IndusInd Legend card
#44

IndusInd Legend

Keep

The lounge card whose lounges left in March 2025 — now a weekend-doubler and little else.

IndusInd Bank·Visa·premium
Visa
0.8%
Effective reward rate
₹5,000 + GST
Joining fee (one-time)
None
Fee waiver

Legend redeems IndusInd points below the ₹0.80 house value: non-cash redemptions (vouchers, flights via IndusMoments) pay ₹0.75/RP, cash credit pays ₹0.50 (cut from ₹0.75 on 1-Mar-2024, capped 5,000 points a month with a ₹149 fee), and airmile transfers — Maharaja Club and KrisFlyer alike — run at 4:1, a ₹0.25 decoy. The 1:1 Maharaja route that sets the house value is Tiger-only.

What it's worth to you — net annual value

₹12,000
at ₹1L/month
₹31,200
at ₹3L/month
₹50,400
at ₹5L/month

Welcome: None — ₹5,000 one-time joining fee, no annual renewal fee (frequently issued lifetime-free to existing customers)

How these numbers are computed →

Spend tiers, milestones and fee waivers included, at our house ₹/point. Portal and category multipliers can push higher — run your exact number →

The take

Legend was IndusInd's workhorse premium Visa: a one-time ₹5,000 to join, no renewal fee, often handed out lifetime-free, with complimentary airport lounge access as the headline. That headline is gone — effective 7 March 2025 the complimentary lounge benefit was discontinued outright, and Priority Pass now survives only "on request" with every visit charged at US$35. What remains is a modest earner: 1 reward point per ₹100 on weekdays and 2 on weekends, worth ₹0.75 against vouchers, ₹0.50 as cash (since March 2024), or a decoy 4:1 into Maharaja and KrisFlyer, plus a 3,000-point nudge at ₹5L spend in year one. With no recurring fee it's harmless to keep in a drawer for the weekend double and its low 1.8% forex, but as a card you actively use it's been reduced to a shadow. Don't pay to acquire one for the lounges — there aren't any anymore.

What's good

  • 2 RP/₹100 on weekends (≈1.5%), 1 RP/₹100 on weekdays
  • One-time ₹5,000 joining fee, no annual renewal fee — often issued lifetime-free
  • Low 1.8% forex markup — among the better rates on an IndusInd card
  • 3,000 bonus Reward Points at ₹5L spend in the first card year

Watch out

  • Complimentary lounge access discontinued 7 Mar 2025 — Priority Pass is now paid (US$35/visit)
  • 0.75% on weekdays; the only real lift is the weekend double
  • Cash redemption ₹0.50/RP, capped 5,000 points/month with a ₹149 fee; airmiles — Maharaja and KrisFlyer — at 4:1 (₹0.25) are decoys
  • 1% fee on utilities >₹25k, wallet loads >₹20k and fuel >₹30k per statement cycle

What earns, what doesn't

Fuel excluded — Zero RP; 1% surcharge waiver; 1% fee on fuel >₹30k/cycle (MITC)
Rent & property management excluded — No RP on rent (community/flag); 1% third-party-rent fee per txn (MITC)
Government / tax excluded — No RP (community/flag)
Utilities (electricity/water/gas) reduced — Base 1 RP/₹100 (no weekend double); 1% fee >₹25k/cycle (MITC)
Insurance reduced — Base 1 RP/₹100 (community/flag)
Education full — Base earn (community/flag); 1% fee on third-party education >₹45k/cycle (MITC)
Wallet loads excluded — Wallet loads earn zero (community/flag); 1% fee >₹20k/cycle (MITC)
Groceries & supermarkets full — 1 RP/₹100 on weekdays, 2 RP/₹100 on weekends (official)
Telecom reduced — 1 RP/₹100 all week — telecom is NOT weekend-doubled (official)
Jewellery / gold full — No published earn restriction (flag)
Forex / international spends full — Base 1 RP/₹100; low 1.8% forex markup
UPI (RuPay-on-UPI only) not applicable — Visa Signature — no RuPay/UPI
EMI conversions / merchant EMI excluded — EMI conversions forfeit RP — community/flag
  • Fuel · excluded Zero RP; 1% surcharge waiver; 1% fee on fuel >₹30k/cycle (MITC)
  • Rent & property management · excluded No RP on rent (community/flag); 1% third-party-rent fee per txn (MITC)
  • Wallet loads · excluded Wallet loads earn zero (community/flag); 1% fee >₹20k/cycle (MITC)
  • Utilities (electricity/water/gas) · reduced Base 1 RP/₹100 (no weekend double); 1% fee >₹25k/cycle (MITC)

per IndusInd Bank T&C (community-sourced) · rank every card by spend category →

Where the miles go

Ratios read card points : partner miles — 2:1 means 2 points become 1 mile. Never the other way round.

Air India Maharaja Club
4:1 this card (std 1:1) 2–4 working days
Live 1-Jun-2026 — 1:1 on the lifetime-free Tiger (capped 25,000 points/month via IndusMoments); Pinnacle converts at 2:1 and Legend at a decoy 4:1. Domestic business and Star Alliance awards are the target.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
10:3 up to 15 working days
Tiger converts 10:3 (₹0.33/point at KrisFlyer's ₹1.10) — a decoy next to the 1:1 Maharaja route. Pinnacle's better 2:1 (₹0.55/point; CardInsider review — IndusInd's premium-tier page has claimed 1:1, verify before transferring) is the worthwhile variant; Platinum/Legend tiers convert at a punishing 4:1.

Lounge access

No lounge access. This card opens exactly 0 of 644 tracked lounge doors — board with the crowd, or find a card that doesn't →

Can you get it?

The cutoffs and the actual route in — not the "apply now" button, the door that opens.

Route Direct application
Income · salaried not published
Income · self-employed not published
Age band not published

Direct application — no invite list, no banking relationship required.

IndusInd Bank publishes no income or age cutoffs for this card. Blank means blank — we don't invent numbers to fill a grid.

per the official IndusInd Bank MITC — figures marked (community) aren't in the PDF; the issuer won't say · filter the ranking by what you can get →

The fine print

What the MITC actually says — the rates, fees and cutoffs the brochure skips.

Forex markup 1.8% + GST
APR 3.95%/mo (47.40%/yr) — Legend sits in the Platinum interest tier, not Pinnacle's 3.83%
Late fee Nil ≤₹100; ₹100 (₹101–500); ₹500 (₹501–1,000); ₹600 (₹1,001–5,000); ₹750 (₹5,001–10,000); ₹900 (₹10,001–25,000); ₹1,100 (₹25,001–50,000); ₹1,300 (>₹50,000) — eff 15-Jun-2026
Cash advance 2.5% of the advance, min ₹300
Add-on card Nil
Overlimit 2.5% of over-limit amount, min ₹500
Redemption fee ₹149 for cash redemption (w.e.f 1-Apr-2025); ₹100 for all other redemption categories

Joining ₹5,000, NO annual renewal fee (frequently issued lifetime-free to existing customers). Complimentary lounge access DISCONTINUED 7-Mar-2025; Priority Pass available only on request with every visit billed US$35. 1% fee on utilities >₹25k, wallet loads >₹20k, fuel >₹30k per cycle and 1% on third-party rent per txn. Income/age not published.

per the official IndusInd Bank MITC · reviewed 10 Jul 2026

What's changed for this card

Full tracker →

Devaluations and buffs that touch this card directly, its issuer, or the points and programs it earns and transfers to.

  • 1 Jun 2026
    Partner moderate Air India
    AU, YES and IndusInd points open transfers to Maharaja Club
    AU/YES/IndusInd points locked in closed loops Maharaja routes: IndusInd Tiger 1:1 (Pinnacle 2:1, Legend 4:1); AU Zenith+ 3:2, other AU cards 6:1; YES Marquee/Reserv 15:1

    Three banks joined Air India's transfer roster at once — and the ratios are the whole story. The lifetime-free IndusInd Tiger gets the only honest 1:1 (capped 25k/month); AU Zenith+ lands a genuinely good 3:2 that triples what AU points were worth; everything else — Pinnacle 2:1, Legend 4:1, the AU 6:1 crowd, YES at a punitive 15:1 — is a decoy dressed as a partnership.

  • 1 Apr 2026
    Buff moderate Air India
    Maharaja Club gets cheaper awards and faster crediting
    Higher award costs; slow points crediting Domestic awards from 1,500 pts; credited within 2 hours

    A rare buff. Air India's post-merger programme drops domestic award flights to 1,500 points, cabin upgrades to 4,000, credits Star Alliance miles within two hours, and eases Platinum to 60 flights. The transfer target Indian card geeks care about actually got better.

  • 28 Mar 2026
    Devaluation moderate Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
    KrisFlyer quietly cuts its own dynamic 'Access' award rates
    Access dynamic awards priced as launched in Nov 2025 Access rates cut up to 10.9% (economy/PE), 3.9% (J/F)

    Barely five months after introducing dynamic 'Access' award pricing alongside a broader Saver-chart devaluation, KrisFlyer moved the goalposts again on 28 March 2026 — this time devaluing the dynamic tier itself by up to 10.9% in economy and premium economy. For Indian cardholders funnelling HDFC Infinia, Axis Atlas or ICICI points into KrisFlyer, this is the second haircut in under half a year on the same currency, and it came with the usual zero warning.

  • 10 Jan 2026
    Lounge moderate SBI Card
    SBI Card splits domestic lounges into tiers, adds entry fees
    Uniform domestic lounge list, free swipe-in access Set A/Set B lounge tiers by card, plus ₹2–25 entry charges

    From 10 January 2026, SBI Card sorts its domestic lounge network into a Set A (top cards like Club Vistara SBI Card, Apollo SELECT) and a broader Set B (PRIME, Pulse, Titan SBI Card and others) — and bolts on a non-refundable ₹2 authorization charge plus a ₹25 validation hold on every visit. It's marketed as an expansion since more airports are covered, but the fine print is a two-tier system with new friction at the gate, right after SBI had already pulled complimentary air accident insurance six months earlier.

  • 1 Nov 2025
    Devaluation major Singapore Airlines
    KrisFlyer devalues premium and Star Alliance awards
    Old saver/advantage rates Biz/First Saver +5%, Advantage +15%, Star Alliance +5–12%

    The single most important transfer target for Indian points — HDFC, Axis, Amex and HSBC all feed it — got pricier. Business and First saver awards rise 5% (Zone 10 up to 20%), Advantage awards jump 15%, and Star Alliance redemptions cost 5–12% more. The ₹2/mile sweet spots just got harder to reach.

  • 25 Mar 2025
    Fee moderate IndusInd Bank
    IndusInd hikes redemption fee to ₹149, caps cash-outs at 50%
    ₹100 + GST per redemption; full points balance redeemable as statement credit; fractional points on multiplier spends ₹149 + GST per redemption (Avios, Pioneer and EazyDiner cards exempt); cash redemption capped at 50% of balance; fractional accrual gone; points clawed back on unpaid dues

    IndusInd found four ways to shave the same rewards program at once: the redemption toll rose ₹100 to ₹149 + GST, cash redemptions now stop at half your points balance, fractional accrual on multiplier spends quietly ended, and points earned on a statement you don't pay get rescinded. Pinnacle and Legend holders take the full hit; the Avios card — where the points leave for BA and Qatar anyway — is pointedly exempt.

  • 7 Mar 2025
    Lounge major IndusInd Bank
    Legend loses lounge access entirely
    1 complimentary domestic lounge visit per quarter No complimentary lounge access at all

    A year after halving Legend's lounge visits, IndusInd came back and took the rest. From 7 March 2025 the card offers no complimentary lounge access, domestic or otherwise — on a product still marketed with a ₹5,000 joining fee. The lifetime-free Legend crowd shrugs; anyone who paid for this card on the strength of its airport perks got a two-step lesson in how IndusInd sunsets a benefit.

  • 1 Dec 2024
    Launch moderate HSBC
    HSBC TravelOne arrives — a 20-partner airmiles card
    No mainstream HSBC airmiles card in India ₹4,999 card, 4X travel/forex, 1:1 to Avios & KrisFlyer

    HSBC's serious play for Indian miles chasers: 4 points per ₹100 on flights, travel aggregators and forex, and instant 1:1 transfers to British Airways and Qatar Avios plus ~20 airline/hotel partners including KrisFlyer and Air India — all from the app. A genuine sub-₹5k alternative to Atlas. (Welcome-offer window opened 1 Dec 2024.)

Go deeper

Sources

Every fact on this page is checked against these documents — the issuer's own paperwork first. Spot something stale? The PDF wins, and we re-verify.

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