IDFC First Club Vistara Credit Card Review

IDFC First has recently launched an Air Vistara credit card which is drawing quite a lot of interest due to the value that Club Vistara provides when it comes to its loyalty program. After Axis Bank, SBI Card and IndusInd Bank this is the fourth co-branded partner for Vistara Airlines. Read on to know the benefits of this card, how to maximize them and compare it with the other cobranded offerings.

Charges and Welcome Benefits

• The e-Gift voucher will be sent via e-mail within 15 working days post payment of the Annual Fee
• You will have to claim the voucher within six months of issuance post which will be auto-credited to your account
• After claiming the voucher you get another 3 months to use them after which they will get expired
• *This One-Class Upgrade Voucher is given exclusively by IDFC First Bank and is not a part of the Silver Tier Renewal benefits which you will get every year. These vouchers can only be used either for revenue flights or award flights booked using CV points only. So with this card, you get two One-Class Upgrade Vouchers.

With a premium economy ticket voucher being given on every renewal, I would say this card is absolutely free even if you don’t use it since you will be getting a renewal benefit which is at least 2X of the fee that you are paying. The perks offered on this card are too good at the given fee range.

Reward Accrual

• *Earn 6 CV Points per ₹200 on spends up to ₹1 Lakh in each statement cycle after that earning is reduced to 4 CV points per ₹200 spent
• No CV Points are awarded for EMI transactions and cash withdrawals

Activation Bonus

You can get up to 6000 CV Points that is 2000 CV Points per month on a minimum spend of ₹30,000 per cycle in the 3 full billing cycles after the completion of the first cycle from card generation.

Milestone Benefits

The earn rate of 6 CV points gives a decent value. But the real value of this card lies in its milestone benefits.

TechnoFino Maximum

Since the 9 Lakh milestone sits almost at double the requirement so it doesn’t make any sense to go beyond ₹4.5L milestone. Assuming you spend 50-50% on both categories you get to earn approximately

• 8,000 CV points
• 4 Premium Economy tickets

With 8K CV points, you can fly from Delhi to Bengaluru economy which approximately costs ₹5,000 for a revenue ticket. The 4 domestic flight vouchers are worth ₹10K each even if we are taken a conservative value like for the Delhi-Bengaluru flight.

The equivalent reward rate comes out to be a whopping 9%! even if you factor in the taxes you will be paying for booking redemption tickets.

I hope now you can imagine the value that it gives to you. And you can also use these vouchers and points for your family and friends by adding them as a nominee in your Club Vistara Account.

Other Benefits

Vistara CV Silver Membership

One gets a complimentary Club Vistara Silver Tier till you hold IDFC Club Vistara which offers you a host of benefits like priority boarding, priority check-in, 5 kg extra baggage allowance, and the like. It also gives you 9 Club Vistara Points for every ₹100 that you spend on Vistara flights.

You are entitled to a One-Class Upgrade Voucher as a part of Silver Tier Renewal benefits which you will get every year and can only be used either for revenue flights or award flights booked using CV points only.

Airport Lounge Access

• 2 Complimentary Visits/ Quarter to Domestic Airport lounges and 1 Complimentary Visit/ Quarter to select international lounges subject to spending of ₹5,000 in the previous month
• Shared access for add-on cardholders

Airport Spa Access

• 2 Complimentary Visits/ Quarter to Airport Spa in collaboration with DreamFolks subject to the spending of ₹5,000 in the previous month.
• Shared access for add-on cardholders

Golf Benefits

• Enjoy exclusive privileges of playing on a golf course with 4 complimentary rounds of green fees golf per calendar year (maximum 1 round per calendar month)
• Master your golfing skills with 12 complimentary golf lessons per calendar year (maximum 1 lesson per calendar month)
• Get discounted golf services at 50% of the green fee beyond complimentary sessions

Air Accident & Fraud Liability Cover

IDFC Club Vistara also gives a unique feature that gives you cancellation insurance in which you can cancel annually 2 hotel and flight bookings for any reason that too worth ₹10,000 when booked using this card. This concept is very interesting.

• Get a complimentary Air Accident Liability Cover of ₹1 Cr.
• Get complimentary credit card Fraud Liability Cover of ₹50,000.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

• No fuel surcharge waiver is applicable on this card

Forex Markup Charges

• Forex Markup charges are standard 2.99% + GST

TechnoFino Recommends

The cards which are direct competitors of this card are the SBI Club Vistara Prime and the Axis Vistara Signature. My general recommendations for the Vistara lineup of cards are the SBI Club Vistara Prime and Axis Infinite so that you get the best of the Vistara with CV Gold.

So if you really travel a lot using Vistara Airlines then you can get this card and try reaching that ₹4.5L or even keep it just for that annual voucher benefit. If you don’t travel a lot and just want to get the best card then I would suggest you get the SBI Vistara one which provides you 4 PEY tickets and a Yatra Voucher worth ₹10K on crossing the ₹8L milestone.

I would rate this card equal to Axis Vistara Signature priced at ₹3000 although the earning rate of IDFC First Club Vistara is higher but spending to access the airport lounges that too for a paid card worth ₹4999 doesn’t make any sense. Also, keep in mind Axis does rewards spends on Insurance and Utilities. The only thing which makes it superior is that extra one-class upgrade voucher.

What are your thoughts on the IDFC First Vistara Card? Feel free to share your comments below.

Bhavye Goel

Chief Editor, TechnoFino.
Personal finance nerd! Physics enthusiast and trainer. When not into Physics, he is minting points and hunting for the next best credit card for himself.