Updated 2026
Travel Cards Worth Paying For
Ranked by what you actually get — lounge access, air miles, and transfer partners that are worth using. Not by who pays us the most.
Annual Fee
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Showing 20 of 20 cards
✓12 EDGE Miles per Rs.200 on travel spends
✓Tier-based milestone bonuses (Silver/Gold/Platinum)
✓Annual fee waived at Rs.7.5 Lakh spend
✓Transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer, Air India and Marriott Bonvoy
✓12 EDGE Miles per Rs.200 on all spends — one of India is highest base earn rates
✓Unlimited Priority Pass lounge access — domestic and international
✓35 EDGE Miles per Rs.200 on Axis Travel EDGE portal bookings
✓Transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer, Air India Flying Returns, Marriott Bonvoy
✓1:1 points transfer to airline partners
✓8 domestic lounge visits/year
✓4 international lounge visits/year
✓Good travel insurance
✓Accelerated Marriott Bonvoy points
✓Complimentary hotel nights
✓Elite status fast-track
✓Transfer points to Marriott 1:1
✓Complimentary Accor Plus membership
✓Premium lounge access worldwide
✓High reward rate on travel & dining
✓Travel insurance coverage
✓5X reward points on Swiggy, Zomato, Myntra and Nykaa (6.7% effective return)
✓Priority Pass — 12 domestic + 6 international lounge visits per year
✓Annual fee waived at Rs.4 Lakh spend
✓10X points on flights and hotels via HDFC SmartBuy portal
✓Strong dining & shopping rewards
✓4 domestic lounge visits/year
✓Dining discounts up to 20%
✓Fee waived at ₹3L spend
Club Vistara IDFC FIRST
IDFC FIRST Bank · Visa
Annual Fee
₹4,999
Reward Rate
2X
Lounge
40
✓8X on Vistara bookings
✓4X on dining
✓Free Vistara voucher on milestones
✓Club Vistara Silver status
✓Accelerated Club Vistara points
✓Complimentary flight voucher on joining
✓Priority check-in & boarding
✓Fee waived at ₹3L spend
✓10X reward points on international and online travel bookings
✓5X reward points on dining and grocery spends
✓3X on all other categories
✓Annual fee waived at Rs.3 Lakh spend
HDFC Diners Club Black
HDFC Bank · Diners Club
Annual Fee
₹10,000
Reward Rate
5X
Lounge
∞6
✓Unlimited domestic and international lounge access via Diners Club
✓10X rewards on HDFC SmartBuy (flights, hotels, shopping)
✓Fee waived at Rs.5 Lakh — achievable at Rs.42K/month
✓Quarterly milestone bonuses: 25,000 RP on Rs.3L quarterly spend
✓Complimentary IndiGo flight tickets
✓Air miles on all spends
✓Domestic lounge access
✓Waived fuel surcharge
✓EDGE Miles on all spends
✓1:1 transfer to airline partners
✓8 domestic lounge visits/year
✓4 international lounge visits/year
✓IndiGo 6E Rewards on all spends
✓Complimentary IndiGo upgrades
✓Domestic lounge access
✓Annual fee waived on spend
✓British Airways Avios miles on all spends
✓Direct BA flight redemption
✓8 domestic lounge visits/year
✓4 international lounge visits/year
✓Miles transfer to airline partners
✓8 domestic lounge visits/year
✓Strong travel rewards
✓Annual fee waived on spend
✓Rewards on IRCTC bookings
✓Waived IRCTC convenience fee
✓UPI credit via RuPay
✓Annual fee waived on spend
✓Rewards on IRCTC train bookings
✓Transaction charge waiver on IRCTC
✓Rupay network for UPI credit
✓Annual fee waived on spend
✓ZERO foreign transaction fee — unique among Indian credit cards at this price point
✓5X reward points on travel bookings (flights, hotels)
✓2X reward points on dining
✓Annual fee waived at Rs.3 Lakh spend
✓ZERO annual fee
✓Unlimited domestic lounge access
✓4 international lounge visits/quarter
✓1% cashback on all spends