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Axis Bank

Axis Bank ACE Credit Card

4.5Best for bill payments

Lounge accessVerifying

Joining fee incl. GST: ₹589
Renewal fee incl. GST: ₹589
Conditional welcome value: —
Forex markup: 3.5%
Interest p.a.: 55.55%
Min income (salaried): —

Read our editorial review. The verdict, the working behind the numbers, and who should skip it.Read the review ↓

How this card earns

Reward rates with their qualifying conditions and caps. Use the calculator for a combined estimate.

What still needs confirmation

Engine uses monthly aggregates; issuer rounds each transaction to the nearest rupee and credits on a later cycle.

Spend category	Reward rate	Reward limit
Utilities & bills Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 5% cashback on utility bill payments and recharges made via Google Pay. Combined Rs.500/statement-cycle cap shared with the 4% dining/cab category. Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: ₹500 cashback per cycle ÷ 5% = ₹10,000 of spend, shared with the 4% dining/cab category.	5%	₹500 shared reward / monthThen 0% on eligible excess
Dining Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 4% cashback on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola. Combined Rs.500/statement-cycle cap shared with the 5% utility-bills category (cap not per-category). Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: ₹500 cashback per cycle ÷ 4% = ₹12,500 of spend, shared with the 5% utilities category.	4%	₹500 shared reward / monthThen 0% on eligible excess
Travel Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below Ola website/app purchases share the ₹500 statement cap with Swiggy, Zomato and qualifying Google Pay bills.	4%	₹500 shared reward / monthThen 0% on eligible excess
Other eligible purchases 1.5% cashback on all other eligible spends, uncapped. From 28 August 2026 gift card purchases sit in their own spend category and earn no cashback, and bridge fees, road fees and tolls earn no cashback either.	1.5%	No category cap

Excluded from ordinary earning: Fuel, Rent, Insurance, Education, Utilities & bills. Specific qualifying offers, if any, are listed above.

Rates apply only to the merchants and conditions described. Shared ceilings cannot be added across rows. Points and vouchers are valued at the stated redemption assumption; use the spending calculator for a combined estimate.

Fees & charges

Joining fee₹499

Annual fee₹499

Annual fee waiverRenewal fee waived only when eligible annual spending exceeds ₹2 lakh; rent and wallet loads excluded.

Foreign currency markup3.5%

Finance charge (p.a.)55.55%

Fuel surcharge waiver1%, up to ₹500/mo

Key benefits

Airport lounge access — 1/quarter domestic (4 complimentary lounge visits per calendar year at select domestic airports; Axis Bank's ACE product page publishes no prior-quarter spend condition for them)
5% cashback on bill payments and recharges via Google Pay (combined Rs.500/cycle cap with 4% category)
4% cashback on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola (combined Rs.500/cycle cap)
1.5% cashback on other eligible purchases (uncapped)
Annual fee reversal on Rs.2,00,000 annual spends
1% fuel surcharge waiver (Rs.400-Rs.4,000 txns)
Dining discounts via Axis Bank Dining Delights
Axis Bank's Key Fact Sheet dated 18 August 2026 lists the joining fee as nil, described there as a limited-time offer with no published end date; the ₹499 annual fee and its ₹2,00,000 spend waiver are unchanged

What we like

+High 5% cashback on utility bills via Google Pay
+Low annual fee with achievable spend waiver
+1.5% uncapped cashback on other eligible purchases

What to watch

−5%/4% cashback capped at Rs.500 combined per statement cycle
−5% requires routing bills through Google Pay
−High finance charge (3.75%/month)

Our full review

ACE can suit ordinary eligible purchases and Android users who pay eligible bills through Google Pay. Its 5% and 4% categories share one ₹500 monthly ceiling; those rates cannot be added as independent allowances.

Reviewed by Thompson Cherian · how we rate cards · all card reviews

Who this is for, and who should skip it

Someone who pays in full, wants statement cashback and can use the qualifying payment channels. Skip it if most of your spending is rent, insurance or other excluded payments, or you expect 5% on all utility payments.

What the issuer terms say

Axis’s ACE terms specify 5% on eligible Google Pay bill payments on Android, 4% on eligible Swiggy, Zomato and Ola purchases, and 1.5% on other eligible purchases. The 5% and 4% categories together stop at ₹500 cashback per statement cycle. For example, ₹8,000 of qualifying bills and ₹5,000 of qualifying delivery orders would produce ₹600 before the cap, but only ₹500 is credited for those categories.

What it earns you — the maths

These are total monthly budgets, not necessarily amounts charged entirely to this card. They repeat for a full year, with card bills paid in full. UPI is separate from the other categories; a non-RuPay card earns nothing on that part. No specific shopping app, bill-payment channel or travel portal is assumed. Select those in the calculator if you use them. Annual reward value is expressed in rupees, not in points.

Profile	Monthly budget	Annual reward value (₹)	First-year net value	Renewal-year net value
Everyday spender	₹35,000	₹3,960	₹3,371.18	₹3,960
Online-first shopper	₹55,000	₹7,560	₹6,971.18	₹7,560
Frequent traveller	₹1,10,000	₹14,220	₹13,631.18	₹14,220

Reading the table: a negative net value is a cost. First year = rewards + eligible first-year milestones − joining fee including GST. Renewal year = rewards + eligible annual milestones − renewal fee including GST, with a modelled spend waiver where earned. Welcome offers are excluded until their conditions are confirmed. Milestone vouchers are assumed usable at face value; reduce their value if you would not use them.

Everyday spender, renewal year: ₹3,960 reward value + ₹0 milestones − ₹0 fee (spend waiver met) = ₹3,960.
Online-first shopper, renewal year: ₹7,560 reward value + ₹0 milestones − ₹0 fee (spend waiver met) = ₹7,560.
Frequent traveller, renewal year: ₹14,220 reward value + ₹0 milestones − ₹0 fee (spend waiver met) = ₹14,220.

The monthly splits, in the order groceries / online shopping / dining / fuel / travel / bills / UPI, are:

Everyday spender: ₹9,000 / ₹7,000 / ₹4,000 / ₹3,000 / ₹2,000 / ₹4,000 / ₹6,000.
Online-first shopper: ₹8,000 / ₹22,000 / ₹8,000 / ₹3,000 / ₹4,000 / ₹5,000 / ₹5,000.
Frequent traveller: ₹12,000 / ₹15,000 / ₹12,000 / ₹6,000 / ₹40,000 / ₹8,000 / ₹17,000.

Points are converted at the comparison values, which can differ from cash redemption. These estimates exclude redemption fees, transaction rounding, refunds, financing costs and benefits such as lounges or insurance. Merchant exclusions and transaction timing can change the result.

The fee and renewal decision

The standard joining fee is ₹499 + GST = ₹588.82. The standard renewal fee is ₹499 + GST = ₹588.82. Renewal fee waived only when eligible annual spending exceeds ₹2 lakh; rent and wallet loads excluded. A welcome voucher is a restricted benefit, not an automatic refund of the fee or GST. Compare the first-year cost separately from the cost of renewal. Check your own offer if it says lifetime free or first year free.

The important conditions

A utility payment outside the qualifying Google Pay flow does not earn 5%, and excluded utilities do not fall back to 1.5%. Do not confuse Google Pay bill payment with ordinary UPI payments to merchants. Read the shared cap before comparing headline rates.

Alternatives

Amazon Pay ICICI avoids an annual fee and rewards eligible Amazon shopping. SBI Cashback is another option for eligible online purchases.

How we verified this

This is a desk review of issuer material, not a claim of first-hand card ownership. We have removed unsupported generalisations about what other holders report. This review was corrected on 10 September 2026 for the claims discussed above. A review update is not certification of every benefit or future offer. Unresolved calculation coverage is labelled in the examples. Use the issuer’s dated notice or your specific offer where it differs from a general product page.

The linked issuer material above supports the key earning or eligibility claims. The card’s full details and source list include its other published terms. Our methodology separates editorial opinions from calculated estimates. No customer-review average is claimed.

That is our full read on the Axis Bank ACE Credit Card. The terms are Axis Bank's to change — check the current ones on their page before you apply.

Apply on Axis Bank →

If you apply through our link, we may earn a commission from the issuer at no extra cost to you. It never affects our ratings — how we make money.

Frequently asked

Does reaching the shared cap turn the same purchases into 1.5% cashback?

No fallback cashback is assumed on the capped accelerated categories. The ordinary 1.5% rate applies to other eligible purchases.

Do these examples include GST and welcome benefits?

Standard joining and renewal fees include 18% GST in the calculations. First year deducts the joining fee once; renewal year deducts the renewal fee after a modelled spend waiver. Unconfirmed welcome offers are excluded.

Are reward values the same as cash in my bank account?

Not necessarily. Statement cashback, Amazon Pay balance, points, miles and vouchers have different redemption rules. Use the value of the redemption you will actually make, and subtract its charges.

Can I rely on the example to predict my exact statement?

No. It is a monthly estimate with stated assumptions, not a transaction-by-transaction simulation. Merchant codes, caps, excluded payments, refunds, statement dates and rounding can change the result. Use the calculator with your own spending and confirm the issuer’s current terms before applying or renewing.

Eligibility

Age 18–70

Salaried income shown is approximate monthly; Axis states 'steady income and good credit score' rather than a fixed published minimum.

Check Axis Bank's current criteria and the source notes. Meeting a published minimum is not approval — the issuer decides every application on its own criteria, including your credit history. How we source this

Verification

Record last checked 2026-09-10 — being re-checked against the issuer's latest pages.

This date does not certify every article or calculation. Read the specific product terms below.

Head-to-head

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Axis Bank ACE Credit Card head-to-head

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Axis Bank ACE Credit Card vs HDFC Millennia Credit Card

The ₹1,000-class everyday cashback decision is a ceiling: Millennia's 5% is capped at ₹20,000 of partner-brand spend a month, while ACE pays 1.5% on everything with no cap — so a month concentrated at the ten brands goes to Millennia, and a broad one goes to ACE.

All head-to-head matchups →