When choosing an all-rounder credit card, what will you look for? Some things that come to mind include a reasonable joining fee with welcome benefits, accelerated reward points, good redemption rate, low forex mark-up, lounge access, BOGO on movies, etc. That is quite a long list. However, the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card provides all these benefits and a lot more. In this article, we will do an IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card review, understand its features and benefits, and evaluate whether you should have this card in your wallet.
Overview Table
| Feature | Details |
| Card type | Rewards card |
| Reward range | Up to 60X reward points on travel bookings, 10X reward points on incremental monthly spends above Rs. 20,000, and up to 5X reward points on monthly spends under Rs. 20,000 |
| Joining fee | Rs. 2,999 + Taxes |
| Welcome bonus | Up to Rs. 2,000 cashback |
| Renewal fee | Rs. 2,999 + Taxes |
| Renewal benefit | Up to 7,500 reward points |
| Best for | Travel bookings |
| USP | Up to 60X reward points on travel bookings, reward points for annual milestone spends, low forex mark-up, complimentary airport and railway lounge access, trip cancellation cover, BOGO offer on movies, complimentary golf rounds, etc. |
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Fees & Benefits
The IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card has a joining fee of Rs. 2,999 + Taxes.
The cardholder can earn joining benefits of up to Rs. 2,000 cashback. For every transaction of Rs. 500 or above, the cardholder will receive Rs. 500 cashback, up to a maximum of 4 times. The cashback offer is valid for the first 60 days after the virtual credit card is generated.
The cashback will be credited within 7 days of completing the eligible transactions. The transactions made through the FIRST Digital Credit Card associated with the Ashva Credit Card are excluded. The cashback benefit applies only to cardholders who have paid the joining fee.
The annual renewal fee on the credit card is Rs. 2,999 + Taxes.
On payment of the annual renewal fee, the cardholder can avail of 7,500 reward points (worth Rs. 3,000) by spending Rs. 8 lakhs in the previous card anniversary year.
The benefit applies only to cardholders who have paid the annual renewal fee. Post the card renewal date, the reward points will be credited to the cardholder’s reward points account on the following statement generation date.
Rewards structure
The IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card has the following rewards structure.
| Transaction details | Reward rate for every Rs. 150 spent | |
| 1 | Insurance and utility bill payments | 1 reward point |
| 2 | Rent, Government transactions, wallet loading, education | 3 reward points |
| 3 | Eligible spends of up to Rs. 20,000 in a monthly statement cycle | 5 reward points |
| 4 | Eligible incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 in a monthly statement cycle and birthday | 10 reward points |
| 5 | Hotel bookings through the ‘Travel and Shop’ section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App | 50 bonus reward points |
| 6 | Flight bookings through the ‘Travel and Shop’ section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App | 30 bonus reward points |
The spends mentioned in points 1 and 2 above are not considered for the calculations for the 10 reward points mentioned in point 4.
The bonus reward points (RP) mentioned in points 5 and 6 are over and above the usual reward points on online spends mentioned in points 3 and 4. Thus, a cardholder can earn 60 RP/Rs. 150 spent on hotel bookings (base 10 RP + 50 bonus RP), provided the cardholder has already spent Rs. 20,000 or more on eligible categories in a statement cycle.
Similarly, a cardholder can earn 40 RP/Rs. 150 spent on flight bookings (base 10 RP + 30 bonus RP), provided the cardholder has already spent Rs. 20,000 or more on eligible categories in a statement cycle.
The bonus points will be credited on the 5th of the next calendar month, post completion of the flight travel or hotel check-in. A maximum of 15,000 bonus reward points can be earned in a calendar month.
The following transactions/categories will not earn any reward points.
- Fuel transactions
- Transactions converted into EMIs
- Transactions whose value is below Rs. 150
The cardholder can activate UPI on their Ashva Credit Card by generating a linked FIRST Digital RuPay Credit Card. The reward structure for the FIRST Digital RuPay Credit Card is as follows.
| Transaction details | Reward rate for every Rs. 150 spent |
| Transaction valued up to Rs. 2,000 | 1 reward point |
| Transaction valued above Rs. 2,000 | 3 reward points |
The spends on the linked FIRST Digital Credit Card will be counted for calculation towards the statement milestone of Rs. 20,000 to earn 10 reward points on the Ashva Credit Card. However, the spends on the FIRST Digital Credit Card will earn only the above-mentioned reward points.
Rewards redemption
The reward points never expire. They remain valid till the card is active. The reward points earned on the IDFC FIRST Ashva Credit Card have a redemption value as follows.
- 1 reward point = Rs. 0.40 when redeemed for travel bookings (hotels and flights only) done through the Travel & Shop section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App.
- 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25 when redeemed anywhere else apart from point a) above
For travel bookings, a maximum of up to 70% of the total transaction value can be paid by redeemed reward points. The remaining 30% amount must be paid through the Ashva Credit Card. A maximum of 1,00,000 reward points can be redeemed in a calendar month for making hotel or flight bookings through the ‘Travel & Shop’ section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App.
A maximum of 2,00,000 reward points can be redeemed in a calendar year for making hotel or flight bookings through the ‘Travel & Shop’ section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App.
A cardholder can earn up to 16% value back on travel bookings. Let us understand this with an example. Suppose a cardholder spends Rs. 6,000 on a travel booking through the ‘Travel & Shop’ section on the IDFC FIRST Mobile App. Assume the cardholder has already spent more than Rs. 20,000 on eligible categories in the statement cycle. In this case, the cardholder will earn points as follows.
| Booking type | Base reward points | Bonus reward points | Total reward points | Redemption value per point on travel | Value back |
| Flight booking | 400 | 1,200 | 1,600 | Rs. 0.40 | 10.7% |
| Hotel booking | 400 | 2,000 | 2,400 | Rs. 0.40 | 16% |
Additional features
Some other features of the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card include the following.
- Low forex mark-up
The card has a low foreign exchange mark-up of 1% on international transactions. Most cards charge up to a 3.5% forex mark-up. The mark-up can increase costs significantly during a foreign trip. With the Ashva Credit Card, you can save on these mark-up charges as you will pay lower foreign exchange fees when you use the card for international purchases. The low forex fee of 1% also applies to international transactions done in Indian currency.
- Airport lounge access
The card provides complimentary access to a domestic airport lounge/spa 4 times a quarter. The card provides complimentary access to an international airport lounge 2 times a quarter.
The cardholder must spend Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to avail the airport lounge access benefit in the next month.
- Railway lounge access
The card provides complimentary access to the railway lounge 4 times a quarter. The cardholder must spend Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to unlock the complimentary access in the next month.
- Free trip cancellation cover
The trip cancellation cover is a unique feature of the Ashva Credit Card. As per this feature, the cardholder can get reimbursed for non-refundable flight and hotel cancellations by up to Rs. 25,000, twice a year. The booking must have been done using the Ashva Credit Card. The booking cancellation must be done at least 24 hours before the scheduled date.
The coverage is Rs. 25,000 for flight bookings and hotel bookings. The cover applies to non-refundable bookings only. It does not apply to no-show flight/hotel stays.
- Discount at The Postcard Hotels
A cardholder can get a flat Rs. 5,000 discount on a minimum Rs. 25,000 booking done using the Ashva Credit Card at one of The Postcard Hotels. The benefit can be availed of once every calendar quarter using the IDFCVIP promo code.
- BOGO on movies
Movie fans can enjoy the Buy One, Get One free movie ticket offer twice in a calendar month. The maximum discount applicable is Rs. 400 on the second ticket. The offer is applicable on tickets booked on the District App.
- Complimentary golf rounds
With the Ashva Credit Card, you can enjoy up to 24 complimentary golf rounds/lessons per year. The cardholder can avail of one complimentary golf round/lesson on spending Rs. 20,000 in a monthly statement cycle. Similarly, the cardholder can avail of two complimentary golf rounds/lessons on spending Rs. 40,000 in a monthly statement cycle.
- Fuel surcharge waiver
The 1% fuel surcharge is waived at all fuel stations across India. The waiver is for fuel transactions between Rs. 200 and Rs. 5,000. The maximum waiver in a month is Rs. 300.
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How to Apply
You can apply for the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card through the IDFC FIRST Bank website or mobile App. The website does not specify the eligibility criteria. You can check with the bank’s customer care before applying for it. The usual eligibility criteria for most credit cards include being an Indian citizen, aged between a specified range, and having a steady income source.
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Optimal Use
The IDFC FIRST Ashva Credit Card is best for travel bookings (flights and hotels) through the IDFC FIRST Mobile App. You can get up to 60X reward points for these bookings. Also, if you have accumulated sufficient reward points, you can redeem them against flights and hotel bookings through the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App at a rate of Rs. 0.40/point.
The Ashva Credit Card gives reward points on spends like education, wallet loading, Government transactions, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. The reward rate on these spends is 1 to 3 reward points/Rs. 150 spent. The reward rate is low. However, it is still better, as most other credit cards don’t give any reward points on these transactions.
Expert Verdict/Conclusion
The Ashva Credit Card is a complete lifestyle credit card. It gives an excellent reward rate on travel bookings made through the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App. The card offers a higher redemption rate of Rs. 0.40/reward point for travel bookings through the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App.
The other notable features of the card include a low 1% forex mark-up, complimentary access to airport and railway lounges, golf rounds, BOGO offer on movies, etc. The free trip cancellation cover is a unique feature of this card. Thus, if you are a frequent traveller looking for a highly rewarding travel card with lifestyle benefits, you must consider the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card.