ICICI Times Black vs Axis Magnus (legacy) (2026)
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.
Head to head
| Metric | ICICI Times Black | Axis Magnus (legacy) |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #18 | #6 |
| Annual fee | ₹20,000 + GST | ₹12,500 + GST |
| Fee waiver | ₹25,00,000 spend | ₹25,00,000 spend |
| Forex markup | 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) | 2% + GST |
| APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | 3.0%/mo (42.58%/yr, compounded as quoted by Axis) |
| Effective reward rate | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Currency | ICICI Reward Points | Axis EDGE Reward Points |
| House value | ₹1.00/pt | ₹0.40/pt |
| Welcome benefit | ₹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 | ₹12,500 voucher — Luxe, Postcard Hotels or Yatra |
| Lounge doors opened | 581 of 644 | 588 of 644 |
| Income — salaried | Invite-led; ~₹2L+/month reported (community) | ₹24L+/yr |
| Income — self-employed | ~ITR ₹24L+/yr reported (community) | ₹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 →
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.
It swings with spend: ICICI Times Black at ₹1L/month, Axis Magnus (legacy) at ₹3L/month, Axis Magnus (legacy) at ₹5L/month.
Transfer reach
Both reach
- Air India Maharaja Club 1:1 vs 5:2
Only ICICI Times Black
- iShop travel portal
Only Axis Magnus (legacy)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,000 against ₹25,516 — a ₹8,484 gap. At ₹5L/month, Axis Magnus (legacy) nets ₹3,83,280 against ₹1,70,000 — a ₹2,13,280 gap. Lounge chasers: Axis Magnus (legacy) opens 588 of 644 tracked doors to ICICI Times Black's 581.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; Axis Magnus (legacy) — Keep. On our board, Axis Magnus (legacy) sits at #6 to ICICI Times Black's #18 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →