Credit Card Air Miles: How To Earn and Redeem?

Most major credit card issuers nowadays offer a wide range of credit cards in different categories keeping the requirements of their customers in mind. Every individual may have different expectations and spending habits. Some may love shopping and others may be more interested in travel. Travel has become one of the most demanding categories nowadays as travel credit cards help you save a lot. Many card issuers offer general travel credit cards, whereas others issue co-branded travel cards in partnership with prominent airlines or travel-based brands, like intermiles.com. These types of credit cards earn you Air Miles which can be used to get some discount on your travel spends, like flight bookings, hotel stays, etc.

Many people, especially those who travel very often, want to get travel credit cards to earn more and more Airmiles, but they just don’t go for it as they are unaware of how and where they can redeem these air miles. Different types of Airmiles might have different redemption processes and that is what becomes confusing sometimes. Some credit cards don’t offer Air miles but offer Reward Points that can be converted into Airmiles. In order to get the most out of such credit cards, it is very essential to understand how different types of air miles can be redeemed. We will make you understand the same in this article. Continue reading for further information:

How To Earn Airmiles?

If you are a frequent flyer, you should first analyze which airline you are most comfortable with. Even if you travel via different airlines, that’s not a big issue as you can always use some sort of Airmiles across different airlines. Several major card issuers offer co-branded travel credit cards in collaboration with prominent airlines, such as Air India, Indigo, Emirates, etc. You can go through the features and benefits of all such credit cards and compare them on the basis of their features as well as fees & charges. The travel-related benefits should be a major focus, but should not be the only thing you look for. There are many credit cards that offer miscellaneous privileges, whereas, some of them are just focused at travel.

How To Redeem Airmiles?

Lots of card issuers offer travel credit cards in partnership with different airlines or other travel-related websites. These cards reward their customers in the form of Airmiles and you can save a lot on your travel bookings by redeeming these miles. Detailed information about different co-branded travel cards and their redemption process is given below:

Intermiles Co-branded Credit Cards

Some major card issuers, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, offer travel credit cards in partnership with intermiles.com. These cards reward you in the form of intermiles that can be redeemed against lots of travel-related bookings and other options by following a few simple steps as follows:

Visit the official website of intermiles.com.
Login to the website using your mobile number registered with the card issuer.
Scroll down and you will find an option ‘Redeem Your Miles.
Under this, you will see various options including flights, vouchers, hotels, raffles, etc.
To book the flights, you will have to enter the flight details and the number of intermiles required will be mentioned there.
If you have a sufficient number of intermiles, you can book your flight tickets using them and if not, you can pay the remaining amount with your credit card.

Indigo Co-Branded Credit Cards

HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank offer Indigo co-branded credit cards, which offer 6E Rewards to their customers on all their spends. All four cards offer accelerated 6E Rewards on Indigo spend and other travel-related categories. 6E Rewards have a really good redemption value of 1 6E Reward = Re. 1 for redemption against Indigo flight books and other travel spends. The following are the steps to redeem 6E Rewards earned using Indigo co-branded credit cards:

Visit the official 6E Rewards page on the Indigo website.
Login to your 6E rewards membership account using the same mobile number and email address registered with your Indigo credit card.
There, you can easily find an option to redeem your earned 6E Rewards.
Choose the category of redemption and the number of points you want to redeem.
Proceed further accordingly.

Emirates co-branded Credit Cards

The ICICI Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank offer credit cards in collaboration with Emirates Airlines. These cards earn you Skyward miles which are redeemable against lots of travel-related options. These miles can not only be redeemed for Emirates flight bookings, but also at partner airlines and hotels. There are many more options where you can use these. The following are the steps that you can follow to redeem your Skywards Miles:

Visit the Skyward Miles redemption page of emirates.com.
You can either choose to spend only miles or to spend ‘cash + Miles.’ if you don’t have sufficient miles required for a flight booking.
You can find other redemption options by scrolling down.
Select the option against which you want to redeem your earned miles.
Proceed further as directed by the website.

Air India Co-Branded Credit Cards

SBI Card, which is one of the most popular and trusted card issuers in India, offers credit cards in partnership with the Air India airlines. These Airmiles can also be redeemed against a host of options that include not only travel-related bookings, but also shopping, gift vouchers, and many more. The cardholders can redeem their earned miles via the SBI Card’s net banking portal, mobile app, or via Air India’s official website.

Bottom Line

Having a credit card and not availing of its benefits is not a good idea as you can save a lot by availing of the privileges that card issuers offer nowadays. Travel-related benefits are majorly demanded as people have to spend a lot on travel, but they get an opportunity to save some money using credit cards. In order to get the maximum benefit out of a travel credit card, you should be aware of all their benefits and also, you should be wise enough to use these privileges at the right time.