Do you often book flights on domestic routes that Vistara operates on? Then, Vistara co-branded credit cards can be a quicker way to earn miles and free tickets. Axis and Vistara have three credit cards that offer complimentary tickets and CV points. The three variants come at different annual fee points and CV earn rates. Here is a review of the Axis Bank Vistara Infinite credit card.
Fees and Charges
- Joining and Annual Fee: Rs 10000 plus taxes
- Welcome and Renewal Benefit: 1 complimentary Business Class ticket
- Club Vistara Benefit: Gold Membership
- Activation Benefit: 10000 CV points for Rs 1 Lakh spend in the first 90 days
- Renewal Fee Waiver: None
A business class ticket on Vistara is priced in the range of 25K – 35K for routes like DEL-BLR or DEL-BOM. It can be in the range of 15K-20K for shorter routes like DEL-IXC. So, the value of the complimentary business class ticket is more than the joining/annual fee. If we can use it for a busy route, we can even get 3 times the fee we pay.
Rewards: Earn CV Points and Business Class Tickets
- All Spends (except Wallet): 6 CV points/Rs 200 ~2.4% Return
- 1st Milestone: 1 Business Class Ticket at Rs 2.5 Lakhs spend
- 2nd Milestone: 1 Business Class Ticket at Rs 5 Lakhs spend
- 3rd Milestone: 1 Business Class Ticket at Rs 7.5 Lakhs spend
- 4th Milestone: 1 Business Class Ticket at Rs 12 Lakhs spend
I have valued each CV point at 80 paise. In total, we get 36000 CV points (on non-Vistara spends) and 4 Business Class tickets for Rs 12 Lakhs spent.
Return on Spend
The price at which we can value the complimentary business class tickets depends on the route. I searched for two routes DEL-BLR and DEL-BOM to arrive at an approximate value.
- Approximate Cost of Business Class Ticket: Rs 25000
- Approximate Cost of Redemption for Taxes and Surcharges: Rs 3500
- Value of each Complimentary Business Class ticket: Rs 21500
It is always possible to get a better value for the business class tickets. So we get CV points worth Rs 28,800 and 4 Business Class tickets worth Rs 86,000. This is a return of Rs 1,14,800 or 9.5% on Rs 12 Lakh spend. That is pretty good for a travel card but the question to ask here is are you really going to fly in business class on a domestic route. If yes, then this is a good card.
Get Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
We get 2 complimentary airport lounge visits per quarter to this list of lounges.
Club Vistara Gold Membership and Benefits
The Axis Bank Vistara Infinite credit card comes with complimentary Gold status for Club Vistara. Here are some of the benefits that come with Gold Tier.
- Earn 10 CV points/Rs 100 on Vistara spends
- Guaranteed Reservation in Economy Class if requested 48 priors to departure
- Extra 10 kg check-in baggage
- 3 class upgrade vouchers on Tier Renewal
Final Thoughts
Vistara flies very limited routes in India. So, the Vistara co-branded cards make sense only if you reside in one of those cities. If you reside in one of the hub cities like Delhi, this card can offer good value with all those milestone benefits.
The 9.5% return on the card sounds great but only if you are interested in flying business class. 12 Lakh annual spending is not easy to achieve for most of us. If you are interested in a Vistara credit card, the Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME and the Axis Bank Vistara Signature credit card are better if we consider the spending required for milestone tickets.
Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card
Does this card qualify for the grabdeals or edge gyftr or travel edge accelerated points.
No, as this does not get EDGE Rewards. But, few did try and got GrabDeals cashback even though it is excluded as per T&C. Not sure if the bug is fixed now.
The Rewards are great but the Axis Bank customer service is exceptionally pathetic if you are used to American Express, SBI and HDFC. Please beware that there are multiple followups needed with this product and customer care is not very supportive.
Is the voucher applicable for the full trip including connecting flights? Eg. Delhi to Port Blair (via Kolkata)
If it is two different flights, then you need two vouchers.
Vistara Axis cards currently have a first-year free offer. Do rental payments qualify for the milestone spend?
Yes, they are eligible.
if i spend 2.5L every year, i get 2 Business class ticket worth 45000 + 6000 Rs (from 7500 CV).
Its a great deal even if we pay 11.8k as renewal fee.
Return is ~14.8%
Yes, the renewal fee is also well compensated with the complimentary ticket.
Can ticket be booked for any passenger? For example 2 business class ticket booking 1 for self and 1 for father ?
Yes, you can add nominees and book tickets for them.
Looks like fuel transactions do not qualify for CV points. From Axis Vistara Infinite T&Cs: “No CV Points are credited for fuel transactions on Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card.”