Best airline credit cards in India
Airline credit cards earn air miles, or points you can move to airline programmes, and redeem them for flights and upgrades. We ranked only cards that earn miles or are co-branded with an airline, on a frequent flyer spend of ₹32,000 a month with ₹20,000 of flight and hotel bookings. Co-brand cards such as Air India SBI, IndiGo and Etihad pay their top rate only on that one airline, so they rank lower here than they would for someone who always flies it.
Updated · Terms checked by Prashant ParikhThe 5 best airline credit cards in India
- Axis Atlas₹9,880 a year₹5,000 fee
- HSBC TravelOne₹7,481 a year₹4,999 fee
- Kotak Air+₹4,680 a year₹3,000 fee
- Kotak Air₹2,841 a year₹999 fee
- IndiGo Axis₹1,541 a year₹799 fee
Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card
The Axis Atlas earns 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on airlines and hotels and 2 on most other spends, at ₹1 a mile on Travel EDGE. Lounge access and bonus miles grow with your annual spend, so it suits travellers who put ₹7.5 lakh or more a year on the card.
HSBC TravelOne Credit Card
The HSBC TravelOne is the best flexible airmiles card available to new applicants in India in 2026 after Axis Atlas closed. The 1:1 transfer to 20 airline and hotel partners, 2% base earn rate and airport transfers make it compelling for serious travel hackers. The 3.5% forex is a significant drawback, pair it with a zero-forex card for international payments.
Kotak Air+ Credit Card
The Kotak Air+ Credit Card rewards a fairly narrow behavior well - booking flights and hotels through the Kotak Unbox app - while offering a more modest 2% base rate elsewhere. Its lower 2% forex markup and real lounge access make it reasonable for moderate international travelers, but the complete lack of rewards on international spend itself, combined with a weak partner-transfer ratio, means its value depends heavily on staying inside the Kotak Unbox ecosystem rather than using miles flexibly.
| # | Card | A year | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Kotak Air Occasional travelers wanting a simple, low-fee entry point into Air Miles, more suited to light spenders than Kotak's own Air+ variant | ₹2,841 | ₹999 |
| 5 | IndiGo Axis Bank Frequent IndiGo flyers wanting to earn flight rewards on everyday dining and grocery spends | ₹1,541 | ₹799 |
| 6 | Amex Platinum Travel Travel rewards and airline miles | ₹1,240 | ₹5,000 |
| 7 | IndiGo Kotak XL Frequent IndiGo flyers wanting lounge access and maximum BluChip accumulation | ₹1,080 | ₹3,000 |
| 8 | IndiGo Kotak Regular IndiGo flyers who want flight rewards with no lounge expectations | ₹660 | ₹1,500 |
| 9 | SBI Card MILES PRIME Airline-agnostic travel card with 25 transfer partners including Air India, Flying Blue and Aeroplan | ₹121 | ₹2,999 |
| 10 | SBI Card MILES Entry-level airline-agnostic travel card with 25 transfer partners at the lowest fee | ₹61 | ₹1,499 |
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We calculated the net annual benefit for every card in our database using verified reward rates on a typical airline spend profile, then ranked by net benefit after subtracting the annual fee. Cards with waivable fees were evaluated at zero cost if the spend threshold is realistic.
What to look for in a airline credit card
Beyond the headline reward rate, check whether the card has a monthly cap on cashback, whether the reward is actual cashback or redeemable points, and whether the annual fee is waivable at your spend level.
Should you get more than one card?
Many smart spenders hold 2 cards: one optimised for their top category and one flat-rate card for everything else. Use our personalised tool to find the best combination for your full spend profile.