Zenith+ Credit Card

Can you get AU Zenith+ lifetime free?

Usually not, and that surprises people. Users report AU offering the base Zenith card (₹7,999) lifetime free through corporate tie-ups, while Zenith+ (₹4,999) is rarely offered free. A March 2026 thread asks exactly this, and users in our sentiment report warn about agents promising Zenith+ as lifetime free without anything in writing. Plan on paying the fee, and treat any free offer as real only once AU confirms it in writing.

This page is the AU Zenith+ metal card. It is not the base AU Zenith, which costs more, charges 3.49% forex and gives fewer lounge visits.

Why the fee is close to free in year one

Zenith+ costs ₹4,999 + GST, about ₹5,899. The welcome benefit is a ₹5,000 brand voucher or 5,000 reward points, and each point is worth ₹1. So year one costs you about ₹899 net. From year two, the fee is waived only if you spend ₹8 lakh in the previous anniversary year, about ₹66,700 a month. No first-year spend waiver is stated.

0.99% forex, worked out

This is the card's real job. Most Indian cards charge about 3.5% on foreign spends. Zenith+ charges 0.99% and pays 2 points per ₹100 on international spends.

• ₹1 lakh spent abroad costs ₹990 in markup and earns 2,000 points, worth ₹2,000.
• On a typical 3.5% card, the same ₹1 lakh costs ₹3,500 in markup.

You come out about ₹1,000 ahead on Zenith+. On the standard card you start ₹3,500 behind, before GST on the markup and before whatever that card earns back.

Travel and dining also earn 2 points per ₹100 (2%). Everything else earns 1 point (1%). Utility, insurance and education are capped at 1,000 points. Spend ₹75,000 in a statement cycle and you get a 1,000-point bonus, which lifts a ₹75,000 month of regular spends to about 2.3%.

Lounges, meet and assist, and the ₹12 lakh Taj line

You get 4 domestic and 4 international lounge visits a quarter, the international ones through Priority Pass, so 16 of each a year. AU's own note says these limits change often, so check before a trip. Airport meet and assist is included; check how many uses you get in AU's terms.

Taj Epicure is not a free perk. It unlocks only when you spend ₹12 lakh in a card anniversary year. Older listings that show it as complimentary are out of date.

Users who hold Zenith+ describe it as a secondary card next to Axis Atlas or HDFC Infinia: Atlas or Infinia for rewards, Zenith+ for forex and lounges. One recent holder calls it "a good lounge card with some other perks but not a great cashback card". There is no dedicated sentiment report for Zenith+ yet, so treat this as a small sample.

Final word on AU Zenith+

Get it if you travel abroad a few times a year and want low forex, steady lounge access and a fee that the welcome benefit nearly covers. It works best as a second card for trips.

Skip it as an everyday rewards card. At 1% on regular spends and an ₹8 lakh renewal bar, Axis Atlas or a cashback card will earn more at home.

Credit Card Information Compiled by: Abhijeet Kumar | Reviewed by: Anmol Ratan Sachdeva