Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card: Get up to 5 Premium Economy Tickets in a Year

Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card Overall Rating: ★★★★
Welcome Benefit	★★★★
Reward Benefits	★★★
Milestone Benefits	★★★★
Travel Benefits	★★★★

Note: This card is not available on Paisabazaar.com. The content on this page is for information only.

Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card: Features and Benefits

Good Value back on Welcome Benefits

At a joining fee of Rs. 4,999, the card comes with the following welcome benefits:

• 1 complimentary Premium Economy Ticket Voucher
• 1 Class Upgrade Voucher
• 3 months complimentary EazyDiner Prime membership and BQ Prime subscription
• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver Membership

The travel-focused welcome benefits on this card are similar to those offered on Axis Bank Vistara Signature Card. In addition, the IDFC Card also offers a 3 month EazyDiner membership and BQ Prime subscription, which costs around Rs. 1,895. Besides, a premium economy ticket and class upgrade voucher would clearly sum up to a price greater than Rs. 4,999. Clearly the value back offered via the activation benefits, surpasses the joining fee charged.

However, this may not be an exceptional advantage as the welcome benefits on most credit cards in this fee range compensate for the fee charged. To give readers a perspective, other travel credit cards such as Axis Bank Atlas and Air India SBI Signature offer reward points/miles equivalent to the fee, as shown in the table below.

Up to 6,000 Bonus CV Reward Points

The card offers bonus reward points in the first three months after card activation, as follows:

Up to 10 Club Vistara Points on every Transaction

With Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card, you get rewards as CV points on your every day spends with the following reward categories:

• 6 CV Points on every Rs. 200- On spends up to Rs. 1 Lakh in each statement cycle
• 4 CV Points on every Rs. 200-  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 on every spend done on Fuel, Insurance, Utility, Rent & Wallet Load

Note: CV Points are not applicable on EMI Transactions & Cash Withdrawal

In terms of offering reward points, this card functions differently than the other IDFC Credit Cards such as IDFC Wealth and IDFC Select. With these cards you get 10X rewards on achieving a spending milestone of Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 25,000 per month respectively. Thereby, you earn more, as you spend more. However, with the Club Vistara Card, the reward benefits decline by exceeding the Rs. 1 Lakh more. Thus, a concern for heavy spenders.

However, if looked upon beyond the incremental reward structure, 4 CV points on every Rs. 200 is a decent value back. Thus, overall the card can be a good choice if you manage to spend around Rs.1 Lakh a month, or even beyond it. Spending at least 1 Lakh per month, you can also reach the yearly milestone of Rs. 12 Lakh, which would give you free premium economy tickets as shown below.

Multiple Milestone Benefits in a Year

The card offers not one, but multiple milestone benefits, on meeting different spending milestones during an anniversary year. You can earn around 5 complimentary Premium Economy Ticket Vouchers based on the following criteria:

Complimentary Premium Economy Tickets as milestone benefit is possibly the best feature of this card. Not only does it offer a high value-back, it also works in favor of heavy spenders, as this well compensates for the declining reward structure on spends above Rs. 1 Lakh. Thus, even when you earn comparatively lower rewards on spending beyond Rs. 1 Lakh, you get to earn milestone benefits that serve better than the overall value offered on CV reward points.

Other Travel Benefits on Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card

The card offers the following travel benefits: 

• 2 complimentary* visits to domestic airport lounges and spas per quarter
• 1 complimentary* visit to the international airport lounge per quarter
  
• Cancellation For Any Reason (CFAR) Insurance of up to Rs. 10,000 on 2 claims annually, valid for hotel and flight booking cancellations
• Air Accident Cover of Rs. 1 crore
• Personal Accident Cover of Rs. 10 Lakh and Lost Card Liability Cover of Rs. 50,000
• Additional coverage for loss of checked-in baggage, delay of checked-in baggage, loss of passport & other documents, and flight delay of USD 1200
• The card comes with a low forex mark-up fee of  2.99%

*Lounge visits activated on minimum monthly spends of Rs. 5000. Click here to check the  List of domestic airport lounges & Spas | List of international airport lounges

Club Vistara IDFC FIRST vs. Axis Vistara Signature vs. Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME

Is Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card better than other Vistara co-branded cards?

As can be seen from the comparison table above, Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card has an edge over either Axis Vistara Signature or Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME or both primarily on four grounds:

1. The IDFC Card has a more extensive reward structure giving the user opportunities to earn more reward points on regular spends, whereas Axis and SBI Card offer the same earning rate across all categories and spend thresholds. The base rate itself is also higher than the other two cards at 6 points for every Rs. 200 spent.
2. Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card also charges a lower foreign exchange mark-up fee of 2.99%. Though there are other travel credit cards offering lower forex markup advantage, this number is still better than the other two Vistara co-branded cards compared above.
3. While all three cards offer the same number of complimentary domestic lounge visits in a year, IDFC FIRST and SBI Card also provide 4 complimentary international lounge visits, which is an added advantage for international travelers.
4. The joining benefit on IDFC FIRST Card is also better than the other two as it offers up to 6,000 CV Points on spends of Rs. 90,000 in the first 90 days. On the other hand, SBI Card and Axis Bank offer only 3,000 bonus CV Points on spends of Rs. 75,000 for the same duration.

Where does the IDFC Vistara Card lack?

Since the benefits on Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card are at par with Axis Vistara Signature and Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME, the annual fee should also have been at the same level. Offering similar benefits and charging Rs. 2,000 higher than its counterparts can be a drawback for this card. For a high-spending consumer who can easily reach the maximum milestone benefit of Rs. 12 Lakh in a year or one who would also value complimentary golf rounds, the high annual fee might still be justifiable. Others would probably prefer a lower annual fee.

Check Eligibility & Apply Online for Other Similar Credit Cards

Who should get the Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card?

You should consider getting this card, if:

• You are looking for a travel credit card
• You frequently travel internationally
• You prefer traveling via Vistara Airlines over other airlines
• You can spend at least Rs. 1 Lakh in a month to avail milestone benefits as well as the accelerated rewards

If your needs and spending patterns align with the pointers listed above, you can consider getting this card. To apply for this card, you can contact IDFC FIRST Bank Credit Card directly. You can however, explore other travel credit cards with Paisabazaar, and apply for the best suited card for you.