Axis ACE

Overview

The Axis ACE made its name as the card that pays you to do the most boring thing in personal finance: paying your electricity bill. Route utility payments and recharges through Google Pay and it returns up to 5% cashback, with around 4% on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola. Caps introduced in recent years have taken some shine off, but at a ₹499 fee it still earns its slot for most households.

Rewards and benefits

The structure is simple: up to 5% on bill payments and recharges made via Google Pay, around 4% on the big food-delivery and ride apps, and a flat rate of roughly 1.5% on most other spends. Cashback adjusts against the statement automatically — no points, no portal. The caps on accelerated categories mean a family's realistic ceiling on the 5% bucket is modest, but combined with the flat rate on everything else, the card reliably clears its own fee many times over. Domestic lounge access exists but is conditional on prior-quarter spends, so treat it as a bonus rather than a benefit you count on.

Fees and fine print

The ₹499 + GST fee is waived at ₹2 lakh annual spend. Interest runs around 3.75% per month — on the higher side — and the forex markup is a standard 3.5%. The practical quirk is behavioural: the headline rates require paying through Google Pay specifically, so the card suits people comfortable keeping that habit.

Verdict

As a "bills and food" specialist, the ACE remains one of the best value low-fee cards in India. It pairs naturally with an online-shopping card like the SBI Cashback: let ACE handle utilities, recharges and food delivery, and the returns on autopilot spending are hard to beat at this price.