Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card

Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card is a new co-branded credit card offered by IDFC First Bank and Vistara Airlines. The Club Vistara IDFC First credit card offers complimentary Vistara Silver membership, which offers perks such as priority check-in and increased baggage allowance. Among the card’s welcome benefits are a premium economy ticket and a class upgrade voucher. On our purchases, we can also earn up to 6 CV points per Rs 200 as well as milestone benefits that allow us to get up to 5 complimentary premium economy tickets. Read on for a detailed description of the rewards and benefits of the Club Vistara IDFC First credit card. We also compare it with the existing Vistara credit cards to see how it fares against the competition.

Fees

As airfares have gone up in recent years, the complimentary premium economy ticket is more valuable than the joining fee. The Club Vistara IDFC First credit card also offers 3 months of EazyDiner Prime and BQ Prime as a welcome benefit. As long as we take advantage of the welcome and renewal benefits, the Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card has a value even if we don’t use it. Every year, we get more benefits than we pay in annual membership fees.

Activation Benefit

We can earn a cumulative benefit of 6000 CV points as activation benefit. This is split into 2000 CV points in each billing cycle. The first billing cycle is not eligible for this benefit.

2^nd Billing Cycle: Spend 30K and earn 2000 CV points
3^rd Billing Cycle: Spend 30K and earn 2000 CV points
4^th Billing Cycle: Spend 30K and earn 2000 CV points

Rewards

9 CV points per Rs 100 spent on Vistara flights (with the complimentary Club Vistara Silver membership)

Here, we are valuing 1 CV point at 80 paise. The value can also be higher than Rs 1 or as low as 60 paise in extreme cases. A comparison of the existing SBI and Axis Vistara Signature credit cards shows some interesting differences. For the first Rs 1 Lakh spent in a statement cycle, we earn 6 CV points. Following that, it will return to its usual 4 CV points per Rs 200 offered by Axis and SBI Vistara Signature credit cards.

Rent and property management fee is 1%+GST. But, it is subject to a minimum charge of Rs 249 per transaction.
Cumulative utility spends of more than Rs 20,000 in a billing cycle will have an extra charge of 1%+GST to curb commercial usage.

Milestone Rewards

The main feature of all Vistara co-branded cards is the milestone benefit. We get 5 premium economy tickets for spending Rs 12 Lakhs in a year. The 5^th ticket voucher is a new feature on the Vistara IDFC First Bank credit card. The Axis Vistara Signature card offers only up to 4 economy tickets. So, if you are a high spender then this may be a better option.

Club Vistara IDFC First credit card offers a 4% return on spends

Approximate value of one premium economy ticket: Rs 5500 as we need to pay approximately Rs 1000 as redemption charges towards fuel and surcharges.
Total value of 5 premium economy tickets: Rs 27500
CV Points on Rs 8 Lakhs spend at 6 CV points per Rs 200: 24000 (excluding Vistara spends)
Total Return: 24000 CV points ~Rs 19200 + Rs 27500 as Economy Tickets = Rs 46700 ~4% Return on Rs 12 Lakh spending

18000 CV points alone can get you a Bengaluru to New Delhi Premium Economy ticket. Check the Vistara award chart for many other options. The challenge here will be booking the award ticket as Vistara cards are a bit too popular.

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access

The complimentary airport lounge access is available only on minimum monthly spends of Rs 5000.

Domestic Airport Lounge Access in India: 2 complimentary visits per quarter
Airport Spa Centers in India: 2 complimentary visits per quarter
International Airport Lounge Access outside India: 1 complimentary visit per quarter

The Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card now requires minimum spends to qualify for complimentary airport lounge and airport spa access. We need to spend a minimum of Rs 20,000 in a calendar month to get complimentary airport lounge and spa visits in the next calendar month. For example, if you want to visit lounge/spa in March then you should have spent minimum of Rs 20,000 in February.

Complimentary Golf Benefits

The Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card is issued on the Mastercard World platform. This gives it access to several Mastercard World benefits including Golf benefits.

4 complimentary rounds of green fees golf per calendar year. Maximum 1 round per calendar month.
12 complimentary golf lessons per calendar year. Maximum 1 lesson per calendar month.
Discounted golf services at 50% of the green fee beyond complimentary sessions.

Club Vistara Silver Privileges and Benefits

The Club Vistara IDFC First Credit Card offers Silver status for as long as we hold the card. This status comes with its own set of benefits that we can use when flying on Vistara.

Earn 9 Club Vistara Points for every Rs 100 spent on Vistara flights base fare
Extra 5 Kg baggage allowance
1 class upgrade voucher on Tier Renewal. This is over and above the one offered by the Vistara IDFC credit card as welcome and renewal benefit.

Other Benefits & Charges

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Not Available
Foreign Currency Markup: 2.99%+GST ~3.5%
Interest Rate: 0.75% to 3.5% per month

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 4% return that we calculated on this card will also increase depending on how effectively you can book the award tickets to get maximum value.

The Club Vistara IDFC First credit card has a higher joining and annual fee than the existing Vistara Axis and SBI Signature credit card variants. But it does get some extra benefits.

1 Extra class upgrade voucher on joining and renewal
Up to 6 CV points per Rs 200
1 CV point even on spends like rent, wallet etc.
International airport lounge access

This may make it worthwhile to get the Club Vistara IDFC First Bank credit card over others.