Credit Card Comparison: Axis Vistara Signature Vs. Club Vistara SBI Card Prime Vs. IDFC First Club Vistara

Travel credit cards co-branded with leading airlines help consumers save a considerable amount on their travel expenses in the form of free tickets, accelerated rewards, complimentary memberships, milestone benefits and more. Axis Vistara Signature, Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME and Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card are among the most sought-after cards in the market. Co-branded with Vistara Airlines, the cards have similar earning and redemption model, with the main benefit being their milestone program. So, which one should you get? Let’s understand how the three cards differ from each other and which one would offer the highest value to a frequent traveller.

Top Co-branded Credit Cards | Which Credit Card is Best for Travelling?

Welcome Benefits

The welcome benefits provided by these credit cards are quite similar, but IDFC Club Vistara Credit Card stands out as the clear winner in this category. While Axis Vistara offers a complimentary ticket and Vistara Silver Membership, Club Vistara SBI Card Prime only provides a complimentary ticket voucher as a welcome benefit. However, IDFC goes beyond by offering EazyDiner membership and BQ Prime subscription for three months, which alone is valued at around Rs. 1,895. Moreover, the additional benefits of a premium economy ticket and a class upgrade voucher are worth more than Rs. 4,999. Thus, in terms of welcome benefits, IDFC Club Vistara offers a better value back compared to the other two credit cards.

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Milestone Benefits

With each card, you can earn bonus complimentary tickets on achieving the annual spending milestone as per the below details:

• Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card: 1 premium economy ticket each on reaching an annual spending threshold of Rs. 1.5 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 4.5 Lakh, and Rs. 9 Lakh
• Club Vistara SBI Card Prime: 1 premium economy ticket each on reaching an annual spending threshold of Rs. 1.5 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 4.5 Lakh, and Rs. 8 Lakh
• IDFC First Club Vistara Credit Card: 1 premium economy ticket each on reaching an annual spending threshold of Rs. 1.5 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 4.5 Lakh, Rs. 9 Lakh, and Rs. 12 Lakh

All three credit cards offer good value in terms of milestone benefits, especially for high-spenders who can easily reach the spend thresholds. While SBI Card and Axis Bank provide up to 4 complimentary premium economy tickets in a year, IDFC FIRST Bank offers 5 but to get the 5^th ticket, cardholders would have to reach the Rs. 12 Lakh mark. Therefore, for someone whose spending easily goes beyond Rs. 1 Lakh per month, the IDFC Card would be a better choice, as the other two cards do not offer any additional milestone benefits beyond the yearly spends of Rs. 8 Lakh and Rs. 9 Lakh.

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Rewards Comparison: Axis Vistara Signature Vs. Club Vistara SBI Card Prime Vs. IDFC Club Vistara

Each of these cards offer Club Vistara (CV) Points in place of the general reward points. The earned CV Points can be redeemed in exchange for award flights or class upgrade through the Air Vistara website. Here is how much you can earn with these cards:

Axis Vistara Signature & Club Vistara SBI Card Prime: 4 CV points per Rs. 200 spent across all categories.

IDFC Club Vistara: Up to 10 CV Points on your transactions as per the below details:

• 6 CV Points on every Rs. 200 spent on spends up to Rs. 1 Lakh in each statement cycle
• 4 CV Points on every Rs. 200 spent on spends above Rs. 1 Lakh in each statement cycle
• 10 CV Points on every Rs. 200 on all dining spends on your birthday
• 1 CV Point on every Rs. 200 spent on fuel, insurance, utility, rent & wallet load

When it comes to reward points, IDFC Club Vistara operates differently compared to the other two cards. Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card and Club Vistara SBI Card Prime offer 4 CV Points on all purchases, regardless of the spending category. On the other hand, IDFC Club Vistara comes with a more dynamic rewards structure. For general expenses, you can earn up to 6 CV Points, and on dining expenses, you can get up to 10 CV Points. However, the reward benefits on the IDFC Club Vistara card start to decline once your monthly spending exceeds Rs. 1 Lakh. While the decline in benefits beyond a certain monthly spending level might be a concern for heavy spenders, the card is still a good choice for individuals who can meet the minimum spending requirement and take full advantage of its rewards program.

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Value Comparison: How much can you save on your travel spends?

All three cards offer three-fold benefits to the travellers:

1. Through welcome benefit
2. Through the general reward rate
3. Through milestone program

Each of these benefits are directly related to savings on travel spends as cardholders would either get complimentary flight tickets or CV Points which can later to redeemed in exchange for free flights. So, let’s understand how much you can save on each of these cards.

Let’s assume that the average cost for a one-way trip from Mumbai to Bengaluru for Premium Economy Class is Rs. 6,000. You can get complimentary tickets on achieving the annual spending milestone as per the below details:

Bonus Reward Points

Besides the annual spending milestone benefits, you can earn up to 6,000 CV Points based on your credit card. Here is how much you save through bonus rewards:

• Axis Vistara Signature & Club Vistara SBI Card Prime: 3,000 CV Points on spending Rs. 75,000 in the first 90 days of card issuance
• IDFC Club Vistara: Up to 6,000 bonus CV Points by spending a minimum of Rs. 30,000 every month for the first three months after card activation

For this same example, the award flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru for Premium Economy Class requires 7,000 CV Points.

As per the above redemption value, you can save on these credit cards as per the below details:

Note: The above-mentioned table includes general rewards earning along with the rewards earned through milestone benefits.

It is evident from the above comparison table that IDFC First Card provides better benefits, considering you can easily spend Rs. 12 Lakh in a year. This card offers higher benefits when it comes to Premium Economy Class tickets.

Lounge Access Benefits

All three cards offer lounge access benefits as per the below details:

Axis Vistara Signature: 2 complimentary domestic lounge access every quarter.

Club Vistara SBI Card Prime:

• 4 complimentary international lounge visits per year (Max. 2 visits per quarter) under the Priority Pass Membership
• 8 complimentary domestic lounge visits per year (Max. 2 visits per quarter)

IDFC Club Vistara: 

• 2 complimentary visits to domestic airport lounges and spas per quarter
• 1 complimentary visit to the international airport lounge per quarter

When evaluating the lounge access benefits, Club Vistara SBI Card Prime emerges as a better option, offering more lounge visits compared to other cards. While Axis Vistara provides only domestic lounge access, IDFC Club Vistara offers 2 domestic and 1 international lounge access on a minimum monthly spends of Rs. 5,000. Club Vistara SBI Card sets itself apart by providing 4 international and 8 domestic lounge access visits in a year without any restrictions. Though airport lounge access is a good advantage for frequent travellers, we advise you to consider the overall value proposition of the card and not make a judgement based only on the lounge access.

Suggested read: Best Travel Credit Cards in India

Other Benefits

Some of the other benefits offered by these cards are listed below:

Dining Benefits: With Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card, you can get 25% off (Max. Rs. 800) via Eazy Diner membership.

Golf Benefits: Axis Vistara Signature and IDFC Club Vistara credit cards offer golf benefits as per the below details:

• Axis Vistara Signature: 3 complimentary rounds of golf at some of India’s best destinations
• IDFC Club Vistara Credit Card:
  • 12 complimentary golf lessons and 4 complimentary rounds of golf every year
  • Discounted golf services at 50% of the green fee beyond complimentary sessions

Forex Markup Fee: Being travelling credit cards not all three charge a low forex markup fee. IDFC Club Vistara comes with a low forex markup fee of 2.99%, as compared to both cards as they charge a forex markup fee of 3.5%. A low forex markup fee is beneficial for people who frequently make international transactions.

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Which credit card is better for co-branded travel benefits?        

As co-branded credit cards, all three cards offer higher benefits for expenses related to Vistara. However, from the above comparison table, it is clear that Club Vistara IDFC has an edge over the other two cards. This is majorly because of the following reasons:

• The reward structure of IDFC Club Vistara Credit Card is more extensive than that of the other two cards. It provides the opportunity to earn up to 6 CV Points on your expenses, while the other two credit cards limit their rewards to 4 CV Points on all expenses, regardless of the spending category. With IDFC Club Vistara, you can enjoy higher rewards on your regular spends, whereas the other two cards maintain the same rewards earning rate for all your spends.
• IDFC Club Vistara stands out from the other two cards by providing up to 5 complimentary premium tickets as milestone benefits, whereas the competing cards offer up to 4 complimentary premium tickets. While all three cards have multiple spending milestones, IDFC Club Vistara’s extra premium ticket offer sets it apart, enabling frequent travellers to save significantly on their travel expenses.
• The bonus CV Points benefit offered by IDFC First Card surpasses that of the other two, allowing you to earn up to 6,000 CV Points by spending Rs. 90,000 within the first three months. In contrast, SBI Card and Axis Bank credit cards offer up to 3,000 CV Points for spending Rs. 75,000 in the initial 90 days. The higher accumulation of CV Points translates to more savings on your bookings when you redeem them against your travel expenses.
• Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card also charges a low forex markup fee of 2.99%. While there are other travel cards in the market that charges even lower forex markup fee, this 2.99% fee is still lower when compared to the other two cards. Both Axis Vistara and SBI Club Vistara Prime charge a higher forex markup fee of 3.5%, making the Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card a more cost-effective option for international transactions.

Which card should you get?

Choosing between these credit cards depends on your spending limit and behavior. You can consider applying for any of these credit cards as per the following details:

Consider Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card if:

• You make most of your travel bookings through Vistara
• You frequently travel across the country
• You do not frequently make international transactions as it comes with a high forex markup fee
• You are comfortable with no international lounge access offered on the card

Consider Club Vistara SBI Card Prime if:

• You frequently travel & make bookings through Vistara
• You want to earn similar rewards across all transactions
• You are not looking for a low forex markup fee credit card
• You want to earn domestic & international lounge access

Consider IDFC First Club Vistara Credit Card if:

• You are a Vistara loyalist
• You frequently travel internationally
• You can pay an annual fee of Rs. 4,999 as there is no annual fee waiver offered
• You want to earn higher CV Points on your purchases
• You can easily spend Rs. 1 Lakh in a month to avail complimentary premium tickets