Exploring new destinations is always a great learning experience and travelling during festivals like Diwali is all the more fun. It is very important to have a fruitful travelling experience to be able to enjoy a fulfilling trip. However, sometimes while travelling via airplanes, you may experience delayed flights or layovers. It can be exhausting and frustrating to wait amidst the crowd at the airport for a long duration. This can feel worse when you’re jet-lagged or sleep-deprived.
In order to enhance your travelling experience, there are luxurious airport lounges wherein you can enjoy comfortable seating, charging ports, snacks, and other comforts. You can save big on food and beverages, and also work at airports in a comfortable setting. However, entry to these airport lounges is not free.
Access Airport Lounges for Free
To help you save big and have a comfortable travel experience, several top credit cards offer complimentary lounge access benefits. Many premium credit cards offer complimentary lounge access and several others offer travel benefits. Some of the top banks like HDFC Bank, SBI, YES Bank, Citibank and ICICI Bank offer some of the best credit cards with lounge access. Let’s look at some of them.
- ICICI Bank Sapphiro Credit Card
Only Primary Cardholders can avail of the membership of Dreamfolks Lounge Access Program by ICICI Bank. You can get 2 international lounge visits to any of the 450+ lounges every year and 4 domestic lounge visits every 3 months. The other added benefits of this card include 2 free spa visits, 20,000 payback points every year, a ‘Buy 1, Get 1’ movie tickets offer, and a discount of 15% at selective restaurants.
- SBI Card Elite
Primary Cardholders can enjoy membership of the Priority Pass Program by SBI. You can get a maximum of 2 international visits every 3 months, 6 visits every year and 8 domestic lounge visits. The comprehensive benefits that this card has to offer make it one of the best credit cards available in the market. You can also avail of the Trident Privilege Red Tier and Club Vistara Membership. It also offers a low forex markup of 1.99% which is an extremely wonderful option for you if you are a frequent international traveller.
- HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card
This is one of the best credit card options for you if you are a frequent traveller. It offers unlimited access to more than 700 lounges across the world. You also receive a welcome bonus of 5000 reward points and concierge services are available 24*7. Reward points are earned for every Rs. 150 spent via your credit card transactions. If you meet with an air accident, you get an insurance cover of Rs. 2 Crores. A 2% markup fee on foreign transactions is one of the added benefits that this card has to offer.
- YES First Exclusive Credit Card
This is a new launch in the credit card segment. With a complimentary pass membership, this card allows unlimited access to more than 25 domestic airport lounges in India. You can enjoy contactless payments and a discount of 25% on movie tickets purchased on BookMyShow. You also get an insurance cover of Rs. 3 Crores. Complimentary membership of Taj Inner Circle Epicure is also provided. You can even earn 50,000 reward points on your first transaction made within 90 days of the activation of your credit card.
- Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card
Launched in collaboration with Vistara Airlines, this credit card offers a Vistara Premium Economy Class ticket which is given as a welcome gift. You also receive complimentary travel insurance in case you lose your check-in baggage or travel documents. Four Club Vistara Miles are earned on the expenditure of every Rs. 2,000 and it is redeemable on the purchase of the Vistara Flight tickets.
- Citi PremierMiles Credit Card
You can get free lounge access depending on whether you have a Visa or a Mastercard. This is one of the best travel credit cards in the market. You get 10,000 bonus air miles as a welcome gift if you transact an amount greater than Rs.1,000 within the first 60 days of your card’s issuance. A discount of 20% on selective restaurants and a credit of 3,000 miles upon yearly renewal are a few added benefits of owning this card.
- Citi Prestige Credit Card
This credit card provides access across 800 airport lounges worldwide. It is loaded with unique travel benefits like contactless payments, bonus air miles of 10,000, and Taj or ITC Hotel vouchers. It also offers a one-night complimentary stay over a booking of 4 nights minimum, at hotels across the world. One reward point within India and two reward points across the world are offered for every card spent worth Rs. 100.
When you’re scanning through some of the best credit cards, make sure to take into consideration all your requirements. Analyze them properly, calculate the frequency of your travel, the airports that you travel to the most, and whether the lounges are available at those airports or not. After having scanned through every parameter, make a wise choice and apply online for a credit card that best suits your requirements.
Also, make sure to weigh the benefits of the annual fee that the credit card offers. Consider the air bonuses, insurance covers, foreign exchange markup fees, and direct airline discounts offered by the cards. Apply online for a credit card and fly smart this Diwali!
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