Key To Business Travel

Banks and airlines are getting together to bring out credit cards targeted towards the frequent flier. Bhisham Mansukhani finds out what is on offer...

Airline-Credit Card Tie-Ups

Worldwide, members of frequent-traveler programmes with airlines, hotels, car rental companies and credit card providers earn more than 650 billion miles or points every year, according to an estimate. Astonishingly, about 75 per cent of the accumulated travel rewards are never redeemed.

The obvious answer for a frustrated traveller is to merge or exchange points with somebody else.

As a result, airlines, hotels, rental cars, phone and credit card companies are all buddying up with one another to offer member rewards. You may have accumulated more points than you think when you merge partner points. And partners at least can make it easy to earn more points with a minimum of effort and expense.

Airline-credit card tie-ups is an offshoot of co-branding programmes - in which a card issuer and a merchant join forces to produce a 'special edition' card - which first emerged in the mid-1980s. One of the first participants was American Airlines, which partnered with Citibank Visa to grant customers one free frequent-flyer mile for every dollar charged on the American Airlines Citibank Visa card. But it wasn't until credit card wars intensified in the early 1990s that 'co-branding took off', according to an international observer.

Says Santanu Mukherjee, country manager - South Asia, Visa International, "As consumers move away from plain vanilla cards and demand more sophisticated payment options, co-branded cards are an extremely important product offering. Co-branded cards not only provide consumers with several benefits but are also an ideal way for companies to build customer loyalty and strengthen awareness of their brand. Such cards are tailor-made to suit a particular consumer base and cardholders typically benefit by accumulating points for discounts with every charge. Airlines pioneered the co-branded concept more than 12 years ago, awarding tickets, upgrades, and discounts based on frequent flier miles earned for charging tickets to the airline's co-branded credit card. There are many such cards issued by banks in India, with co-brand partners ranging from department stores, airlines, petrol companies and retailers. Visa sees tremendous opportunities for this product in India, of which the aviation industry has the potential to be a key player."

Nowadays, airline-credit card company tie-ups have brought a whole range of benefits to the traveller. These span from insurance cover, upgrades, free tickets to not only the card holder but to his/her companion, kids; access to executive lounges and a host of other goodies. No wonder then that more and more business travellers are availing of this facility. In the following pages, feBusiness Traveller presents some of the cards available in the markets and the benefits they offer…

The Players & What’s On Offer

American Express-Indian Airlines Green Card

• Every time you fly, you save 15 per cent on an economy class ticket charged to the card.
• A five per cent saving is further earned on the Apex fares and Super Saver Fares
• One free return ticket is awarded for every Rs 75,000 charged to the card on Indian Airlines tickets.
• One free Business Class upgrade voucher on signing up and every year on renewal is awarded.
• Purchases on the card (including retail purchases, dining and petrol) will earn membership points which can be freely converted into add-on mileage points
• Other privileges include No Pre-Set Spending Limit, Air Accident Insurance of up to Rs 50 lakh, excess baggage allowance, special check-in privileges and free Emergency Card Replacement.

IC-Amex Gold Card

• Pay 25 per cent less on Business Class and 10 per cent less on Economy Class Indian Airlines tickets, every time you charge them to the card.
• A free IC Business Class return ticket for every Rs 1 lakh worth of IC tickets purchased on the card
• Two free IC Business Class Upgrade vouchers annually.
• Air accident insurance of up to Rs 75 lakhs.
• 7.5 add-on air miles for every Rs 100 spent on the card.
• Air accident insurance of upto Rs 75 lakhs.
• 1000 bonus miles on Card approval.
• One free supplementary card so that the benefits can be extended to one adult family member.
• A free return ticket to Singapore worth Rs 40,650 can also be earned with the mileage points while charging all expenses including everyday spend on the Gold Card.

IC-Amex Card

• Pay one per cent less on Business Class and Economy Class IC tickets.
• One IC Business Class upgrade voucher free for every Rs 50,000 worth of IC tickets purchased.
• One free IC Business Class upgrade voucher each year.
• 3.75 add-on air miles for every Rs 100 spent.
• Air accident insurance of up to to Rs 50 lakh.
• Other privileges include No Preset spending limit, free emergency card replacement, excess baggage allowance and priority check-in, on both cards.

Indian Airlines-ABN AMRO Bank Debit Card

• 10 per cent discount on basic fare for all tickets purchased in either economy or executive class on IA domestic sectors. The tickets may be purchased from any Indian Airlines office or an authorized IA travel agent.
• Upgrade to Business Class
• Free membership to the Flying Returns.
• Transfer of Reward (MR) points to the FFP points.
• 10 Kg. extra baggage allowance.
• Priority for waitlist up-gradation.
• Separate check-in counters at major metros.
• Tele check-in (as part of FFP).

Jet Airways-Citibank Gold Card

• All privileges of Silver Card.
• Check-in at Club Premiere counter. This is irrespective of the JP tier that the member belongs to, or the class of travel. The member needs to just produce the Jet Airways Citibank Gold Card at the counter.
• Complimentary Access to Club Premiere Lounges
• Free Personal Accident Insurance of up to Rs 20 lakh for air travel and Rs 2 lakh other than air. This insurance cover is valid for primary and additional card members.
• Free baggage insurance cover of up to Rs 60,000 while traveling abroad and up to Rs 40,000 while traveling in India.
• If you miss an onward flight due to late arrival of the incoming flight, and if there is no alternative flight within six hours (of actual arrival time) or the airlines does not provide accommodation, you will be entitled to Rs 15,000 as reimbursement for hotel accommodation.
• Your passport is insured for up to Rs 25,000 against its loss during your travels abroad. This cover is available against the cost of obtaining a fresh passport / visa plus boarding and lodging expenses.
• Your flight ticket is insured for up to Rs 5,000 in the case of loss. This cover includes the cost of obtaining a duplicate ticket.
• Your baggage is insured for up to Rs 10,000 overseas and up to Rs 5,000 for domestic travel, in case of delay. This benefit covers essential purchases when your checked-in baggage does not arrive within 12 hours of your arrival at a destination.

ICICI Bank-Air Deccan Gold Card

• Free ticket vouchers worth Rs 3,000 for every Rs 30,000 worth of air tickets purchased.
  
• Two reward points on every Rs 100 spent on Air Deccan purchases.
• Smart Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) schemes for booking air tickets and travel packages.
• Smart Draw - A chance to win 5 free tickets through a lucky draw on monthly basis
• Smart Secure- Insurance cover against frauds for transactions conducted on the Air Deccan web-site and redemption of reward points against Air Deccan vouchers.

Air Sahara-Standard Chartered Gold Card

• Free ticket for your companion when you fly.
• Free tickets for your kids when you fly with your wife.
• Complimentary upgrades to Business Class.
• Automatic enrollment to Cosmos- Power Flier Programme (in case not already a member).
• Cosmos miles even when you don't fly.

Diners Club International-British Airways Card

• Earn 2500 BA Miles on approval of your Card.
• The more you use your Card, the faster you accumulate BA Miles - which are added to your Executive Club Account.
• For every Rs 100 charged to your Diners Club International British Airways Card, you earn 2.5 BA Miles.
• The first time you spend Rs 50,000 through your Card, you will earn 1,500 Bonus BA Miles.
• You also earn BA Miles whenever you rent a car, stay in a hotel or fly with British Airways partners like Emirates and American West Airlines.
• In India, you can redeem your BA Miles on Jet Airways - a British Airways partner.
• Enjoy priority booking on busy flights. And seat and meal preference.
• Your seat and meal preferences will be automatically recorded and you will enjoy priority booking on busy flights.
• Worldwide Emergency Assistance for a wide variety of emergency services should you require any.
• The card is welcomed at over 8 million exclusive merchant establishments globally.
• Relax in plush Club Lounges, designed exclusively for Diners Club Members in over 80 countries around the world. In India, you have complimentary access to Club Lounges located at the domestic departure areas in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.
• Complimentary Baggage Loss Insurance protects your baggage against theft or loss for up to Rs 40,000 in India and up to Rs 60,000 when abroad.
• If you miss an onward flight due to late arrival of an incoming flight, and if there is no alternative flight within 6 hours (of actual arrival time) or the airline does not provide hotel accommodation, you will be entitled to Rs 15,000 reimbursement for the same.
• If you lose your passport in a foreign country, you can claim up to Rs 25,000 towards the cost of obtaining a fresh passport.

Citibank-Jet Airways Silver Card

• 1500 JPMiles on approval.
• Automatic membership to Jet Privilege.
• 2 JPMiles for every Rs 100 spent using the Card.
• Earn JPMiles every time you fly Jet Airways, or its international partner airlines - British Airways, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines to over 400 destinations in more than 80 countries across six continents.
• Host of benefits when you use the services of Jet Privilege Programme Partners - The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, The Leela Hotels & Resorts, The Park Hotels, ITC Welcomgroup, The Trident Hotels, Radisson Hotels, Hyatt Hotels Worldwide, Orange, Hutch, BPL Mobile and AVIS Car Rentals.
• Personal accident cover up to Rs 15 lakh for air travel.
• Personal accident cover up to Rs 1 lakh for non-air travel.
• Baggage Insurance up to Rs 10,000.
• Passport loss insurance up to Rs 10,000.
• Ticket loss up to Rs 2,000.
• Delayed baggage up to Rs 5,000 (abroad), up to Rs 2,000 (in India).
• Delayed flight/missed connecting flight up to Rs 5,000 (abroad), up to Rs 2,000 (in India).
• Global purchase protection up to Rs 15,000

ABN Amro Smart Gold Card

• The ABN AMRO Smart Gold Card allows to convert Smart Reward points to Smart Miles and fly free, to any destination in the world or redeem them against holiday packages at exotic destinations at any time.
• In an arrangement with International Travel House, ABN AMRO Smart Miles allow one to redeem free airline tickets (any domestic or international airline), hotel bookings, travel packages & car rentals.
• The bank allows redemption across any airline - domestic and international. The Smart Miles Programme gives one the flexibility of flying any airline, domestic or international. It allows redemption across full fares and Apex fares. It also allows redemption against part payment of fares/hotel stay.
• The Smart Miles programme also gives the added benefit of paying for the entire holiday, end to end, with the Smart Miles. One can also convert the Smart Reward Points to Airline Miles on Indian Airlines and Air Sahara. One can spend anywhere and top-up against his existing Airline Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP).
• Travel and Holidays Special Travel benefits are available through SITA World Travel besides getting discounts on hotels and tourism packages. One can also get 3.5 per cent discount on basic domestic airfares and 5 per cent on basic international airfares.
• One can access select domestic and international airports lounges in India. This service includes a complimentary snack and a non-alcoholic beverage, besides the use of the lounge facility.

ICICI's Corporate Credit Card

• ICICI's Corporate Credit Card is designed to manage a company's and employee's business expenses.
• The card holder can access International Travel House Ltd, ICICI's travel partner, allowing the convenience and efficiency of dealing with a single quality supplier for all travel related requirements.
• Delay in flight cover of up to US$ 250.
• Delay in receipt of checked baggage cover of up to US$ 300.
• Loss of Checked Baggage cover of up to US$ 1200.
• Missing flight cover of up to US$ 300.
• Loss of travel documents cover of up to US$ 500.
• Hijacking cover of up to US$ 3000.

SBI Vishwa Yatra Foreign Travel Card

The SBI Vishwa Yatra Card is a Pre-paid Card, which offers you a convenient and secure way to carry cash. This prepaid dollar Card offers the freedom to shop anywhere in the world and provides access to the currency of a particular destination at competitive market rates. Cash withdrawals can be made anytime with a pre-set Personal Identification Number at 850,000 Visa ATMs worldwide and usage of the Card for purchases can be done at over 13 million Visa Electron merchant establishments worldwide.