The merger of Citi India operations with Axis is now coming to an end with the migration of Citi credit cards to Axis Bank. And in most cases, Axis Bank has launched new cards for replacing the existing Citi credit cards. Axis Bank Horizon credit card is one such new launch and will be the replacement for Citi PremierMiles credit card. Axis Bank Horizon credit card will come at a joining and annual fee of Rs 3000 plus GST. Similar to the existing Atlas card, the Horizon card also earns EDGE Miles on spends. We can earn 2 to 5 EDGE Miles per Rs 100 spent. The Axis Horizon card also offers complimentary airport lounge access, EazyDiner discounts and a fuel surcharge waiver. Here is a look at the key benefits, rewards and features of the Axis Bank Horizon credit card.
Fees
| Joining Fee | Rs 3000+GST ~Rs 3540 |
| Welcome Benefit | 5000 EDGE Miles |
| Annual Fee | Rs 3000+GST ~Rs 3540 |
| Renewal Benefit | 1500 EDGE Miles |
| Annual Fee Waver | Not Available |
Earn EDGE Miles as Rewards
| Spend Category | Earn Rate |
|---|---|
| Travel EDGE Portal & Direct Airline Spends | 5 EDGE Miles/Rs 100 |
| Other Spends | 2 EDGE Miles/Rs 100 |
| Transportation, Tolls, Utilities, Insurance, Educational Institutions, Govt. Institutions, Wallet, Rent, Fuel | No EDGE Miles |
Unlike Atlas, Axis Bank Horizon credit card gets 5 EDGE Miles on only direct airline spends. No accelerated rewards on direct hotel spends. This is a miss and makes Atlas more useful especially if you have a large chunk of hotel spends. But, there is more to the Atlas than just this.
Coming to the exclusions, this list has become pretty standard across all Axis Bank credit cards. So, do check and spend outside these MCCs to ensure you get the EDGE Miles.
EDGE Miles Redemption
- 1 EDGE Mile = Rs 1 for booking flights/hotels on Travel EDGE Portal. This can be used for booking revenue flights like IndiGo on Travel EDGE.
- 1 EDGE Mile = 1 Partner Point for points transfer to partners
Even though we earn EDGE Miles on both Atlas and Horizon, the Horizon gets half the redemption rate. Though, the Atlas does have a 66% higher fee as well.
Axis Bank Horizon Credit Card Transfer Partners
Axis Horizon gets access to all the transfer partners that Magnus, Atlas and Reserve get. Total EDGE Miles that can be transferred to partner points in a calendar year is capped to 1.5 Lakh EDGE Miles per customer ID. There is also a group wise sub-capping. We can transfer a maximum of 1 Lakh EDGE Miles cumulatively to partners in Group A and a maximum of 4 Lakh EDGE Miles to partners in Group B in a calendar year. This sub-capping is only for Horizon. You can however hold multiple Axis or HDFC cards and then pool those miles into partner accounts.
Our favourites in this list would be KrisFlyer, Club ITC, Miles&Smiles, FlyingBlue, MileagePlus and Accor. For Marriott Bonvoy, Amex cards continue to be our preferred option.
| Group | Transfer Partner and Program | Conversion Rate EDGE Miles: Partner Miles |
|---|---|---|
| B | Air India: Flying Returns | 1:1 |
| A | Accor: ALL | 1:1 |
| B | Air Asia: airasia rewards | 1:1 |
| A | Air Canada: Aeroplan | 1:1 |
| B | Air France – KLM: Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| B | Air Vistara: Club Vistara | 1:1 |
| A | Ethiopian Airlines: ShebaMiles | 1:1 |
| A | Etihad Airways: Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| B | IHG Hotels & Resorts: IHG One Rewards | 1:1 |
| B | ITC: Club ITC | 1:1 |
| A | Japan Airlines: JAL Mileage Bank | 1:1 |
| A | Marriott International: Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 |
| B | Qantas Airways: Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| A | Singapore Airlines: KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
| B | SpiceJet: SpiceClub | 1:1 |
| A | Turkish Airlines: Miles&Smiles | 1:1 |
| A | Thai Airways: Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 |
| A | United Airlines: United MileagePlus | 1:1 |
| A | Wyndham Hotels & Resorts: Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
- Domestic Airport Lounge Access: 8 complimentary visits/quarter for Visa and 6 complimentary visits/quarter for Mastercard
- International Airport Lounge Access: 2 complimentary visits/quarter
Other Key Benefits & Charges
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver for transactions between Rs 400 to Rs 5000. Maximum waiver of Rs 500 in the statement month.
- Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5%+GST ~4.1%
Final Thoughts
While the Horizon credit card rewards and benefits are good enough for the annual fee, Atlas offers a much better value proposition for a slightly higher annual fee. Atlas gets you a better reward rate due to its higher points transfer value and milestone rewards. Plus, Atlas gets accelerated rewards on direct hotel spends too. If you are a miles enthusiast, Atlas still gets you a better value for your spends.
But, there are some pros on the Horizon that we wish were there on the Atlas. For example, the Horizon has a much higher cap on how many EDGE Miles we can transfer in a year. We hope Axis Bank also revises it to a higher cap for the Atlas.
Axis Bank Horizon Credit Card
2 thoughts on “Axis Bank Horizon Credit Card Review”
This isn’t available to apply for?
Not yet available for non-Citi customers