Equitas PowerMiles vs AU Vetta (2026)
AU Vetta vs Equitas PowerMiles: which wins?
₹70,200ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Equitas PowerMiles
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
Small-finance banks discover travel — Equitas promises 1:1 airline transfers from Sep-2026; AU's Vetta already has a Maharaja route today. A promise vs a pipe.
AU Vetta wins under ₹0.5L/month; Equitas PowerMiles takes over above it.
Every metric, row by row — 10 compared
Head to head
| Equitas PowerMiles | Metric | AU Vetta |
|---|---|---|
| #48 — wins this row | Our rank | #128 |
| ₹5,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹2,999/yr — wins this row |
| ₹4,80,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹1,50,000 spend |
| 2% — wins this row | Forex markup | 2.99% + GST — the highest of AU's travel cards |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) — AU retail-card standard |
| 1.5% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 0.5% |
| Equitas PowerMiles Points | Currency | AU Reward Points |
| ₹0.50/pt | House value | ₹0.25/pt |
| Club Marriott + EazyDiner memberships (claim within 90 days of issuance); the ₹5,000 first-year fee handed back as cashback on ₹1.2L of spend in 90 days | Welcome benefit | None — the first-year fee waiver at ₹40k spend in 90 days is the whole hello |
| 718 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 717 of 793 |
Neither issuer publishes an income floor for these two, and the door is the same on both sides: Equitas PowerMiles and AU Vetta are both open to a direct application. How people actually get Equitas PowerMiles is on its card page.
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
The ₹ face-off at ₹1L/₹3L/₹5L a month
Ranking-value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. This is the ranking model, the one that orders the board; each card page prints the earn-rate-only net annual value instead, which reads lower for any card with an accelerator (both models, side by side). Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
AU Vetta wins under ₹0.5L/month; Equitas PowerMiles takes over above it.
Where the lead changes hands — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
Where the lead changes hands
The lead changes hands at ₹0.5L a month: AU Vetta is ahead by ₹1,875 at ₹0.25L, Equitas PowerMiles by ₹80,000 at ₹5L.
AU Vetta pays one annual spend milestone, at ₹2,50,000 a year, and Equitas PowerMiles pays none.
Equitas PowerMiles draws above the line, AU Vetta below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | Equitas PowerMiles | AU Vetta | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹850 | ₹2,725 | AU Vetta by ₹1,875 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹11,700 | ₹5,950 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹5,750 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹17,550 | ₹7,675 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹9,875 |
| ₹1L | ₹23,400 | ₹9,400 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹14,000 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹29,250 | ₹11,125 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹18,125 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹35,100 | ₹12,850 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹22,250 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹40,950 | ₹14,575 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹26,375 |
| ₹2L | ₹46,800 | ₹16,300 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹30,500 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹52,650 | ₹18,025 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹34,625 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹58,500 | ₹19,750 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹38,750 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹64,350 | ₹21,475 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹42,875 |
| ₹3L | ₹70,200 | ₹23,200 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹47,000 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹76,050 | ₹24,925 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹51,125 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹81,900 | ₹26,650 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹55,250 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹87,750 | ₹28,375 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹59,375 |
| ₹4L | ₹93,600 | ₹30,100 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹63,500 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹99,450 | ₹31,825 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹67,625 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,05,300 | ₹33,550 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹71,750 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,11,150 | ₹35,275 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹75,875 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,17,000 | ₹37,000 | Equitas PowerMiles by ₹80,000 |
Transfer reach — 0 vs 0 live routes
Transfer reach
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for — 6 points
What to watch out for
Equitas PowerMiles · 5 more →
- The 1:1 airline transfer program is NOT live until Sep 2026 — until then points cap at ₹0.50 on travel
- GST on the ₹5,000 is never reversed — not when year one is refunded, not when a renewal is waived
- ₹99 per redemption request, and a 500-point minimum — small redemptions are eaten alive
AU Vetta · 1 more →
- 2.99% forex — steep for a card sold on travel; take a zero-forex card abroad instead
- 0.5% base earn at AU's honest ₹0.25 point; only a decoy 6:1 Maharaja transfer (worse than catalogue), 24-month expiry
- Domestic lounge needs ₹50k of spend the previous quarter; only 4 international a year
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, Equitas PowerMiles nets ₹23,400 against ₹9,400 — a ₹14,000 gap. At ₹5L/month, Equitas PowerMiles nets ₹1,17,000 against ₹37,000 — a ₹80,000 gap. Lounge chasers: Equitas PowerMiles opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to AU Vetta's 717.
Our standing verdicts: Equitas PowerMiles — Keep; AU Vetta — Cancel. Equitas PowerMiles takes 7 of the 8 rounds we can score — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, Equitas PowerMiles or AU Vetta?
Equitas PowerMiles. Equitas PowerMiles takes 7 of the 8 rounds we can score. AU Vetta wins under ₹0.5L/month; Equitas PowerMiles takes over above it.
Equitas PowerMiles or AU Vetta — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Equitas PowerMiles nets ₹70,200 against ₹23,200 — a ₹47,000 gap. Those are ranking-value figures: everyday spend at the card's base rate plus a realistic slice at its best accelerator, net of the fee.
Which costs less to hold, Equitas PowerMiles or AU Vetta?
AU Vetta — ₹2,999/yr against ₹5,000/yr. Equitas PowerMiles waives its fee at ₹4,80,000 of spend; AU Vetta at ₹1,50,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, Equitas PowerMiles or AU Vetta?
Lounge chasers: Equitas PowerMiles opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to AU Vetta's 717. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Card records last re-verified against their issuers' own documents: Equitas PowerMiles on 2026-08-17, AU Vetta on 2026-08-01. Every figure on this page — the ranking values, the fee rows, the lounge counts, the transfer ratios — is recomputed from those records each time the site builds, so a devaluation changes the call the day we log it.
Verified against Equitas Small Finance Bank and AU Small Finance Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 17 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page + FAQs — metal card, 3 RP/₹100 base + 3x international, 2% forex on all overseas spend, ₹99 per redemption request, and the button that names the international lounge programme
- official PowerMiles Terms & Conditions, 31 July 2026 — the card's own rulebook
- official The domestic lounge list Equitas serves its cardholders — 67 rooms, and it is Visa's own "Domestic Lounge Programme" document
- official MITC for Credit Cards v1.3 — the fee table at the issuer: PowerMiles ₹5,000, forex markup 2%, finance charges 3.75%/mo (45%/yr)
- official Club Xplorer Privilege Program — the bank-wide spend ladder that covers Tiga, Selfe AND PowerMiles: five tiers
- official Key Fact Statement — independent confirmation of the same PowerMiles fee table (₹5,000 joining / ₹5,000 annual), 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) finance charge, ₹3,500 metal add-on
- community CardInsider — ₹5,000 + GST a year, 3 RP/₹100, ₹0.50 travel / ₹0.25 cashback point value, transfers still "from September 2026"
- community Paisabazaar — ₹5,000 fee (reversed on ₹1.2L/90 days), ₹4.8L waiver, 2 domestic + 1 international lounge/quarter
- community Card Maven — the ONLY source for the 1:1 transfer partner list (BA/United/Finnair/Aeroplan/Etihad/Thai/AirAsia/Air India/JAL/IHG/Wyndham)
- official Product page — 1 RP on insurance-utility-telecom, quarterly milestones
- community CardInsider review — 500 RP@₹50k/qtr + 1,000 RP@₹1L/qtr quarterly; ₹1,000 voucher@₹2.5L/yr; 2.99% forex, ₹40k/90d Y1 + ₹1.5L renewal waiver
- official AU Usage T&C revision (10-Apr-2026) — domestic lounge gate ₹50k/quarter; Vetta 1 domestic + 1 intl PP per quarter
- official Air India — AU conversion table (Vetta 6:1 decoy, Zenith+ 1.5:1). Partner page live since Jun-2025; IN-locale copy 404s in 2026 — JP locale still serves it
- community CardInsider — AU joins Maharaja Club (Vetta at 6:1 decoy, Zenith+ 3:2; published 22-Jul-2025, not Jun-2026 as we previously dated it)
- community Paisabazaar listing
- community TechnoFino — LIT/Vetta/Zenith/Zenith+ RuPay-variant launch (BINs)
- community Kiwi — AU RuPay/UPI card comparison (Vetta listed)