Amazon Pay ICICI vs Flipkart Axis 2026: Which Card Wins?

Amazon Pay ICICI is the better card if most of your online shopping happens on Amazon: it pays 5% there with Prime, has no fees at all and charges a lower 1.99% forex markup. Flipkart Axis is better if you shop on Flipkart or Myntra, and it's the stronger everyday card overall, with 1.5% on general spend, 4% on partners like Swiggy and Uber, and four domestic lounge visits a year.

These are India's two biggest e-commerce co-brand cards. Both pay 5% on their home platform, so the real decision comes down to everything else.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	Amazon Pay ICICI	Flipkart Axis Bank
Joining fee	₹0	₹0
Annual fee	₹0	₹500
Fee waiver spend	Not needed	₹3,50,000 a year
Base reward rate	1%	1.5%
Home platform	5% on Amazon with Prime (3% without)	5% on Flipkart and Myntra
Partner rate	2% on 100+ Amazon Pay merchants	4% on Swiggy, Uber, PVR, Cleartrip and others
Caps	None listed	Unlimited
Reward type	Amazon Pay balance	Cashback
Forex markup	1.99%	3.5%
Domestic lounge	None	4 visits a year, one per quarter
International lounge	None	None
Fuel	1% waiver, capped at ₹100/cycle	1% waiver, capped at ₹400/cycle
Minimum monthly income	₹30,000	₹15,000

Figures are from BestCard's latest card data. Co-brand terms change frequently, so check the issuer's site before applying.

Rewards maths

Mixed spender: ₹25,000 a month

Split: ₹6,000 on Amazon, ₹4,000 on Flipkart and Myntra, ₹4,000 on Swiggy and Uber, ₹11,000 on everything else.

Amazon Pay ICICI (with Prime)

• Amazon: 5% of ₹6,000 = ₹300
• Flipkart and Myntra: 1% of ₹4,000 = ₹40
• Swiggy and Uber: 1% of ₹4,000 = ₹40 (more if any are Amazon Pay partners at 2%)
• Other: 1% of ₹11,000 = ₹110
• Total: ₹490 a month (₹5,880 a year)

Flipkart Axis

• Amazon: 1.5% of ₹6,000 = ₹90
• Flipkart and Myntra: 5% of ₹4,000 = ₹200
• Swiggy and Uber: 4% of ₹4,000 = ₹160
• Other: 1.5% of ₹11,000 = ₹165
• Total: ₹615 a month (₹7,380 a year)

Annual spend is ₹3 lakh, below Flipkart Axis's ₹3.5 lakh waiver, so subtract ₹500 plus 18% GST (₹590). Net: ₹6,790 a year, still ₹910 ahead of Amazon Pay ICICI.

Amazon-heavy spender: ₹40,000 a month

Split: ₹20,000 on Amazon, ₹2,000 on Flipkart, ₹3,000 on partners, ₹15,000 other.

Amazon Pay ICICI: ₹1,000 + ₹20 + ₹30 + ₹150 = ₹1,200 a month (₹14,400 a year).

Flipkart Axis: ₹300 + ₹100 + ₹120 + ₹225 = ₹745 a month (₹8,940 a year). Annual spend is ₹4.8 lakh, so the fee is waived.

Here Amazon Pay ICICI earns ₹5,460 more a year. The pattern is simple: whichever platform takes the bigger share of your online spend usually decides the winner. Flipkart Axis has the edge only when spend is evenly spread, because of its higher base and partner rates.

Fees and waivers

Amazon Pay ICICI is lifetime free, full stop. The only related cost is Amazon Prime, which you need for the 5% rate (3% without it).

Flipkart Axis has no joining fee and a ₹500 annual fee. The ₹3.5 lakh waiver works out to about ₹29,200 a month, which is high for an entry-level card. Most moderate spenders will pay ₹590 a year including GST. At its earn rates, it still pays for itself quickly.

Lounge and travel

Flipkart Axis includes four complimentary domestic lounge visits a year, one per quarter. That's enough for occasional flyers. Amazon Pay ICICI has no lounge access.

For foreign spend, Amazon Pay ICICI's 1.99% markup beats Flipkart Axis's 3.5%. On ₹50,000 of international spend, that's ₹995 vs ₹1,750 in markup before GST. Flipkart Axis's 4% on Cleartrip helps on domestic travel bookings.

Redemption

Amazon Pay ICICI credits rewards as Amazon Pay balance, which you can spend on Amazon and at merchants that accept Amazon Pay. It isn't cash, but for regular Amazon shoppers it's as good as cash.

Flipkart Axis credits cashback directly to the card statement, so you can use it anywhere.

One practical point: both cards exclude some categories from cashback, and banks revise these lists from time to time. Rent, wallet loads and fuel are common exclusions on co-branded cards, so read the current terms before routing a large payment through either card. Our guide to cashback exclusions lists what to check. Also remember that Amazon Pay ICICI's 5% depends on keeping Prime active; if your membership lapses, Amazon purchases drop to 3%, which narrows its lead in the Amazon-heavy example above.

Who should pick which

Choose Amazon Pay ICICI if:

• Amazon takes most of your online shopping budget and you have Prime
• You want a card with zero fees forever
• You travel abroad occasionally
• You plan big Amazon purchases during sales (see Great Indian Festival cards)

Choose Flipkart Axis if:

• You shop mostly on Flipkart and Myntra
• You use Swiggy, Uber, PVR or Cleartrip regularly
• You want a strong 1.5% base rate for everyday spend
• You'd use four domestic lounge visits a year
• Your income is below ₹30,000 a month (it needs ₹15,000)

Hold both if you shop on both platforms. Amazon Pay ICICI costs nothing to keep, so the pair covers almost all e-commerce at 5%.

Read our full Amazon Pay ICICI review and Flipkart Axis review, or see Big Billion Days card picks. You can apply for Flipkart Axis here, or view the Amazon Pay ICICI and Flipkart Axis card pages.

Verdict

There's no universal winner. For a balanced spender, Flipkart Axis earns more thanks to its 1.5% base rate and 4% partner rate, even after the annual fee. For anyone whose spend leans towards Amazon, Amazon Pay ICICI wins comfortably and costs nothing. Most people who shop on both should simply hold both.

Not sure which pattern you fit? The BestCard card matcher works it out from your monthly spending.