Axis Bank has silently launched the Freecharge Plus Credit Card as a successor to original Freecharge Credit Card. Freecharge Plus Credit Card is an entry level credit card which provides accelerated rewards on Freecharge spends and local commute. This card provides the reward in form of statement credit making it simple and hassle free.
Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card borrows its design from older Freecharge Credit Card and there is no difference at all in card-face. This card is available on Visa platform and is enabled for contactless payments.
Older Freecharge Credit Card is not so popular and there are very few takers of that. I believe Axis Bank will eventually phase out the older Freecharge Credit Card and replace it with newer Freecharge Plus Credit Card.
Eligibility Criteria
Currently Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card is available by invite only. Axis Bank has not disclosed the eligibility criteria for this card. Eligible customers should be able to see the banner to apply for this card in Freecharge mobile app.
Fees
Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card comes with following fees:
- Joining fee: Rs. 350 + GST
- Renewal fee: Rs. 350 + GST
Renewal fee is waived off if spend in previous year is more than Rs. 50,000.
Features
Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card, being a Freecharge co-branded credit card, provides major benefits on Freecharge spends. Apart from this, this card also provides accelerated cashback on daily commute, e.g., Ola, Uber, Shuttle etc. Let’s dive in to the details to know more.
Welcome Benefits
- Uber voucher worth Rs. 350
- BookMyShow voucher worth Rs. 350
To avail these vouchers, customers have to complete one transaction within 30 days of card issuance. The voucher e-codes shall be sent to customer’s mobile number within 30 days of transaction.
It’s worthy to note that welcome benefits on this card not only take care of joining fee, but also provide bonus value. You end up getting vouchers worth Rs. 700 on paying a joining fee of Rs. 413 which is quite nice.
Rewards
- 5% cashback on spends done on Freecharge Application
- 2% cashback on local commute (applicable on MCCs 4121, 4131, 4111 and 7512)
- 1% cashback on all other spends (except Fuel, Wallet, EMI, Gold etc.)
- Maximum Cashback: Rs. 150 per month
The cashback rates are pretty good and inline with other co-branded credit cards which were launched recently. However a monthly cap of Rs. 150 on cashback is utterly disappointing.
Drawbacks
Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card, though provides great cashback, it suffers from multiple drawbacks. Below are some major ones:
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Low monthly cap on cashback: Rs. 150 cap on monthly cashback is really disappointing. Given that other co-branded credit cards provide unlimited cashback, Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card loses its sheen due to this limitation. If unlimited was not possible, a sensible monthly limit of Rs. 1,000 would have made this card little more attractive.
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No cashback on Freecharge wallet load: Note that there is no cashback on loading the Freecharge wallet. Cashback is given only on paying bills at Freecharge application. I wish Axis Bank should have included Freecharge wallet loads also for cashback.
Verdict
Though Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card provides a great reward rate and hassle free rewards program, the low monthly cap on rewards takes away all its sheen. A higher/unlimited monthly cap on cashback would have gone a long way in making this card attractive to masses.
I would not recommend Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card to anyone as there are better cards out there which provide competitive rewards on categories served by this card. Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card provides a 4% reward rate on Uber and 1.5% unlimited cashback on other spends. Even Ola Money SBI Credit Card provides a 7% reward rate on Ola and 1% unlimited cashback on other spends. I would suggest to go with these cards instead as they appear more practical and rewarding.
What do you think of the new Axis Bank Freecharge Plus Credit Card? How does this card fares with other co-branded credit cards in the market? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a quick comment below.
