Samsung India and Axis Bank launch co-branded credit cards

Samsung India has launched two co-branded credit cards in partnership with Axis Bank. The USP of these cards is cashback on Samsung product purchases around the year while offering other benefits. There are two variants – Visa Signature and Visa Infinite. Here is everything you need to know about the Samsung Axis Bank Signature and Samsung Axis Bank Infinite credit cards.

Fees and Charges

	Samsung Axis Bank Signature Credit Card	Samsung Axis Bank Infinite Credit Card
Joining and Annual Fee	Rs 500	Rs 5000
Welcome Benefit	2500 EDGE RP	30000 EDGE RP
Annual Fee Waiver	Rs 2 Lakhs spend	Rs 7 Lakhs spend

The welcome benefit will be credited on doing 3 transactions within 30 days from the card issuance date.

Rewards

Both cards get 10% cashback on Samsung purchases around the year. The cashback is applicable on the below purchase channels.

Physical stores under ‘Brand EMI’ on Pinelabs terminals and Benow Soft POS – Both EMI and full swipe transactions
Samsung eStore and Samsung Shop app
Flipkart purchases
Samsung service center payments on Benow soft PoS

Purchase Category	Samsung Axis Bank Infinite Credit Card	Samsung Axis Bank Signature Credit Card
Samsung products	10% Cashback up to Rs 5000/month and Rs 20000/year	10% Cashback up to Rs 2500/month and Rs 10000/year
Preferred Partners BigBasket, 1mg, UrbanCompany, Myntra and Zomato	15 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~3% Return	10 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~2% Return
Fuel, Rental Payment, Wallet Load, Jewellery, Git Vouchers	No Rewards	No Rewards
All other domestic transactions	5 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~1% Return	5 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~1% Return
International transactions	15 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~3% Return	5 EDGE RP/Rs 100 ~1% Return

If you were excited by the 10% cashback announcement during the press launch, here is the reality check. With these caps, I doubt you will be able to buy high-end smartphones. This is best for appliances and mid-segment smartphone purchases.

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access

Signature Variant: 4 complimentary visits/calendar year to airport lounges in India with Visa
Infinite Variant: 8 complimentary visits/calendar year to airport lounges in India with Visa and 6 complimentary visits/calendar year to airport lounges outside India with Priority Pass

Key Features and Benefits

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver for both Signature and Infinite variants
EazyDiner Prime membership: 1-year complimentary membership only for Infinite variant
Forex Markup Charges: 3.5% for both Infinite and Signature variants

Final Thoughts

This will be another co-branded credit card that will not see much traction. The simple reason is I don’t see much of a benefit.

While the 10% cashback seemed ok, the caps are low for the prices at which Samsung sells its smartphones. The second factor is the high annual fee waiver criteria. There is no way to meet that target without sacrificing the rewards we would get on other cards.

A rather disappointing credit card launch!