16 Best Credit Cards for Complimentary Railway Lounge Access

Complimentary airport lounge access is a benefit that many credit cards offer now. This was a feature that used to be premium but is now available for entry-level cards as well. But there is another travel benefit that is making its way on some credit cards – railway lounge access. We have now got well-equipped railway lounges at many stations now. These offer many facilities to travellers including food, wi-fi and snacks. If you are a frequent train traveller, these lounges can be a great way to relax before a long journey. Fortunately, we now have many credit cards that offer this benefit. Here is a list of the best credit cards that offer complimentary railway lounge access.

If you are looking for a quick summary with all the required information refer to the consolidated list section below.

Included Facilities

Below is the list of facilities that are included in the complimentary railway lounge access offered by the credit cards:

• Two hours of lounge stay
• A/C sitting arrangements
• 1 Buffet Meal – Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner as per the time of visit
• Unlimited tea and coffee
• Free Wi-Fi
• Newspapers and Magazines

Consolidated List of Credit Cards

Credit Card	Complimentary Railway Lounge Visits/Quarter
All IDFC First Bank Credit Cards	4
IRCTC SBI Platinum Card	1
IRCTC SBI Card Premier	2
IRCTC BoB Rupay Credit Card	1
HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC Credit Card	1
ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card	1
MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card	1
MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card	1
ICICI Bank Rubyx Credit Card	2
AU Bank Zenith Credit Card	2
AU Bank Vetta Credit Card	2
AU Bank Altura Credit Card	2
AU Bank Altura Plus Credit Card	2

IDFC First Bank Millennia/Classic/Select/Wealth Credit Cards

IDFC First Bank credit cards are not only LTF with good rewards but also offer the highest number of complimentary lounge visits among all cards. This is the best choice if you are looking for a credit card for complimentary railway lounge access.

• Joining Fee: NIL – LTF (Lifetime Free)
• Annual Fee: NIL – LTF (Lifetime Free)
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 16 visits/year (4 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), Madurai
• Full Review

IRCTC SBI Platinum Card

IRCTC SBI Platinum Card is one of the must-have credit cards if you are a frequent traveller on Indian Railways. It offers up to 10% value back for IRCTC bookings. The complimentary railway lounge access is a valuable benefit of this card.

• Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 300+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
• T&C || Full Review

IRCTC SBI Card Premier

IRCTC SBI Card Premier also offers up to 10% value back on IRCTC bookings. The added benefit of this card over the Rupay IRCTC card above is the milestone rewards on annual spending. This card also gets twice the number of complimentary visits as the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card.

• Joining Fee: Rs 1499+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 1499+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
  • T&C || Full Review

IRCTC BoB Rupay Credit Card

IRCTC BoB credit card is very similar to the IRCTC SBI Platinum credit card that we listed above. It offers up to 10% value back on AC bookings while offering complimentary railway lounge access.

• Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 350+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
  • T&C || Full Review

HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC Credit Card

The HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC credit card is better than the SBI and BoB IRCTC cards when it comes to rewards. It offers a 10% value on all classes of railway booking including sleeper class. The SBI and BoB IRCTC cards have good rewards only for AC bookings.

• Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
  • T&C || Full Review

ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card

ICICI Bank Coral credit card does not offer good rewards for spending. If you are getting this card for LTF, then it is ok. But no point in paying a fee for this card.

• Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), Madurai
• T&C || Full Review

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card

This is a decent co-branded card from ICICI Bank. We get equivalent benefits against the joining fee and there is no renewal fee from the second year onwards.

• Joining Fee: Rs 500+GST
• Annual Fee: NIL
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), Madurai
• T&C

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card

This is a better card than the MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum card for rewards. We get equivalent benefits against the joining fee and there is no renewal fee from the second year onwards.

• Joining Fee: Rs 2500+GST
• Annual Fee: NIL
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 4 visits/year (1 visit/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), Madurai
• T&C || Full Review

ICICI Bank Rubyx Credit Card

Just like Coral, the Rubyx card also does not offer good rewards. So, do not get this card by paying a fee just for the railway lounge access.

• Joining Fee: Rs 3000+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 2000+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), Madurai
• T&C || Full Review

AU Bank Zenith Credit Card

AU Small Finance Bank credit cards are one of the new launches in the market. The cards are only issued in select cities for now. The rewards are in line with other cards in the market. But I am yet to see a good reason to get these cards.

• Joining Fee: Rs 7999+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 7999 plus taxes
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
• T&C || Full Review

AU Bank Vetta Credit Card

• Joining Fee: Rs 2999+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 2999+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
• T&C || Review

AU Bank Altura Credit Card

• Joining Fee: Rs 199+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 199+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
• Full T&C

AU Bank Altura Plus Credit Card

• Joining Fee: Rs 499+GST
• Annual Fee: Rs 499+GST
• Complimentary Railway Lounge Access: 8 visits/year (2 visits/quarter)
• Railway Lounge Access cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah)
• Full T&C

My View

It is good to see many credit cards offering complimentary railway lounge access. While the list of lounges for complimentary access is limited for now, it is sure to increase in the future. IDFC First Bank credit cards are LTF and offer the highest number of visits in this entire list. It offers good rewards for spending as well.

All AU Bank credit card variants (except LIT) also offer complimentary airport lounge access. You can get them LTF if you are corporate/government employee.