ixigo & AU Small Finance Bank unveil travel credit card with unique perks for semi-urban regions, ET TravelWorld

AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India’s largest Small Finance Bank, and ixigo, India’s leading travel platform, have unveiled a premium co-branded credit card designed to cater to the needs of modern travellers. This strategic partnership represents a significant milestone, as two companies deeply rooted in India collaborate to enhance travel experiences, particularly in semi-urban regions.

The ixigo-AU co-branded credit card offers a unique value proposition, covering all aspects of travel, including flights, trains, buses, and hotels. It stands out as the only Online Travel Agent (OTA) credit card that provides customers with access to 8 railway lounges and 8 domestic airport lounges per year, all without any minimum spending criteria.

This innovative co-branded credit card combines AU SFB’s financial expertise with ixigo’s extensive reach in tier 2 and tier 3 markets. The objective is to deliver a seamless fusion of premium financial rewards and unparalleled travel benefits to customers.

“Travellers who possess the ixigo-AU co-branded credit card can enjoy substantial discounts of up to 10 per cent on flight, bus, and hotel bookings made through the ixigo platform. The card caters to the specific needs of train travellers by offering the convenience of zero payment gateway charges for train bookings twice a month. It also provides best-in-class reward points on all offline and online spending,” the companies said in its statement.

What sets this credit card apart is its exclusive access to railway and airport lounges. Cardholders are entitled to up to 8 railway lounge visits and 8 domestic airport lounge visits per calendar year, with an additional perk of one international lounge access per year (Priority Pass available on request). As a welcome bonus, customers receive 1000 reward points and ixigo money worth INR 1,000 on their first successful transaction within the initial 30 days of card issuance.

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This significant collaboration allows customers to purchase the Paytm Payments Bank Wallet & Transit Card at any NCRTC NaMo Bharat RRTS station. Furthermore, the card is NCMC-enabled, making it universally accepted at a wide array of merchants and operators across the country. The card can be used for all transactions — travel in metros, buses and trains, shopping and more.

In addition, the co-branded card offers a 1 percent fuel surcharge waiver on transactions, making each drive a cost-effective one. The card carries a nominal annual fee of INR 999 + GST, which is waived with just INR 1000 spending in the initial 30 days. Furthermore, the annual fee for the following year is also waived with a minimum spend of Rs. 1 Lakh in the preceding year.At the launch event in Delhi, Sanjay Agarwal, Founder and MD & CEO of AU Small Finance Bank, commented on the unveiling of the ixigo-AU SFB’s first co-branded credit card, emphasising the expected growth in the travel sector and the aim to provide unmatched banking services to travel enthusiasts.

Aloke Bajpai, Co-founder, ixigo, expressed their enthusiasm for the partnership with AU Small Finance Bank, emphasising their mission to offer travellers a seamless and rewarding journey. “This co-branded credit card reflects the commitment of AU SFB and ixigo to redefine the travel experience, offering customers access to credit along with a range of unprecedented benefits.”