Best credit cards for Flight and hotel portals
Cards whose published terms specifically name Flight and hotel portals for flight and hotel bookings on travel portals. Broad “online shopping” cards are excluded unless the issuer names the merchant, because merchant category coding — not the marketing page — decides what actually earns.
Short answer
6 issuer-verified Indian credit cards have terms that specifically name Flight and hotel portals, so the benefit is written into the card rather than inferred from a broad spending category. 4 of them pay an accelerated rate on Flight and hotel portals spend — listed first below — while the rest name it only in a one-off voucher or membership perk. The cheapest card with a real Flight and hotel portals rate is American Express SmartEarn at ₹495 a year. Every line is quoted from the issuer's own recorded wording, including caps and exclusions, as checked on 2026-08-01.
Source: CardMasters issuer-evidence catalogue, release 2026-08-01. Confirm final terms with the issuer.
American Express SmartEarn
- Zomato and EaseMyTrip jointly share a separate monthly cap. Merchant routing is not inferred from generic dining or travel spend.
- selected 10X merchants excluding Zomato and EaseMyTrip
- Zomato and EaseMyTrip
SimplyCLICK SBI Card
- Partner recognition depends on eligible merchant identifiers and INR payment. Cleartrip and Yatra affiliate-channel transactions do not qualify; this merchant-specific route is not inferred from broad online spend.
- Apollo 24x7/BookMyShow/Cleartrip/Dominos/Gyftr/IGP/Myntra/Netmeds/Tata CLiQ/Yatra
Flipkart Axis Bank
- Cleartrip
MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank
- 3 myCash per ₹100 on MakeMyTrip flight, bus and cab bookings; merchant-routed benefit is not inferred from generic travel spend.
- 6 myCash per ₹100 on MakeMyTrip hotel bookings; merchant-routed benefit is not inferred from generic travel spend.
- ₹1,000 MakeMyTrip hotel voucher valid three months after annual-fee payment
Axis Bank Neo
- Cleartrip flight and hotel discounts under current merchant terms
ICICI Bank Times Black
- welcome luxury stay: ₹10,000 EaseMyTrip or ₹12,000 Lohono Gift Card after joining-fee payment
Frequently asked questions
Which credit card is best for Flight and hotel portals?
It depends on how much you spend there and what the cap allows. 6 cards name Flight and hotel portals in their terms, 4 of them with an accelerated rate rather than a one-off perk; the cheapest of those is American Express SmartEarn. A high headline rate with a low monthly cap frequently pays less over a year than a lower flat rate, so check the cap against your actual monthly Flight and hotel portals spend before applying.
Do co-branded Flight and hotel portals rewards have limits?
Almost always. Indian issuers cap merchant-specific accelerated rewards monthly, exclude certain sub-categories (wallet top-ups, gift cards, liquor and EMI conversions are common), and can change the terms with notice. The recorded caps and exclusions for each card are quoted in the table above.
Is a Flight and hotel portals card worth the annual fee?
Only if your genuine spend at Flight and hotel portals earns more than the fee plus GST each year, valued at a realistic redemption rate. Work out the yearly reward at your real monthly spend, cap it at the card's monthly ceiling, then subtract the fee — a card that pays ₹200 a month against a ₹500 fee is worth holding; one that pays ₹50 a month against a ₹2,500 fee is not.
How does CardMasters decide which cards to list here?
A card appears only when the issuer's own recorded terms name Flight and hotel portals — in an accelerated-earn label, a note or a listed benefit. Cards that might cover the merchant through a broad online or dining category are deliberately excluded, because that routing is not guaranteed and merchant category coding decides it.