Axis adds Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Hilton, brings Accor back, and moves Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas into the smaller transfer pool

Six months after Axis pulled Accor, Marriott and Qatar Airways from its transfer list overnight (our April coverage), it has reshuffled the list again. This time there is real good news in it, and one quiet change that hurts the people who move the most points.

Live From A Lounge and CardInsider both reported the change on 23 September 2026. CardInsider gives the effective date as 22 September; Live From A Lounge gives 23 September. Either way, it is already live.

What changed

The good part: two Star Alliance and oneworld doors open

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and Lufthansa Miles & More are genuinely useful additions for Indian travellers. Asia Miles prices oneworld awards (including Cathay's own premium cabins through Hong Kong), and Miles & More is the program behind Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian. Neither was reachable from an Axis card before.

CardInsider reports Miles & More transfers at 1:1 on Atlas, with a limit of 2,00,000 Miles & More miles per calendar year. Hilton Honors joins as well, though hotel points are rarely the best use of Axis miles.

The catch: Accor is back, but not at its old price

Accor's return is not a reversal of April. Live From A Lounge and CardInsider both give the Magnus for Burgundy ratio as 5:2. CreditKeeda reports the Atlas ratio as 2:1, the same shape as the April partners, where two EDGE Miles now buy one Accor point. If you remember Accor on Axis as the easy hotel redemption, re-price it before you transfer.

The part that hurts heavy users: Group A

Axis splits its partners into two groups, each with its own annual transfer allowance, and the Group A allowance is much smaller. Moving Air India, Flying Blue and Qantas into Group A means they now share the smaller pool with the other Group A partners, including the newly added Accor and Cathay Pacific.

CreditKeeda reports the annual limits as follows (Live From A Lounge independently confirms the Atlas Group A figure of 30,000):

CreditKeeda describes this as a 75% cut in the maximum annual transfer to those three airlines, and notes the caps are shared pools that reset on 1 January. We have not seen these limits on an Axis page, so treat the per-card figures beyond Atlas as reported.

What to do

• If you redeem on Air India, Flying Blue or Qantas: your yearly ceiling for those programs is now the Group A pool. Plan transfers across the calendar year rather than in one go.
• If you fly Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian or Cathay: this is the first time Axis miles reach those programs. Check award prices on the program's own site before moving anything, because transfers are one-way.
• If you were saving for Accor: the ratio is worse than the one you remember. Run the numbers again.

Our transfer partner matrix shows which programs each card reaches and at what ratio (where we have a sourced one), and the points calculator will tell you what your EDGE Miles are worth across routes.