IDFC FIRST Gaj vs IDFC FIRST Ashva (2026)
Same points, and neither card transfers anywhere — the redemption catalogue is the ceiling for both, so this one is decided on earn and fee, nothing else: 3.3% at ₹12,500/yr against 1.3% at ₹2,999/yr.
Head to head
| IDFC FIRST Gaj | Metric | IDFC FIRST Ashva |
|---|---|---|
| #15 — wins this row | Our rank | #20 |
| ₹12,500/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹2,999/yr — wins this row |
| ₹10,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | None |
| Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency, DCC and static-currency-conversion transactions — wins this row | Forex markup | 1% + GST (Ashva-specific carve-out in the bank-wide MITC) |
| Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment | APR | Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment |
| 3.3% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 1.3% |
| IDFC FIRST Reward Points | Currency | IDFC FIRST Reward Points |
| ₹0.50/pt † | House value | ₹0.50/pt † |
| 12,500 RP on joining-fee payment (₹12,500 at the ₹1 travel value) + a 25%-off 5-star hotel voucher worth up to ₹5,000 on ₹1L spent in 60 days — once per customer | Welcome benefit | 7,500 RP — 2,500 on fee payment + 2,500 each on ₹20k in cycles 2 and 3 (once per customer) |
| 155 of 789 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 93 of 789 |
† IDFC FIRST Gaj: Gaj redeems the IDFC point at ₹1.00 on flight and hotel bookings in the app's Travel & Shop section — DOUBLE the ₹0.50 house value and 2.5× Ashva's ₹0.40 — and ₹0.25 on vouchers, products or "pay with points". earn.base is scaled UP to that ₹1.00 reality; points can only cover 70% of a booking, and 1.5L a month / 3L a year of them.
† 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.
Neither issuer publishes an income floor for these two, and the door is the same on both sides: IDFC FIRST Gaj and IDFC FIRST Ashva are both open to a direct application. How people actually get IDFC FIRST Gaj is on its card page.
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
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.
IDFC FIRST Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Ashva at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend
IDFC FIRST Gaj leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹13,145 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹1,42,271 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹1,42,271).
IDFC FIRST Ashva pays one annual spend milestone, at ₹8,00,000 a year, and IDFC FIRST Gaj pays none; IDFC FIRST Gaj pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and IDFC FIRST Ashva pays nothing to stay.
IDFC FIRST Gaj draws above the line, IDFC FIRST Ashva below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | IDFC FIRST Gaj | IDFC FIRST Ashva | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹17,197 | ₹4,052 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹13,145 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹34,393 | ₹14,294 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹20,099 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹51,590 | ₹27,537 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹24,053 |
| ₹1L | ₹68,786 | ₹37,779 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹31,007 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹85,983 | ₹48,022 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹37,961 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹1,03,180 | ₹58,265 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹44,915 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹1,20,376 | ₹68,507 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹51,869 |
| ₹2L | ₹1,37,573 | ₹78,750 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹58,823 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,54,769 | ₹88,992 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹65,777 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,71,966 | ₹99,235 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹72,731 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,89,163 | ₹1,09,478 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹79,685 |
| ₹3L | ₹2,06,359 | ₹1,19,720 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹86,639 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹2,23,556 | ₹1,29,963 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹93,593 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹2,40,752 | ₹1,40,205 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,00,547 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹2,57,949 | ₹1,50,448 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,07,501 |
| ₹4L | ₹2,75,146 | ₹1,60,691 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,14,455 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹2,92,342 | ₹1,70,933 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,21,409 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹3,09,539 | ₹1,81,176 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,28,363 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹3,26,735 | ₹1,91,418 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,35,317 |
| ₹5L | ₹3,43,932 | ₹2,01,661 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹1,42,271 |
Transfer reach
Both cards earn IDFC FIRST Reward Points, so the partner list is identical — 0 live transfer routes each. The fight is decided on earn and fees, not reach.
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for
IDFC FIRST Gaj · 4 more →
- Invite-only for private-banking clients — there is no public route that gets you approved
- Closed loop: zero airline or hotel transfer partners, like every other IDFC card
- The ₹1 is portal-locked and pays at most 70% of a booking; cash out and it's ₹0.25
IDFC FIRST Ashva · 1 more →
- ₹0.40/pt is the ceiling — Ashva points are worth 20% less than Mayura's, ₹0.25 outside app travel
- Closed loop: no airline or hotel transfer partners at all
- Lounge, golf and movie perks all need ₹20k spend the previous month
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹68,786 against ₹37,779 — a ₹31,007 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹3,43,932 against ₹2,01,661 — a ₹1,42,271 gap. Lounge chasers: IDFC FIRST Gaj opens 155 of 789 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST Ashva's 93.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Gaj — Keep; IDFC FIRST Ashva — Keep. On our board, IDFC FIRST Gaj sits at #15 to IDFC FIRST Ashva's #20 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Straight answers
Which is better, IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Ashva?
IDFC FIRST Gaj. It sits at #15 on our board to IDFC FIRST Ashva's #20. IDFC FIRST Gaj takes 7 of the 8 rounds we can score. IDFC FIRST Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Ashva at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Ashva — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹2,06,359 against ₹1,19,720 — a ₹86,639 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, IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Ashva?
IDFC FIRST Ashva — ₹2,999/yr against ₹12,500/yr. IDFC FIRST Gaj waives its fee at ₹10,00,000 of spend; IDFC FIRST Ashva at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Ashva?
Lounge chasers: IDFC FIRST Gaj opens 155 of 789 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST Ashva's 93. 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: IDFC FIRST Gaj on 2026-07-26, IDFC FIRST Ashva on 2026-08-01. 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.