Axis Bank Makes Major Changes to Its Transfer Partners

New and returning transfer partners  

Accor is back

Accor has returned to the Axis Bank transfer partner list and is now in Group A.

But the conversion rates have changed significantly for some cards. For example, Atlas previously offered a 1:2 conversion, where 1 EDGE Mile could be converted into 2 Accor points. The new rate is 2:1, meaning 2 EDGE Miles now convert to 1 Accor point.

So, if you had 1,00,000 EDGE Miles on Atlas:

Earlier: 1,00,000 EDGE Miles → 2,00,000 Accor points
Now: 1,00,000 EDGE Miles → 50,000 Accor points

That is a 75% reduction in the number of Accor points received for the same 1,00,000 EDGE Miles.

The conversion rate varies by card, with the current rates shown in the table below.

Three new additions

Axis has also added three new loyalty programmes to its transfer partner list:

• Cathay (Asia Miles) – Group A

• Lufthansa (Miles & More) – Group B

• Hilton Honors – Group B

For example, 5:4 means 5 EDGE Rewards convert to 4 partner points, while 1:2 means 1 EDGE Mile converts to 2 partner miles.

How the Miles & More limit works

There are two limits to keep in mind when transferring to Miles & More. Axis allows a maximum of 2,00,000 Miles & More miles to be transferred in a calendar year. At the same time, your card's existing Group B annual transfer limit continues to apply.

So, how much Axis reward currency you can actually transfer depends on your card's conversion ratio.

For example, a Select card has a 10:1 conversion rate, while an Olympus card has a 1:4 conversion rate:

With Select, you would need 20 lakh EDGE Rewards to reach the 2 lakh Miles & More limit. But the card's Group B limit is only 4 lakh EDGE Rewards. So, the Axis limit kicks in first, and 4 lakh EDGE Rewards can transfer to just 40,000 Miles & More miles at the 10:1 ratio.

With Olympus, the situation is different. At a 1:4 ratio, just 50,000 EDGE Miles are enough to reach the 2 lakh Miles & More limit. The Olympus Group B limit is 6 lakh EDGE Miles, so the Miles & More limit is reached first. The remaining 5.5 lakh EDGE Miles can still be used for other Group B partners.

From a points-utilisation perspective, reaching the 2 lakh Miles & More limit before the Axis Group B limit can be more useful. It means you use your full Miles & More allowance while keeping the remaining Group B transfer limit available for other partners. Reaching the Axis Group B limit first means using up more of that annual allowance to transfer fewer Miles & More miles, which may make sense when Miles & More is the preferred or only suitable option.

The minimum transfer is 3,000 Miles & More miles per transaction. The Axis reward currency needed for this minimum depends on the card's conversion rate. For example, a 10:1 card would require 30,000 EDGE Rewards, while a 1:4 card would require 750 EDGE Miles.

Three partners move to Group A 

Axis has moved Air France-KLM (Flying Blue), Air India and Qantas Frequent Flyer from Group B to Group A.

This reduces the annual transfer limit for these partners by 75%, as Group A has only one-fourth the limit of Group B. For example, the limit for Atlas falls from 1,20,000 to 30,000 EDGE Miles. This is a shared Group A limit, so transfers to Air India, Flying Blue, Qantas and other Group A partners all count towards the same 30,000 EDGE Miles pool.

ITC Hotels is out 

ITC Hotels is no longer an Axis transfer partner.

This means EDGE Rewards and EDGE Miles can no longer be transferred to the ITC Hotels loyalty programme through Axis.

Burgundy Private stays unchanged

Burgundy Private cardholders continue to get a 5:4 conversion across all transfer partners for EDGE Rewards, including Accor. The latest changes do not affect this conversion rate.

Before transferring, it’s worth checking the exact conversion rate and annual transfer limit for your card. SaveSage can help you keep track of your cards, rewards and transfer options in one place, so you can see the relevant details before moving your points.