Best Travel Credit Cards in India

Travel credit cards come with numerous benefits that can help users save substantially on their travel bookings.

These benefits may come in the form of direct discounts, accelerated rewards on flight or hotel bookings, travel-centric redemption options, airline benefits, complimentary lounge access, travel memberships, and even free flight tickets. Due to such extensive benefits, travel credit cards have gained immense popularity among frequent travelers. 

However, with so many options available, choosing the right card for your travel preferences could be confusing.

For your help, we have listed some of the best travel credit cards in India. While most of these are co-branded with popular airlines or travel portals, others might offer all-round benefits. To choose the right credit card, users must keep in consideration not just their spending patterns but also their eligibility and how much fee are they willing to pay for a travel card.

Some top travel credit cards are as follows:

1. Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card

Joining/Annual Fee: Rs. 5,000

Axis Bank Atlas credit card is popularly known for its airline agnostic feature. Unlike co-branded travel credit cards that are partnered with a specific airline, this card offers general benefits across multiple airlines and even hotel partners. Besides, the card comes with a unique tier-based structure as per the annual cumulative spends made in a year, the more you spend the more you earn.

This card is a great fit for frequent travelers who do not have any brand inclinations. However, since the maximum benefits are offered on the Platinum Tier, high-spenders can easily maximize the value of this card.

Some key features of Axis Atlas are as follows:

• 2,500 EDGE Miles as activation benefit (on completing the first transaction within 37 days from card issuance)
• 5 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent on Travel EDGE, airline & hotel merchants on monthly travel spends up to Rs. 2 Lakh 
• 2 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent on Travel EDGE, airline & hotel merchants on monthly travel spends above Rs. 2 Lakh 
• 2 EDGE Miles per Rs. 100 spent on other transactions
• 1 EDGE mile= Rs. 1, for booking flights, hotels & experiences via Axis Travel EDGE platform 
• 1 EDGE Mile = 2 Partner Points across all airlines & hotels (2 EDGE Miles = 1 Marriott Bonvoy Point)
• Tier-based benefits: Silver Tier- New user/ User spending Rs. 3 Lakh; Gold Tier- User spending Rs. 7.5 Lakh; Platinum Tier- User spending Rs. 15 Lakh
• Up to 12 tier-based international airport lounge visits in a year  (Silver – 4, Gold- 6, Platinum-12)
• Up to 18 tier-based domestic airport lounge visits every year (Silver 8, Gold- 12, Platinum- 18)
• Up to 10,000 bonus EDGE Miles in a year as milestone benefits
• Up to 5,000 bonus EDGE Miles, based on cardholder’s tier, on annual fee payment

2. Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 4,999

Club Vistara IDFC FIRST is a co-branded credit card with Vistara Airlines, which rewards users with CV points. The card has an edge over other Vistara co-branded credit cards due to a better reward rate, inclusion of everyday spends like utilities in rewards programs, higher frequency on lounge access and lower forex markup fee.

Vistara loyalists who meet the eligibility criteria of Rs. 12 Lakh per annum and do not mind paying a slightly higher annual fee of Rs. 4,999 can consider this card.

Some key features of the card are as follows:

• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver and 3 months EazyDiner Prime membership on joining
• 1 Premium Economy ticket and 1 One Class Upgrade voucher as activation benefits
• 6 CV Points per Rs. 200 spent, up to monthly spends of Rs. 1 lakh 
• 4 CV Points per Rs. 200 spent beyond monthly spends of Rs. 1 lakh 
• 10 CV Points per Rs. 200 on dining bills on birthday
• 1 CV Point per Rs. 200 spent on utility, fuel, rent, insurance & wallet load
• 2,000 CV Points each on reaching Rs. 30,000 monthly spends in 2nd, 3rd & 4th billing cycle
• 1 Premium Economy ticket voucher each on reaching Rs. 1.5 lakh, Rs. 3 lakh, Rs. 4.5 lakh, Rs. 9 lakh and Rs. 12 lakh annual spends 
• Low Forex mark-fee of 2.99%
• 12 complimentary golf lessons (1 per month) & 4 rounds of green fees (max. 1 round in a month) every year
• 50% off on golf green fee beyond free sessions
• 2 complimentary domestic airport lounge & spa visits and 1 visit to international airport lounge per quarter (subject to Rs. 20,000 monthly spends)
• Cancellation cover on travel bookings of up to Rs. 10,000 (maximum 2 claims)
  

3. Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 10,000

Another co-branded Vistara card on this list is the Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card. It is a premium card in the Axis and Vistara Airline co-branded association. The card offers high-end benefits including 5 business class tickets in a year through welcome and milestone benefits and complimentary golf rounds.

However, it lags behind in offering some international travel benefits like international lounge access and low forex markup fee. Having said that, Vistara loyalists who prefer flying business class can still consider it a good choice.

Some key features of the card are as follows:

• Business class ticket voucher as activation benefit on fee payment
• Complimentary Club Vistara Gold membership
• 6 CV Points per Rs. 200 – redeemable for award flights and upgrades
• 1 business class ticket each on annual spends of Rs. 2.5 lakh, Rs. 5 lakh, Rs. 7.5 lakh & Rs. 12 lakh 
• 2 domestic airport lounge access per quarter (On spending Rs. 50,000 in the previous 3 months)
• 6 complimentary golf rounds every year
• Up to 15% off on Trident property bookings
• 40% off up to Rs. 1,000 at partner restaurants via EazyDiner
• Travel documents & baggage related insurance cover worth USD 300
  

4. Kotak IndiGo Ka-ching 6E Rewards XL Credit Card

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 2,500

Kotak IndiGo 6E Rewards XL credit card does an exceptionally good job for its co-branded association. The card offers accelerated rewards on ticket bookings at IndiGo, priority meals, baggage assistance, priority check-in and other complimentary services. In addition to travel benefits, users also get extended benefits on dining, entertainment and grocery. However, the core benefit on this card is its rewards program that offers 6E Reward Points that can be redeemed only with IndiGo airlines, thus making it a good choice for the brand’s loyalists.

Some key features of this card are as follows:

• Complimentary IndiGo air ticket worth Rs. 3,000 on card activation
• 6 points on every Rs. 100 spent on IndiGo airlines
• 3 points on every Rs. 100 spent on partner merchants on dining, grocery and entertainment
• 2 points on every Rs. 100 spent on other categories
• Prime add-ons worth Rs. 899, including priority check-in, choice of seat, complimentary meal and quicker baggage assistance
• 8 complimentary domestic lounge access visits every year

5. Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 350

Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip is another co-branded credit card in this list. It offers the best benefits on travel bookings with EaseMyTrip with direct discount on both international and domestic flights and hotel bookings. The best part, however, is that unlike most co-branded credit cards that limit travel benefits to the partnered brands, this card offers benefits on standalone travel bookings as well. For a low annual fee of Rs. 350, the benefits on the card are quite impressive. Thus, a good choice for beginners who are also frequent travellers and want all round travel benefits to save substantial value on their travel spends.

Some key features of the card are as follows:

• 20% off (up to Rs. 5,000 per month) on domestic hotel bookings via EaseMyTrip
• 20% off (up to Rs. 10,000 per month) on international hotel bookings via EaseMyTrip
• 10% off (up to Rs. 1,000 per month) on EaseMyTrip domestic flights
• 10% off (up to Rs. 5,000 per month) on EaseMyTrip international flights
• Rs. 125 off on minimum EaseMyTrip bus ticket booking of Rs. 500
• 10 reward points per Rs. 100 spent at standalone hotels/airlines
• 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other retail transactions; 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25
• Up to 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visit per year (1 per quarter)
• 2 complimentary international airport lounge visits per year
• Annual fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 50,000 or above
  

6. IRCTC SBI Card Premier

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 1,499

IRCTC SBI Card Premier is a credit card co-branded with IRCTC. It is among the very few credit cards in India that offer benefits on railway travel. The card justifies the annual fee charged with varying benefits like bonus reward points, value back on IRCTC ticket bookings, rewards on dining and utility bill payments, railway lounge access, etc. If you prefer train journeys, this credit card can be the right pick for your domestic travel expenses.

Some key features of the card are as follows:

• 1500 bonus reward points as activation benefit on payment of joining fee (1 reward point= Re. 1)
• 10% value back as reward points on ticket booking through the IRCTC app or website (on AC1, AC2, AC 3, AC CC)
• 3 reward points on every Rs. 125 spent on dining and utility payments (standing instructions)
• Complimentary covers on rail accident, air accident, and fraud liability 
• Transaction charges waiver on railway & airline ticket bookings on IRCTC
• 8 complimentary railway lounge access in a year (2 per quarter)
• Annual fee waiver on spending Rs. 2 Lakh

7. HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card

Joining Fee/Annual Fee: Rs. 10,000

HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card is a super-premium credit card. The card offers high-end travel benefits including low forex markup fee, travel memberships and unlimited lounge access. Additionally, it extends all round benefits across categories like golf, dining, and shopping. Thus, this card is a suitable choice for you, if you want all round benefits from a single credit card, largely focusing on travel features and a high reward rate. However, the card comes with a high annual fee and stringent eligibility criteria and not everyone would qualify for it.

Some key features of the card are as follows:

• Complimentary Club Marriott, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One annual memberships on card activation (subject to spending Rs. 1.5 lakh within 90 days of card issuance)
• 10,000 bonus reward points on spending Rs. 4 lakh every calendar quarter
• 2X reward points on weekend dining spends
• 5 reward points per Rs. 150 on retail spends
• Up to 10X reward points on SmartBuy spends
• Unlimited domestic & international airport lounge visits
• Low forex markup fee of 2% 
• 6 complimentary golf games per calendar quarter
• Up to 25% off on dining via Swiggy Dineout
• Annual fee waiver on spending Rs. 5 Lakh in the previous year 

So, these were some of the best travel credit cards in India. Before choosing a credit card, you must analyze your own travel preferences and spending habits. For instance, if you prefer a specific travel portal or airline for your frequent travel, choosing a co-branded card would be a better choice. However, if you do not want brand restrictions, you should look for a credit card with all round travel benefits. These usually belong in the mid-level or premium category and may come with higher income eligibility and an annual fee. You must also do a cost-benefit analysis to see if the features justify the fee, and if you can drive the maximum value back as per your spending patterns.