IDFC FIRST Gaj vs IDFC FIRST Mayura (2026)
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.
Head to head
| IDFC FIRST Gaj | Metric | IDFC FIRST Mayura |
|---|---|---|
| #14 — wins this row | Our rank | #15 |
| ₹12,500 + GST | Annual fee | ₹5,999 + GST — 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 | Effective reward rate | 1.7% |
| 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 | 12,000 RP — 4,000 on fee payment + 4,000 each on ₹20k in cycles 2 and 3 |
| 156 of 746 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 128 of 746 |
| 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 — 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.
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 Gaj out-earns IDFC FIRST Mayura at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
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 →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹68,786 against ₹44,933 — a ₹23,853 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹3,43,932 against ₹2,53,441 — a ₹90,491 gap. Lounge chasers: IDFC FIRST Gaj opens 156 of 746 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST Mayura's 128.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Gaj — Keep; IDFC FIRST Mayura — Keep. On our board, IDFC FIRST Gaj sits at #14 to IDFC FIRST Mayura's #15 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →