Travel credit cards are a special type of credit cards that offer exclusive benefits and perks to cardholders who travel regularly. These credit cards offer benefits for booking flights, hotel stays, and other travel-related expenses. In this article, we focus on the best travel credit cards in India and how these can help you save on your travel related expenses. Travel credit cards can be various types. Some will offer flight tickets on spends, some will offer reward points that can be transferred to hotel/airline partners while others can have a simple benefit of offering discounts on flights/hotels bookings.
List of Best Travel Credit Cards in India
Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card
Amex MRCC is an entry-level credit card that can give rewards on par with some of the premium cards. We get 1000 bonus MR points each on Rs 1500 X 4 transactions and Rs 20000 spent every month. For achieving the milestone benefits, one of the options is to buy Amazon Pay gift vouchers from Amex Reward Multiplier. Amex has one of the biggest lists of airline/hotel partners to which you can transfer out points. Marriott Bonvoy is a popular option as we get a transfer ratio of 1:1.
Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card
This is the first Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit card in India. While the reward rate is low, this card is still a good bet just for the joining and renewal benefits. We get Bonvoy Silver Elite status with 10 night credits that help in reaching higher statuses like Gold and Platinum. The second benefit against the fee is a FNA credit worth up to 15K points.
American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
The American Express Platinum Travel credit card is another way to earn MR points and is best suited if you can spend Rs 4 Lakh in a membership year. It gives you milestone bonus points on annual spends of Rs 1.9 Lakh and Rs 4 Lakh. We also get a Rs 10,000 worth of Taj voucher on Rs 4 Lakh spend.
Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card
Axis Atlas continues to be one of the best travel credit cards in India to earn miles/hotel loyalty points. At a fee of Rs 5000+GST, the Atlas can give you a return close to what the super-premium Infinia gives at more than twice the annual fee.
- Joining/Annual Fee: Rs 5000+GST
- Rewards: 1% to 10%
- Annual Fee Waiver: None
- Best Use: Travel EDGE and direct airline/hotel spends
- Rewards Redemption: Points transfer to airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Airport Lounge Access: 8 visits/year to airport lounges in India and 4 visits/year to airport lounges outside India
Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME
The Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME offers you 4 premium economy tickets and a Rs 10,000 worth of Yatra Hotel gift voucher on spending Rs 8 Lakh in a membership year. If you can use Vistara tickets, this is one of the Vistara co-branded credit cards you can get today.
Club Vistara IDFC First Bank Credit Card
The Club Vistara IDFC First Bank credit card is another pick for the best travel credit cards in India with its milestone benefits. It offers you up to 5 premium economy tickets on spends.