IndusInd Avios Credit Card – Is it worth it?

In January 2023, IndusInd announced its partnership with Avios to introduce a unique multi-branded credit card that uses the same frequent flyer currency, Avios, as British Airways and Qatar Airways. On July 7th, IndusInd officially launched the IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card (quite a mouthful). While I believe that this offering is still lackluster and demands a very high annual fee, let’s examine some important details of the card.

IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card – Annual Fees

The IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card, like many other IndusInd credit cards, has a one-time joining fee and an annual fee.

The one-time joining fee is ₹40,000 + taxes and the annual fee is ₹10,000 + taxes. This fee structure is similar to what you see on the IndusInd Vistara Explorer Credit Card. While the annual fee is standard for this type of offering, in my opinion, the joining fee is hard to justify.

IndusInd is known to offer their cards at different fee points, with lower joining fees or sometimes even zero joining fees with only an annual fee. However, this is unlikely to happen at launch. If you are interested in this card, I recommend waiting for some time before applying.

IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card – Eligibility

Although IndusInd has not yet published eligibility criteria for the card, based on the Vistara Explorer card, I would assume that if you currently have an IndusInd credit card with a limit of 3L, you should be able to upgrade to this card.

IndusInd Avios Credit Card – Welcome Bonus

This is where the IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card becomes interesting and unique. Unlike airline co-branded credit cards, this is a Frequent Flyer Multibrand Credit Card. You can choose either the Qatar Airways Privilege Club (the frequent flyer program of Qatar Airways) or the British Airways Executive Club (the frequent flyer program of British Airways) as your Preferred Airline Loyalty Programme on the card. This means that you’ll earn points on the frequent flyer program of the partner you choose on the card.

In reality, there isn’t much difference because you can transfer Avios freely between the Qatar Airways Privilege and the British Airways Executive Club. However, the welcome bonus is where it makes a difference.

---

Welcome Bonus for choosing Qatar Airways Privilege Club as Preferred Airline Loyalty Programme

• Complimentary Gold membership tier with Qatar Airways Privilege Club which in turn translates to One World Sapphire Status.

Qatar Privilege Gold	Benefits
Priority check-in at Hamad International Airport	First Class Travel: Al Safwa check-in counters Business Class Travel: Al Mourjan check-in counters Economy Class Travel: Check-in at our dedicated counters in Row 3
Priority check-in at other airports	Check-in at Business Class counters, irrespective of cabin of travel.
Priority seat	If your preferred Qatar Airways flight is full, you will be put on standby and given priority when a seat becomes available.
Extra baggage allowance	Enjoy an additional 20 kg, or one piece (depending on your route), on flights marketed and operated by Qatar Airways.
Lounge access at Hamad International Airport	Enjoy lounge access at select airports around the world, and Business Class lounges at select airports, regardless of your class of travel.
Complimentary “one visit” guest lounge passes	Receive four guest passes3 per year to invite additional friends to join you in the lounge at Hamad International Airport.
Complimentary Al Maha Services	Enjoy our meet-and-greet service when you arrive, depart, or transfer through Hamad International Airport. You can also choose a guest to benefit from this service at no charge, provided they are travelling with you.
Priority boarding	Enjoy priority boarding, where available.
Discount for online redemptions	Enjoy 5% off on all online redemption.
Award-fee waivers	Change or cancel your booking free of charge. Applicable for the main member. Click here to learn more.
Better availability for award seat redemptions	Redeem your award ticket with better award seat availability.
Preferential rate to Shop and Pay with Avios	Earn and spend Avios at preferential rates for purchases made at Qatar Duty Free, located at the departure and arrival halls of Hamad International Airport and at Oryx Galleria8, Doha.

One World Sapphire Benefits

Access to Business Class lounges

Access to Business Class priority check-in

Extra baggage allowance

Priority baggage handling

Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating

Priority on waitlists and when on standby

Priority boarding

• A welcome bonus of 20,000 Avios credited after 15 days of receipt of joining fees.

---

Welcome Benefits for choosing British Airways Executive Club as Preferred Airline Loyalty Programme

• 55,000 bonus Avios upon joining credited after 15 days of receipt of joining fees.

💡Important Note: The welcome bonuses are only applicable for the first year and do not renew upon renewal unless certain conditions are met.

When choosing between the two frequent flyer programs, it’s less about which program to choose and more about which welcome bonus you prefer. Unless you’re someone who will be frequently flying One World Airlines and utilizing the Gold/Sapphire status, I recommend choosing the 55,000 Avios on the BA Executive Club over the Qatar Privilege Club welcome bonus.

IndusInd Avios Credit Card – Renewal Benefits

Similar to the Welcome Bonus, the Renewal Benefits also depend on the preferred loyalty program chosen for the card.

---

Renewal Benefits with Qatar Airways Privilege Club as Preferred Airline Loyalty Programme

• 5000 bonus Avios credited within 15 days of payment of renewal fees.
• To renew the Gold membership tier, a total spend of QAR 14,000 (₹317664.74) is required on the card via qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app. The IndusInd cardholder must also be listed as a passenger on any bookings made to accumulate the required spend. It is not possible to make bookings for someone else in an attempt to renew the Gold membership. This limitation may be disappointing for some, particularly those who do not personally pay for their tickets. A better option for IndusInd would be to offer renewal based on total card spending, rather than a specific spending requirement on Qatar Airways bookings.

---

Renewal Benefits with British Airways Executive Club as Preferred Airline Loyalty Programme

• 10,000 bonus Avios credited within 15 days of payment of renewal fees.

Once again, it goes without saying that if I were you, I would choose the British Airways Executive Club as the preferred airline loyalty programme on the card.

IndusInd Avios Credit Card – Milestone Benefit

Besides the welcome bonus and the renewal bonus the IndusInd Avios Credit Card also offers two milestone benefits on the card.

• 25,000 bonus Avios after your first spends of INR 800,000 in a year
• 25,000 bonus Avios after your second spends of INR 800,000 in a year

Milestone benefit would be credited 10 days post statement generation after milestone spends are achieved.

Earning Rate

The card earns 1 Avios per 200 spent on all international and domestic transactions. It also earns 2X Avios on every transaction on the British Airways or Qatar Airways mobile app or the website.

Preferred International Destination Benefit

Here’s another interesting aspect of the IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card: you can choose a preferred international destination to be associated with the card.

Below is a list of eligible destinations.

S.NO.	Preferred international destination choices
1	Americas (North and South America)
2	Europe and North Asia
3	Middle East and South Asia
4	Africa
5	Australia, New Zealand, Far East and others

👉 Once chosen you will earn accelerated Avios at a rate of 5X Avios on every INR 200 spent for POS (Point of Sale) transactions at your preferred international destination.

👉 Discounted foreign currency mark-up of 1.5% at your preferred international destination

👉 Keep in mind that the 5X is only on POS transactions, online transactions at your preferred international destination would earn 1X Avios on every INR 200 spent.

👉 Your preferred international destination can be changed after the anniversary year of your card is completed. Please call 1860 267 7777 or write to place the request.

IndusInd Avios Credit Card – Travel Benefits

Meet and Greet Services

Although there are a few credit cards in India that offer Meet and Greet services, the IndusInd Avios Credit Card stands out as it provides this feature internationally in about 30 major airports worldwide, including Newark (EWR), London Heathrow (LHR), Toronto (YYZ), and others. Surprisingly, no domestic Indian airports are on the list.

To view the full list of airports where this feature is offered, please click here. You can enjoy two of these services for free each year.

How to book this service?

• Please call the toll-free number 18002099071 or write to Indusindassist@aspirelifestyles.com for placing a request.
• The request for this service should be placed at least 72 hours prior to the travel.
• E-ticket is mandatory for booking meet-and-greet services.
• Share the booking details with the concierge such as names of passengers, flight details, etc.
• Cardholders would receive the agent details within 1 to 2 hours of travel time on the email address shared with the Concierge team.

Important Details about using this service:

• The benefit is applicable only to primary cardholders or travel companions of primary cardholders.
• Amendments to bookings are not allowed.
• Any cancellation less than 24 hours before service time/no-show will be considered as a usage of benefit.

This is a nice feature something that some old Citi Prestige holders will fondly remember Citi offering this in the APAC region.

Priority Pass

The IndusInd Bank Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card provides complimentary Priority Pass membership, which includes two international lounge visits per quarter. Any additional visits beyond the two allowed per quarter will incur a fee of $27 per visit. Additionally, using the Priority Pass membership within India will also result in a fee of $27 per visit.

In my opinion, this is unsatisfactory considering the fee for the card. Cards at this price point should offer unlimited Priority Pass lounge visits, as seen with many other card offerings in the country.

Domestic Lounge Access

As the Priority Pass lounge usage in India is charged on this card, cardholders are given separate access to domestic lounges through the Visa Lounge network. However, they are limited to just 2 visits per quarter, which is quite restrictive. The list of lounges available can be found here.

Airline Benefits

Cardholders get a 10% off for flight bookings made on www.qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app, provided you choose Qatar Airways Privilege Club as the preferred airline loyalty programme with your IndusInd Bank Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card.

Important Points:

1. Privilege Club members using IndusInd Bank Avios Infinite Visa Credit Card will be eligible for 10% savings on all flights originating from India.
2. All flights have to be booked via www.qatarairways.com or Qatar Airways mobile app.
3. Promo code ‘IDSCB23’ has to be applied for each booking to avail this benefit.
4. Saving applies to base airfare fare only.
5. Not valid in combination with any other promotion or any other market fares.

International Travel Insurance

The  IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card offers overseas medical insurance up to USD 25,000 for the primary card holder along with spouse (if accompanying the card holder) for a period of 60 days per trip. The benefit is only applicable if the tickets are booked using the  IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card.

It also offers some additional travel insurance coverages as follows:

Insurance Coverage	Sum Assured (Up to)
Lost baggage	Rs 1,00,000
Delayed baggage	Rs 25,000
Loss of passport	Rs 50,000
Lost ticket	Rs 25,000
Missed flight connection	Rs 25,000

Besides personal air accident insurance cover of up to 2.5 Cr is also provided.

My Thoughts

Overall I came out unimpressed with the offering, given the high annual fee, the low earning rate, and the fact that you are tied to a single frequent flyer program – Avios and one that is known to pass on high taxes and surcharges on passenger bookings this does not spark any interest in me. I believe there will be a few takers for the card primarily due to Qatar and One World Elite Status but for most, it makes very little sense given how rewarding other credit cards in the industry are right now. Not to forget the abysmal lounge access limits! This needs to go IndusInd!

So it’s a nay from me here at PointsDojo.