Axis Bank credit card travel redemption options: Transfer ratios, limits, and tips

December is here. You must be planning your much-needed Christmas break or New Year break. How about your credit card reward points sponsoring your next vacation? These days, some banks allow you to redeem credit card reward points directly for booking flights and hotels or transfer them to partners. Axis Bank has a tie-up with 20 partners for transferring credit card reward points.

In this article, we will explore the Axis Bank transfer partners, the transfer ratio for various credit cards, categorisation of partners into two groups, and the transfer limits for each group etc.

Axis Bank transfer partners

Axis Bank has a tie-up with 20 partners (6 hotels and 14 airlines) to whom the credit cardholders can transfer their credit card reward points. The partner points can further be used to book flights and/or hotels for your vacation. The list of the transfer partners includes:

Hotel partners

1. Accor Live Limitless (ALL)
2. IHG One Rewards
3. Club ITC
4. Marriott Bonvoy
5. The Postcard Hotel
6. Wyndham Rewards

Airline partners

1. Air Canada Aeroplan
2. Air France Flying Blue
3. Air India Maharaja Club
4. AirAsia Rewards
5. Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles
6. Etihad Guest
7. Japan Airlines
8. Qantas Frequent Flyer
9. Qatar Airways Privilege Club
10. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
11. SpiceJet Spice Club
12. Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
13. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
14. United MileagePlus

Transfer ratio for converting credit card reward points

An Axis Bank credit cardholder can transfer their credit card reward points to any of the above transfer partner(s) in a specified ratio. Once the points transfer is completed, the credit card reward points are converted into the partner program and credited to the cardholder’s partner program account.

The transfer ratio for converting reward points for various Axis Bank credit cards is as follows.

The transfer ratios mentioned above are subject to change at the bank’s discretion. Refer to the Axis Bank website for the latest updated information.

Categorisation of transfer partners

For the transfer of credit card reward points, Axis Bank has categorised the transfer partners into Group A and Group B as follows.

Source: Axis Bank website

The number of reward points a credit cardholder (per customer ID) can transfer is capped based on the group in which the transfer partner lies. The capping is on a calendar year basis, i.e. 1st January to 31st December. The overall capping and group-wise capping on the transfer of reward points are as follows.

Source: Axis Bank website

As per the table above, if you hold the Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card, the overall capping for reward points transfer is 5 lakh EDGE REWARD Points per Customer ID in a calendar year. Out of this, the cardholder can transfer a maximum of 1,00,000 EDGE REWARD Points in total to Group A transfer partners. The remaining 4,00,000 EDGE REWARD Points can be transferred to Group B transfer partners in total.

Accor Live Limitless (ALL)

Within the Group A transfer partners, the Accor Live Limitless (ALL) program is popular among Axis Bank credit cardholders. The ALL program is the hotel loyalty program of the Accor Group. You can convert the credit card reward points into ALL points at the specified transfer ratio. ALL provides a good value, with each ALL point providing stays of around Rs. 2 at various participating Accor properties.

The Accor Group is one of the world’s largest hospitality groups, with over 5,700 properties (hotels and resorts) across more than 45 brands in over 110 countries. In India, Accor has over 60 properties under various brands, including Novotel, ibis, Fairmont, Grand Mercure, Raffles, Pullman, etc.

The ALL program is an earn and redeem program. You can transfer your Axis Bank credit card reward points to the ALL program and use ALL points to book stays at participating Accor properties. The ALL program has various status levels, starting from Classic to Diamond. The more you stay at Accor properties, the higher your status level, and the more benefits you enjoy.

Apart from booking stays, the ALL points can be used to pay for meals and other permissible activities during stays at participating Accor properties.

Club ITC

Within the Group B transfer partners, the Club ITC program is popular among Axis Bank credit cardholders. The Club ITC program is the hotel loyalty program of ITC Hotels, one of India’s largest hospitality groups. You can convert your credit card reward points into Club ITC Green Points at a specified transfer ratio.

The Green Points can be used to book hotel stays at participating ITC Hotel properties, with each Green Point valued at Rs. 1. ITC Hotels has over 140 hotels spread across 7 brands in more than 90 destinations. The ITC Hotels brands include Mementoes, Welcomhotel, Storii, ITC Hotels, Fortune Hotels, and WelcomHeritage Hotels.

The Club ITC is an earn and redeem program. You can transfer your Axis Bank credit card reward points to the Clu ITC program and use Green Points to book stays at participating ITC properties. The Club ITC program has various membership tiers, starting from Member to Platinum Select. The more you stay at participating ITC properties, the higher your membership tier, and the more benefits you enjoy.

Apart from booking stays, the Green Points can be used to pay for meals and other permissible activities during stays at participating ITC properties.

Where are you vacationing this holiday season?

As an Axis Bank credit cardholder, you can choose from 20 airline and hotel partners to transfer reward points. The partner points can further be used to book flights and/or hotels. When you have sufficient credit card reward points, they can take care of your 3 main vacation expenses: flights, hotel stays, and meals. Thus, with optimal use, credit card reward points can sponsor your next vacation.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.

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