RBL World Safari vs Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

If you are someone who regularly travels to domestic as well as foreign locations, then a travel credit card can be really beneficial to you. Axis Bank offers a sub-premium card the Atlas that comes at a joining fee of Rs. 5000 plus taxes. It is not co-branded with any partner airline and offers Airmiles as rewards to the cardholder. You earn Edge Miles for your spends and you can redeem them against flight/hotel bookings at the Travel Edge portal. Moreover, you get higher rewards on foreign spends, complimentary lounge access, concierge services, and more as well.

Another travel credit card in the mid-range category is the RBL World Safari credit card that comes with a Rs. 3000 joining fee and primarily targets millennials. You get welcome gift vouchers with the card from MakeMyTrip, and can earn Travel Points for the spends made by you. You even get access to airport lounges, golf rounds, and bonus Travel Points on achieving target spends. The best part about this card is that it does not charge forex markup fee on foreign currency spends.

Keep reading our article to know more about both the cards, what they offer, their fees and charges, and how they compare against each other.

Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

The Axis Bank Atlas is a mid-range travel card that is not co-branded with any airline and it offers Edge Miles to the cardholder that can be redeemed for partner airlines miles and other hotel/flight bookings. The joining fee on the card is Rs. 5000 plus taxes and it offers various other travel perks that include airport lounge access, concierge services, accelerated rewards on foreign currency spends, etc.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits offered by the credit card –

Welcome Benefit

On successfully making 1 transaction within 1 month of card issuance, you earn 5000 Edge Miles as a welcome benefit.

Credit Card Tiers

There are three tiers on the Atlas credit card – Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The higher your tier, the more Edge Miles are earned by you upon renewing the card annually.

Annual Benefit

On paying the card renewal fee, you get bonus Edge Miles on your card. It depends on the tier you are in –

• Silver – 2500 Edge Miles
• Gold – 5000 Edge Miles
• Platinum – 10,000 Edge Miles

Milestone Benefit

Other than earning bonus Edge Miles every year on renewing the card membership, you also earn bonus Edge Miles on reaching the target spend milestone in the card anniversary year.

• 3 Lakhs – 2500 Edge Miles
• 7.5 Lakhs – 5000 Edge Miles
• 15 Lakhs – 10,000 Edge Miles

Reward Rate

• Earn 5 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 spent on hotel/flight bookings via the Travel Edge portal
• Earn 2 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 spent on other transactions with the card

Reward Redemption

• Edge Miles can be used to book hotel or flight tickets through the Travel Edge portal
• Edge Miles can be transferred to partner airline or hotel points at the fixed conversion rate

Travel Benefits

You get access to domestic and international airport lounge access with the card, and the number of complimentary visits depend on your card tier.

• Silver – 8 domestic and 4 international lounge access
• Gold – 12 domestic and 6 international lounge access
• Platinum – 18 domestic and 12 international lounge access

Also, the Platinum tier cardholders get 2 complimentary airport pickup services per year.

Dining Benefit

You can get an exclusive 25% off up to maximum Rs. 800 at partner restaurants through the EazyDiner program.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Get 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs. 400 and Rs. 4000, with maximum benefit capped at Rs. 400 per month.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The card has a joining and annual fee of Rs. 5000 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 3.6% per month
• The forex markup fee on the card is 3.5% of the transaction amount
• The cash advance fee on the card is 2.5% of the amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher

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RBL Bank World Safari Credit Card

Another mid-range travel card in the market is the RBL Bank World Safari credit card that charges a joining fee of Rs. 3000 plus taxes. The card is for millennials and offers welcome benefits that are worth the joining fee of the card. This card offers rewards in the form of Travel Points for your spends that can be redeemed against flight/hotel bookings or other travel spends. One of the best features of this card is that it does not charge a forex markup fee that can be really beneficial if you regularly make cards spends in foreign currency.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits associated with the credit card –

Welcome Benefit

You get MakeMyTrip travel vouchers worth Rs. 3000 as a welcome benefit with the card.

Milestone Benefit

The following are the milestone benefits with the card –

• Bonus 10,000 Travel Points on spends of Rs. 2.5 Lakhs or more in the year
• Bonus 15,000 Travel Points on spends of Rs. 5 Lakhs in the year
• 10,000 worth gift vouchers from Taj, Amazon, MakeMyTrip, or Myntra on spends of Rs. 7.5 Lakhs or more in the year

Reward Rate

• Earn 2 Travel Points per Rs. 100 spent with the card
• Earn 5 Travel Points per Rs. 100 spent on travel

Travel Benefit

• Get 2 complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter, and 2 international lounge access per year with the Priority Pass
• Get an extra complimentary lounge access on spending Rs. 50,000 or above in a quarter

Golf Benefits

• Get 4 complimentary golf games per year and 4 complimentary golf lessons, max 1 per month
• After the complimentary rounds, get 50% off on green fees

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Get 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends across the country, on spends between Rs. 500 to Rs. 4000, maximum benefit capped at Rs. 250 per month.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The joining and renewal fee on the card is Rs. 3000 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 3.99% per month
• The forex markup fee on the card is zero. You don’t have to pay extra for making foreign spends with the card
• The cash advance fee on the card is 2.5% of the amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher

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RBL World Safari vs Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card – Quick Comparison

The following table features a side-by-side comparison of both the cards –

Conclusion

Both the Axis Bank Atlas and the RBL World Safari credit cards are great for you if you are a regular traveller. Both the cards have various travel perks and benefits that will allow you to have a relaxing and comfortable travel experience. The Atlas credit card charges Rs. 5000 as joining fee and offers Edge Miles that can be converted to airmiles. It also offers dining discounts and complimentary domestic and international lounge access.

On the other hand, the RBL World Safari credit card comes with a Rs. 3000 joining fee and offers welcome benefit vouchers of the exact same value. The reward rate is similar to the Atlas card, but you even complimentary golf rounds with the card. The card offers airport lounge access and several travel-related insurance benefits as well. The best part is the zero forex markup fee on the card which is great for regular foreign travellers.

We recommend you to go for the RBL Bank World Safari credit card as it has a lower joining fee and yet offers almost same, even some better, features than the Atlas credit card. The zero forex markup fee is what puts the card above the other one. Share your thoughts in the comments section.