Axis Bank’s acquisition of Citibank’s India business is yet to complete. But, some of the good things from Citibank have started trickling into Axis Bank’s existing credit cards. To date, earning EDGE Reward Points has never been an issue. But using those points for Airmiles and hotel loyalty programs has not been an option. We now get this much-awaited feature. Axis Bank has launched the option to transfer EDGE reward points to Airmiles and hotel loyalty programs. Here is everything you need to know about this feature.
Eligible Credit Cards and Earn Rate
The travel-focused Axis Bank Atlas credit card already has the option to transfer EDGE Miles to airlines and hotel loyalty programs. In addition to that, we can now transfer EDGE Reward Points to airlines and hotel loyalty programs for the below cards.
Transfer Ratio for EDGE Rewards to Airmiles and Hotel Partners
The transfer ratio for converting EDGE rewards to partner airlines/hotels is pretty generous at the moment for premium cards like the Magnus and Reserve.
| Reserve, Burgundy Private, and Magnus Credit Card | 5 EDGE Reward Points = 4 Partner Program Points/Miles |
| Select and Privilege Credit Card | 10 EDGE Reward Points = up to 2 Partner Program Points/Miles |
Airmiles/Hotel Loyalty Points Earn Rate for Axis Bank Credit Cards
Here is how many Airmiles or hotel loyalty points we can earn when transacting on these cards. The super-premium credit cards earn 4.8% to 6% Airmiles on transactions. This is more than the 3.3% that HDFC Bank offers on DCB/Infinia cards.
| Credit Card Variant | Standard Reward Rate | Airmiles or Hotel Loyalty Points Earn Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Burgundy Private | 15 EDGE RP/Rs 200 | 12 Miles/Rs 200 ~6% |
| Reserve | 15 EDGE RP/Rs 200 | 12 Miles/Rs 200 ~6% |
| Magnus | 12 EDGE RP/Rs 200 | 9.6 Miles/Rs 200 ~4.8% |
| Select | 10 EDGE RP/Rs 200 | Up to 2 Miles/Rs 200 ~1% |
| Privilege | 10 EDGE RP/Rs 200 | Up to 2 Miles/Rs 200 ~1% |
This is just the standard reward rate. We also have milestone EDGE rewards, Grab Deals where we can earn more than 10X RP, and Travel EDGE for 5X RP on selected variants.
EDGE Reward Points Transfer Partners
| Transfer Partner and Program | Conversion Rate for Burgundy Private/Magnus/Reserve EDGE Reward Points: Partner Points/Miles | Conversion Rate for Select/Privilege EDGE Reward Points: Partner Points/Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Air Asia airasia rewards | 5:4 | 5:1 |
| Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| ITC Club ITC | 5:4 | 5:1 |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Etihad Airways Etihad Guest | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts IHG One Rewards | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Marriott International Marriott Bonvoy | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| United Airlines United MileagePlus | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 5:4 | 10:1 |
| Spicejet SpiceClub | 5:4 | 10:1 |
Why the Magnus is best placed for this new feature?
Axis Bank Magnus is best placed for utilizing this new feature. Here is what we get:
- Monthly Spend: Rs 1 Lakh
- Regular EDGE Rewards: 12 RP/Rs 200 ~6000 EDGE Rewards
- Bonus EDGE Rewards: 25000 RP for Rs 1 Lakh spend
- Total EDGE Rewards: 31000 RP
- Earned Partner miles/points: 24800! a whopping 24.8% reward rate
This is an amazing 24800 miles on Rs 1 Lakh spend and rivals even HDFC Bank Smartbuy! We can even use Travel EDGE and Grab Deals to earn accelerated EDGE RP. This can take the earn rate even higher.
How to transfer EDGE Reward Points to Partner Miles/Points
Log into Axis Bank Travel Edge portal. Click on Points/Miles Transfer in the navigation menu.
Choose partner, register member id(for first-time transfers), and transfer required EDGE Reward Points.
Final Thoughts
This feature equips Axis Bank to compete better with the market leader HDFC Bank. With Infinia and DCB devaluations over the past year, we were not left with any good alternatives. But, this makes Axis Magnus a great option to consider if you are into airline and hotel loyalty programs. Also, Axis Bank now has more transfer partners than HDFC Bank has offered.
4 thoughts on “Transfer Axis Bank EDGE Rewards to Airlines and Hotels”
Kindly tell me that is there anyway to convert axis edge miles to Emirates skywards ?
EDGE Rewards –> Marriott Bonvoy –> Emirates Skywards
Thank you cardmaven.
Please suggest the equivalent value of these hotel partner points/ airmiles value..
Say if spicejet values 1 miles as 50 paise..then the reward rate will drop by half