Axis Bank recently launched a new entry-level credit card called Axis ACE Credit Card. This card is backed by Google Pay and runs on VISA network. Here is everything you need to know about this card.
Features and Benefits
5% Cashback on Bill payments (electricity, internet, gas and more), DTH and mobile recharges through Google Pay)
5% Cashback on BigBasket and Grofers (till 31st Dec 2020)
4% Cashback on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola
2% Cashback on all other spends (except fuel, emi, wallet loads)
1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs 400 — Rs 4000 up to Rs 500
4 complimentary lounge access per year. Since this is an entry level card, it offers a smaller set of lounges across India.
Fees
Joining Fee: Rs.499 + GST (reversed upon spends of Rs. 10,000 within 45 days). Waived off for applications received till 31st December 2020.
Renewal Fee: Rs.499 + GST (waived off on annual spends greater than Rs. 2,00,000)
How to get the card
It was launched on Google Pay exclusively and later became available to all. I applied through website and got a callback the very next day. Executive came home to collect documents and completed the process on his tab. However, my application was not approved and despite reaching out to the bank, they were not being transparent about the reason. I had to check with the ground team to know that there was some phone verification issue. However, he suggested me to reapply, so I did. I didn’t get the verification call this time, but my application was approved. And card was delivered within 10days. Whatever would be the reason, axis could have been more transparent about the process.
Verdict
With 2–5% reward rate, this exceeds not just all of other entry level cards, but many premium cards as well. 5% rewards on bill payments is also a big plus. Though you get similar benefits while paying through different channels, those comes with certain limits. Other rewards like zomato, swiggy are not much beneficial because there are often better offers available. The best part is, it comes as direct cashback, with no capping.
About the joining fee, unlike many entry level cards this charges you an annual fee, similar to Flipkart-Axis card. However, I think the fee is justified in a sense that it comes with a default reward rate of 2%. That means with just the spend of Rs 30,000 you will be able to recover the cost (Rs 589 after GST). So even if your spends are low, you will be able to make most of this card. Before this card, Flipkart-Axis card used to be the best card, which is still a good option for Flipkart loyal users. Joining fee reversal at Rs 2L, however, is on higher side for an entry level card.
In my opinion, if you are looking for an entry level card for general spends, this is the best card today.
Category: Entry Level
Category Rating: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
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