Best credit cards for domestic flights and hotels (2026)
Ranked cards for domestic travel spend — flights, hotel bookings, and rail — including OTA-boosted portals like SmartBuy and Axis Travel Edge.
- 1Axis BankAxis Reserve Credit Card7.5% on Domestic flights & hotels₹59,000/yr incl. GST2X points on international card spending37
- 2HDFC BankHDFC 6E Rewards XL Indigo Credit Card5% on Domestic flights & hotels₹1,770/yr incl. GST52
- 3ICICI BankICICI Adani One Signature Credit Card5% on Domestic flights & hotels₹5,900/yr incl. GST34
- 4Federal BankFederal Bank Scapia Credit Card4% on Domestic flights & hotelsLifetime free20 Scapia Coins per ₹100 on travel bookings via the Scapia app; effective value ~4% at ₹0.20 per coin.50
- 5ICICI BankICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card3% on Domestic flights & hotels₹14,749/yr incl. GSTBest-case travel redemption at ₹1/RP via ICICI iShop or airline/hotel partner transfers.87
- 6HDFC BankHDFC Pixel Play Credit Card3% on Domestic flights & hotels₹590/yr incl. GST53
- 7HDFC BankHDFC 6E Rewards Indigo Credit Card2.5% on Domestic flights & hotels₹590/yr incl. GST36
- 8Kotak Mahindra BankKotak Indigo Ka-ching 6E Rewards Credit Card2.5% on Domestic flights & hotels₹1,770/yr incl. GST35
How we rank
We compute an effective % back for each card's Domestic flights & hotels reward rule as rate × point value, cap-aware, and rank by that number. Ties are broken by the CardAgent overall score, which weighs reward value (70%), fee efficiency (12%), redemption flexibility (9%), and perks (9%). All fees are shown inclusive of 18% GST. See methodology and full catalog.
FAQ
Do OTA portals give better rates?
Yes — HDFC SmartBuy, Axis Travel Edge, and ICICI iShop routinely give 5–10× accelerated points on domestic hotel/flight bookings.