Best Travel Credit Card in India (2026): Miles, Lounges and Forex

The best travel credit card in India for most frequent flyers is the Axis Atlas, which earns 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on direct airline and hotel bookings and transfers them to partners, for ₹5,000 a year. If you spend abroad, Scapia Federal is free with 0% forex markup; for premium travel, HDFC Infinia and Diners Club Black lead. The right choice depends on whether you care most about miles, lounges or foreign-currency costs. All details are as of September 2026.

What makes a good travel credit card in India?

Four things decide the value of a travel card:

• Earn on travel spends, ideally on flights and hotels booked directly, not only through the bank's portal.
• Transfer partners, so points can become airline miles or hotel points instead of low-value vouchers.
• Forex markup. Most Indian cards charge 3.5% on foreign-currency spends plus 18% GST on that fee. Premium cards charge around 2%, and a few charge nothing.
• Lounge access, which on most cards now depends on your recent spending.

Best travel credit cards in India: comparison

Best credit card for air miles in India

Axis Atlas earns 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on travel booked through Travel EDGE or directly with airlines and hotels, on up to ₹2 lakh a month, and 2 Miles per ₹100 on most other spends. Online travel agencies earn only 2 Miles. Each Mile transfers to 2 partner points (Marriott at 2 Miles to 1 point), up to 1.5 lakh Miles a year. Milestones add 2,500 Miles at ₹3 lakh of annual spend, another 2,500 at ₹7.5 lakh and 5,000 at ₹15 lakh.

A worked example: assume ₹2 lakh a year on flights and hotels booked direct, and ₹4 lakh on eligible everyday spends.

• Travel: ₹2,00,000 ÷ 100 × 5 = 10,000 Miles
• Everyday: ₹4,00,000 ÷ 100 × 2 = 8,000 Miles
• Milestone at ₹3 lakh: 2,500 Miles
• Total: 20,500 Miles, which transfer to 41,000 partner points

What those points are worth depends on the airline programme and the flight you redeem for. Note the exclusions: since April 2024 Atlas earns nothing on rent, wallets, government, insurance, fuel, utilities, telecom and gold. Axis's August 2026 terms also describe the Atlas international lounge programme as "under maintenance", so do not count on those visits until Axis confirms them.

HSBC TravelOne is the simpler alternative: 4 points per ₹100 on flights, travel aggregators and foreign-currency spends, 2 per ₹100 on everything else with no cap, instant 1:1 conversion to air miles in HSBC's app, and 10,000 bonus points when you spend ₹12 lakh in a year. HSBC asks for ₹6 lakh of salaried income a year.

Two other cards fit specific travellers. Standard Chartered Ultimate earns 5 points per ₹150, with each point worth ₹1, which is about 3.3% back on most spends, charges 2% forex, and gives 5% cashback at duty-free shops. Scapia Federal Bank is lifetime free with 0% forex markup; Federal Bank lists 10% rewards in Scapia Coins on eligible spends, at 5 coins to ₹1, and unlimited domestic lounge access after ₹20,000 of spend in the previous month.

Best travel card for international trips: forex markup compared

On foreign spending, the markup often outweighs the rewards. Assume ₹1,50,000 spent in foreign currency on one trip, with 18% GST on the markup:

1. Standard 3.5% card (for example Axis Atlas, Cashback SBI, most HDFC entry cards): ₹5,250 + ₹945 GST = ₹6,195.
2. 2% card (HDFC Infinia, Diners Club Black, Axis Magnus, Standard Chartered Ultimate): ₹3,000 + ₹540 = ₹3,540.
3. 1.99% card (SBI Card ELITE, Amazon Pay ICICI, HSBC Live+): ₹2,985 + ₹537 = ₹3,522.
4. 0% card (Scapia Federal, IDFC FIRST WOW): ₹0 in markup.

That ₹6,195 is more than the Atlas annual fee. If you travel abroad every year, carry a zero-markup card for foreign spending and use your miles card for bookings. Our guide to zero forex markup cards in India compares them in detail.

Watch for dynamic currency conversion too. When a shop or hotel abroad offers to charge you in rupees, the bank still treats it as an international transaction. HDFC charges a 1.75% DCC fee from 15 May 2026 on rupee transactions at international locations or with India-based merchants registered overseas. ICICI charges 3.5% on most cards (1.99% on Amazon Pay) from January 2026. Axis charges 3.5% on most cards, and 2% on Magnus from August 2026. Choose to pay in the local currency and let a low-markup card do the conversion.

Best travel card for HDFC SmartBuy users

HDFC Regalia Gold earns 5 reward points per ₹200 from 15 May 2026 and adds "Boarding Edge", which lets you pick two travel benefits a quarter by uploading your boarding pass on SmartBuy. Its 6 international Priority Pass visits a year have no spend condition, while domestic visits need ₹60,000 of spend in the previous quarter. Redeem points on flights and hotels through SmartBuy rather than as cashback: since November 2025, a point redeemed as cashback is worth only 15 paise. HDFC asks for a salaried income of over ₹1 lakh a month for government employees and ₹1.5 lakh for private-sector employees.

The Marriott Bonvoy HDFC card suits Marriott regulars. It costs ₹3,000 plus GST with no waiver, and gives one Free Night Award (worth up to 15,000 Marriott points) when the fee is charged, with further awards at ₹6 lakh, ₹9 lakh and ₹15 lakh of spend in a card year. It includes Silver Elite status, 8 points per ₹150 at Marriott hotels, and 12 domestic and 12 international lounge visits a year, but charges 3.5% forex.

Premium travel cards: Infinia, Diners Club Black and Magnus

The HDFC Infinia Metal earns 5 points per ₹150, including on insurance, utilities and education, up to 10X through SmartBuy, and gives unlimited domestic and international lounge access for primary and add-on cardholders. It is invite only. The Diners Club Black Metal offers unlimited access at 1,300+ lounges, 5X on flights and 10X on hotels via SmartBuy, and 10,000 bonus points each quarter you spend ₹4 lakh. Both charge 2% forex and a lower interest rate of 1.99% a month.

Axis Magnus earns 12 EDGE Reward Points per ₹200 on the first ₹1.5 lakh each calendar month and 35 per ₹200 above that, with 5 points transferring to 2 partner miles. Its ₹12,500 fee is waived only on ₹25 lakh of spend, and domestic lounges need ₹50,000 of spend in the previous three months. It suits people who spend well above ₹1.5 lakh a month.

Travel cards that lost value in 2024 to 2026

• Air India SBI cards: SBI Card stopped new issuance on 10 October 2024 and cut Air India ticket rewards from March 2025.
• American Express: Amex says it is temporarily pausing new card applications in India, which rules out the Platinum Travel card for new applicants.
• Regalia Gold: domestic lounge visits need ₹60,000 of spend in the previous quarter from July 2026.
• Axis Atlas: meet-and-assist, airport transfers and concierge were removed in April 2024.

How to choose a travel credit card

1. Estimate your yearly travel spend, split between direct bookings, travel agencies and spending abroad.
2. Decide how you will redeem: airline miles need transfer partners; vouchers and statement credit are simpler but usually worth less.
3. Price the forex markup on your foreign spending, including GST.
4. Check the lounge conditions against your real spending pattern.
5. Compare the fee after GST with a realistic first-year return, not the best case.

For lounge rules in detail, see our guide to the best credit card for lounge access in India, and browse the travel card rankings for India.