I have spent years looking at credit cards primarily through one lens: how many points they earn, where those points can be transferred, what they are worth, and, ultimately, how many flights I can get out of them. That is how I view cards even now.
However, India’s premium credit card market is changing significantly, and anyone serious about travel rewards should take note. The best travel-reward cards are increasingly moving away from being standalone credit cards. Instead, banks are tying access to them—and sometimes continued access—to the customer’s broader relationship with the bank. In other words, the model is increasingly becoming ‘bank relationship plus credit card’ rather than simply credit card. Some of the cards that have historically been among the most attractive options to earn and redeem travel rewards are now being positioned as relationship products for affluent customers.
