IDFC FIRST Gaj vs IDFC FIRST Mayura (2026)
IDFC FIRST Mayura vs IDFC FIRST Gaj: which wins?
₹2,06,276ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to IDFC FIRST Gaj
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
The same 0% forex and the same 4+4 lounge sheet — but Gaj pays ₹1 a point on a flat 5X while Mayura pays ₹0.50 and makes you clear ₹20k first. ₹6,501 more a year, and you can't apply.
IDFC FIRST Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Mayura at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| IDFC FIRST Gaj | Metric | IDFC FIRST Mayura |
|---|---|---|
| invite-only | Our rank | #10 |
| ₹12,500/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹5,999/yr — wins this row |
| ₹10,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | None |
| Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency, DCC and static-currency-conversion transactions | Forex markup | Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency and DCC transactions |
| 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 | 1.7% |
| IDFC FIRST Reward Points | Currency | IDFC FIRST Reward Points |
| ₹0.25/pt † | House value | ₹0.25/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 | 12,000 RP — 4,000 on fee payment + 4,000 each on ₹20k in cycles 2 and 3 (once per customer) |
| 129 of 793 | Lounge doors opened | 129 of 793 |
| not published | Income — salaried | ~₹25L+/yr (community) |
| not published | Income — self-employed | ~₹25L+/yr (community) |
† IDFC FIRST Gaj: Gaj redeems the IDFC point at ₹1.00 on flight and hotel bookings in the app's Travel & Shop section — FOUR TIMES the ₹0.25 house value, and the top rung on IDFC's ladder alongside FIRST Private — but ₹0.25 on vouchers, products or "pay with points". earn.base is scaled UP to that ₹1.00 reality, so the rate below collapses to a quarter of itself the moment you redeem for anything but app travel; points can only cover 70% of a booking, and 1.5L a month / 3L a year of them.
† IDFC FIRST Mayura: Mayura is one of only two IDFC cards that reach ₹0.50 a point, and only on flight and hotel bookings made through the Travel & Shop section of the FIRST app — its own rewards T&C is explicit that it is "₹0.25 everywhere else", the house value. So the rate below is DOUBLE what these points fetch as vouchers, goods or pay-with-points; earn.base marks them up to the ₹0.50 travel rung and assumes you actually book there. Points cover at most 70% of a booking, redemptions are capped at 1,50,000 points a month, and each one costs ₹99 + GST.
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.
IDFC FIRST Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Mayura 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
IDFC FIRST Gaj leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹14,395 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹90,503 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹90,503).
IDFC FIRST Mayura pays 2 annual spend milestones, the first 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 Mayura pays nothing to stay.
IDFC FIRST Gaj draws above the line, IDFC FIRST Mayura below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | IDFC FIRST Gaj | IDFC FIRST Mayura | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹17,190 | ₹2,795 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹14,395 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹34,379 | ₹15,584 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹18,795 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹51,570 | ₹32,123 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹19,447 |
| ₹1L | ₹68,759 | ₹44,912 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹23,847 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹85,949 | ₹61,452 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹24,497 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹1,03,138 | ₹74,241 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹28,897 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹1,20,328 | ₹87,031 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹33,297 |
| ₹2L | ₹1,37,518 | ₹99,819 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹37,699 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,54,708 | ₹1,12,609 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹42,099 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,71,897 | ₹1,25,398 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹46,499 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,89,087 | ₹1,38,188 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹50,899 |
| ₹3L | ₹2,06,276 | ₹1,50,977 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹55,299 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹2,23,467 | ₹1,63,766 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹59,701 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹2,40,656 | ₹1,76,555 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹64,101 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹2,57,846 | ₹1,89,345 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹68,501 |
| ₹4L | ₹2,75,035 | ₹2,02,134 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹72,901 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹2,92,225 | ₹2,14,924 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹77,301 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹3,09,415 | ₹2,27,712 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹81,703 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹3,26,605 | ₹2,40,502 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹86,103 |
| ₹5L | ₹3,43,794 | ₹2,53,291 | IDFC FIRST Gaj by ₹90,503 |
Transfer reach — 0 shared live routes
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 — 6 points
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 Mayura · 1 more →
- Closed loop: no airline/hotel transfer partners at all
- ₹0.25/pt outside app travel bookings — half the value
- Lounge and movie perks need ₹20k spend the previous month
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹68,759 against ₹44,912 — a ₹23,847 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹3,43,794 against ₹2,53,291 — a ₹90,503 gap. Lounge chasers get no tiebreak here: both open 129 of 793 tracked doors.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Gaj — Keep; IDFC FIRST Mayura — Keep. IDFC FIRST Gaj takes 4 of the 5 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, IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Mayura?
IDFC FIRST Gaj. IDFC FIRST Gaj takes 4 of the 5 rounds we can score. IDFC FIRST Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Mayura at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Mayura — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹2,06,276 against ₹1,50,977 — a ₹55,299 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 Mayura?
IDFC FIRST Mayura — ₹5,999/yr against ₹12,500/yr. IDFC FIRST Gaj waives its fee at ₹10,00,000 of spend; IDFC FIRST Mayura at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, IDFC FIRST Gaj or IDFC FIRST Mayura?
Lounge chasers get no tiebreak here: both open 129 of 793 tracked doors. 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 2026-08-16, IDFC FIRST Mayura on 2026-09-03. 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 IDFC FIRST Bank and IDFC FIRST Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 13 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Domestic lounge list — the 48 rooms the four quarterly visits can be spent at, addresses and terminals included
- official Product page + FAQs (₹12,500 joining and annual, waiver at ₹10L; ANNUAL FEE PAYMENT BENEFIT of 12,500 RP worth up to ₹12,500 credited on paying the renewal when the waiver)
- official Rewards T&C PDF (5 RP/₹150 base, 3 RP/₹150 international, 1 RP/₹150 on rent/utilities/govt/education; bonus is ADDITIVE — Base (A) 5 + Bonus (B) 45/20 = Total (A+B) 50/25 RP
- official 18-Jun-2026 change notice PDF (rewards earned only on spends up to your credit limit per billing cycle)
- official Bank-wide MITC (₹12,500/₹12,500; add-on ₹4,000 joining / ₹2,000 annual; NIL forex; ₹199 cash advance; ₹99 redemption fee; ₹4,000 card replacement; 1% utility fee past)
- official Benefits T&C PDF (VISA Infinite; ITC Hotels "stay 3 pay 2" via promocode ITCVIS — a Visa offer, not a membership)
- community Launch coverage, 29 Dec 2025 — invite-only for FIRST Private Banking clients
- official Domestic lounge list — the 48 rooms the four quarterly visits can be spent at, addresses and terminals included
- official Product page + FAQs — (₹5,999 joining and annual, no spend waiver; 0% forex; welcome 4,000+4,000+4,000 RP once per customer; milestone ₹8L → 7,500 RP OR ₹15L → 15,000 RP)
- official Rewards T&C PDF (bonus is ADDITIVE — Base (A) 10 + Bonus (B) 30/15 = Total (A+B) 40/25 RP per ₹150 app hotel/flight)
- official Jun-2026 change notice PDF (18-Jun-2026 app bonus 20%/10% = 30/15 RP per ₹150)
- community CardInsider review
- official FIRST Digital RuPay add-on (UPI) page