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.
The best from this list would be any of the IDFC First Bank credit cards. They are all LTF and you can get them just to get complimentary railway lounge access.
The list of eligible lounges varies by credit card. So, do check the list mentioned in this article to confirm which ones are eligible.
Yes, depending on the time of visit you will get breakfast, lunch or dinner.
7 thoughts on “16 Best Credit Cards for Complimentary Railway Lounge Access”
Does American express variant of icici rubyx credit card is accepted
Yes, it should.
IDFC CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED IN SEALDAH AND HOWRAH RAILWAY STATION.
Idfc is accepted now
ICICI credit card rubxy me 1 sal me kitne railway laounge access h
8 visits per year
Excuse me, but Federal Bank is not a PSB. Please make the correction