• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Shanthi Venkataraman

THE frequent traveller has a lot to cheer about these days. Not only have fares become cheaper, but a number of co-branded credit-cards have been introduced in the past two years that make travel even more affordable and rewarding.

Jet Airways has a co-branded card with Citibank, while Indian Airlines has tied up with American Express and ABN Amro. The Air Sahara Standard Chartered Gold Card, in particular, has an interesting offer — free ticket(s) for companion/accompanying children. With this card, you just may be able to take your wife (or children) on that promised vacation. The Indian Airlines American Express card offers deep discounts on fares on Indian Airlines flights.

Features

If you have the Air Sahara Standard Chartered Gold Card, for a membership fee of Rs 3,000 a year, you get to take a companion or two children under 12 free when you fly. The only cost you would have to incur is the tax charged on the ticket.

What makes the offer particularly attractive is that it can be availed of on apex fares as well. However, the offer can be utilised only once in a year. For this year, for instance, the voucher is valid only till September 2004 or till the card expires, whichever is earlier. You can upgrade your ticket to business class. Upgrades are allowed thrice a year.

Also, you get a 5 per cent discount on all Air Sahara tickets. The card also comes with other perks. As you spend, you can accumulate mileage points, similar to earning reward points. For every Rs 125 spent, you earn 1.5 miles. You also get, among other things, access to the Air Sahara Business Lounge, priority check-in and excess baggage allowance.

The offer on this card does appear better than on the Indian Airlines American Express (IAAE) Gold Card. The IAAE Gold Card provides a free business class ticket, but only after you charge Rs 1,00,000 worth of Indian Airlines tickets to the card. It offers only two upgrades in a year against three by the Air Sahara-StanChart card. The membership fee is also higher at Rs 5,900. However, the card offers deeper discounts — at 10 per cent and 25 per cent on the economy and business class fares respectively — than the Standard Chartered card.

ABN Amro Bank has launched a debit card with Indian Airlines. The card comes with discounts on tickets, upgrades and other perks similar to those offered by the other products mentioned. Of course, as a debit card, it is not strictly comparable to the other two. However, it remains an option, if you are looking for products that would make travelling more inexpensive.

Suitability

These cards are a good option for frequent travellers. For the Air Sahara-StanChart card, it would be advantageous, to opt for the use of the voucher only when the savings is much more than the initial outlay of Rs 3,000.

If you are unlikely to take a companion along, but fly several times a year, you may be able to extract the best value from the Indian Airlines American Express card, thanks to its deep discounts on airfares.

A disadvantage of these co-branded travel products is that they restrict your freedom to choose the airline. In this respect, the ABN Amro Smart Gold Card has an advantage. While it does not offer any free tickets or discounts, it allows you to accumulate mileage points that can be redeemed against any airline, thus preserving your flexibility.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Investment Quiz

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line