Make The Most Of Your Co-Branded Credit Card

A co-branded Credit Card comes with multiple benefits. Here’s how you can make the most of your co-branded Credit Card.

Credit Cards have evolved dramatically ever since they came into existence. With a variety of features, benefits and perks, these plastic cards are worth a lot more than their humble appearance suggests.

With so much to offer, it’s easy for customers to get confused or to simply be spoilt for choice. And who doesn’t love getting double the benefits with a single card? Imagine you pay for one feature and you are entitled to several other perks for the price of one. Sounds too good to be true? Well, say hello to co-branded Credit Cards.

A co-branded Credit Card provides you with extra benefits when compared to a plain vanilla card. These extra benefits can be in the form of special discounts, offers, reward points and sometimes even ‘priority’ benefits.

Additional Reading: Benefits Of Co-Branded Credit Cards

What are co-branded Credit Cards?

Co-branding essentially happens when two brands come together to enhance the features and uses of a product.

A co-branded Credit Card is the result of a banking institution entering into a partnership with another company/brand or service provider (perhaps a retail outlet, airlines, or hotel chain) to maximise the benefits offered to a user.

These cards are usually issued with the bank’s name and the service provider’s brand name on it. This means the user gets the best of both worlds with a single card.

 Additional Reading: Using A Co-branded Credit Card? Few Things To Keep In Mind!

How do these cards work?

Apparently, over 70% of Credit Card spends in our country are incurred on airfare and train travel. This pattern gave rise to Credit Cards that are associated with airlines, railways, hotels and cab service providers. Obviously, these cards offer a wide spectrum of privileges to customers. Hence, these cards have inadvertently become popular among people who travel often.

Moreover, these cards are packed with several benefits and provide users with numerous options. Some of these benefits include discount vouchers on hotel accommodation, free stays, room upgrades at partner hotel chains, air Travel Insurance, access to airport lounges, membership to various sports clubs, cashback on fuel purchases and a lot more.

Additional Reading: How Co-branded Credit Cards Compare With Regular Credit Cards

How to make the most of your co-branded Credit Card

• Minimum Spend

  Some co-branded Credit Cards require you to make a minimum spend to avail benefits. For instance, with the FBB SBI STYLEUP Credit Card, you can get a fuel surcharge waiver for transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000. So, basically you’ll have to spend a minimum amount to get a benefit or two from these cards. Another example would be the Kotak PVR Platinum Credit Card that offers 2 free PVR cinema tickets every month if you spend Rs. 10,000 or above in a single billing cycle.

• Annual Fee Waiver

  Yes, you heard it right. Not all Credit Cards have zero annual fees on them, so some co-branded Credit Cards have special offers that can help you reverse your annual fee. Take, for instance, the Indian Oil Citi Platinum Card. With this card, you can get your annual fee waived off from the second year if your annual spends (each year) exceeds Rs. 30,000.

• Joining Perks

  Co-branded Credit Cards are big on pampering their customers. You will often find that these cards offer humongous benefits to users upon joining. For example, the Air India SBI Signature Card gives you 20,000 reward points on joining, plus a complimentary membership to the Air India Frequent Flyer Program. Likewise, the JetAirways ICICI Bank Coral Visa Credit Card gives a Lenskart voucher, a Spykar voucher, and exclusive vouchers from GrabOn.

• Double The Rewards

  Imagine getting double the rewards on every spend you make! Lucky for you, there are co-branded Credit Cards that offer higher reward points on spends, as compared to plain vanilla cards, available in the market. If you don’t believe us you may want to check out the Jet Airways IndusInd Bank Voyage Visa Card that offers up to 3 points on all spends and up to 6 points on Jet Airways spends. Then, there’s the Jet Airways IndusInd Bank Voyage American Express Card that gives you up to 8 points on Jet Airways spends and up to 4 points on all other spends.

• Complimentary Flight Tickets And Hotel Bookings

  Who doesn’t love freebies? Well, with the JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Diners Club Credit Card, you are sure to get a complimentary, domestic Jet Airways ticket with base fare waived on joining and card renewal. Or if you would prefer getting complimentary iPrefer Elite Tier membership from preferred hotels & resorts, then be sure to check out the Jet Airways American Express Platinum Credit Card.

• Value Back

  Want to get back what you spent? Some co-branded Credit Cards offer value backs for your spends. For instance, the IRCTC SBI Platinum Credit Card will give you up to 10% value back as reward points on buying train tickets at the IRCTC website for AC1, AC2, and AC categories.

• Air Accident Cover

  Travelling without travel insurance isn’t such a good idea. However, you don’t have to worry the next time you travel because the Yatra SBI Card gives you a Rs. 50 lakh air accident death cover if you book your tickets on Yatra.com. And if you aren’t impressed with this offer, you could check out the Axis Bank Vistara Credit Card that gives you air insurance cover up to Rs. 2.25 crores. 

Additional Reading: Pack These International Credit Cards with You While Travelling Abroad 

Because of the nature of co-branded Credit Cards, you’re bound to get a lot more out of them in comparison to a regular Credit Card. So, why not make the most of these cards whenever you can?

We’re sure your fingers are itching to get online and apply for one. Don’t hesitate! These amazing Credit Cards are just a click away.