If you travel frequently, the right credit card can help you save on flights, hotels, airport lounges and international transactions while earning rewards on your everyday spending. We’ve compared the best travel credit cards in India for 2026 based on travel rewards, airline and hotel points, airport lounge access, forex charges, annual fees and overall value.
Whether you’re a frequent flyer, international traveller, hotel enthusiast or an occasional traveller, find a card that matches the way you travel.
What Makes a Good Travel Credit Card?
A good travel credit card isn’t necessarily the card with the highest advertised rewards. We look at 4 factors:
1. Travel Rewards
How many points or miles do you earn from:
- Flights/ Hotels
- Travel portals
- International spending
2. Airline & Hotel Transfer Partners
This is particularly important for frequent travellers. A card can become significantly more valuable if its points can be transferred to airline miles or hotel loyalty programmes at a favourable ratio.
3. Airport Lounge Access
Domestic vs International
- Number of visits
- Spending requirements
4. Forex Markup
If you spend ₹2 lakh abroad, even a small difference in forex markup can materially affect your costs. For example: ₹2,00,000 international spend, a 3.5% markup can mean approximately ₹7,000 in markup before applicable taxes.
That’s why forex charges deserve as much attention as reward rates.
Top 3 Travel Credit Cards in India 2026
HSBC Travel One
Best For: Accor Transfer
- Earn from 2-24 points per INR 100 spent
- Transfer to Accor and Avios at 1:1
- Annual Fee – INR 4,999 + GST
Axis Atlas Credit Card
Best For: Air India Miles Transfer
- Upto 5 Miles earned per INR 100 spent
- Transfer to Air India Miles at 1:2
- Annual Fee – INR 5,000 + GST
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy
Best for: Marriott Members
- Upto 8 Marriott points per INR 150 spent
- Earn Complimentary Silver Marriott Membership
- Annual Fee – INR 3,000 + GST
Top 5 Travel Credit Cards in 2026
HSBC Travel One Credit Card
Travel & Foreign Spend Rewards: Earn 4 reward points for every ₹100 spent on flights, travel aggregators, and foreign currency transactions.
Base Rewards: Earn 2 reward points for every ₹100 spent on all other categories with no cap. Accelerated miles of 24 per 100 for Hotel booked via Hopper
Milestone Benefits: Receive 10,000 bonus reward points for annual spends over ₹12,00,000, and 3,000 bonus points for spending ₹1,00,000 within the first 90 days.
Joining Fee: ₹4,999 + GST, Annual Fee Waiver Milestone: Annual renewal fee of ₹4,999 is reversed if you spend ₹8 Lakhs or more in the preceding year.
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HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card
5x Reward Points on travel and shopping bookings made through the HDFC SmartBuy portal.
4 Reward Points on every ₹200 spent on retail transactions.
7.5% discount at partner restaurants when paying via Swiggy Dineout. Complimentary domestic airport lounge access vouchers per quarter based on minimum spending criteria
Joining Fee: ₹2,500 + GST, Annual Fee Waiver Milestone: Annual renewal fee of ₹2,500 is waived-off if you spend ₹3.5 Lakhs or more in the preceding year.
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Axis Atlas Credit Card
Travel Spends (Axis TRAVEL EDGE portal, direct airline/hotel bookings): Earn 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 spent (capped at ₹2 Lakhs spent per month; 2 EDGE Miles per ₹100 thereafter)
Regular Spends: Earn 2 EDGE Miles per ₹100 spent.
Welcome Benefit:Â 2,500 EDGE Miles on your first transaction within 37 days of card issuance.
Joining Fee: ₹5,000 + GST, Annual Fee Waiver Milestone: Annual renewal fee reversal not available.
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HDFC Marriott Bonvoy
Free Night Award:Â Receive 1 Free Night Award (valued at up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) upon fee realization as a welcome gift and upon each annual renewal
Elite Status: Automatically get complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status and 10 Elite Night Creditsevery year.
Marriott Spends: Earn 8 points per ₹150 spent at participating Marriott properties. Travel, Dining & Entertainment: Earn 4 points per ₹150 spent. Other Spends: Earn 2 points per ₹150 spent
Joining Fee: ₹3,000 + GST, Fee Waiver: The ₹3,000 annual renewal fee waiver is not available
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Scapia Federal Bank Credit Card
Rewards Program:Â Earn 20% Scapia Coins on travel bookings made via the Scapia app and 10% Scapia Coins on other eligible online and offline spending.
Airport Lounge Access: Get unlimited domestic airport lounge access when you meet the required monthly spend threshold (typically ₹20,000 in the preceding month).
Zero Forex Markup:Â Pay zero foreign currency exchange fees on all international purchases.
Joining Fee: Zero and Annual Fee is Zero.
Apply NowFAQs – Best Credit Cards for Travel in 2026
Consider:Â Axis Atlas / HDFC Diners Club Black Metal. Due to high reward rates on Travel and Good variety of airline and hotel transfer partners
Consider:Â Scapia / ixigo AU for Zero/ Low Forex Markup. You could also consider HSBC Travel One because they run Zero Forex Mark-up offers from time to time.
Consider:Â HDFC Marriott Bonvoy / Axis Atlas. Due to high reward rates and complimentary membership
Consider:Â Axis Atlas / HSBC TravelOne. Axis Atlas for Air India Maharaja Miles (1:2 Transfer) and HSBC Travel One (1:1 Transfer) for Avios
Consider:Â HDFC Marriott Bonvoy / Scapia. Both are great options and between them will cover both domestic and international lounges
Axis Atlas/ HSBC Travel One. One can be attractive for travellers who want to transfer rewards to airline and hotel loyalty programmes. The best option depends on which airline or hotel programme you use.Â
HDFC Diners Club Black Metal
There isn’t one card that is best for everyone. The right choice depends on your travel frequency, spending, preferred airlines and hotels, lounge requirements and international spending.
For international travel, compare cards based on forex markup, international lounge access, travel rewards and acceptance, rather than looking only at the reward rate.
They can be, particularly if you travel frequently enough to use the rewards, lounge access, hotel benefits and milestone rewards. Calculate the expected annual value before paying the fee.
Not necessarily. A travel card can be more valuable for frequent travellers, while cashback cards are often better for people who want simple rewards on everyday spending.
Yes. Most internationally accepted credit cards can be used abroad, although foreign exchange charges and other applicable fees may apply.
Check out the cards here