Axis Bank ACE Credit Card Review: Google Pay Utility Cashback, But Check Availability First
Pros
- 5% cashback on utility bills via Google Pay -- high rate for a Rs.499 card
- 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits/year, unusual at this fee tier
- Fee waivable at Rs.2 lakh annual spend (excluding rent/wallet loads)
- 1.5% unlimited flat rate on all other spends
Cons
- Multiple 2026 sources report new-applicant issuance may be paused -- verify before publishing
- 5% utility rate only counts if paid via Google Pay specifically, not other apps
- 5% and 4% categories share a combined Rs.500/cycle cap
- No accelerated rate on utility payments made through any non-Google Pay channel since April 2024
Important: confirm availability before publishing
Several comparison sites report that Axis Bank is not currently issuing new ACE cards to fresh applicants as of 2026, even though the product page and existing cardholder terms remain active. This is a single-category claim worth verifying directly with Axis Bank before this review goes live -- if the card genuinely isn't open to new applicants, the review should be framed around existing cardholders or pulled from any "apply now" placement.
Reward structure
For cards that are active, the earning structure is: 5% cashback on utility bill payments and recharges (electricity, water, gas, LPG, broadband, DTH, mobile) but only when paid through the Google Pay app on Android, 4% cashback on Swiggy, Zomato, and Ola, and 1.5% unlimited cashback on all other eligible spends.
The Google Pay condition is strict
This is the card's defining limitation: the 5% utility rate requires the transaction to route through Google Pay specifically -- paying the same utility bill via the Axis Bank app, a different UPI app, or the biller's own website does not earn the accelerated rate. Since April 2024, utility spends on any platform other than Google Pay earn no accelerated cashback at all.
Fee and caps
The joining and annual fee is Rs.499 + GST, waived the year after you spend Rs.2 lakh or more (excluding rent and wallet-load transactions from that calculation). The 5% and 4% categories share a combined cap of Rs.500 cashback per statement cycle -- in practice, the full 5% rate on utility bills alone maxes out around Rs.10,000 of eligible monthly spend before the cap binds.
Other benefits
Four complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar year, and a 1% fuel surcharge waiver (on transactions between Rs.400-4,000, capped at Rs.500/month).
How it compares
Against SBI Cashback (5% on any online merchant, no app restriction, Rs.999 fee) and HSBC Live+ (10% on dining/grocery/food delivery up to a higher cap), Axis ACE's edge is genuinely free lounge access at a lower fee -- but only if the Google Pay condition fits your existing payment habits.
Bottom line
A reasonable low-fee card if you already pay utility bills through Google Pay on Android and order regularly from Swiggy, Zomato, or Ola -- the lounge access at Rs.499/year is a genuine value-add most peers don't match. But confirm the card is actually open to new applicants before recommending it, since that availability question changes whether this review should even carry an active application path.
Fees, reward rates, caps, and benefits verified against issuer pages and multiple comparison-site listings as of August 2026, including recent 2026 devaluations and rule changes noted above -- confirm current terms on the issuer's official page/MITC before publishing or applying, as card terms change without notice.
