HDFC Infinia Metal vs Axis Magnus for Burgundy (2026)
Axis Magnus for Burgundy vs HDFC Infinia Metal: which wins?
₹1,67,292ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to HDFC Infinia Metal
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
#1 vs #2 — the most rounded card in the country against the hardest-earning one.
HDFC Infinia Metal wins under ₹1.5L/month; Axis Magnus for Burgundy takes over above it.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| HDFC Infinia Metal | Metric | Axis Magnus for Burgundy |
|---|---|---|
| invite-only | Our rank | #1 |
| ₹12,500/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹30,000/yr |
| ₹10,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹30,00,000 spend |
| 2% + GST | Forex markup | 2% + GST. Dynamic currency conversion markup 2% since 28 August 2026, up from 1.5% — NOT the bank-wide 3.5% — per Magnus's own revision notice |
| 1.99%/mo (23.88%/yr) | APR | 3.0%/mo (42.58%/yr, compounded as quoted by Axis) |
| 3.3% | Headline earn rate | 4.8% — wins this row |
| HDFC Reward Points | Currency | Axis EDGE Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.40/pt |
| 12,500 reward points + complimentary Club Marriott, first year | Welcome benefit | ₹5,000 voucher — Luxe gift card, The Postcard Hotels or Yatra (new cards only; customers upgraded from plain Magnus get nothing) |
| 735 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 667 of 793 |
| ₹5L+/month net (private sector); ₹3.5L+/month (govt) | Income — salaried | Burgundy relationship required — official criteria: net salary credit above ₹3L/month in an Axis Salary Account, or ₹10L AMB in savings, or ₹30L TRV (₹1Cr incl. demat) |
| ITR ₹60L+/yr | Income — self-employed | Same Burgundy gates via balances: ₹10L AMB in savings or ₹30L TRV (₹1Cr incl. demat), consistently maintained through the month |
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.
HDFC Infinia Metal wins under ₹1.5L/month; Axis Magnus for Burgundy 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 ₹1.5L a month: HDFC Infinia Metal is ahead by ₹24,933 at ₹0.25L, Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,87,740 at ₹5L.
HDFC Infinia Metal pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and Axis Magnus for Burgundy pays nothing to stay.
HDFC Infinia Metal draws above the line, Axis Magnus for Burgundy below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | HDFC Infinia Metal | Axis Magnus for Burgundy | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹13,941 | −₹10,992 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹24,933 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹27,882 | ₹8,016 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹19,866 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹41,823 | ₹27,024 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹14,799 |
| ₹1L | ₹55,764 | ₹46,032 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹9,732 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹69,705 | ₹65,040 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹4,665 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹83,646 | ₹84,048 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹402 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹97,587 | ₹1,30,656 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹33,069 |
| ₹2L | ₹1,11,528 | ₹1,77,264 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹65,736 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,25,469 | ₹2,23,872 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹98,403 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,39,410 | ₹3,00,480 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹1,61,070 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,53,351 | ₹3,47,088 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹1,93,737 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,67,292 | ₹3,93,696 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹2,26,404 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,81,233 | ₹4,40,304 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹2,59,071 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,95,174 | ₹4,86,912 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹2,91,738 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹2,09,115 | ₹5,33,520 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,24,405 |
| ₹4L | ₹2,23,056 | ₹5,80,128 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,57,072 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹2,36,997 | ₹6,26,736 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,89,739 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹2,50,938 | ₹6,73,344 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,22,406 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹2,64,879 | ₹7,19,952 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,55,073 |
| ₹5L | ₹2,78,820 | ₹7,66,560 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,87,740 |
Transfer reach — 22 vs 27 live routes
Transfer reach
3 shared routes · 3 only HDFC Infinia Metal · 3 only Axis Magnus for Burgundy — the full partner lists
Both reach
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 1:1 vs 5:4
- Finnair Plus (Avios) 1:1 vs 5:2
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios) 2:1 vs 5:2
Only HDFC Infinia Metal
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Club ITC
Only Axis Magnus for Burgundy
- Ethiopian ShebaMiles
- Hilton Honors
- IndiGo BluChip
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
HDFC Infinia Metal · 2 more →
- SmartBuy monthly caps (15,000 RP/mo + a 3,000 RP/mo voucher sub-cap) limit the very best value
- Two different bars, don't confuse them: ₹10L waives the ₹12,500 fee (HDFC's own page); a SEPARATE, HARDER rule keeps the card. HDFC's bank-wide MITC v4.6 now carries it in writing — "Effective 1st April 2026, continued access to the Infinia programme will be aligned to a minimum Card spend or Relationship value": ₹18 lakh of Infinia spend (primary + add-ons) OR ₹50 lakh relationship value, per financial year
- And that test RECURS every financial year, with closure at the end of it. The MITC's own words: fail it and HDFC "will offer the next best alternate card variant basis customer consent. If otherwise, customer can opt to close their card or Bank will close the existing credit card with prior intimation via SMS and/or email, with a minimum notice period of 30 days." This is a written closure right on a 30-day clock, not the soft downgrade the 2026 press coverage described
Axis Magnus for Burgundy · 7 more →
- The famous up-to-25,000 EDGE Miles monthly milestone is gone — the 35/₹200 ladder is the accelerated general-spend rate; Travel Edge 5X is a separate portal overlay
- Grab Deals and GyFTR are Axis-wide 'up to 5X' overlays on the 12-point base — not a 10X SmartBuy analogue, and Axis publishes no firm GyFTR rate for this card
- The 35/₹200 tier caps at (credit limit + ₹1.5L)/month since Jun-2025
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹55,764 against ₹46,032 — a ₹9,732 gap. At ₹5L/month, Axis Magnus for Burgundy nets ₹7,66,560 against ₹2,78,820 — a ₹4,87,740 gap. Lounge chasers: HDFC Infinia Metal opens 735 of 793 tracked doors to Axis Magnus for Burgundy's 667.
Our standing verdicts: HDFC Infinia Metal — Keep; Axis Magnus for Burgundy — Keep. HDFC Infinia Metal the lower fee breaks the tie — ₹12,500/yr against ₹30,000/yr — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, HDFC Infinia Metal or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
HDFC Infinia Metal. They split the 6 rounds we can score 3–3; HDFC Infinia Metal the lower fee breaks the tie — ₹12,500/yr against ₹30,000/yr. HDFC Infinia Metal wins under ₹1.5L/month; Axis Magnus for Burgundy takes over above it.
HDFC Infinia Metal or Axis Magnus for Burgundy — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Axis Magnus for Burgundy nets ₹3,93,696 against ₹1,67,292 — a ₹2,26,404 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, HDFC Infinia Metal or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
HDFC Infinia Metal — ₹12,500/yr against ₹30,000/yr. HDFC Infinia Metal waives its fee at ₹10,00,000 of spend; Axis Magnus for Burgundy at ₹30,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, HDFC Infinia Metal or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
Lounge chasers: HDFC Infinia Metal opens 735 of 793 tracked doors to Axis Magnus for Burgundy's 667. 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: HDFC Infinia Metal on 2026-08-02, Axis Magnus for Burgundy on 2026-09-25. 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 HDFC Bank and Axis Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 21 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page — "Joining Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Renewal Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Fee Waiver: Spend ₹10 lakh or more in a year before the renewal date"
- official Fees & charges / MITC PDF (Version 2.5, Mar-2025) — KFS table gives Infinia (Metal Edition) ₹12,500 fee, "₹10 Lakh / Annum" waiver and a 2% foreign-currency markup
- community CardExpert — ₹18L/FY spend OR ₹50L relationship value to KEEP the card (1-Apr-2026), and the same article dates the fee revisions to 15-May-2026: DCC markup
- community LiveFromALounge reproduces HDFC's own letter to cardholders — the two criteria verbatim, "Infinia Card Spends of INR 18,00,000"
- community Business Today (26-Feb-2026) — independent corroboration that HDFC emailed the ₹18L-spend (primary + add-on cards) or ₹50L relationship-value criteria
- official SmartBuy core-offer T&C (window 01-09-2026 to 30-09-2026) — Infinia earns 5X on Flights, 10X on Hotels and 5X on Brand Vouchers
- community CardInsider — SmartBuy 15k cap + 3k voucher sub-cap (Jul-2026)
- community TechnoFino — Infinia issued on Visa Infinite and Mastercard World (no RuPay)
- community TechnoFino — DCB→Infinia upgrade route; ₹12L limit + spend reported to stand in for salary
- community CardInsider forex table — Infinia 2% forex markup (below the 3.5% norm; the separate DCC markup on INR-billed foreign spends went 1% → 1.75% on 15-May-2026)
- official HDFC's own 15-May-2026 revision notice — states in writing that Infinia's reward accrual did NOT change, and sets the 1.75% DCC markup and the ₹3,500 metal re-issuance fee
- official HDFC Bank Key Fact Statement cum MITC v4.7 (August 2026), section E(v) — the ₹18L/₹50L retention test and the bank's right to close the card on 30 days' notice
- official Magnus for Burgundy FAQ PDF (21 pp) — 60 EDGE RP per ₹200 on Travel Edge up to ₹2L/month; 5 EDGE RP = 4 partner miles
- official Magnus revision T&C PDF (eff. 20-Jun-2025) — the 35 EDGE RP per ₹200 tier runs only to (credit limit + ₹1.5L) a calendar month and reverts to 12 per ₹200 above
- official Axis Bank Magnus product page — the Burgundy variant's welcome is any one ₹5,000 voucher (Luxe, The Postcard Hotels or Yatra) and is expressly NOT applicable to customers
- official Axis Bank Key Fact Sheet, updated 12-Aug-2026 — Magnus for Burgundy joining ₹30,000 / annual ₹30,000, waived on ₹30,00,000 of preceding-year spend, 42.58% p.a.
- official Axis's Magnus-for-Burgundy revision notice — effective 28 Aug 2026: "Dynamic Currency Conversion markup will be revised to 2% from 1.5%"
- official Axis Bank Points/Miles Transfer ratio table — "Burgundy Private credit card & Magnus credit card for Burgundy: 5 EDGE REWARD Points = 4 Partner Points"
- community SaveSage (Apr-2026 — legacy 5:4 retained, new partners 5:2)
- community CardExpert — Burgundy variant ships on Mastercard
- community TechnoFino — opening Burgundy (₹10L AMB) for the card, RM-routed application