ICICI Times Black vs Axis Magnus (2026)
Axis Magnus vs ICICI Times Black: which wins?
₹1,96,848ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Axis Magnus
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
Experiences and a 1.49% forex vs milestones that pay ₹3.37L a year at ₹5L a month — two big fees, only one of them a rewards engine.
It swings with spend: ICICI Times Black at ₹1L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹3L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹5L/month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| ICICI Times Black | Metric | Axis Magnus |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Our rank | #5 — wins this row |
| ₹20,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹12,500/yr — wins this row |
| ₹25,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹25,00,000 spend |
| 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) — 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 |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 3.0%/mo (42.58%/yr, compounded as quoted by Axis) |
| 2.0% | Headline earn rate | 2.4% — wins this row |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | Axis EDGE Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.40/pt |
| ₹12,000 Lohono / ₹10,000 EaseMyTrip stay voucher + ₹10,000 visa-services wallet (Atlys/OneVasco) + Toni&Guy ₹3,000 + Interflora ₹1,000 + Zomato Gold — application windows via timesblack.com | Welcome benefit | ₹12,500 voucher — Luxe, Postcard Hotels or Yatra |
| 739 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 667 of 793 |
| ₹2,00,000+/month (official product page, seen 2026-08-01 — was community-reported only) | Income — salaried | ₹24L+/yr |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | ₹24L+/yr |
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.
It swings with spend: ICICI Times Black at ₹1L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹3L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹5L/month.
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 and ₹2L a month: Axis Magnus is ahead by ₹854 at ₹0.25L, Axis Magnus by ₹2,10,280 at ₹5L.
ICICI Times Black pays 4 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹2,00,000 a year, and Axis Magnus pays none.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, Axis Magnus below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | Axis Magnus | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹3,850 | −₹2,996 | Axis Magnus by ₹854 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,300 | ₹6,508 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,792 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,450 | ₹16,012 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,438 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,600 | ₹25,516 | ICICI Times Black by ₹9,084 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,750 | ₹35,020 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,730 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,900 | ₹44,524 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,376 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹73,050 | ₹67,828 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,222 |
| ₹2L | ₹79,200 | ₹91,132 | Axis Magnus by ₹11,932 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,05,350 | ₹1,26,936 | Axis Magnus by ₹21,586 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,11,500 | ₹1,50,240 | Axis Magnus by ₹38,740 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,17,650 | ₹1,73,544 | Axis Magnus by ₹55,894 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,23,800 | ₹1,96,848 | Axis Magnus by ₹73,048 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,29,950 | ₹2,20,152 | Axis Magnus by ₹90,202 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,36,100 | ₹2,43,456 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,07,356 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,42,250 | ₹2,66,760 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,24,510 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,48,400 | ₹2,90,064 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,41,664 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,54,550 | ₹3,13,368 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,58,818 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,60,700 | ₹3,36,672 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,75,972 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,66,850 | ₹3,59,976 | Axis Magnus by ₹1,93,126 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,73,000 | ₹3,83,280 | Axis Magnus by ₹2,10,280 |
Transfer reach — 2 vs 27 live routes
Transfer reach
1 shared route · 1 only ICICI Times Black · 3 only Axis Magnus — the full partner lists
Both reach
- Air India Maharaja Club 1:1 vs 5:2
Only ICICI Times Black
- iShop travel portal
Only Axis Magnus
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
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
ICICI Times Black · 3 more →
- ₹20,000 + GST fee needs ₹25L spend to waive
- One transfer partner — this is not a miles card
- Emeralde Private out-earns it at a third of the fee
Axis Magnus · 6 more →
- The up-to-25,000 EDGE Miles monthly milestone is gone — the accelerated tier is all that's left
- Marriott is still gone and ITC left the 25 Sep 2026 grid. Accor returned, but at 5:1 with BA, Finnair, Qatar, Cathay, IndiGo and Lotusmiles — not the 5:2 standard
- Since Jun-2025 the 35/₹200 tier caps at (credit limit + ₹1.5L) a calendar month — spend past that ceiling drops back to 12 per ₹200, so recycling is dead
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,600 against ₹25,516 — a ₹9,084 gap. At ₹5L/month, Axis Magnus nets ₹3,83,280 against ₹1,73,000 — a ₹2,10,280 gap. Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to Axis Magnus's 667.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; Axis Magnus — Keep. Axis Magnus takes 5 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, ICICI Times Black or Axis Magnus?
Axis Magnus. Axis Magnus takes 5 of the 8 rounds we can score. It swings with spend: ICICI Times Black at ₹1L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹3L/month, Axis Magnus at ₹5L/month.
ICICI Times Black or Axis Magnus — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Axis Magnus nets ₹1,96,848 against ₹1,23,800 — a ₹73,048 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, ICICI Times Black or Axis Magnus?
Axis Magnus — ₹12,500/yr against ₹20,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; Axis Magnus at ₹25,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or Axis Magnus?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to Axis Magnus'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: ICICI Times Black on 2026-09-13, Axis Magnus 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 ICICI Bank and Axis Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 18 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page — ₹20,000 joining + ₹20,000 annual (waived at ₹25L), 2% domestic / 2.5% international, 1.49% forex
- official Additional T&C PDF — 2% domestic / 2.5% international RP; 5,000 RP/cycle cap on utilities+insurance+education+government; "Value of 1 ICICI Bank reward point is up to ₹ 1"
- official MITC (last updated 2 Aug 2026) — ₹20,000 joining + ₹20,000 annual, fee reversal at ₹25,00,000; 1.49% forex mark-up (named exception to ICICI's 3.50%)
- community CardExpert review — corroborates the ₹0.40/point statement-credit rate vs ~₹1/point on vouchers/iShop
- official Launch announcement (with Times Internet and Visa)
- community TechnoFino — application-window + video-KYC experience; fast approvals for ICICI customers
- official Magnus revision T&C PDF (eff. 20-Jun-2025) — 12 EDGE REWARD Points per ₹200 up to ₹1.5L a calendar month, 35 per ₹200 above it only up to (credit limit + ₹1.5L)
- official Axis Bank Magnus product page — welcome voucher worth ₹12,500 (Luxe, The Postcard Hotels or Yatra), unlimited domestic lounge visits
- official Axis Bank Key Fact Sheet, updated 12-Aug-2026 — Magnus joining ₹12,500 / annual ₹12,500 (Nil for a Burgundy Salary Account opened on or after 1 Jul 2026)
- official Axis's Magnus-specific revision notice — effective 28 Aug 2026: "Dynamic Currency Conversion markup will be revised to 2% from 1.5%"
- official Axis Bank Domestic Airport Lounge Access Program — Magnus sits in Set B with unlimited complimentary access, and is NOT on the list of cards exempted from the ₹50,000
- official Axis Bank Points/Miles Transfer ratio table — "Reserve & Magnus credit card: 5 EDGE REWARD Points = 2 Partner Points", against 5:4 for Burgundy Private and Magnus for Burgundy
- community CardExpert review (portal earn + transfer caps)
- community CardInsider review
- community Apr-2026 partner purge
- community CardMaven — card network Visa Infinite (Mastercard World variant also issued)
- community CardMaven forum — Magnus RuPay live (Oct–Dec 2025), same fee & rewards
- community CardInsider forex table — Magnus 2% forex markup (below the 3.5% Axis standard)