Overview Travel Credit Card

Travel credit cards are your best friend if you travel frequently for business or pleasure. They give you exclusive benefits like free air miles, premium airport lounge access, and more such travel related benefits. Read on about the features and benefits of some of the top Travel Credit Cards in India.

Travel Credit Cards are an important segment for every credit card company. Citibank, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, and many of the leading Credit Card companies in India offer atleast 4-5 travel credit cards to suit customer needs. Whether you travel domestically or internationally, a Travel Credit Card can help you save a ton of money when you are traveling.

For travelers, flight or train tickets is only one part of the total expense. They need to spend on various other facilities like accommodation, food, local transport, and more. Travel credit cards offer discounts on these facilities too.

Also, many of these Travel Credit Cards come with Travel Insurance Benefits, which is an added bonus. Losing your luggage or other personal items can be a harrowing experience, especially when you are in a foreign land. With travel and personal accident insurance, credit card holders are able to mitigate the stress and hassle they need to face with such situations.

Let us have a look at the important features of a Travel Credit Card

Air Miles: This is one of the significant features of any travel credit card. Customers can get free air miles on the amount they spend on these cards. Generally, they are credited some 10 air miles for every Rs.100 they spend on the card. This is card specific and customers should check with their credit card company on the air miles policy for their card. These air miles can then be converted for discounts on their flight tickets. Frequent travelers are able to accumulate higher air miles and sometimes get free tickets for their travels.

Welcome Gifts And Joining Bonus: This is common to most credit cards and travel credit cards enjoy these benefits too. These benefits are in the form of increased reward points for the first few months, or some higher discount percentage on booking flight tickets, and more such. Some also offer additional free airport lounge access in the first few months.

Annual Fee Waivers: Most travel credit cards have a joining fee and annual fee as the come with premium benefits for you. However, you may get a renewal fee waiver for your travel credit card if you spend a particular amount every year. This amount varies according to the credit card provider.

Find out more about getting Annual Fee Waiver on your credit cards!

Travel Insurance: This is another beneficial feature for travel credit cards. Many cards offer comprehensive Travel Insurance covering air accident, lost baggage, and lost card liability. The insurance amount varies anywhere from Rs.10 lakhs to Rs.1 crore.

Global Acceptance: As an international traveler, you want to be able to use your card anywhere in the world. And your travel credit card has to have that feature. Most of the popular travel credit cards offer you worldwide usage across airlines, hotels and shopping establishments.

Complimentary Lounge Access: International travelers understand the benefits of a lounge access. While you are on a long haul flight or in transit, a nice place to relax and stretch your legs is important. Complimentary lounge access is a great attraction for such travelers and many travel credit cards offer this facility throughout the year. Also, this facility can be accessed in any airport across the world.

Now that we have seen the main features of a travel credit card, let us look at some of the top travel credit cards in India that you should go for:

Card Name

Joining Fees & Annual Fees

Special Features

Citibank Premier Miles Card

Rs.3000 

  • Additional air miles on every Rs.100 transaction
  • Global acceptance and redemption of air miles
  • Air miles that never expire
  • Air Accident Insurance Cover of up to Rs.1 core
  • Lost Card Liability Cover of Rs.10 Lakh
  • Discounts at restaurants 
  • Shop at leading brands and pay with reward points instantly

Air India SBI Signature Credit Card

Rs. 4,999 + Taxes

  • 20,000 Reward points as a welcome gift
  • Complimentary membership to Air India Frequent Flyer Program-Flying Returns
  • Get 1 Air India Mile for every reward point. Get 4 reward points for every Rs.100 spent
  • Complimentary Priority Pass Program gives access to over 600 International Airport Luxury Lounge
  • Free lost card liability cover of Rs.1 lakh
  • 1% fuel surcharge waiver on petrol spends of Rs.500-4000 
  • Even when you are travelling abroad, an emergency card replacement hotline is available 24x7

Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card

Rs.1500

  • Free complimentary Premium Economy ticket voucher as welcome gift.
  • Complimentary Club Vistara Silver membership 
  • 4 reward points for every Rs.200 spent
  • Bonus reward points and up to 4 complimentary Premium Economy tickets on reaching spend milestones
  • Complimentary lounge access to premium airport lounges across the world
  • Air accident insurance cover of up to Rs.2.5 crores
  • Purchase protection cover of up to Rs.1 lakh
  • USD 300 cover for loss of travel documents, check-in baggage delay or loss

HDFC Regalia Credit Card

Rs.2500 + taxes

  • Membership in the Dineout Passport complimentary.
  • Get 12 complimentary airport lounge access within India and 6 complimentary airport lounge abroad.
  • Receive additional 10,000 Reward Points for spending Rs.5 lakhs and an extra 5,000 Reward Points for spending Rs.8 lakhs.
  • For every Rs.150 purchased, you will receive 4 Reward Points.

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card

Joining Fee - Rs 2,500

Renewal Fee – Nil

  • Joining benefits of Rs.1500 My Cash, MMTBLACK Membership, MMT Holiday Voucher worth Rs.2500
  • Exclusive MMT Cabs benefits
  • Complimentary Airtel International roaming pack for your mobile phone
  • Complimentary domestic and international airport lounge access
  • 1.5 years extended validity for My Cash joining benefit

IRCTC SBI Card Premier

Rs.1499 + taxes

  • Welcome gift of 1500 reward points equal to Rs.1500 upon first annual fee payment
  • 10% Value Back benefit on purchase of AC1, AC2, AC3, AC CC train tickets on IRCTC website and mobile app
  • Get 3 reward points for every Rs.250 spent on dining and utility charges standing instruction
  • Get enhanced reward points on annual travel spends
  • Complimentary travel insurance – Rs.10 lakhs rail accident insurance, Rs.50 lakhs air accident insurance and Rs.1 lakh fraud liability cover
  • 1% fuel surcharge waiver on petrol spends of Rs.500-4000
  • Complimentary access to 8 premium railway lounges across India 

JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Diners Club

Rs.5000 + Taxes

  • Complimentary InterMiles Gold membership for the first year
  • Flight and hotel discount vouchers for the first year
  • Get 8 InterMiles for every Rs.150 retail spend and 16 InterMiles for every Rs.150 flight ticket spends
  • Additional discounts on Etihad Airways tickets
  • Unlimited complimentary access to Gold games at leading golf courses in India and abroad
  • Unlimited airport lounge access to more than 1000+ lounges across the world
  • Complimentary Dineout Passport membership
  • Renewal fee waiver upon spending Rs.8 lakhs on your card in a year
  • Air accident insurance worth Rs.2 crores
  • Emergency overseas hospitalization cover of up to Rs.50 lakhs
  • Credit liability cover of up to Rs.9 lakhs

How To Apply For Travel Credit Cards?

All the above cards can be conveniently applied for on the banks’ websites. You will need to submit basic details like your name, phone number and address details. A bank representative shall contact you for further application process.

Check Your Eligibility For Credit Cards Today On Creditmantri!

Travel Credit Cards FAQs

1. Which is the best travel credit card for free airport lounge access?

Based on consumer feedback, JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Diners Club gives you the best benefits on free airport lounge access across India and abroad.

2. What are Air Miles benefit?

Air miles are points that are added for every transaction you make on your travel credit card. These air miles are converted into discounts on your flight tickets.

3. Are there travel credit cards that come with zero joining fees?

Owing to the premium benefits offered by travel credit cards, there aren’t any that come with Zero joining fees. However, many of the cards offer renewal fee waiver for spending a certain amount on your card in the previous year.

4. What are the eligibility criteria to get travel credit cards?

The eligibility criteria are pretty much similar to other credit cards; you need to be an Indian resident citizen, over the age of 21, and should either be salaried or self-employed. The income criteria differ from bank to bank. It is advisable to check with your bank on the specific eligibility conditions for the particular travel credit card you are looking at.

5. Can I withdraw money at an ATM using my travel credit card?

Yes, you can withdraw money using your travel credit card, very much like any other credit card. However, the cash withdrawal charges are pretty high for credit cards so you need to be careful. Especially, if you are withdrawing money in a foreign country, the charges would be very high. Check the schedule of charges before withdrawing money. It is advisable to withdraw money using your travel credit card only in cases of absolute emergency.

Latest & Update Travel Credit Cards News

AU Small Finance Bank and Ixigo Partner to Launch Premium Co-branded Travel Credit Card10 Nov 2023

AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India's largest small finance bank, has tied up with Ixigo, a high-end travel platform to launch a premium co-branded credit card - The ixigo-AU co-branded credit card suitable for modern travellers. This card which ha...

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AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India's largest small finance bank, has tied up with Ixigo, a high-end travel platform to launch a premium co-branded credit card - The ixigo-AU co-branded credit card suitable for modern travellers. This card which has an annual fee of Rs. 999 plus GST is curated to provide seamless, flexible, and convenient traveling options for individuals across all travel sectors including flights, trains, buses, and hotels. It comes with a welcome bonus of 1000 reward points and Ixigo Money worth Rs. 1000 on completing the first successful transaction within the initial 30 days of card issuance. Travellers will get a discount of upto 10% on flights, bus, and hotel bookings. However, the best feature of this credit card is its multiple benefits for train travellers. Users will benefit from zero payment gateway charges for train bookings twice a month and get top tier reward points for all offline and online transactions. Moreover, it is the only OTA travel credit card to offer upto eight railway lounges, eight domestic airport lounges, and one international lounge access per year Additional benefits include a one percent fuel surcharge waiver on transactions and an annual fee waiver upon reaching a minimum spend of Rs. 1 lakh in the preceding year.

Indian tourists using credit cards in Europe now pay lesser interchange fees11 Feb 2019

Owing to a deal between the credit card companies like MasterCard, Visa, and the European Union, the interchange fee on physical usage of credit card (Indian issued credit cards) within the EU will come down drastically from 1.9% to 0.3%. E-commerce ...

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Owing to a deal between the credit card companies like MasterCard, Visa, and the European Union, the interchange fee on physical usage of credit card (Indian issued credit cards) within the EU will come down drastically from 1.9% to 0.3%. E-commerce transactions will also see a modest reduction. Interechange fees are paid to the card-issuing bank to cover handling costs, fraud, and bad debt costs and the risk involved in approving the payment.

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