HDFC Bank INFINIA Metal vs Axis Bank Magnus: Points, Miles, Access

Fees and charges: same price, very different terms

GST makes each fee ₹14,750 (₹12,500 plus ₹2,250). The waiver is where they differ most. HDFC drops INFINIA Metal's renewal fee at ₹10 lakh a year, about ₹83,333 a month (₹10,00,000 divided by 12). Axis asks for ₹25 lakh of eligible spends, about ₹2,08,333 a month (₹25,00,000 divided by 12), and doesn't count rent, wallet, utilities, government, insurance, gold and jewellery, fuel, gift cards or EMI conversions toward it. A household spending ₹1.2 lakh a month gets INFINIA Metal free and pay ₹14,750 for Magnus every year.

Both hand some value back on the fee. INFINIA Metal credits 12,500 Reward Points on fee payment and activation, at joining and at renewal, though a year where the fee is waived may not bring them, because they are tied to the fee being realised. Magnus gives one ₹12,500 voucher in the first year only, and none on the lifetime-free Burgundy Salary variant. Older INFINIA cards sourced before 18 October 2021 still pays ₹10,000 and are waived at ₹8 lakh.

Interest and the penalty fees

For anyone who sometimes revolve a balance, INFINIA Metal's 1.99% a month is far kinder than the 3% on Magnus. ₹1 lakh carried for 30 days costs about ₹1,963 on INFINIA Metal (30 times ₹1,00,000 times 23.88%, divided by 365) against about ₹3,500 on Magnus (the same sum at 42.58%).

HDFC's MITC leaves INFINIA Metal out of its late-fee and cash-advance tables, so neither fee is stated for this card, and it charges no over-limit fee. Magnus charges no cash withdrawal fee, but its late fees follow the usual Axis slabs, ₹1,200 for a due of ₹10,001 to ₹50,000 and ₹1,300 above, and over-limit costs 2.5% with a ₹500 minimum. Both take 1% on rent and on app-paid education; HDFC caps its rent fee at ₹4,999 a transaction, and Axis also charge 1% on utilities from ₹25,000 a cycle.

Rewards: a flat 5 per ₹150 against a two-speed 12 and 35

How each card earns

• INFINIA Metal: 5 Reward Points per ₹150, counted on whole ₹150 steps. SmartBuy adds up to 10X, capped at 15,000 accelerated points a month, of which brand vouchers can take only 3,000 since 1 July 2026. Grocery points are capped at 2,000 a month, utilities and telecom at 2,000 each, insurance at 10,000 and UPI at 500, and a statement cycle tops out at 2,00,000 points. Points last 3 years.
• Magnus: 12 EDGE REWARD Points per ₹200 on eligible spends up to ₹1.5 lakh in a calendar month, then 35 per ₹200 above that, up to your credit limit plus ₹1.5 lakh, and 12 again beyond it. Travel EDGE bookings earns 5X, which Axis's 2023 terms set at 60 points per ₹200 on up to ₹2 lakh a month. Utilities, telecom, wallet, government, insurance, gold, fuel, gift cards and tolls are excluded, and Axis's 2025 revision caps rent at ₹50,000 a month. Points lasts 3 years, or less after 365 days of no activity.

What the points are worth

Neither bank publish a clear rupee value in the documents we hold, which makes this harder than it should be. For INFINIA Metal, a Business Standard report from February 2026, citing HDFC's website, puts a point at ₹1 on SmartBuy flights and hotels and on Apple products and Tanishq vouchers; HDFC's own page was cut off when we read it. At ₹1, 5 points per ₹150 is about 3.33% back (₹5 on ₹150). Flight, hotel and airmiles redemptions are capped at 1,50,000 points a month and at 70% of a booking. The same report spoke of limits of five redemptions a month and ₹2 lakh per statement cycle, which we could not confirm in any HDFC document.

For Magnus, Axis gives no catalogue value at all. What it states is the transfer rate: 5 EDGE REWARD Points become 2 partner miles across 20 travel partners, with yearly caps of 1 lakh points to Group A partners and 4 lakh to Group B. INFINIA Metal also transfers, at 2 points for 1 loyalty point to Turkish Miles, Accor and Avianca LifeMiles. So the fairest common yardstick are partner miles: about 1.67 per ₹100 on INFINIA Metal (2.5 per ₹150), and on Magnus 2.4 per ₹100 below ₹1.5 lakh a month (4.8 per ₹200) and 7 per ₹100 above it (14 per ₹200).

Three spenders, both cards

Fuel and utilities is in the mix to show what earns nothing on Magnus. We assume a credit limit big enough for the 35-point band, and we leave INFINIA's renewal points out whenever its fee is waived.

₹1,20,000 a month. INFINIA Metal: ₹1,08,000 of shopping, groceries and utilities earn 3,600 points (₹1,08,000 divided by 150, times 5), so 43,200 a year, which at the reported ₹1 is ₹43,200 of SmartBuy travel. ₹14,40,000 a year (₹1,20,000 times 12) clear the ₹10 lakh waiver. Magnus: only ₹1,02,000 is eligible because utilities and fuel earn nothing, giving 6,120 points a month (₹1,02,000 divided by 200, times 12) and 73,440 a year, or 29,376 miles (73,440 times 2, divided by 5). Eligible spends of ₹12,24,000 are far below ₹25 lakh, so the ₹14,750 fee stays, and those miles would need to be worth about 50 paise each (₹14,750 divided by 29,376) just to cover it.

₹2,40,000 a month. INFINIA Metal: ₹2,34,000 of eligible spend earns 7,800 points a month (₹2,34,000 divided by 150, times 5) and 93,600 a year, or 46,800 miles at 2 points a mile. Magnus: ₹2,22,000 is eligible; the first ₹1,50,000 earns 9,000 points (12 per ₹200) and the next ₹72,000 earns 12,600 at 35 per ₹200, so 21,600 a month and 2,59,200 a year, which is 1,03,680 miles (2,59,200 times 2, divided by 5). Eligible spends of ₹26,64,000 (₹2,22,000 times 12) pass the ₹25 lakh mark, so both fees are waived, and Magnus give more than twice the miles.

₹4,00,000 a month. INFINIA Metal: ₹3,96,000 of eligible spend earn 13,200 points a month (₹3,96,000 divided by 150, times 5), 1,58,400 a year, or 79,200 miles. Magnus: of ₹3,84,000 eligible, ₹1,50,000 earns 9,000 and ₹2,34,000 earns 40,950 at the 35-point rate, for 49,950 a month and 5,99,400 a year. That runs into the transfer caps, because 1 lakh plus 4 lakh points is the most you can move in a calendar year, which is 2,00,000 miles, leaving about 99,400 points a year (5,99,400 less 5,00,000) for Axis's catalogue at a value it doesn't publish. This spender also need a credit limit of at least ₹2,34,000 for the 35-point band to cover all of it.

Lounges, forex, fuel and the travel extras

Lounge access

Both are unlimited, but not in the same way. INFINIA Metal gives unlimited lounge access in India and unlimited Priority Pass visits abroad to the primary cardholder and every add-on cardholder, with no spend condition stated. Magnus gives unlimited visits at select domestic lounges using the card itself, since Priority Pass stopped working at Indian domestic lounges from 28 August 2026, and unlimited Priority Pass visits abroad, with 4 guest visits a year on each. Its domestic access needs ₹50,000 of spends in the previous 3 calendar months, and Magnus are not on Axis's list of cards exempt from that rule.

Spending abroad

Both charge a 2% markup on foreign currency spends. On ₹2 lakh spent abroad that is ₹4,000 plus ₹720 of GST, or ₹4,720, on either card. INFINIA Metal's 1.75% fee on rupee payments at overseas merchants is slightly lower than the 2% on Magnus, a small thing but it add up for frequent travellers.

Fuel

INFINIA Metal waives the 1% surcharge on fuel transactions of ₹400 or more, up to ₹1,000 a statement cycle. Magnus waives it on ₹400 to ₹4,000, up to ₹400 a month. For a car owner filling ₹5,000 at a time, only the INFINIA waiver work.

Insurance and other extras

• INFINIA Metal: unlimited golf games and lessons at select courses, a 24x7 concierge, a first-year Club Marriott membership and 3 nights for the price of 2 at ITC hotels. HDFC's group insurance policy lists covers for its "Super Premium" cards without saying which cards those are, so we credit INFINIA Metal with no insurance.
• Magnus: the card page mention purchase protection and lost card liability, without amounts. Axis withdrew Magnus's 24x7 concierge, BookMyShow offer and airport meet-and-assist services on 20 April 2024.
• Network: Magnus runs on Mastercard; HDFC doesn't state INFINIA Metal's network in the pages we read.

Eligibility: an invitation against an income bar

This is the cleanest difference of all. You can't apply for INFINIA Metal: HDFC says it will assess your eligibility and inform you personally, and it publishes no age or income rule and no public application link. If you want this card, there is not one step you can take on a website for it. Which is simply how HDFC run this card.

Magnus publishes a clear bar, ₹24 lakh a year of net salary or ITR income, which is ₹2 lakh a month (₹24 lakh divided by 12), for residents of India aged 18 to 70. Customers who open a Burgundy Salary Account on or after 1 July 2026 and get a first net salary credit of ₹2 lakh or more can have Magnus lifetime free, minus the welcome voucher. A separate Magnus for Burgundy variant priced at ₹30,000 is a different product and not covered here.

Published criteria is a floor, not a promise. Under the RBI's 2025 card Directions the bank must assess your independent financial means and your existing limits, the decision is the issuer's alone, and a rejection must come with written reasons. Our eligibility criteria guide explains the checks in general.

Verdict: spend level and access decide it

Pick Magnus if

• you can't get an INFINIA invite but earn ₹24 lakh a year or more;
• you regularly put more than ₹2,08,333 a month on eligible categories, which both waive the fee and fill the 35-point band;
• you move points to airline and hotel partners and can live with the yearly transfer caps, which in our examples only the ₹4 lakh a month spender hit.

Pick INFINIA Metal if

• HDFC invites you and your yearly spend sits between ₹10 lakh and ₹25 lakh, where its fee is waived and Magnus's isn't;
• you redeem on SmartBuy flights and hotels, where a point is reported at ₹1;
• you sometimes revolve a balance, since 1.99% a month cost much less than 3%;
• you want unlimited lounges for add-on cardholders as well.

When neither suits

Below about ₹1 lakh a month neither fee pay for itself, and a mid-tier card such as HDFC Regalia Gold returns more for less. Compare more travel options in best travel credit cards, see how points and transfers work in our travel cards guide, and read the other super-premium match-up, Diners Club Black Metal vs Emeralde Private Metal. Both issuers' ranges are on our HDFC Bank and Axis Bank pages, and the credit cards hub has the full section.