Cashback vs Miles: A Decision Tree for Indian Professionals

Choosing the wrong reward type wastes months of spend. Use this decision tree to align your lifestyle with the right currency.

Signal: If 60%+ of your spend is domestic and you fly <3 times/year, cashback beats miles. Otherwise, premium travel currencies win.

Decision Variables

Question	Cashback leaning	Miles leaning
Flights/year	<3	≥3 (esp. international)
Employer reimburses travel?	No	Yes
Tolerance for award hunting	Low	High
Access to transfer partners	None	Axis/HDFC premium cards

Score each variable (cashback = 1, miles = 2). Totals ≥6 lean miles.

Lifestyle Archetypes

Persona	Traits	Recommended currency	Starter combo
Salary optimizer	₹40k monthly spend, rare flights	Cashback	Axis Ace + SBI Cashback
Side-hustle flyer	Client reimbursements, 4–6 flights/yr	Miles	Axis Atlas-credit-card/)-credit-card/)-credit-card/) + HDFC Regalia
Luxury sprinter	High discretionary + global travel	Miles (premium)	HDFC Infinia + Amex Plat Travel
Family CFO	Mixed spend, school fees, domestic trips	Hybrid	SBI Cashback + Vistara co-brand

Reality Check Worksheet

Metric	Last 12 months	Realistic next 12 months	Notes
Domestic trips
International trips
Reimbursable spend
Annual fee budget
Time willing to research awards (hrs/mo)

Fill this table before committing. Overestimating future travel is the biggest reason miles go stale.

Hybrid Option

60:40 rule—keep one cashback card (Axis Ace) for bills and one miles card (Axis Atlas-credit-card/)-credit-card/)-credit-card/)/HDFC Infinia) for travel + big purchases. Redeem cashback quarterly; hoard miles only when a trip is planned.

Guardrails

• Cap unredeemed miles at the value of one year’s travel budget; anything beyond that is dead capital.
• Track point expiry dates in the same Notion page you use for statement reminders.
• Rebalance annually—if work-from-home reduces your flights, downgrade to cashback-heavy cards before renewal.

Next Steps

1. Fill out the decision table with your own data.
2. Set quarterly reminders to reassess—promotion or new travel habits can flip the answer.
3. Document redemptions (₹ value saved) to prove the strategy is working.