posted for more than a month .Booked flight via travel edge and the travel also over 20 days back and still miles are not credited. Even for other transactions also the normal miles are not credited. Axis always known for this

    Reply
    1. Nikunj Duggal

      It will be till 20th April 2024

      After that they will stop giving points for them or Milestone Spending

      Reply
  27. Shashwat Mairal

    Has anyone faced a challenge in getting Atlas card? I hold a Magnus card and Vistara Infinite card already. Have cumulative spends of more than 19 lacs on the 2 cards. Have applied for Atlas card nearly 5 times now, my application has been rejected every time.

    Reply
  28. Mohana

    As an NRI do I have the option to apply for Atlas Credit Card?

    Reply
  29. Arun C B

    Axis bank started to devaluation on the card. Airport meet and Greet has veen removed, Along with atlas , a Grouping system and quota to transfer implemented for most cards?

    Reply
  30. Inderjeet Singh

    Axis bank Atlas card just got a devaluation, Sid can you please update this to include the same.

    Reply

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