Axis Bank Transfer Partner Updates: Accor Returns, Air India, Flying Blue & Qantas Move to Group A

Axis Bank has made a major update to its Miles Transfer programme. Accor ALL is back. Cathay, Hilton Honors and Miles & More have been added. The bigger change is elsewhere. Air India Maharaja Club, Flying Blue and Qantas Frequent Flyer have moved from Group B to Group A. Their transfer ratios are unchanged. But Group A has much lower annual transfer limits. That is the part cardholders should pay attention to.

Key Highlights

• Accor ALL is back under Group A.
• Cathay has been added to Group A.
• Hilton Honors and Miles & More have been added to Group B.
• Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas have moved from Group B to Group A.
• ITC Hotels is no longer listed.
• Burgundy Private keeps strong transfer ratios.
• Atlas is hit the most by the lower Group A cap.
• Olympus continues to get strong ratios with several partners.

What Has Changed?

Accor ALL is Back

Accor is back, but the old transfer ratios have not returned for most cards.

Burgundy Private is the only card here that keeps the same 5:4 ratio. The biggest drop is on Atlas.

Earlier: 1 EDGE Mile = 2 Accor ALL points

Now: 2 EDGE Miles = 1 Accor ALL point

So Atlas now gets 75% fewer Accor points for the same number of EDGE Miles.

Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas Move to Group A

The transfer ratios for these three partners have not changed.

The problem is the Group A cap.

Group A Limits are Much Lower

The limits apply to EDGE Reward Points or EDGE Miles transferred. For all these cards, the Group A cap is only one-fourth of the Group B cap. So moving Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas to Group A cuts the available transfer capacity by 75%.

Atlas Takes the Biggest Hit

Atlas still gets a good 1:2 ratio with Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas. But the Group A limit is only 30,000 EDGE Miles.

That means: 30,000 EDGE Miles = 60,000 partner miles

Earlier, these partners were in Group B, where Atlas had a 1.2L EDGE Miles limit.

That could have meant: 1.2L EDGE Miles = 2.4L partner miles

The ratio has not changed. The usable annual limit has. Also, the 30,000 Group A limit is shared across all Group A partners.

So if you use the full limit with Air India, there is nothing left for Flying Blue, Qantas, Accor, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, United or other Group A partners.

Atlas Now Has Two Very Different Transfer Levels

This does not mean all partner miles have the same value. But it shows how different the transfer ratios have become.

Cathay Added to Group A

Cathay gets the same lower transfer grid as Accor. For Atlas, this is much weaker than the 1:2 ratio available with Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas.

Hilton Honors Added to Group B

Hilton gets the stronger transfer ratio. Olympus gets 4 Hilton points per EDGE Mile. Atlas gets 2 Hilton points per EDGE Mile. Still, hotel points and airline miles should not be compared only by number. Their actual value can be very different.

Miles & More Added to Group B

Atlas gets only 1:1 here. Olympus gets 1:4. Axis also has a separate limit of 2L Miles & More miles per calendar year. The normal card and Group B limits still apply. For Olympus, just 50,000 EDGE Miles at 1:4 is enough to reach the 2L Miles & More annual limit. For Atlas, the 1.2L Group B limit means a maximum of 1.2L Miles & More miles at 1:1.

Burgundy Private Remains the Best Protected

Burgundy Private keeps a 5:4 transfer ratio across all the partners covered here.

It also gets the highest limits:

• Group A: 3L
• Group B: 12L

The Group A move still reduces flexibility. But Burgundy Private is affected much less than the other cards.

Magnus for Burgundy

Magnus for Burgundy now has two clear transfer levels.

Better partners: 5 EDGE Reward Points = 4 partner points/miles This includes Air India, Flying Blue, Qantas, Hilton and Miles & More.

Lower-ratio partners: 5 EDGE Reward Points = 2 partner points/miles This includes Accor and Cathay.

Its Group A cap is 2L, compared with 8L under Group B.

Magnus

Regular Magnus follows the same pattern.

Better partners: 5 EDGE Reward Points = 2 partner points/miles

Accor and Cathay: 5 EDGE Reward Points = 1 partner point/mile

Its Group A limit is 1L, compared with 4L under Group B.

Olympus

Olympus still looks strong for miles transfers.

For Air India, Flying Blue, Qantas, Hilton and Miles & More: 1 EDGE Mile = 4 partner points/miles

For Accor and Cathay: 1 EDGE Mile = 2 partner points/miles

Its limits are also much higher than Atlas:

• Group A: 1.5L
• Group B: 6L

The move of Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas to Group A is still a negative. But Olympus has more room to work with.

Current Group A Partners

Accor ALL, Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Air India Maharaja Club, British Airways Club, Cathay, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, JAL Mileage Bank, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Royal Orchid Plus, Turkish Airlines, United MileagePlus, Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles and Wyndham Rewards.

Current Group B Partners

AirAsia, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, IndiGo BluChip, Miles & More, Orchid Rewards, The Postcard Sunshine Club, Radisson Rewards and SpiceJet.

Our Take

This update adds more transfer options, but it also makes the programme more restrictive in some places. Accor is back, but the ratios are much worse for most cards. Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas still have good transfer ratios. But moving them to Group A cuts the annual transfer capacity by 75%. Atlas is affected the most because its Group A limit is only 30,000 EDGE Miles. Olympus still looks strong with 1:4 ratios on several partners and higher transfer limits. Burgundy Private remains the least affected. It keeps 5:4 across the partners covered here.

The main thing now is simple. Before transferring Axis EDGE Points or Miles, check:

1. The transfer ratio.
2. Whether the partner is in Group A or Group B.
3. How much of that group’s annual limit you have already used.

The transfer ratio alone no longer tells the full story.