Equitas PowerMiles Credit Card

Overview

The Equitas PowerMiles Credit Card is a premium metal Visa card from Equitas Small Finance Bank, built for people who spend abroad and want to turn those spends into airline miles and hotel points. It sits squarely in the travel and rewards space, with a joining fee and an annual fee of ₹5,000 + GST each. The headline feature is the Equitas Xchange program, which lets you move your reward points to partner airline and hotel programs at a 1:1 ratio.

Rewards and earning

On domestic spends you earn 3 reward points for every ₹100, which works out to roughly 1.5% value at the base point value of ₹0.50. International POS and online purchases earn 3X, so 9 points per ₹100, or about 4.5% value. The card runs a tiered system based on your monthly spend, moving from Blue up through Silver, Gold and Platinum to Diamond. As you climb tiers your point value rises from ₹0.50 to as much as ₹1.00 per point, and the forex markup drops from 2% down to zero at the Diamond level.

Points can be redeemed for flights, hotels, products and vouchers at ₹0.50 each, or as cashback at ₹0.25, with a minimum of 500 points per redemption. The real value, though, comes from transferring points 1:1 into partner airline miles and hotel points through Equitas Xchange. Do keep in mind that rent, fuel, EMIs, wallet loads, government and education spends earn nothing, and grocery, utility and insurance spends carry monthly or daily point caps.

Fees

Both the joining fee and the annual fee are ₹5,000 + GST. The joining fee is refunded if you spend ₹1.2 lakh within the first 90 days, and the renewal fee is waived if you spend ₹4.8 lakh in the anniversary year. An add-on card costs ₹3,500. Foreign currency transactions carry a 2% markup, which falls to 0% once you hold the Diamond tier. Finance charges are 3.75% per month (about 45% a year), and cash advances cost 2.5% of the amount or ₹250, whichever is higher. There is a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000.

Eligibility

Equitas positions this as a card for high earners. You generally need a minimum annual income of around ₹18 lakh, an age between 21 and 60, and a healthy credit score of about 700 or more. It is issued as a premium metal card on the Visa network.

Who it is for

This card makes sense if you travel internationally often or spend heavily online in foreign currency, and you want a clear path to convert spends into airline miles and hotel stays. To extract real value you should be comfortable spending enough each month to reach the higher tiers, ideally Platinum or Diamond, where the improved point value and zero forex markup start to pay off. The complimentary Club Marriott and EazyDiner memberships add day-one value for frequent diners and hotel guests.

Verdict

The Equitas PowerMiles Credit Card is a genuine attempt at a miles-focused premium card in India, and the 3X international rewards plus 1:1 partner transfers are attractive for the right spender. The catch is that the ₹5,000 + GST fees, the ₹4.8 lakh renewal waiver and the tier requirements mean it only shines for high and consistent spenders. If your spending is modest or mostly domestic, the base 1.5% return and the long list of excluded categories make it harder to justify. For frequent international travelers who can hold a top tier, though, it is well worth a close look.