Equitas PowerMiles vs AU Vetta (2026)
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.
Head to head
| Metric | Equitas PowerMiles | AU Vetta |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #37 | #67 |
| Annual fee | ₹5,000 + GST | ₹2,999 + GST |
| Fee waiver | ₹4,80,000 spend | ₹1,50,000 spend |
| Forex markup | 2% (0% at Diamond tier) | 2.99% + GST — the highest of AU's travel cards |
| APR | 3.5%/mo (42%/yr) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) — AU retail-card standard |
| Effective reward rate | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| Currency | Equitas PowerMiles Points | AU Reward Points |
| House value | ₹0.50/pt | ₹0.25/pt |
| Welcome benefit | Club Marriott + EazyDiner memberships; ₹5,000 joining fee reversed on ₹1.2L spend in 90 days | None — the first-year fee waiver at ₹40k spend in 90 days is the whole hello |
| Lounge doors opened | 73 of 662 | 627 of 662 |
| Income — salaried | not published | not published |
| Income — self-employed | not published | not published |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
Net annual 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. Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
AU Vetta wins under ₹0.5L/month; Equitas PowerMiles takes over above it.
Transfer reach
Only AU Vetta
- Air India Maharaja Club
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
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: AU Vetta opens 627 of 662 tracked doors to Equitas PowerMiles's 73.
Our standing verdicts: Equitas PowerMiles — Keep; AU Vetta — Cancel. On our board, Equitas PowerMiles sits at #37 to AU Vetta's #67 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →