Synopsis: A high-quality credit card with travelling benefits and perks? Both the Axis Horizon and HDFC Regalia gold cards come with lounge membership, rewards and lifestyle, but which one really provides better value?
The Axis Horizon Credit Card and the HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card are two very popular mid-premium cards that are often aimed at the same group of users with the desire to receive travel and lifestyle benefits; their reward structures, lounge access policies, and milestone benefits are significantly different.
This is a comprehensive comparison that will enable you to appreciate the major differences and make an informed choice of the preferred card to use, depending on your spending and travelling habits.
1. Axis Horizon Credit Card
Axis Horizon credit card Axis Horizon is a mid-premium travel credit card, primarily aimed at consumers who have frequent travel activities and are more inclined on filling their airline miles rather than normal reward points or cashback.
The card is based on travel rewards and access to airport lounges and redemption of miles, which makes it an appealing option to individuals who are likely to spend on flights, hotels, and travel bookings.
Key Features & Benefits
- Joining Fee: ₹3,000 + GST
- Annual Fee: ₹3,000 + GST
- Forex Mark-up Fee: approximately 3.5% on foreign business.
- Cash Advance Charges: 2.5% of the amount withdrawn (Less than 500)
- Late Payments Concessions: According to the balance pending.
Rewards Structure
- 2 EDGE Miles for every 100 rupees of normal purchases.
- 5 EDGE Miles on travel bookings made with Axis Travel EDGE after spending 100 riyals.
- EDGE Miles can be used to redeem flight tickets, hotel reservations, or to be transferred to airline reward programs.
Welcome benefits, travel and lounge benefits
- 5,000 miles of EDGE Miles upon completion of the initial qualifying transaction.
- EDGE Miles 1,500 annually of card renewal.
- Up to 32 domestic airport lounges annually.
- Up to 8 International airport lounges annually
- No limit on the amount of money one needs to spend before they can enter the lounge.
Additional Benefits
- 1% Fuel surcharge waiver on qualifying transactions of fuel.
- Partner restaurant program-based offers on meals.
- Redemption and tracking of the Axis EDGE rewards platform.
The greatest benefit of the Axis Horizon Credit Card is its robust travel privileges, especially high lounge visits and the reward system, which is based on travel redemptions.
Also Read: Top 4 Credit Cards Offering Up to ₹10,000 Instant Cashback on Apple Products
2. HDFC Regalia Gold credit card
The HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card is a mid-premium credit card that comes with a combination of travel benefits, lifestyle benefits and milestone vouchers. Its target market is people who shop, eat, and travel frequently and seek a reward and access to the airport lounges.
Key Features & Charges
- Joining Fee: ₹2,500 + GST
- Annual Fee: ₹2,500 + GST
- Annual Fee Waiver: The cardholder will pay the annual fee in case he/she spends 4 lakh per annum.
Rewards Structure
- Receive 4 points of rewards for every 150 spent on the majority of retail purchases.
- Get 5X reward points on partner brands that include Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital, and Marks and Spencer.
- Redeem up to a maximum of 70% on travel bookings
- 50,000 is the maximum reward points that can be earned for a statement cycle of Regalia Gold
Travel Benefits
- 12 free domestic in-airport lounge visits annually.
- 6 international lounge visits a year with the help of Priority Pass membership.
Welcome Benefits
- By spends of ₹1 lakh in 90 days, you will get free memberships such as MMT Black Gold membership and Swiggy One membership.
Milestone Benefits
- 1500 vouchers of Myntra/Nykaa each quarter with an expenditure of ₹1.5 lakh
- ₹5000 worth flight vouchers on spends of ₹5 lakhs and ₹7.5 lakh.
Rewards points
- 1 Reward point is equivalent to:
- ₹0.65 exclusive gold catalogue
- ₹0.5 for flights and hotel bookings
- 0.5 air miles conversion
- Up to ₹0.20 statement balance
Other Benefits
- Also covers insurance of ₹1 crore under accidental air death and ₹15 lakhs under emergency hospitalisation overseas.
- Smartbuy also offers dining privileges, upto 10% discount on partner restaurants on Swiggy Dineout.
- Upto 10X on brands like Pharmeasy, Myntra, Apple image, Jockey and more
- Up to 5X reward points on flights, hotels, vouchers, etc
The HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card is popular due to its milestone rewards and lifestyle partners, hence it is appropriate among users who use it regularly to shop, dine and travel together with other bonus rewards.
Conclusion
The Axis Horizon and the HDFC Regalia Gold credit cards have powerful advantages in the mid-premium markets but serve somewhat different clients. The Axis Horizon card is more appropriate for frequent travellers because it has more lounge access and travel-oriented benefits.
whereas the Regalia Gold card is unique with milestone benefits and everyday spending rewards. The decision to use the correct card will all come down to either your spending habits or the importance you place on either the travel perks or the spending-based rewards.
Written by Boyapati Sai Jasmitha
