Do you now that you can save a lot of money if you pick the right credit card while traveling? Today, I am going to list down the best travel credit card India for you. These cards will help you to save money while doing flight ticket booking, hotel booking and dining in the restaurants. It will also help you to generate the reward points which will further be used in your future purchases.
We generally look for benefits like free lounge access when it comes to travel cards, but we forget to check other benefits which can give good discounts on our spendings.
Primarily, in this article, I will list down the best credit card for travel in India which can give you discounts on ticket bookings.
Best Travel Credit Card India
Here is the list of the best travel credit card in India.
- HDFC Diners Club Black
- Citi Premier Miles Credit Card
- American Express Platinum Travel
- SBI Elite Credit Card
- Yes Preferred Credit card
- SBI Air India Signature
- ICICI JetAirways Sapphiro (Amex)
- Axis Bank Privilege Credit Card
- Kotak Royale Signature Credit Card
- SBI IRCTC Credit Card
Now let’s go one by one and check the benefits these cards are providing. We will mainly be focusing on the airport lounge access and ticket booking discounts as today we are focusing on the best travel card.
Also Read: Best Secured Credit Card in India
HDFC Diners Club Black
HDFC Diners Club Black credit card is one of the best travel credit cards in India. It offers unlimited access to the airport lounge across the country. You can access over 700+ airport lounges at any time. Not only that, but it also offers access to the international airport lounges as well.
So it doesn’t matter whether you are traveling domestic or international, you can have the lounge access. The card offers below membership privileges.
- Complimentary annual membership of Club Marriott, Forbes Digital subscription, Zomato Gold, Amazon Prime, MakeMyTrip double black, Times Prime. For availing the above benefits you just need to initiate your first transaction on the card.
- Get a ₹. 500 worth vouchers on the monthly spending of ₹. 80000
- Free membership renewal on the yearly spending of ₹. 800000
- Book air tickets and hotels across 150+ airlines and choice of hotels (domestic and international).
- Redeem reward points for ticket booking.
- Redeem reward points for Airmiles (1 Reward point = 1 Airmiles)
- Low foreign currency markup fees of 1.99%
- Avail tons of benefits on Spa, Saloon, Fitness, Nutrition, etc.
- Earn 5 reward points on the spending of ₹. 150/- on retails shops.
- Air accidental death insurance cover of ₹ 2 crores.
- Credit liability cover of ₹. 9 lakhs.
- Travel baggage insurance cover of ₹ 50000
Citi Premier Miles Credit Card
Another one is from Citi Bank. This card offers maximum reward points on the spending at www.premiermiles.co.in. You can get 10 miles on the spending of ₹. 100 on this website. on other spendings, you will get 4 reward points.
The card offers 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge access every three months on Visa signature card and six domestic lounge access every three months on Master Card.
The drawback here is it doesn’t offer any international lounge access. You can redeem miles across 100+ hotels. You can also transfer miles to 14 airlines.
- Earn 10000 miles on your first spend of ₹. 1000
- Get 3000 miles on renewal.
- Earn 4 Miles for every Rs. 100 spent
- Rs. 10 Lakhs lost card liability cover
- 15% on dining at participating restaurants
- Air accident cover of up to Rs 1 crore
- Redeem miles on Goibibo, Indigo, Bookmyshow, Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
Annual Fees– Rs. 3000 (first-year fee waiver for Citi priority account holders)
American Express Platinum Travel
One of the best and my favorite credit card.
- You earn 1 Membership Rewards Point on every Rs. 50 spent except for spend at Fuel, Utilities, Insurance, and Cash Transactions.
- You earn Milestone Bonus Membership Rewards Points on the following three Milestones as defined below:
• Spending Rs. 5,000 within 60 days of card membership entitles you to a Welcome Gift.
• Reaching spend threshold of Rs. 1.9 Lacs every year7.
• Reaching spend threshold of Rs. 4 Lacs every year7.
- Spend Rs. 1.90 Lacs in a year and get Travel Vouchers worth more than Rs. 7,700.
- Spend Rs. 4 Lacs in a year and additionally get Travel Vouchers worth more than Rs. 11,800.
- Enjoy 4 complimentary visits per year (limited to one complimentary visit per quarter) to airport lounges across India.
- Get a Taj Experiences E-Gift Card worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris.
SBI Elite Credit Card
SBI Elite card is the most valued card as it’s from the SBI Bank. Enjoy 8 domestic and 6 international lounge access every year. Get 10 points on every ₹. 100 spend. Annual fee of ₹. 4999/- which can be waived off on the spending of ₹. 1000000.
- Welcome e-gift voucher of ₹. 5000
- Free movie ticket of ₹. 6000/year
- Get 5X reward points on dining, departmental store, and grocery.
- Access over 1000 airports worldwide.
- Low foreign currency markup of 1.99%
- SBI Card ELITE is accepted in over 24 million outlets across the globe, including 3,25,000 outlets in India.
- Get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
- Get a complimentary credit card fraud liability cover of Rs. 1 lakh.
- Withdraw cash from over 1 million Visa or MasterCard ATMs across the globe.
Yes Preferred Credit card
Enjoy complimentary 12 domestic and 4 international lounge access per year. You can also get up to 36000 bonus points in the first year. Get 15000 as a welcome gift and 20000 milestones of the spending of ₹ 750000. You can redeem reward points for flight and hotel booking.
- Annual Fees & Renewal Fees: Rs. 2500
- 25% discount on movie ticket booking on BookMyShow
- 8 Reward Points per INR 100 spent on Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Domestic Airlines and Dining.
- 4 Reward Points per INR 100 spent on all other categories.
- Life insurance coverage of ₹ 1 Crore for death due to flight accidents.
- Foreign currency markup of 1.75% only.
- Fuel surcharge waiver for spending up to ₹ 5000.
- Instant EMI facility.
SBI Air India Signature
If you are traveling through Air India, this card is for you. Earn 30 reward points for ₹ 100 spent on Air India ticket booking. Get 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per year.
- Annual Fees – Rs. 4999
- Get 20000 reward points for the first year, 5000 points for 2nd year onwards.
- Get 4 reward points for every ₹ 100 spent
- 10 reward points for Supersaver booklet purchase.
- Lost card liability cover of ₹ 1 lakh.
- Get a fuel surcharge waiver for spending up to ₹. 4000.
ICICI JetAirways Sapphiro (Amex)
ICICI Jet Airways Sapphiro (Amex) is the best credit card if you are traveling through Jet airways. This card can fetch you a 5% discount on the base fare for all domestic and international flight bookings.
- 10000 inter miles on joining.
- Get 10 JP Miles on ₹ 100 spendings on ticket booking through Jetairways.com
- The card offers 8 domestic and 2 international airport lounge access per year.
- Get 5000 JP Miles on renewal
- Get 15% discounts on the dining
- 5 JP Miles on domestic spends
- 7 JP Miles on international spends
- Avail excess baggage allowance of 10 Kgs (Premier) and 5 Kgs. (Economy)
- Annual fees ₹ 6500 (first year) and ₹ 3500 on renewal.
- Get ₹ 500 discount on second movie ticket booking on BookMyShow twice a month.
- Sapphiro Mastercard offers 2 payback points per Rs. 100 on domestic and 4 payback points on international spends.
- Sapphiro Platinum American Express Card gives 3 payback points per Rs. 100 on domestic and 6 payback points on international spends.
Get the below welcome benefits at the time of joining.
- Get Shoppers Stop Voucher worth Rs. 3000.
- 4 EaseMyTrip Vouchers worth Rs. 1000 each at the time of joining.
- 4 Ola vouchers worth Rs. 250 each redeemable during the year.
- 2 Zomato vouchers worth Rs. 500 each
- Croma Voucher worth Rs. 1000
Earn 4000 payback points on the spending of ₹ 4 lakhs and additional 2000 payback points on additional spending of ₹ 1 Lakh thereafter.
Axis Bank Privilege Credit Card
Another good credit card in the travel category is Axis Bank Privilege Credit Card. The card comes with an unlimited travel benefits account. You will get a gift voucher worth ₹ 5000 from Yatra.com on the card activation.
- Get 12500 EDGE REWARDS points on joining
- Double the EDGE REWARDS by achieving the yearly spend limit of 2.5 lakhs.
- Annual fees ₹ 1500 (waived off on yearly spending of ₹ 4 lakhs.)
- Earn 3000 EDGE REWARD points on renewal.
- Get 8 complimentary lounge access at selected airports.
- Get insurance benefits up to ₹ 2.5 crores.
- Earn 5 reward points on ₹ 100 spends, excluding on fuel.
- Get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
- Up to 15% discount on selected fine dining restaurants and hotels.
Kotak Royale Signature Credit Card
A royal signature card is best for you if you are spending a lot of money on travel. It gives you 4X reward points per ₹ 150 spends on air tickets, hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators. The card offers 8 complimentary lounge access per year.
- Get 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per year.
- Annual fees of ₹ 999 (waived off if you spend 1 Lakh/year).
- Get 2 BookMyShow vouchers worth ₹ 200 each when you do your first transaction.
- Get 10000 reward points on the spend of ₹. 400000
- 4X reward points on select category and 2X reward points on all spends.
- Fuel surcharge waiver on spend of ₹500 to 3000 (maximum fuel surcharge waiver per year is ₹ 3500)
- Save railway ticket booking surcharge on irctc.co.in
- Redeem your reward points against air ticket booking, mobile recharge and thousands of merchants.
SBI IRCTC Credit Card
If you are a frequent traveler by train and booking your tickets online, this card is for you. You can get lots of benefits by using this credit card for ticket booking.
- Get bonus reward points of 350 on the first spend of ₹ 500 or more within 45 days from the activation.
- Annual fees ₹ 500 and renewal fees ₹ 300
- Buy tickets through irctc.co.in for AC1, AC2. AC3 and AC CC and earn up to 10% Value back as Reward points.
- Get 1 Reward point for every Rs. 125 spent on non-fuel retail purchases, including railway ticket purchases at irctc.co.in
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spend of ₹ 500 to 3000
- Save 1.8% transaction charges on railway ticket bookings on www.irctc.co.in
- Avail easy bill payment facility to pay your electricity bills, insurance, telephone, and other utility bills.
- Avail easy monthly installment by using the Flexipay feature.
What should you look for in the top travel credit card in India?
There are various types of credit cards available in the market. All those cards are fulfilling some of the other requirements of the user. Hence there is no single credit card that provides all the features and benefits.
One should choose the credit card as per the needs and benefits the card is providing. Below are the features to look for in the best travel credit card in India.
Discounts and Vouchers
The top travel credit card comes with specific tie-ups with the leading airlines and hotels. They offer discounts and vouchers on the tickets and accommodation. The card issuer bank has a tie-up with leading airlines and hotels. While selecting the travel credit card, look for the complimentary airport lounge access and air miles they are offering.
If you are a frequent flyer, then airport lounge access is your priority. So go for the credit card which provides the highest number of lounge access.
Reward Points
Here come the other very important criteria for selecting the best travel credit card. Almost all the credit card offers reward points on all the transactions or purchase made with the card. Look for the best reward point program which gives the highest points on spends.
There are certain deals where you would get double reward points on the specific types of transactions.
Annual Fees
Annual fees play a major role in shortlisting the best travel credit card. Ther are some cards where the annual fees are as high as 5000/year. But if you look at the benefits they are providing is higher than the annual fees. So if you think you can get the maximum out of it, you should go and get the card even if you have to pay ₹ 5000 as annual fees.
Emergency Assistance
The top credit card provides additional features to help the consumer in any given situation. There are many cards which provide features as easy cash withdrawal, loan against the utilized cash limit. These features are useful and come as a lifesaver in the sudden need during the trip.
Some of the cards also provide an EMI facility on your spendings.
Security Features and Protection
Security is the most vital requirement for a credit card. Your card carries a certain limit up to which you are allowed to use the card. Imagine, if you lost your card and someone misused it without your knowledge and consent. Some credit card companies are providing additional security features against fraudulent usage. They provide insurance cover against such fraudulent transactions.
You just have to report your loss timely so that the company can take immediate action.
Eligibility Criteria for Travel Credit Card
There are certain common criteria for getting a credit card. Broad parameters on which the bank decides whether to issue a credit card or not are as below.
Applicant Age
In India, for applying for a credit card for the first time, the applicant must be 18 years old. This is a legal requirement as the applicant will be signing an agreement with the bank and abide by all the terms and conditions of the bank.
For addon card also the cardholder must be 18 years or above.
Income Proof
The applicant has to show and prove the constant income while applying for the credit card. Income could be anything like salary, business income, etc. This is required to show the capacity to pay the credit card bill.
Most of the banks are preferring salaried people as they have stable income sources.
Credit History
Credit history tells the past records of your loans and their repayment history. To check this there is a CIBIL score of an individual that tells about the creditworthiness of the applicant. This score is ranging from 0 to 900 points where a higher score is better creditworthiness.
Conclusion
There are various credit cards available in the market, chose the one which suits your requirement. The main criteria for selecting the best travel credit card in India are mentioned above. I am using HDFC Diner club card which is best for me. Which credit card you are using? please share your views/experinece in the comment section below.