Best Travel Credit Cards in India 2026
Travel cards compared on forex markup, air miles, transfer partners and lounge access — and what you really pay when you swipe abroad.
Updated 28 September 2026 · 107 cards from 17 issuers trackedWhat you need to know
A travel credit card earns more on flights and hotels, often as points you can transfer to airline and hotel programmes, and usually includes airport lounge access. For international trips the forex markup matters as much as rewards: a standard card adds 3.5% plus 18% GST on the markup (about 4.13% in all), while premium and travel cards charge around 2% or less, and a few charge nothing.
- International credit card spends are currently not subject to TCS under the LRS rules — the plan to include them remains deferred.
- Always pay in the local currency abroad. Choosing rupees at the terminal (dynamic currency conversion, DCC) uses the merchant’s exchange rate and can still attract a fee from your issuer — Axis Bank charges up to 3.5% on DCC transactions from 28 August 2026.
- Zero-forex cards: Scapia Federal, Kotak Solitaire, RBL World Safari, PNB Luxura; HSBC RuPay Cashback runs a 0% promotion until 31 Dec 2026.
Travel cards compared
| Card | Issuer | Joining / annual fee | Reward rate | Best for | Net value on ₹3 lakh/yr spend* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Chartered Ultimate | Standard Chartered | ₹5,000 / ₹5,000 | 3.33% base value | High flat reward rate on all spends | ₹4,090 |
| HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Metal Edition | HDFC Bank | ₹10,000 / ₹10,000 | 3.33% base value | High spenders wanting uncapped-lounge premium card below Infinia | -₹1,810 |
| HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card Metal Edition | HDFC Bank | ₹12,500 / ₹12,500 | 3.33% base value | Super-premium, high-spend travellers (invite-only) | -₹4,760 |
| Standard Chartered Beyond | Standard Chartered | ₹15,000 / ₹25,000 | 3.33% base value | Affluent Priority Banking clients | -₹19,510 |
| ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal | ICICI Bank | ₹12,499 / ₹12,499 | 3.00% base value | Super-premium spenders wanting unlimited lounges and hotel memberships | -₹5,749 |
| HSBC Premier | HSBC India | ₹12,000 / ₹20,000 | 3.00% base value | HSBC Premier banking customers | -₹14,600 |
| Kotak Solitaire | Kotak Mahindra Bank | Free / ₹25,000 | 3.00% base value | Affluent Kotak Solitaire customers who travel abroad (zero forex) | -₹20,500 |
| YES Bank Marquee | YES Bank | ₹9,999 / ₹4,999 | 2.25% base value | High online spenders | ₹851 |
| Scapia Federal Bank | Federal Bank | Free / Free | 2.00% base value | Travellers wanting zero forex and lifetime-free | ₹6,000 |
| Kotak Air+ | Kotak Mahindra Bank | Free / ₹3,000 | 2.00% base value | Travellers booking through Kotak Unbox | ₹2,460 |
| Axis Bank Atlas | Axis Bank | ₹5,000 / ₹5,000 | 2.00% base value | Travellers transferring miles to airline/hotel partners | ₹100 |
| HDFC Bank Regalia Gold | HDFC Bank | ₹2,500 / ₹2,500 | 1.33% base value | Mid-premium travellers wanting lounge access and brand accelerators | ₹1,040 |
| MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank | ICICI Bank | ₹999 / ₹999 | 1.00% base value | MakeMyTrip travellers who want low forex markup | ₹3,000 |
| PNB LUXURA RuPay Metal | Punjab National Bank | ₹9,000 / ₹7,500 | 1.00% base value | High spenders wanting zero forex and unlimited lounge | -₹5,850 |
| IRCTC SBI Card (Platinum) | SBI Card | ₹500 / ₹500 | 0.80% base value | Frequent IRCTC train bookers | ₹1,810 |
| BOBCARD Eterna | Bank of Baroda (BOBCARD) | ₹2,499 / ₹2,499 | 0.75% base value | Online shopping, dining and travel spenders | ₹2,250 |
| BOBCARD Tiara | Bank of Baroda (BOBCARD) | ₹2,499 / ₹2,499 | 0.75% base value | Women seeking lifestyle memberships + travel rewards | ₹2,250 |
| BOBCARD Premier | Bank of Baroda (BOBCARD) | ₹1,000 / ₹1,000 | 0.50% base value | Mid-tier travel & dining rewards | ₹1,500 |
| ICICI Bank Sapphiro | ICICI Bank | ₹6,500 / ₹3,500 | 0.50% base value | Premium-lite users wanting welcome vouchers, lounges and golf | -₹2,630 |
| SBI Card ELITE | SBI Card | ₹4,999 / ₹4,999 | 0.50% base value | Mid-premium users wanting lounge access and low forex markup | -₹4,399 |
| IndusInd Bank Tiger | IndusInd Bank | Free / Free | 0.40% base value | High spenders wanting a lifetime-free travel card with Air India tran… | ₹1,200 |
| Federal Bank Celesta | Federal Bank | Free / Free | See card page | Lifetime-free travel card with low forex | — |
| Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip | Standard Chartered | — / ₹350 | See card page | Budget travellers booking on EaseMyTrip | — |
| IDBI Bank Euphoria World | IDBI Bank | ₹1,499 / ₹1,499 | See card page | Top-tier IDBI card for travel spends | — |
| YES Bank RESERV | YES Bank | ₹2,499 / ₹2,499 | See card page | Online shoppers wanting lounge access | — |
| RBL Bank World Safari | RBL Bank | ₹3,000 / ₹3,000 | See card page | International spends (0% forex) | — |
| HSBC TravelOne | HSBC India | ₹4,999 / ₹4,999 | See card page | Miles transfers | — |
| Axis Bank Magnus | Axis Bank | ₹12,500 / ₹12,500 | See card page | Very high monthly spenders (Rs 1.5 lakh+) redeeming via airline trans… | — |
| Kotak White Reserve | Kotak Mahindra Bank | ₹12,500 / ₹12,500 | See card page | High spenders wanting milestone value and unlimited lounges; metal ca… | — |
| Axis Magnus for Burgundy | Axis Bank | — / — | See card page | Axis Burgundy wealth clients | — |
| Canara Bank MasterCard World | Canara Bank | — / — | See card page | Canara top-tier card with international lounge access | — |
* Base reward value on ₹3 lakh of yearly spends minus annual fee + 18% GST (fee treated as waived when the published waiver threshold is ₹3 lakh or less). Accelerated categories, caps and exclusions change the real value — see each card page.
Lowest forex markup cards
| Card | Issuer | Joining / annual fee | Forex markup | Lounge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Solitaire | Kotak Mahindra Bank | Free / ₹25,000 | 0.00% | Unlimited domestic lounge visits + 2 guest visits/year; international… |
| RBL Bank World Safari | RBL Bank | ₹3,000 / ₹3,000 | 0.00% | 2 domestic/quarter (Rs35k quarterly spend) + Priority Pass 2 intl/year |
| HSBC RuPay Cashback | HSBC India | ₹499 / ₹499 | 0.00% | 2 domestic/quarter + 2 international/year |
| Scapia Federal Bank | Federal Bank | Free / Free | 0.00% | Unlimited domestic lounge access with Rs 20,000 spend in the month |
| PNB LUXURA RuPay Metal | Punjab National Bank | ₹9,000 / ₹7,500 | 0.00% | Unlimited complimentary domestic & international |
| MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank | ICICI Bank | ₹999 / ₹999 | 0.99% | 8 domestic visits/yr + 1 international visit/yr |
| HSBC Premier | HSBC India | ₹12,000 / ₹20,000 | 0.99% | Unlimited domestic & international + 8 guest visits |
| YES Bank Marquee | YES Bank | ₹9,999 / ₹4,999 | 1.00% | Unlimited international + 24 domestic/year |
| IndusInd Bank Tiger | IndusInd Bank | Free / Free | 1.50% | 2 domestic/quarter (Visa) + 2 international/year (Priority Pass) |
| YES Bank RESERV | YES Bank | ₹2,499 / ₹2,499 | 1.75% | 3 domestic/quarter + 6 international/year |
| IndusInd Bank Legend | IndusInd Bank | Free / Free | 1.80% | Discontinued from 7 Mar 2025 |
| SBI Card ELITE | SBI Card | ₹4,999 / ₹4,999 | 1.99% | Domestic: 2 visits/quarter; International: 6/yr (max 2/quarter) with … |
| HSBC Live+ | HSBC India | ₹999 / ₹999 | 1.99% | 2 domestic + 1 international/year |
| HDFC Bank Regalia Gold | HDFC Bank | ₹2,500 / ₹2,500 | 2.00% | 12 domestic visits/yr; 6 international visits/yr via Priority Pass (p… |
| HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Metal Edition | HDFC Bank | ₹10,000 / ₹10,000 | 2.00% | Unlimited airport lounge access worldwide for primary and add-on |
Miles, points and transfer partners
5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on travel (up to ₹2 lakh a month), 2 elsewhere; 1 EDGE Mile converts to 2 partner points at most airline and hotel partners. Fee ₹5,000, no waiver; tier milestones at ₹3/7.5/15 lakh.
Infinia and Diners Black earn 5 points per ₹150 and up to 10X on SmartBuy; points are worth ₹1 each on SmartBuy flights and hotels versus ₹0.30 as cashback.
Lifetime-free cards with low forex (1.5% / 1.8%); Tiger transfers 1:1 to Air India Maharaja Points, Legend at 400 points = 100 KrisFlyer miles.
Portal-linked: Scapia pays 20% coins on in-app travel (redeemable only on travel); MMT ICICI pays 6% on MMT hotels and 3% on flights, with 0.99% forex.
Cost of ₹1 lakh spent abroad
| Card type | Markup | GST at 18% | Total extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard card (3.5% markup) | ₹3,500 | ₹630 | ₹4,130 |
| Premium card (1.99% markup) | ₹1,990 | ₹358 | ₹2,348 |
| Travel card (0.99% markup) | ₹990 | ₹178 | ₹1,168 |
| Zero-markup card | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
Forex markup calculator
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best credit card for international travel?
For low cost abroad, a zero-forex card such as Scapia Federal (lifetime free) or a 0.99%–1.5% card (MakeMyTrip ICICI, HSBC Premier, IndusInd Tiger). For earning transferable miles on large travel spends, Axis Atlas or HDFC Infinia/Diners Black via SmartBuy.
Is TCS charged on international credit card spends?
No. Overseas spends on an Indian credit card are currently not counted under LRS for TCS. TCS applies to things like overseas tour packages booked in India (flat 2% from April 2026) and forex card loads.
Should I pay in rupees or local currency abroad?
Local currency. Paying in rupees at a foreign terminal (DCC) lets the merchant set the exchange rate, which is usually worse, and some issuers still charge a cross-currency fee.
Do travel cards give rewards on international spends?
Many do, sometimes at a higher rate, but not all: Scapia gives no coins on international spends, and Kotak NRI Royale gives 2 points per ₹200 abroad versus 1 in India. Check the card’s terms.
Card features, fees and reward rates are compiled from issuers’ published terms and reputable card-review sites (source and date on each card page). Issuers change benefits often — confirm the latest MITC before applying.