Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank vs Axis Bank ACE
Level at ₹75,000 a month
HSBC Live+ vs Axis Bank ACE
Axis Bank ACE vs HSBC Live+: which should you pick?
Two cards with an uncapped 1.5% base and the same ₹2,00,000 fee waiver, and the page's value model scores them level at every spend level it tests, because it credits base earn and not the accelerators — so the accelerators decide it. Live+ pays 10% on dining, food delivery, groceries, shopping and utilities up to ₹1,200 a month, ₹14,400 a year, and charges 1.99% abroad; ACE pays 5% on bills through Google Pay and 4% on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola inside one ₹500 cap a statement, ₹6,000 a year, and has charged 3.5% abroad since 28 August 2026. ₹999 against ₹499. ACE opens four domestic lounge visits a year on ₹50,000 of the previous three months' spend; Live+ two domestic and one international.
HSBC Live+ and Axis Bank ACE are worth the same to you at every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh a month, so the choice comes down to the perks below. Pick HSBC Live+ instead if you spend abroad: its forex markup is 2.0% against 3.5% on Axis Bank ACE, 1.5 percentage points less on every rupee spent in another currency.
Side by side
| Fact | HSBC Live+ | Axis Bank ACE |
|---|---|---|
| Can you get it | Open to apply | Open to apply |
| Fee (joining · annual, + GST) | ₹999/yr | ₹499/yr✓ Better |
| Fee waiver | Spend ₹2,00,000 a year | Spend ₹2,00,000 a year |
| Reward rate on everyday spend | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Points | HSBC Cashback | Axis Bank Cashback |
| Our value per point | ₹1.00 | ₹1.00 |
| Transfer partners | None | None |
| Lounges it gets you into | 0 of 792 | 12 of 792✓ Better |
| Forex markup | 1.99% + GST✓ Better | 3.5% |
| Welcome benefit | ₹1,000 cashback for downloading and logging on to the HSBC India app and spending ₹25,000 within 30 days of card issuance, plus a voucher worth ₹750 for Amazon Pay, Zomato or Swiggy on activation with a single transaction of ₹300 or more, and a ₹250 Amazon eGift Voucher for a video-verified online application | Not published — Axis lists no welcome or activation benefit for ACE on the product page or in the Key Fact Sheet |
✓ Better marks the side that wins a row; rows that compare unlike things are not scored. Axis Bank ACE is ahead on 3 of the 5 rows we can call.
More facts 8 rows
| Fact | HSBC Live+ | Axis Bank ACE |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #45✓ Better | #127 |
| Our verdict | Keep | Keep |
| Lounge visits in India | 2 visits/yr — no more than one every 6 calendar months | 4/year at the 11 rooms on Axis's Set A list |
| Lounge visits abroad | 1 visit/calendar year, in force since 1 September 2026; booked through HSBC's Thriwe platform (hsbcliveplus.thriwe.com) | None |
| Forex, in the bank’s words | 1.99% + GST | 3.5% of the transaction value, plus a 3.5% dynamic-currency-conversion markup — raised from 1.5% on 28 August 2026. |
| Interest (APR) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), computed from transaction date | 3.75%/mo (55.55%/yr) — Axis standard tier |
| Income needed (salaried) | ₹6L+/yr; age 18–65 | not published |
| Income needed (self-employed) | ₹12L+/yr; age 25–65 | not published |
Our value per point is what we think a point is worth when you use it well; every currency's figure and its reasoning is on points values.
What each is worth to you
| Monthly spend | HSBC Live+ | Axis Bank ACE |
|---|---|---|
| At ₹30,000 a month | ₹5,100 | ₹5,100 |
| At ₹75,000 a month | ₹12,700 | ₹12,700 |
| At ₹1.5 lakh a month | ₹25,400 | ₹25,400 |
| At ₹3 lakh a month | ₹50,800 | ₹50,800 |
| At ₹5 lakh a month | ₹84,600 | ₹84,600 |
| Pays for itself from | ₹6,000 a month | ₹3,000 a month✓ Better |
On an everyday mix of spending (groceries, bills, travel, fuel and the rest), using each card's own rules for each kind of spend. The same figures as each card's own page.
Every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh 20 steps
| Monthly spend | HSBC Live+ | Axis Bank ACE | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 | ₹4,200 | ₹4,200 | Level |
| ₹50,000 | ₹8,500 | ₹8,500 | Level |
| ₹75,000 | ₹12,700 | ₹12,700 | Level |
| ₹1 lakh | ₹16,900 | ₹16,900 | Level |
| ₹1.25 lakh | ₹21,200 | ₹21,200 | Level |
| ₹1.5 lakh | ₹25,400 | ₹25,400 | Level |
| ₹1.75 lakh | ₹29,600 | ₹29,600 | Level |
| ₹2 lakh | ₹33,800 | ₹33,800 | Level |
| ₹2.25 lakh | ₹38,100 | ₹38,100 | Level |
| ₹2.5 lakh | ₹42,300 | ₹42,300 | Level |
| ₹2.75 lakh | ₹46,500 | ₹46,500 | Level |
| ₹3 lakh | ₹50,800 | ₹50,800 | Level |
| ₹3.25 lakh | ₹55,000 | ₹55,000 | Level |
| ₹3.5 lakh | ₹59,200 | ₹59,200 | Level |
| ₹3.75 lakh | ₹63,500 | ₹63,500 | Level |
| ₹4 lakh | ₹67,700 | ₹67,700 | Level |
| ₹4.25 lakh | ₹71,900 | ₹71,900 | Level |
| ₹4.5 lakh | ₹76,100 | ₹76,100 | Level |
| ₹4.75 lakh | ₹80,400 | ₹80,400 | Level |
| ₹5 lakh | ₹84,600 | ₹84,600 | Level |
How we work out the yearly value
We put each card through the same everyday mix of spending, apply that card's own rules for each kind of spend (some earn nothing on fuel or bills), add its milestone and renewal bonuses at our value per point, and take off the fee unless that spend waives it. Bonus categories that need you to shop a certain way are not counted. Your own mix will differ: try your numbers in the calculator, or read how we value cards.
Before you choose
Transfer partners 0 and 0
HSBC Live+'s HSBC Cashback cannot be moved to any airline or hotel; Axis Bank ACE's Axis Bank Cashback cannot be moved to any.
Every partner and ratio is on each card's page; the best value for your points is on the transfer optimizer.
Watch out 6 points
HSBC Live+
- International spends earn NO cashback — HSBC removed it when it cut the markup to 1.99%
- The 10% rate is capped at ₹1,200 a month, and Amazon and Flipkart are explicitly excluded from it — Myntra keeps the 10% only until 31 October 2026, then joins them at 1.5%
- Cashback is 0% on fuel, rent, insurance, education, government, financial institutions, e-wallets, jewellery, hospitals and business-to-business MCCs
Axis Bank ACE
- The lounge visits are gated on ₹50,000 of spend in the previous 3 calendar months — new cards get the issuance month plus three free, then the gate bites
- The 5% and 4% categories share ONE ₹500-per-statement ceiling, so the accelerators cap out around ₹6,000 a year
- The 5% exists only through Google Pay on Android; utility bills paid anywhere else have earned zero since 20 Apr 2024
Common questions 5 answered
Which is better, HSBC Live+ or Axis Bank ACE?
HSBC Live+ and Axis Bank ACE are worth the same to you at every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh a month, so the choice comes down to the perks below. Pick HSBC Live+ instead if you spend abroad: its forex markup is 2.0% against 3.5% on Axis Bank ACE, 1.5 percentage points less on every rupee spent in another currency.
HSBC Live+ or Axis Bank ACE: which is worth more at ₹3 lakh a month?
HSBC Live+ and Axis Bank ACE are level at ₹50,800 a year at ₹3 lakh a month. Both figures are a year's rewards and bonuses on an everyday spending mix, after the fee.
Which costs less to get, HSBC Live+ or Axis Bank ACE?
Axis Bank ACE: ₹499/yr against ₹999/yr. HSBC Live+ waives its fee if you spend ₹2,00,000 a year; Axis Bank ACE waives its fee if you spend ₹2,00,000 a year.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, HSBC Live+ or Axis Bank ACE?
Axis Bank ACE: 12 of the 792 lounges we track, against 0 for HSBC Live+. Visit limits and guest charges differ by card; each card's page lists them.
How current is this comparison?
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 26 Oct 2026. Every figure here is worked out again from those records each time the site is built, so a change to either card shows up the day we log it.
Related comparisons
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More on these two cards 16 pages
- What HSBC Cashback are worth
- What Axis Bank Cashback are worth
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Telecom
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Dining
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Utilities
- HSBC Live+: #2 for Groceries
- HSBC Live+ vs Scapia (Federal Bank)
- HSBC Live+ vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- HSBC Live+ vs HDFC Bank Millennia
- HSBC Live+ vs CASHBACK SBI Card
- Kotak Cashback+ vs HSBC Live+
- HSBC Live+ vs Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank Credit Card
- HDFC Bank Millennia vs Axis Bank ACE
- Axis Bank ACE vs CASHBACK SBI Card
- Swiggy Ornge HDFC Bank Credit Card vs Axis Bank ACE
- Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card vs Axis Bank ACE
Sources
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 26 Oct 2026. Every fact above comes from these 12 documents; the banks' own are marked official. A fact a bank does not publish shows as "not published", never as zero.
The documents 12 sources
- Official District by Zomato offer T&C (1 Aug–31 Oct 2026) — the Movies row names this card for a buy-one-get-one up to ₹200 off the second ticket, once a calendar month, Fridays and Saturdays read
- Official Shared Platinum / Live+ tariff sheet — Live+ ₹999 a year, reversed with GST above ₹2,00,000 of eligible spend, and 1.99% on foreign currency where Platinum pays 3.5% read
- Official Service Guide — 10% cashback capped at ₹1,200/month on dining, groceries, shopping and utilities, MCC-classified; 1.5% unlimited elsewhere; three lounge visits a year read
- Official Welcome cashback T&C — ₹1,000 for downloading the HSBC India mobile app and transacting ₹25,000 within 30 days of issuance, for cards applied for between 26 July 2026 and 31 December 2026 read
- Official Product page — Visa Infinite, three welcome clauses, 10% at Myntra until 31 October 2026, the international lounge visit now live via Thriwe, and a 1GB global eSIM a year read
- Official The retired HSBC Cashback Credit Card page — HSBC states there that the Cashback Credit Card is now this card read
- Official Revision of Axis Bank Credit Card Terms and Conditions — the bank-wide notice: DCC 1.5% to 3.5%, and gift cards, Bridge Fees, Road Fees and Tolls out of rewards, from 28 Aug 2026 read
- Official Axis Bank ACE product page — the 5%/4%/1.5% cashback grid, four lounge visits a year, and the fee table with ₹499 joining read
- Official ACE cashback Terms & Conditions — the ₹500-per-statement ceiling shared by the 5% and 4% categories, and the exclusion list read
- Official Axis Bank Domestic Airport Lounge Access Program — ACE is a Set A card at 4 complimentary visits a year, gated on ₹50,000 of spend in the previous 3 months read
- Official Axis Bank Key Fact Sheet, last updated 8 Oct 2026 — ACE joining ₹499 and annual ₹499, waived at ₹2,00,000 of preceding-year spend read
- Official Axis Travel EDGE Program eligible cards — ACE does not appear, so there is no transfer route out of this card read