HSBC Premier (Metal) vs Axis Magnus for Burgundy (2026)
Axis Magnus for Burgundy vs HSBC Premier (Metal): which wins?
₹3,93,696ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Axis Magnus for Burgundy
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
Two cards for the already-rich: 3% flat and effectively free vs 4.8% behind a ₹30,000 fee — Burgundy pulls ahead past ₹1L a month.
Axis Magnus for Burgundy out-earns HSBC Premier (Metal) at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| HSBC Premier (Metal) | Metric | Axis Magnus for Burgundy |
|---|---|---|
| #3 | Our rank | #1 — wins this row |
| ₹12,000 joining, then ₹20,000/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹30,000/yr |
| By relationship | Fee waiver | ₹30,00,000 spend |
| 0.99% + GST — wins this row | 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 |
| 2.99%/mo (35.88%/yr), computed from transaction date — Premier-specific rate (all other HSBC cards 3.75%/mo) | APR | 3.0%/mo (42.58%/yr, compounded as quoted by Axis) |
| 3.0% | Headline earn rate | 4.8% — wins this row |
| HSBC Reward Points | Currency | Axis EDGE Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.40/pt |
| 20,000 reward points on first spend (cards issued through 31 Dec 2026) — the Taj Epicure/EazyDiner membership welcome quietly ended by Apr 2026 | Welcome benefit | ₹5,000 voucher — Luxe gift card, The Postcard Hotels or Yatra (new cards only; customers upgraded from plain Magnus get nothing) |
| 43 of 793 | Lounge doors opened | 667 of 793 — wins this row |
| Qualified Premier relationship: ₹3L+ net monthly salary credit, or ₹50L quarterly TRB (₹40L if the account opened before 1-Jan-2026), or ₹1.15Cr+ mortgage plus the TRB criterion | 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) |
| Same Premier relationship gates — TRB or mortgage routes | 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.
Axis Magnus for Burgundy out-earns HSBC Premier (Metal) at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
How the gap moves with spend
Axis Magnus for Burgundy leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹8 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹6,06,560 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹6,06,560).
Axis Magnus for Burgundy runs a 24.0% booster on Travel Edge portal, where HSBC Premier (Metal) earns one flat rate; HSBC Premier (Metal) charges twice — ₹12,000 to join, then ₹20,000 every year after.
HSBC Premier (Metal) draws above the line, Axis Magnus for Burgundy below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | HSBC Premier (Metal) | Axis Magnus for Burgundy | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹11,000 | −₹10,992 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹8 |
| ₹0.5L | −₹2,000 | ₹8,016 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹10,016 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹7,000 | ₹27,024 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹20,024 |
| ₹1L | ₹16,000 | ₹46,032 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹30,032 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹25,000 | ₹65,040 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹40,040 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹34,000 | ₹84,048 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹50,048 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹43,000 | ₹1,30,656 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹87,656 |
| ₹2L | ₹52,000 | ₹1,77,264 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹1,25,264 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹61,000 | ₹2,23,872 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹1,62,872 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹70,000 | ₹3,00,480 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹2,30,480 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹79,000 | ₹3,47,088 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹2,68,088 |
| ₹3L | ₹88,000 | ₹3,93,696 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,05,696 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹97,000 | ₹4,40,304 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,43,304 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,06,000 | ₹4,86,912 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹3,80,912 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,15,000 | ₹5,33,520 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,18,520 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,24,000 | ₹5,80,128 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,56,128 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,33,000 | ₹6,26,736 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹4,93,736 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,42,000 | ₹6,73,344 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹5,31,344 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,51,000 | ₹7,19,952 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹5,68,952 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,60,000 | ₹7,66,560 | Axis Magnus for Burgundy by ₹6,06,560 |
Transfer reach — 20 vs 27 live routes
Transfer reach
3 shared routes · 3 only HSBC Premier (Metal) · 3 only Axis Magnus for Burgundy — the full partner lists
Both reach
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 1:1 vs 5:4
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios) 1:1 vs 5:2
- The British Airways Club (Avios) 1:1 vs 5:2
Only HSBC Premier (Metal)
- Marriott Bonvoy
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
Only Axis Magnus for Burgundy
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Cathay Asia Miles
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
HSBC Premier (Metal) · 1 more →
- Premier relationship required: ₹50L quarterly TRB (₹40L for pre-2026 accounts) or ₹3L/month salary credit
- ₹20,000 renewal fee if your relationship lapses (₹12,000 joining in year one)
- Fuel earns zero, and utilities/insurance/education/govt/e-wallets/jewellery/tax share one ₹1L-a-month earning cap (from 1 Apr 2025)
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, Axis Magnus for Burgundy nets ₹46,032 against ₹16,000 — a ₹30,032 gap. At ₹5L/month, Axis Magnus for Burgundy nets ₹7,66,560 against ₹1,60,000 — a ₹6,06,560 gap. Lounge chasers: Axis Magnus for Burgundy opens 667 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Premier (Metal)'s 43.
Our standing verdicts: HSBC Premier (Metal) — Keep; Axis Magnus for Burgundy — Keep. Axis Magnus for Burgundy takes 6 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, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
Axis Magnus for Burgundy. Axis Magnus for Burgundy takes 6 of the 8 rounds we can score. Axis Magnus for Burgundy out-earns HSBC Premier (Metal) at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
HSBC Premier (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 ₹88,000 — a ₹3,05,696 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, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
HSBC Premier (Metal) — ₹12,000 joining, then ₹20,000/yr against ₹30,000/yr. HSBC Premier (Metal) waives its fee at no spend level — the waiver rides the banking relationship, not the swipe; Axis Magnus for Burgundy at ₹30,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Axis Magnus for Burgundy?
Lounge chasers: Axis Magnus for Burgundy opens 667 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Premier (Metal)'s 43. 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: HSBC Premier (Metal) on 2026-08-09, 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 HSBC and Axis Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 16 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page (joining ₹12,000, renewal ₹20,000 waived for Qualified Premier, 3 RP/₹100, unlimited lounges + 8 international guest visits, 0.99% forex, 20,000-pt welcome)
- official Tariff/MITC PDF (fees, 2.99%/mo, 0.99% currency-conversion charge, the three Qualified-Premier criteria — ₹50L quarterly TRB / ₹40L if the Premier account opened)
- official Premier Credit Card Service Guide — Rewards Programme clause 2 (the ₹1,00,000/month capped categories) and clause 12, which names the downgrade: Premier → TravelOne
- official Introductory-offer T&C — 20,000 reward points on the First Transaction, cards issued 9 Oct 2025 – 31 Dec 2026
- official Premier rewards page — Premier's OWN transfer table, identical to TravelOne's 20-partner stable (15 airlines + 5 hotels; AirAsia 1 pt = 3 miles, Hainan/Turkish/United 2:1)
- community CardExpert review (joining ₹12,000 / renewal ₹20,000, ₹12,000 Taj gift card, 3 RP/₹100, 0.99% forex)
- official Premier account eligibility — TRB/salary/mortgage routes + overseas-Premier reciprocity
- 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