The golden era of effortless travel rewards on credit cards is over. Over the past year, banks have steadily chipped away at some of the country's most rewarding travel cards by capping bonus points, removing popular transfer partners and making it harder to earn free flights and hotel stays. Several former favourites have slipped down the pecking order, while others have emerged as stronger contenders.
Mint has revisited its annual ranking of the best travel-focused credit cards, taking into account not just reward rates but also recent devaluations. As last year, the cards are divided into two categories based on annual credit card spends: ₹10-15 lakh and above ₹15 lakh.
Experts say the amount and where it is spent are the most practical ways to determine the best card for an individual. "There is no one-size-fits-all credit card recommendation," said Tejas Ghongadi, co-founder, The Points Code. “The right card depends on how much and where you spend. A card that works well for a frequent traveller may not be the best fit for someone with expenses mainly concentrated in utilities, insurance or other non-discretionary categories.”
Identify cards that deliver the best value on existing expenses without encouraging unnecessary spending simply to earn more rewards.
Eligibility is equally important, said credit card expert Akash Gupta. "If you qualify for a premium card, it may still make sense to choose it even if your annual card spending is below ₹15 lakh."
Most premium cards now require either a high monthly salary or a sizeable total relationship value (TRV) with the issuing bank. HDFC Infinia and HSBC Premier require monthly salaries of ₹5 lakh and ₹3 lakh, respectively, or ₹50 lakh TRV.
Axis Magnus Burgundy requires ₹30 lakh TRV and charges an annual fee of ₹35,400 (including GST). Before committing to a premium card, ensure your spending is high enough to qualify for the fee waiver— ₹10 lakh for Infinia and ₹30 lakh for Magnus Burgundy—or that the joining and renewal rewards offset the fee, as is the case with HSBC Premier.
Travel cards also work best for users with higher spending, Gupta said. “For those spending below ₹10 lakh a year, cashback cards often provide better value. For travel rewards at this spending level, expect to earn a few domestic flights or a couple of hotel nights at best.”
Even high spenders should pare down their expectations with the recent devaluations, Ghongadi said. “Rather than one or two vacations every year, users should expect one meaningful vacation every two years, where both hotel and flights for a family of four are paid for by points. The unusually generous rewards seen during the Magnus boom were never sustainable and banks are now returning to economically viable reward structures,” said Ghongadi.
What changed this year
The list has seen a notable reshuffle this year. HDFC Diners Club Black (DCB) Metal has moved from the ₹15 lakh-plus category to ₹10-15 lakh after HDFC Bank capped accelerated SmartBuy gift voucher rewards at 3,000 points per month. One of the key attractions of DCB for high spenders is the 10,000 bonus reward points (RPs) for every ₹4 lakh spent in a quarter. With many users likely to shift voucher spending to other cards, consistently reaching this milestone may become harder.
HDFC Infinia has also been affected by similar SmartBuy restrictions and now requires annual spends of at least ₹18 lakh to retain the card. While it remains one of the strongest premium travel cards, recent devaluations have reduced its edge. For users spending over ₹18 lakh annually, HSBC Premier and Axis Magnus Burgundy now offer better travel rewards.
HSBC Premier is a new entrant in the premium category and among the most rewarding premium cards right now, said Gupta. "It's basically a free card because the 20,000 joining reward points can translate to at least ₹40,000 worth of Accor hotel points, more than just offsetting the ₹14,000 joining fee," said Gupta.
In the mid-spend category, Axis Atlas has been dropped because it is no longer open to new applicants. It has been replaced by HDFC DCB Metal and HDFC Regalia Gold. Existing Atlas cardholders, however, should continue using the card unless Axis significantly devalues its rewards.
Annual spending of ₹10-15 lakh
For those spending ₹10-15 lakh a year, the choice is no longer as straightforward. The recent devaluation of HDFC SmartBuy has narrowed the gap between HDFC DCB Metal and HDFC Regalia Gold, while HSBC TravelOne continues to offer one of the broadest travel rewards.
HSBC TravelOne is the most well-rounded card for travellers looking to accumulate airline and hotel points. It earns 2 RPs per ₹100 spent, which jumps to 4 RPs for travel and international spends. Moreover, it offers bonus rewards when travel bookings are made through its travel portal Hopper (see grfx).
Those who prefer booking on online travel aggregators (OTAs) get a 15% discount on select partners like Cleartrip and Paytm, but they lose out on bonus rewards. Points transfer to over 20 airline and hotel loyalty programmes at a 1:1 ratio. The ₹5,900 annual fee (incl GST) is waived on spends of ₹8 lakh, making it relatively easy to recover for users in this spending bracket.
However, regular expenses like insurance, utility, tax, jewellery and education fees are excluded from earning rewards, narrowing the rewarding expenses to mainly discretionary expenses.
Despite SmartBuy changes, DCB Metal remains one of the most rewarding cards in this segment. It earns 5 RPs per ₹150 spent, translating to a base reward rate of about 3.3%, with 1:1 transfers to most airline and hotel partners. Its biggest attraction remains the quarterly milestone of 10,000 bonus RPs on ₹4 lakh spends, pushing effective rewards close to 6%. However, HDFC's monthly cap of 3,000 bonus points on SmartBuy vouchers means users can no longer route a large share of household spending through vouchers to reach these milestones.
That also makes HDFC Regalia Gold a stronger proposition than before. It earns 4 RPs per ₹150 spent and offers the same 5X and 10X accelerated rewards on SmartBuy hotel and flight bookings, albeit with a lower monthly cap on accelerated rewards. More importantly, both Regalia Gold and DCB Metal transfer points to Accor at the same 2:1 ratio.
"Since Accor remains one of the most valuable hotel loyalty programmes, the difference in redemption value is smaller than the hierarchy between the two cards suggests," said Ghongadi. With a fee of ₹2,950, waived on ₹4 lakh spends, and frequent lifetime-free offers, Regalia Gold is an attractive option for those who do not qualify for DCB Metal or are unlikely to maximise its quarterly milestones.
Annual spends: above ₹5 lakh
HSBC Premier has emerged as the strongest all-round premium travel card following recent devaluations elsewhere. While its base reward rate of around 3% is slightly below HDFC Infinia's, it earns rewards on utilities and insurance up to ₹1 lakh a month, categories excluded by most rivals. Flights and hotels booked through the HSBC travel portal earn 6X and 12X rewards, respectively, while points transfer to airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio, including Accor.
Axis Magnus Burgundy remains the card of choice for very high discretionary spenders. Up to ₹1.5 lakh spent in a month earns 12 RPs per ₹200, which jumps to 35 RPs for incremental spends. Moreover, travel bookings done on TravelEdge portal earn 5X. However, it has become an airline miles-focused card after losing Accor and Marriott Bonvoy as transfer partners.
Also, utilities, insurance, fuel, government payments and gold are excluded from earning rewards, making it suitable mainly for users with ₹25-30 lakh or more in travel and discretionary spending. But accelerated points on travel bookings for HSBC Premier are capped at 18,000 per month and this limit can be hit with ₹50,000 spent on hotels or ₹1 lakh spent on flights. Value for high spenders diminishes due to this cap that Axis Magnus rewards.
“This is where Infinia continues to be a strong premium card as it rewards on most regular spends, including insurance, education fee and gold,” said Ghongadi.
To maximise points, users should not rush to get all cards. “Having 2-3 complementary cards is a good strategy, as no single card rewards every spending category equally. Axis Atlas and HSBC TravelOne are generally positioned as alternatives to premium cards like Magnus Burgundy and HSBC Premier. In most cases, you would choose one from each ecosystem rather than holding all four,” said Gupta.