Top 12 Best Travel Credit Cards On 2023

Best Travel Credit Cards On 2023

Travel credit cards provide expedited travel rewards and features like complimentary lounge access, air mile earning, and co-branded privileges with airlines and travel partners. These cards are best suited for frequent business or pleasure travelers. Here is our list of the finest credit cards in India with the best travel-related bonuses.

Top 12 travel credit cards in 2023

Learn about India’s top 12 credit cards and the benefits they provide to help you travel more affordably.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Substantial welcome bonus worth $750 in travel when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal, and possibly more if transferred through a Chase transfer partner.

5x on Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel expenditures, making it the best credit card for travel points.

Benefits:-

• When redeemed through the Ultimate Rewards® site, points are worth 25% more.
• Convert points to popular airline and hotel reward programs at a 1:1 ratio.
• Comprehensive trip insurance coverage
• There is no international transaction fee.
• Annual charge of $95

Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

The Wells Fargo AutographSM Card, in addition to charging no annual fee, offers a substantial rewards rate in popular travel spending areas being the best travel credit card. Cardholders can earn unlimited 3X points on dining, travel, gas stations, public transportation, popular streaming services, and phone plans. Get 1X points on all other purchases. The card also features an excellent sign-up bonus with a low spending requirement: Get 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first three months, worth $200 in cash.

Benefits

• There is no annual charge.
• Purchases with introductory APR
• Discounts on popular vacation categories
• N/A for foreign transaction fees
• Awards are not transferable to loyalty partners.
• Travel advantages are limited.

Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 3,000.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 3,000

Travel Advantages:

• As a welcome bonus, you will receive one complimentary Premium Economy ticket.
• 4 Club Vistara Points are awarded for every Rs. 200 spent on the card.
• Can use points to book flights and other upgrades.
• Extra CV points and up to four complimentary Premium Economy tickets upon reaching certain expenditure thresholds.
• Up to Rs. 2.5 crore in air accident coverage and Rs. 1 lakh in purchase protection coverage.

The Axis Bank Vistara Signature is one of the best travel Credit Card is ideal for frequent travelers who prefer Vistara Airlines. It awards 2% Club Vistara Points, which may be used for flight upgrades and free flights.

SBI Card ELITE

The annual fee is Rs. 4,999.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 4,999

Travel Advantages:

• A Rs. 5,000 welcome coupon redeemable on Yatra
• A 1.99% FX markup fee
• Club Vistara Silver Membership with one free upgrade voucher
• Get 9 CV points for every Rs. 100 spent on Vistara flights.
• Free Trident Privilege Red Tier membership with 1,000 welcome points when you sign up.
• Membership is gratis, as are six international lounge visits per calendar year and two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter.

SBI Card Elite is a premium all-purpose card that offers travel, shopping, and movie rewards. We included this card in our list of top travel credit cards since you may use it to save money on your trip expenses. It comes with welcome vouchers worth Rs. 5,000 that can also be redeemed for Yatra travel vouchers.

HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 2,500.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 2,500

Travel Advantages:

• Free annual membership in MMT BLACK
• A 2% preferential foreign currency markup fee
• SmartBUY flight/hotel bookings using reward points (up to 70% of the value)
• 5X reward points on SmartBUY purchases
• 12 complimentary airport lounge visits in India and across the world for primary and add-on members
• Redeem your Rewards Points for AirMiles with InterMiles, Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer Miles), and Club Vistara (1 Reward Point = 0.5 Airmile).

The HDFC Diners Club Privilege credit card is a mid-tier credit card featuring travel and lifestyle advantages. Unlike other credit cards, which require you to sign up for a Priority Pass membership to access domestic and international lounges, you can receive admission to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide 12 times yearly.

HDFC Regalia Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 2,500.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 2,500

Travel Advantages:

• 12 complimentary lounge visits throughout India
• Six gratis trips to lounges outside of India
• Membership in Priority Pass for primary and secondary members
• A 2% currency markup cost
• Use reward points to purchase flights and hotels with Smartbuy (1 point = Rs 0.50).
• Conversion of air miles via internet banking (1 point = 0.5 air miles)

This card has a low foreign exchange markup fee of around 2% for regular international travelers. The currency markup cost is typically 3.5% or higher, with only a few cards on the market charging a lower rate. One of them is HDFC Regalia. You also get enormous bonus benefits when you achieve certain spending thresholds.

InterMiles HDFC Signature Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 2,500.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 2,500

Travel Advantages:

• Up to 8,000 Extra InterMiles are available.
• Rs. 750 in flight discounts for the first year (T&C Apply)
• Rs. 2,000 in hotel discounts for the first year (T&C Apply)
• A one-year InterMiles Silver membership as a welcome bonus
• Get 5% off* Etihad Airlines Economy Class flights and 10% off* Etihad Airways Business Class tickets when you book through the Intermiles website.
• Get 2.5X additional InterMiles when you book Etihad Airlines tickets through the Intermiles website.
• Priority Pass membership entitles you to up to five complimentary trips to international lounges.

The InterMiles HDFC Signature credit card is ideal for regular flyers. You can use this card to redeem InterMiles and book flights and hotels using the InterMiles website. Furthermore, this card grants you admission to a domestic airport lounge up to four times every quarter. You can visit international lounges five times a year with your complimentary Priority Pass membership.

Air India SBI Signature Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 4,999.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 4,999

Travel Advantages:

• 20,000 bonus points as a welcome bonus
• Earn up to 1 lakh reward points per year
• Up to Rs. 1 lakh in liability coverage for lost cards
• Waiver of 1% fuel surcharge on purchases ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 4,000

The SBI Air India Signature credit card is one of India’s most significant travel credit cards, particularly for Air India fans. The primary reward earning rate is 4%, and all points are worth the same number of Air India Miles. If you spend Rs. 20 lacks a year, you can earn up to 1 lakh reward points, comparable to 1 lakh Air India Miles, and can be used to acquire free trips many times. Another advantage of redeeming rewards points is that they are not restricted to air mile conversion; you can use them to obtain services from the rewards catalog.

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card

The joining fee is Rs. 2,500.

Zero annual fee

Travel Advantages:

• Rs. 1,500 My Cash complimentary as a welcome bonus
• Dreamfolks membership includes one international lounge bonus.
• Two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter when you spend Rs. 5,000 in the previous quarter.
• one complimentary railway lounge visit each quarter
• Free international roaming bundle worth Rs. 3,999
• Free MMT BLACK Exclusive membership

The ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card is an excellent choice for regular travelers who want to maintain elegance. With a welcome voucher and an attractive reward structure, the card provides special incentives on MakeMyTrip. The rewards are deposited to the MMT account as My Cash, and each My Cash earned on this card is worth Rs. 1. You can put these credits towards your trip expenses by booking hotels, plane tickets, or taxis through MMT.

IRCTC SBI Card Premier

The annual fee is Rs. 1499.

The renewal fee is Rs. 1499.

Travel Advantages:

• 1,500 Reward Points as a welcome bonus upon payment of the membership fee
• 1 Reward Point equals 1 Rupee
• 10% value back on AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC CC as IRCTC Reward Points
• Get 3 Reward Points for every Rs. 125 spent on dining and standing orders.
• 2,500 Reward Points for exceeding Rs. 50,000 in annual travel expenditures
• 5,000 Reward Points for exceeding Rs. 1 lakh in annual travel expenditures
• Rs. 10 lacks complimentary rail accident insurance
• Rs. 50 lakh in complimentary flight accident insurance
• Eight railway lounge visits each year at chosen lounges

Various credit cards are available to meet the needs of air travelers. Yet, a few credit cards offer features like train ticket purchases and access to railway lounges. Individuals who frequently travel by train might save a lot of money using this credit card. You can get 5% back on plane tickets and e-catering purchases through the IRCTC website or app.

Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip Credit Card

The annual fee is Rs. 350.

Cost for Renewal: Rs. 350

Travel Advantages:

• Instant 20% off domestic and international hotel bookings
• 10% instant savings on local and international flight reservations
• Rs. 125 off bus ticket reservations
• Ten reward points for every Rs. 100 spent on standalone airline/hotel websites, mobile apps, or stores, excluding travel aggregators
• Two reward points for Rs. 100 spent on all other retail purchases
• One reward point is worth Re. 0.25 when redeemed through the Standard Chartered 360 rewards portal

This co-branded credit card provides the best perks on EaseMyTrip bookings. With this card, you can obtain a direct discount on local and international flight and hotel bookings. The good news is that it has a cheap yearly charge of Rs. 350, which can be offset by spending Rs. 50,000 annually. Furthermore, no minimum transaction amount is required to receive a concession on your bookings.

Yatra SBI Card

The annual fee is Rs. 499.

Renewal Charge: Rs. 499

Travel Advantages:

• Rs. 8,250 in welcome coupons on Yatra in the form of either domestic & global travel vouchers, vacation vouchers, and hotel booking vouchers
• Rs. 1,000 off domestic flight reservations with an Rs. 5,000 minimum transaction
• Rs. 4,000 off foreign flight reservations with a minimum purchase of Rs. 40,000
• 20% discount on domestic hotel reservations with a lower transaction value of Rs. 3,000
• Free air accident insurance of Rs. 50 lakh for the primary cardholder when booking a ticket on Yatra.com using the Yatra SBI Card.
• A 1% fuel fee waiver is available at all gas outlets for transactions ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000.

While most travel credit cards are designed to provide general travel rewards or co-branded airline advantages, certain cards have been developed in cooperation with travel websites such as Yatra.com. The Yatra SBI Credit Card, which has an annual charge of Rs. 499, gives welcome perks worth up to Rs. 8,250 inside the format of Yatra Vouchers. Customers will also receive a direct discount on airfare and hotel reservations made through the Yatra website.