In-depth review
LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card
A lifetime-free co-brand between Axis Bank and LIC Cards that earns better than its reputation — about 2% on LIC premiums and international spends and about 1% elsewhere, once the points are priced at what LIC's own catalogue pays for them. Two haircuts to know: points lapse after 12 months and every redemption costs ₹30 plus GST.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹300 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — usually conditional on a first spend within 30–90 days
2 points/₹100 on Insurance (~1.9% value)
2 reward points per ₹100 (~2%) on LIC policy premiums paid through official LIC premium payment gateways — not via third-party apps
1.9% on International
2 reward points per ₹100 (~2%) on international/foreign-currency spends
Airport Lounge Access
2 complimentary domestic lounge visits per calendar quarter (up to 8 a year), unlocked by spending ₹50,000 in the previous 3 calendar months
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹400/month
Insurance Cover
Complimentary lost-card liability cover up to your credit limit
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS
8 visits/yr
Domestic lounges
₹4,000
Estimated annual value
3.5%
Forex markup
- Domestic airport lounge access (8 domestic visits/yr, worth ~₹4,000)
- Travel insurance cover included
LIC policyholders who pay premiums by card — 2 points per ₹100 on a bill you were paying anyway is close to a 2% return, and there is no fee to earn back. It is a sensible keep-forever card, provided you redeem often enough that the 12-month point expiry never catches you.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹0.95. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insuranceonly at LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) premium payments | reward points | 1.9%2 pts/₹100 × ₹0.95 | — |
| International | reward points | 1.9%2 pts/₹100 × ₹0.95 | — |
| Other | reward points | 0.95%1 pts/₹100 × ₹0.95 | — |
Insurance: 2 reward points per ₹100 (~2%) on LIC policy premiums paid through official LIC premium payment gateways — not via third-party apps · LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) premium payments
International: 2 reward points per ₹100 (~2%) on international/foreign-currency spends
Other: 1 reward point per ₹100 (~1%) on all other eligible spends. Points expire 12 months from accrual and each redemption carries a ₹30 + GST handling charge.
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Wallet Loads · EMI Conversions · Rent · Utility Bills · Education · Government & Tax · Cash Advances · Tolls & Road Fees · Gift Cards & Vouchers
These spends earn no rewards at all — not a reduced rate, and not the base rate. They are also normally left out of any milestone or fee-waiver calculation.
Fees & charges
The numbers that matter beyond rewards — verify on the issuer site before applying. Fees below are shown inclusive of 18% GST, as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹400 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹4,900/yr in total.
2 complimentary domestic lounge visits per calendar quarter (up to 8 a year), unlocked by spending ₹50,000 in the previous 3 calendar months
Complimentary lost-card liability cover up to your credit limit
1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions of ₹400–4,000 (up to ₹400 a month)
Should you get it?
- Best for: LIC policyholders paying premiums by card, Anyone wanting a no-fee card with lounge access and insurance
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on International (1.9% back).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Lifetime free — no joining or annual fee
- 2 reward points per ₹100 on LIC premium payments — close to 2% on a bill you pay anyway
- Points redeem at close to ₹1 each against LIC's own rewards catalogue
- 100% cashback up to ₹300 on your first utility bill within 30 days of issue
- Up to 8 domestic lounge visits a year once you clear the ₹50,000 quarterly spend test
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to ₹400 a month
✕ Cons
- Reward points expire 12 months after they are earned
- Every redemption carries a ₹30 + GST handling charge, which bites hardest on small redemptions
- Fuel, utilities and telecom, rent, wallet loads, education, government payments and EMI earn nothing
- Lounge visits need ₹50,000 of spend in the previous 3 months — they are not unconditional
- Points redeem only through the LIC Cards catalogue by phone, not on the Axis EDGE portal
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / valid address proof
- 📄Latest 3 months bank statement
- 📄Income proof — salary slips (salaried) or ITR (self-employed)
- 📄Recent passport-size photograph
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Redeem from the LIC Cards catalogue (liccards.in) by calling 1800 419 0064 — e-vouchers, Axis virtual gift cards and merchandise, at close to ₹1 per point
- 🎁A ₹30 + GST handling charge applies to each redemption request
- 🎁Points are valid for one year from the date they are earned
What your Axis EDGE Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Standard EDGE Reward Points
Gift-voucher catalogue
Flights & hotels
Points expire 12 months after they are earned and every redemption costs ₹30 plus GST, so an occasional spender can lose a real slice of the earn to lapse and fees. The lounge visits are spend-gated at ₹50,000 a quarter, not free, and redemption runs by phone through the LIC catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
What is the reward rate?
Is the card lifetime free?
Does it include lounge access?
What insurance cover does it include?
Do the reward points expire?
How will Axis apply my payment across the outstanding balance from 28 August 2026?
How has the LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card changed over time?
Has the LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
A genuinely free card that earns better than its reputation: about 1% on everyday spends and about 2% on LIC premiums and international spends, once the points are priced at what LIC's own catalogue actually pays for them. What you should not bank on is the lounge access — the 8 visits only unlock in quarters where you spent ₹50,000 in the previous three months, which is roughly ₹2 lakh a year on a card most people hold purely for the premium. Hold it as a free ~1% card with a good LIC accelerator, and treat the lounges as an occasional bonus.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 3 earn rules, 1 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 3 recorded perks.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card are taken from Axis Bank's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Reviewed by Devchandra Sah. Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for Axis Bank. All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2011 · last change Aug 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeObserved 29 Jul 2026 · Effective 28 Aug 2026
Dynamic currency conversion markup more than doubles to 3.5%
1.5% + GST→3.5% + GST
Axis Bank raised the dynamic currency conversion mark-up from 1.5% to 3.5% plus GST. DCC applies when an overseas merchant offers to bill you in rupees instead of the local currency, and it stacks on top of the usual foreign-currency mark-up. Declining the rupee option at the terminal and paying in the local currency avoids the charge entirely.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeObserved 29 Jul 2026 · Effective 28 Aug 2026
New top late-payment slab of Rs 1,300 above Rs 50,000
Rs 1,200 on any total payment due above Rs 10,000→Rs 1,200 from Rs 10,001 to Rs 50,000; Rs 1,300 above Rs 50,000
Axis Bank added a fifth late-payment slab. Everything up to Rs 50,000 is unchanged, but a total payment due of more than Rs 50,000 now attracts Rs 1,300 instead of Rs 1,200. The same notice fixes the order in which a payment is applied to the outstanding: fees and charges including taxes first, then EMIs, interest, purchases and cash advances.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardObserved 29 Jul 2026 · Effective 28 Aug 2026
Tolls and road fees stop earning rewards; gift cards split into their own category
Bridge fees, road fees and tolls earned at the normal rate→No rewards or cashback on bridge fees, road fees and tolls
Axis Bank added bridge fees, road fees and tolls to the spends that earn nothing. Separately, gift card purchases move out of the Wallet spend category into a new Gift Card category; they already earned no rewards, and they continue to be excluded from spend-based fee waivers and milestone thresholds.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2024
- ▼ FeeEffective 20 Dec 2024
Bank-wide charges revision — finance rate standardised, new ancillary fees added
Pre-Dec-2024 fee schedule→3.75%/month finance charge; DCC markup 1% -> 1.5%; branch cash payment ₹100 -> ₹175; new fees added
A portfolio-wide repricing standardised the monthly finance/interest charge to 3.75% (matching this card's current card-data rate), raised the Dynamic Currency Conversion markup from 1% to 1.5%, raised the branch cash-payment fee from ₹100 to ₹175, and added an auto-debit-reversal fee and other ancillary charges — none of which change the reward-earn or lounge benefits, but all raise the cost of actually using a nominally free card. The circular's ₹99 EDGE Rewards redemption fee does not apply here: this card's points live in the LIC Cards catalogue, not the EDGE programme.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2011
- ◆ LaunchEffective 20 Jun 2011
LIC-Axis Bank co-branded credit card program launched, incl. Visa Signature tier
LIC Cards Services Limited and Axis Bank launched their co-branded credit card program with four parallel tiers — Visa Gold, Visa Platinum, Visa Signature and MasterCard Titanium — giving LIC policyholders bonus reward points on premium payments plus a fuel surcharge waiver. The Visa Signature tier, named at launch, is the direct lineage of today's LIC Axis Bank Signature card; Gold and Titanium were discontinued over time, leaving Platinum and Signature as the current two-tier lineup, with Signature positioned as the upgraded variant.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/axis-lic#value-timeline">LIC Axis Bank Signature Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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