IDFC FIRST Ashva vs HSBC TravelOne (2026)
Ashva's 10X tier out-earns TravelOne from ₹1.75L a month — but one currency transfers to twenty airlines and the other dies inside an app at ₹0.40.
Head to head
| Metric | IDFC FIRST Ashva | HSBC TravelOne |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #13 | #14 |
| Annual fee | ₹2,999 + GST | ₹4,999 + GST |
| Fee waiver | None | ₹8,00,000 spend |
| Forex markup | 1% + GST (Ashva-specific carve-out in the bank-wide MITC) | 3.5% + GST |
| APR | Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), computed from transaction date |
| Effective reward rate | 1.3% | 2.0% |
| Currency | IDFC FIRST Reward Points | HSBC Reward Points |
| House value | ₹0.50/pt † | ₹1.00/pt |
| Welcome benefit | 7,500 RP — 2,500 on fee payment + 2,500 each on ₹20k in cycles 2 and 3 (once per customer) | ₹1,000 cashback + ₹3,000 Postcard voucher + 3-mo EazyDiner Prime on ₹25k in 30 days |
| Lounge doors opened | 93 of 644 | 73 of 644 |
| Income — salaried | not published | ₹6L+/yr; age 18–65 |
| Income — self-employed | not published | ₹12L+/yr; age 25–65 |
† IDFC FIRST Ashva: Ashva redeems the same IDFC points at ₹0.40 on app travel bookings and ₹0.25 everywhere else — a 20% haircut on Mayura's ₹0.50 house value that earn.base already bakes in.
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.
IDFC FIRST Ashva out-earns HSBC TravelOne at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Transfer reach
Only HSBC TravelOne
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Ashva nets ₹37,779 against ₹36,400 — a ₹1,379 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Ashva nets ₹2,01,661 against ₹1,42,000 — a ₹59,661 gap. Lounge chasers: IDFC FIRST Ashva opens 93 of 644 tracked doors to HSBC TravelOne's 73.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Ashva — Keep; HSBC TravelOne — Keep. On our board, IDFC FIRST Ashva sits at #13 to HSBC TravelOne's #14 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →