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A Guide on Travel Credit Cards

Post Diwali, the temperatures drop and the country and most of the other easily accessible countries from India are ripe for tourism. That is why I thought I should talk a bit about this insanely popular credit card category available to us. Travel credit cards are possibly the most loved type of credit cards that are out there. And that is because, most people nowadays, especially with the growing social media, love to travel. And these cards help you just a notch in satiating your wanderlust. How? Well that's the purpose of this article today! I will touch base on the host of benefits that most travel cards provide, how you can try to make the most of them and wrap it up by giving a few suggested cards from the myriad of choices available! So let's jump right in!

A travel credit card can help the cardholders by substantially saving upfront on travel bookings by giving direct discounts on flight/railway tickets and also on hotel stays. Apart from this, they also come as co-branded cards, where one can benefit from the partner brand loyalty points to book for their travel at a better rate than regular bookings. 


Few cards are set up in a way that the card holder does not get direct benefits, but can convert their credit card reward points into the loyalty points of various Airlines and Hotel chains. This gives the user flexibility and freedom to choose from the list provided by the credit card issuer. The conversion rate for such cards is different across the spectrum. Also the list of transfer partners differs. It is then up to the cardholder to check these things beforehand and then decide which card to apply for. Some issuers also run offers for their priority partner for whom they give additional points during the sale period. This can be really helpful if you have a bulk of points yet to be transferred.


Talking about their intangible benefits, travel cards also provide the biggest list of airport lounge access. And this is also one of the most utilized features of a credit card. Few cards now also give access to railway lounges which are coming up in certain bigger railway stations. For High End or the Ultra-Premium cards, we also get to see Airport pick-up and drop services in luxury cars. They also include Airport Concierge services which expedite check-ins, security and immigration for the cardholder. If traveling internationally, this service can save you a lot of time. Especially on the busier metro city airports like Delhi/Mumbai.


For most of these cards, co-branded or not, there are also some direct benefits given when a card holder hits certain spend milestones. This again would depend on the credit card that is availed by someone. For co-branded cards of airlines, one would get a free one way economy/premium economy ticket or some loyalty points in bulk. For hotel cards, one can avail a free night stay for each milestone spend target achieved. Personally, I have availed at least 8-10 complimentary Vistara Premium Economy tickets in the last 2 years. 


Apart from these, there are a few salient features on travel credit cards such as, insurance on various travel related issues such as - air accident, flight/trip cancellation, lost baggage, and medical emergencies. Zero or low forex mark-up charges also come in handy when traveling abroad. 


Now, without further ado, let's take a quick look at the best travel credit cards that can be applied for in India in 2024(will be covering each card in detail in upcoming days/weeks) - 


  1. American Express Platinum Travel - One of the stalwarts of this category. A lot of folks still stand by this card for being the best travel card in the country. If you want to apply for the same, do use the link here for some additional joining benefits and reduced first year fee.

  2. Axis Atlas - By far one of the best cards in this category. Has an amazing reward rate when booking directly with the airlines or hotels. Axis also provides a host of airlines and hotels that you can transfer the points to.

  3. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - One of the only Hotel co-branded cards available in India. One can go for this if they prioritize Marriott hospitality. You get 1 free night stay in Marriott properties for hitting each spend based milestone.

  4. RBL World Safari - This the best card for 0 forex markup charges since you can haggle for the AMC fee waiver with the customer care, and more often than not they do agree to it. So you end up saving a lot if you are spending substantial amounts during your international trips.


I would’ve added Vistara or Air India co-branded cards as well here but we will have to wait and watch how the Air India Vistara merger pans out. Few noteworthy names - Axis Vistara Infinite, SBI Vistara Prime and SBI Air India Signature.


Apart from these we also have a few International Airline co-branded cards, such as SBI Etihad Guest series, or ICICI Emirate Skywards, but as the purpose of this blog is to educate new folks into the credit card and personal finance world, I will be skipping them for now.


As always, if you have any specific queries or doubts, please feel free to post them as comments. I will be happy to guide you through!

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