Best Credit Cards in India to Earn Etihad Guest Miles

The premium variant out of the two co-branded cards, the Etihad Guest SBI Premier credit card has a higher annual fee of Rs. 5000 and offers a complimentary Etihad Guest Gold tier status to the cardholder. You even receive 5000 Miles and 2 free WiFi vouchers for your first Etihad flight as a welcome benefit. Being a co-branded card, you get exclusive discounts on flights booked at Etihad portal and other privileges with the airline. The Guest Miles earned by you can be redeemed on etihadguest.com against flights/hotel bookings, car rentals, or other products.

• Complimentary Etihad Guest Gold tier status
• 2 complimentary WiFi vouchers for 1st Etihad booking and 5000 Guest Miles as welcome benefit
• 6 Guest Miles per Rs. 100 spent on Etihad.com
• 4 Guest Miles per Rs. 100 on international spends and 2 Guest Miles per Rs. 100 spent elsewhere
• Up to 10% off on Etihad Airways flight booking and on travel, miles redemption
• 1500 Guest Miles on spending Rs. 1,50,000 per quarter
• Etihad Companion voucher on spending Rs. 8 Lakhs in the previous year
• Domestic and international lounge access with Priority Pass membership
• Fuel surcharge waiver and renewal fee waiver

The co-branded Etihad Guest SBI card is the basic variant out of the two and charges a joining fee of Rs. 1500. The card offers a complimentary Etihad Guest Silver tier status to the cardholder along with 2500 Etihad Guest Miles, and a complimentary WiFi voucher for 1st Etihad booking as welcome benefits. The card is ideal for people who frequently travel especially to the Middle East and Dubai area. You also get complimentary lounge access and exclusive discounts on Etihad flight bookings.

• 2500 Guest Miles and complimentary Etihad Guest Silver tier status as welcome benefit
• 1 complimentary free WiFi voucher on first Etihad flight booking
• 3 Guest Miles per Rs. 100 spent on Etihad.com
• 2 Guest Miles per Rs. 100 on international spends and 1 Guest Mile per Rs. 100 on other spends
• 10% discount on business class and 3% discount on economy class Etihad flight ticket
• 1 companion voucher on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs or more and 5000 Guest Miles on spending Rs. 5 Lakhs in the year
• Complimentary Priority Pass membership and 8 complimentary domestic lounge access, max 2 per quarter
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver and renewal fee waiver

The topmost offering by Axis Bank and the most premium card in their lineup, the Reserve credit card has a very high Rs. 50,000 joining fee. You can get a complimentary Club ITC Culinaire membership, Club Marriott, and Accor Plus membership along with 2x reward points on foreign currency spends with the card. Other travel privileges include airport transfers, lounge access, exclusive offers at Oberoi and Postcard hotels, etc.
You can get exclusive movie and dining benefits and can benefit from the low 1.5% forex markup fee of the card. You get 50,000 EDGE reward points as a welcome benefit and 15 RPs per Rs. 200 spent and 2x RPs on international spends. The reward points can be converted Etihad Miles at a 5:2 ratio, where 5 RPs = 2 Etihad Miles. Customers with a Burgundy account can continue using the transfer ratio of 5:4.

The Axis Bank Magnus is the bank’s most popular card offering and it is packed with the top privileges across all categories. You have to pay a joining fee of Rs. 12,500 for the card and it offers several travel benefits include complimentary lounge access, airport concierge services, discounted hotels stays, and more. You can even benefit from the movie ticket offers and exclusive dining discounts. The Magnus credit card has a decent reward rate and offers 12 reward points per Rs. 200 spent up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs in the month, 35 RPs on spends above Rs. 1.5 Lakhs, and 5x reward points on spends made at the Travel Edge portal. You can transfer your EDGE reward points to Etihad Miles at a 5:2 ratio, where 5 RPs = 2 Etihad Miles. Customers with a Burgundy account can continue using the transfer ratio of 5:4.

A sub-premium offering in the travel segment, the Axis Bank Atlas credit charges a joining fee of Rs. 5000. It is not a co-branded card but still offers lots of exclusive travel privileges and benefits to the cardholder. The best benefit for frequent travellers is that the card offers Edge Miles as reward points. These miles can be redeemed for flight/hotel bookings, points transfer to airline, hotel partners, etc.
Other benefits with the card include complimentary lounge access, high rewards on international spends, airport concierge service, etc. The card has three tiers- Silver, Gold, and Platinum and you get added perks with higher tiers. You get 5 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 spent on travel and 2 Edge Miles per Rs. 100 spent elsewhere. The Edge Miles can be converted to Etihad Miles at a 1:2 ratio, where 1 Edge Mile = 2 Etihad Miles.

A decent mid-range card offering by Axis Bank, the Privilege credit card charges a Rs. 1500 joining fee and is packed with several travel and shopping benefits for the cardholder. The card offers bonus 12,500 EDGE reward points as welcome benefit and the card is free for Priority Banking customers. You can get access to airport lounges and get exclusive discounts at partner restaurants across India.
Apart from this, you get bonus 3000 reward points whenever the card is renewed. These points can even be converted to shopping and travel vouchers worth twice their value on reaching annual spend milestone. You get 10 RPs per Rs. 200 spent with the card and these points can be converted to Etihad Miles at a 5:1 ratio, where 5 RPs = 1 Etihad Mile.

Another nice lifestyle card offering by Axis Bank, the Select credit card has a joining fee of Rs. 3000 and offers multiple benefits and privileges across different categories like shopping, movies, dining, travel, etc. The card offers a complimentary Priority Pass membership to the cardholder with domestic and international lounge access, exclusive offers on Swiggy, and more. You can even get discount on BookMyShow movie ticket bookings and complimentary golf rounds.
The Select credit card has a nice reward rate and you get 10 EDGE reward points on every spend of Rs. 200 with the card and 20 RPs on retail spends. The reward points can be converted to Etihad Miles at a ratio of 5:1, where 5 RPs = 1 Etihad Mile.

HDFC Bank’s most super-premium credit card, the Infinia features a metallic body and has a high Rs. 12,500 joining fee. It is an invite-only card exclusively meant for high net-worth individuals. The card is packed with top privileges like complimentary lounge access, golf rounds, hotel loyalty program memberships, and more. You can have access to exclusive dining and movie benefits, a low forex markup fee, and a great reward rate.
The card offers 12500 bonus reward points as welcome benefit and 5 RPs on every spend of Rs. 150 with the card. You can transfer your reward points to Etihad Miles at 1:0.5 ratio, where 1 RP = 0.5 Etihad Miles.

The HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card is another super-premium offering by the bank that comes at a joining fee of Rs. 10,000. Cardholders get a complimentary membership to Times Prime, Amazon Prime, and Zomato Gold as a welcome benefit. The card offers complimentary vouchers on achieving monthly spends, airport lounge access, golf rounds, and many other excusive privileges to the cardholder. With a low forex markup fee of 2%, it is good for people who make international spends.
The Diners Club Black card offers 5 reward points per Rs. 150 spent, with accelerated 10x RPs on partner brands, and 2x RPs on weekend dining. You can transfer your reward points to Etihad Miles at 1:0.5 ratio, where 1 RP = 0.5 Etihad Miles.

A super-premium lifestyle and travel card by Citibank, the Prestige credit card offers a high reward rate and is packed with lots of travel privileges. You get a Taj or ITC hotel welcome gift voucher and a complimentary stay at hotels around the world. The card offers a Priority Pass membership with unlimited domestic and international lounge access. It also provides lifestyle benefits like movie discounts, and complimentary golf rounds across the world.
With this credit card, you get 2500 reward points as a welcome benefit. Moreover, you get 1 RP per Rs. 100 on domestic spends and 2 RPs per Rs. 100 on international spends. You get a high transfer ratio and you can convert your RPs to Etihad Miles at a 1:4 ratio, where 1 RP = 4 Etihad Miles.

One of the best travel credit cards in the country, the CitiBank PremierMiles credit card is perfect for people who fly regularly. The card offers AirMiles as reward points for your spends which can be redeemed for shopping, booking hotel/flight tickets, and transferring to partner airlines miles. As a welcome benefit, you receive 10000 Miles as a welcome benefit and 3000 Miles upon card renewal. You get up to 8 complimentary domestic lounge access, dining discounts, and insurance benefits with the card.
Apart from the bonus AirMiles as welcome benefit, the card offers 10 Miles per Rs. 100 spent on airline transactions and 4 Miles per Rs. 100 spent elsewhere. The AirMiles earned by you can be transferred to Etihad Guest Miles at a 2:1 ratio, where 2 AirMiles = 1 Etihad Mile.

The Platinum credit card is the flagship offering by American Express and is a super-premium card packed with multiple benefits and privileges. You get special discounts at top hotels, airlines, and other brands. It is a Charge card that does not have a preset limit and changes based on your spending patterns.
Some other benefits include complimentary international and domestic lounge access, EazyDiner membership, complimentary golf rounds, and more. You get 1 Membership Reward points per Rs. 40 spent, 3x rewards on international spends, and 5x RPs on spends via Amex Reward Multiplier. You can transfer your MR points to Etihad Miles, where 1600 MR Points = 800 Etihad Miles.