If you are a domestic traveler, airline credit cards can be more rewarding than a normal credit card. While we have co-branded cards for most airlines, Vistara cards are somewhat better. As of now, Vistara has co-branded cards with Axis Bank and SBI Card. In this article, we review one of the Vistara co-branded cards – the Club Vistara SBI Card.
Fees and Charges
The complimentary economy ticket is worth more than the joining fee. I am valuing the complimentary economy ticket at Rs 5000. It can of course be lower or higher depending on the route and time of booking.
Considering the welcome/renewal benefit, the card pays us to hold it even if we do not make any spending on it. Effectively, we get more benefits than the fees we pay.
| Joining/Renewal Fee | Rs 1499 plus taxes |
| Welcome/Renewal Benefit | 1 Complimentary Economy Ticket |
Rewards
The main feature of all Vistara co-branded cards is the milestone benefit. On the Club Vistara SBI Card, we get 3 economy class tickets and a hotel gift voucher on spending Rs 5 Lakhs in a year.
Each CV point can be conservatively valued at 80 paise. The value increases when we are booking closer to the travel date.
- 3 Club Vistara(CV) points per Rs 200 ~ 1.2% Return
- 8 CV points per Rs 100 spent on Vistara flights (via the base Club Vistara membership)
- 1000 Bonus CV points on Rs 50000 spend (Only for the first year)
- 3 Economy Tickets on Milestone Spends: 1 Economy Ticket each on spending Rs 1.25 Lakhs, Rs 2.5 Lakhs, and Rs 5 Lakhs in a year
- Rs 5000 Yatra Hotels Gift Voucher on spending Rs 5L in a year
Club Vistara SBI Card offers a 4.6% Return on Spends
Including milestone benefits, the return offered by the Club Vistara SBI card is a good 4.6%.
- I am valuing each economy ticket at Rs 4000 as we need to pay approximately Rs 1000 as redemption charges towards fuel and surcharges. So, we get Rs 12000 worth of economy class tickets.
- Rs 5000 Yatra Hotels GV as milestone benefit
- 7500 CV points on Rs 5 Lakhs excluding Vistara spending. This can get you a Bengaluru to New Delhi Economy ticket or a business class Delhi to Chandigarh. Check the Vistara award chart for many other options. The challenge here will be booking the award ticket as Vistara cards are a bit too popular.
- Total Return: 7500 CV points ~Rs 6000 + Rs 12000 as Economy Tickets + Rs 5000 Yatra Hotels GV = Rs 23000 ~4.6% Return on Rs 5 Lakh spending
Complimentary Domestic Airport Lounge Access
We get 4 complimentary visits per year to domestic airport lounges. This is good enough for a card of this segment.
Free Cancellation and Insurance Benefits
- 4 free cancellations of Vistara flights up to Rs 3500 each
- Air Accident Cover: Up to Rs 50 Lakhs
- Loss of check-in baggage: Up to USD 1000
- Delay of check-in baggage: Rs 7500
- Loss of travel documents: Up to Rs 12500
- Baggage Damage Cover: Up to Rs 2500
My View
The Club Vistara SBI Card is a good travel card for its segment. If Vistara flies the routes that you are planning to travel on, you can consider getting this card. The other challenge that you might face is the limited availability of redemption tickets. The Vistara cards are popular and with everyone holding the card, you can only have so many award tickets.
One thing missing in this card is a complimentary Silver or higher tier Club Vistara membership. We get just base CV membership. If you are a high spender, then the Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME is also worth a look. We have more milestone benefits in that plus we also get Premium Economy tickets.
