Watch Out: Major Changes for Credit Cards from April 1, 2025

Changes in SBI Credit Cards

The latest changes in SBI credit cards are given below:

Credit Card	Current Feature	Updated Feature	Effective Date
Air India Platinum SBI Credit Card	15 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India tickets booked via Air India website/app for self	5 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India tickets	31 Mar 2025
Air India Signature SBI Credit Card	30 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India tickets booked via Air India website/app for self	10 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India tickets	31 Mar 2025
Club Vistara SBI Card – both variants: Base and PRIME	Renewal fee	Waived Off	1 Apr 2025
	Ticket vouchers as renewal and spend-based milestone bonus	Discontinued	1 Apr 2025
SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card	10X Reward Points on online spends made on Swiggy	5X Reward Points on spends made on Swiggy	1 Apr 2025

Axis Bank Credit Card Changes

Axis Bank has discontinued the following features from 18th April 2025 onwards for Club Vistara co-branded credit cards – Axis Vistara, Axis Vistara Signature and Axis Vistara Infinite:

• Card renewal fee
• Complimentary Club Maharaja membership
• Air tickets and upgrade vouchers offered as renewal benefit and spend-based milestone bonus

IDFC FIRST Bank Credit Card Updates

The following features of Club Vistara IDFC FIRST Credit Card have been discontinued from 1st April 2025 onwards due to the Air India and Club Vistara merger:

• Card renewal fee
• Complimentary Club Vistara membership
• Air tickets and upgrade vouchers as renewal and spend-based milestone bonus

How will these changes impact the Air India and Club Vistara credit card users?

The co-branded credit cards with Air India and Club Vistara have faced significant devaluations. The removal of complimentary Club Vistara memberships, bonus air tickets, and upgrade vouchers has diminished cardholders’ savings. While card providers have waived renewal fees to balance this out, it still negatively impacts overall value-back earning potential of the cardholders. Furthermore, the rewards earning rate for Air India SBI card co-branded purchases has decreased. New issuance of these co-branded travel cards have also been discontinued, hinting at a potential phase-out. With the launch of the Air India Maharaja Club after the merger, these changes may also lead to a complete revamp of the co-branded cards in the future.

The rewards program of American Express® Platinum Travel Credit Card has undergone certain changes from 1st April 2025, as given below:

• Removal of Flipkart voucher as one of the redemption options for Membership Rewards (MR)
• Addition of vouchers of Postcard Hotels and Air India as the Membership Rewards redemption options, where – 
  • 20,000 MR = Postcard Hotel vouchers worth Rs. 10,000
  • 20,000 MR = Air India vouchers worth Rs. 6,000

• Change in redemption value of Membership Rewards against Taj vouchers – 

Older Value	Revised Value
1 MR = Rs. 0.50, where 10,000 MR = Rs. 5,000 Taj voucher 20,000 MR = Rs. 10,000 Taj voucher	1 MR = Rs. 0.40, where 12,500 MR = Rs. 5,000 Taj voucher 25,000 MR = Rs. 10,000 Taj voucher

What do these updates mean for American Express® Platinum Travel credit cardholders?

The updates mentioned above may have affected the redemption options available to cardholders, however the overall value-back that you receive is not significantly impacted. While those who prefer shopping on Flipkart or staying at Taj hotels may find these adjustments disadvantageous, frequent travelers without a specific preference for airlines or hotels may benefit. You will not only have access to additional travel partners for rewards redemption, but the decrease in the redemption value for Taj vouchers from Rs. 0.50 to Rs. 0.40 is balanced out by the value offered for Postcard hotel vouchers, where 1 MR equals Rs. 0.50. This maintains the overall value-back at a similar level.