Best Credit Cards for Free Railway Lounge Access

Last Updated : Oct. 23, 2024, 3:28 p.m.

Lounges are a great privilege that people get when they travel. They can rest, relax, and enjoy various benefits like refreshments, meals, WiFi, spa, etc. For this reason, most of the railway stations house lounges. In this scenario, it would be great if we could get complimentary access to railway lounges isn’t it? Yay!, credit cards offer this perk. Let us now read about the best credit cards for free railway lounge access in 2024.

Top 15 Credit Cards for Free Railway Lounge Access

Here are some of the best credit cards for free railway lounge access in India in 2024.

Cities for the Lounge Access Credit Cards

Railway lounge access credit cards offer lounge visits across different railway stations in India. These lounges are located in major cities and railway hubs to enable you to have a comfortable and luxurious travel experience. Let us now see the participating cities for some of the top railway lounge access credit cards.

Amenities at Railway Lounges

Facilities in railway lounges vary across lounges and locations. Here are some common amenities featured by railway lounges in India.

• You can stay for a solid period of two hours at railway lounges.
  
• Air conditioned lounges: Most lounges are air conditioned and provide a comfortable environment during hot and humid weather.
  
• Wi-Fi: Many lounges offer free Wi-Fi access. In this way people can stay connected with their friends and relatives even while traveling.
  
• Refreshments: Travelers are provided with refreshments like buffet meals - Breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the time of visit, tea, coffee, etc.
  
• Charging Stations: Charging stations for electrical devices like smartphones and laptops are usually available.
  
• Amenities for Business: Some premium lounges offer business amenities such as fax machines, work stations, and printers.
  
• Television: Some lounges have TVs that show news and entertainment channels.Travelers can stay entertained while touring and watch their favorite shows, news, and movies.
  
• Newspapers and Magazines: You will be able to find a set of newspapers and magazines for reading.
  
• Facilities for storage of Luggage: Railway lounges will have marked areas for storing luggage.
  
• Customer Service: The lounge staff provide 24/7 dedicated customer service and details about the schedule of trains.
  
• Priority Boarding: You may get priority boarding or assistance with boarding your train depending on your lounge and railway station.
  
• Well maintained Restrooms: Access to neat and tidy restrooms are provided. Customers can shower and change.

Credit Cards for Free Railway Lounge Access - Key Features

IRCTC SBI Premier Card

This is a co-branded credit card between the State Bank of India and the IRCTC. It offers a world of benefits on railway travel like complimentary railway lounge access, value back on booking railway tickets.

Key Highlights:

• Get 1500 reward points @ 1 reward point = Re 1 on paying the first annual fee.
• Purchase tickets through IRCTC.co.in and the IRCTC mobile app for AC1, AC2, AC3, Chair Car, and Executive Chair car. Earn 10% value back as reward points.
• Earn 3 reward points for spends of each Rs. 125 on dining and standing instructions for utility spends.
• Earn 1 reward point per Rs. 125 spent on other non fuel retail purchases.
• Earn 2,500 reward points on yearly travel spends of Rs. 50,000
• Earn 5,000 reward points on yearly travel spends of Rs. 1 lakh.

IRCTC SBI Platinum Card

This co-branded card offers great privileges on railway lounge access, ticket purchases, and transaction charges. Besides this, it comes with other magnificent perks like activation bonus and rewards on other categories.

Key Highlights:

• Get 350 welcome bonus reward points on a single transaction of Rs. 500 or more within 45 days of issuing the card. Fuel and cash spends are excluded.
• Earn 1 reward point on each Rs. 125 spent on retail purchases which come under the non fuel category including railway ticket purchases on irctc.co.in.
• Save transaction charges of 1% on railway ticket bookings.
• Get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver across all petrol pumps in India on transactions of value between Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000.

IRCTC RuPay SBI Credit Card

This co-branded contactless card from SBI allows you to enjoy a sea of benefits on railway travel like complimentary railway lounge access and value back on railway ticket booking. It also includes other marvelous offers across travel, dining, and lifestyle and a great welcome reward points hamper.

Key Highlights:

• Get a welcome benefit of 350 reward points upon spending Rs. 500 or more in the first 45 days.
• Get a value back of 10% through reward points upon booking AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC Chair Car tickets through the IRCTC website.
• Get a waiver of 1% on transaction charges on railway ticket bookings.
• Get 1 reward point per Rs. 125 spent on retail and railway tickets.
• Get 1 free railway lounge visit per quarter at participating lounges in India.
• The RuPay platform provides amazing offers on golf, travel, dining, and other entertainment options.

HDFC Bank RuPay IRCTC Credit Card

This card is offered in association with IRCTC and provides an ocean of benefits. It comes with excellent perks for train travel in the form of accelerated reward points on ticket bookings via IRCTC platforms along with IRCTC transaction waiver, and executive railway lounge access. Besides these, it includes other privileges such as welcome perks, milestone benefits, and gift vouchers.

Key Highlights:

• Earn 5 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on the IRCTC ticketing website and the Rail Connect app.
• Get 1 reward point per Rs. 100 spent on other purchases.
• Get a transaction charge waiver of 1% on transactions made on theIRCTC ticketing website and Rail Connect app.
• Get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions in the range of Rs. 400 and Rs. 5000 across all fuel stations in India.
• Get a renewal fee waiver on spends of Rs. 1,50,000 or exceeding that in an anniversary year before the date of renewing your credit card .

IRCTC BoB RuPay Credit Card

This co-branded credit card is best suited for people who are frequent railway travelers. It comes with a bevy of privileges such as complimentary lounge visits, savings on grocery buys and fuel purchases, and much more.

Key Highlights:

• Avail 500 bonus reward points on spending Rs. 5000 or more within 60 days of receiving the card.
• Get a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on all fuel transactions in the range of Rs. 500 to Rs. 3000 (With a maximum waiver of Rs. 100 per statement).
• Accrue 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other categories including train ticket purchases. You can redeem accrued reward points @ 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25.
• Get 40 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on train ticket bookings done through the IRCTC website and the mobile app.
• Get savings of up to 1% on transaction charges through the IRCTC website and mobile app.
• Get 4 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on departmental store purchases
• Earn 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other categories.

IDFC FIRST Classic/Millennia/Select/Wealth Credit Card

These are lifetime free credit cards that offer 4 complimentary Indian railway lounge visits on a quarterly basis. These cards also reward the card holders tremendously due to their rewards structure.

IDFC First Classic Credit Card

The card is lifetime free and offers unlimited rewards. Reward points can be redeemed @ 1 reward point = 25 paise.

IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Card

Enjoy 10x reward points on spends exceeding Rs. 20,000. Get 3x reward points on spends up to Rs. 2 lakhs. Get 25% off on all movie tickets per month. It also offers a personal accident cover of Rs. 2 lakhs.

IDFC First Select Credit Card

This card offers rewards on every Rs. 125 spent. It also provides other lifestyle benefits like discounts at restaurants and health and wellness outlets.

IDFC First Wealth Credit Card

This card is lifetime free and provides up to 10x reward points. It also comes with complimentary visits to airport lounges, select spas, travel insurance, and accident cover privileges. The eligibility for this card is to have an income of more than Rs. 36 lakhs annually.

AU Bank Altura Credit Card

This card comes with attractive privileges such as cashback, free railway lounge visits. The mantra ‘the bigger the spend, the higher the saving’ works for this card. This card is a great pick for those who spend well across categories like grocery, departmental stores, etc. It also rewards you with cashback on utility bill payments.

Key Highlights:

• Get a cashback of 2% on utility bill payments (With a maximum cashback of Rs. 50 per statement).
• Get a cashback of 2% on utility bill payments. (With a maximum cashback of Rs. 50 per statement cycle).
• Get a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on fuel purchases across all fuel stations in India.
• Get an additional cashback of Rs. 50 on spends of Rs. 10,000 in every statement cycle.
• Get a cashback of 2% on grocery and departmental stores.

AU Bank Altura Plus Credit Card

This card presents you with rewards and cashback every time you swipe it for shopping, dining, and international spends. Use this card and unlock and thrill yourself with unlimited privileges.

Key Highlights:

• Get a cashback of 1.5% on all POS retail spends done at merchant outlets (The maximum cashback obtained per statement cycle is INR 100).
• Get 2x reward points per INR 100 spent on retail for all your online transactions.
• Get 1 reward point per INR 100 spent on utility, telecom, and insurance category spends.
• Cash, rent, EMI, fuel, education and government, BBPS, and Quasi cash transactions are not eligible for reward points.
• You will get 500 bonus reward points every month on retail spends of Rs. 20,000 or more per month (Fuel transactions and cash withdrawals are excluded from bonus reward point spends calculation).
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions in the range of INR 400 and INR 5000.
• Get multiple options like e-vouchers of top brands, merchandise, mobile/DTH recharges, flight or hotel bookings, and much more to redeem your reward points.

ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card

Apply for this card and enjoy exciting privileges such as rewards on shopping, discounts on movie tickets, lounge visits, and offers related to entertainment and travel.

Key Highlights:

• Earn 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on your card (Excluding fuel).
• Earn 1 reward point per Rs. 100 spent on utilities and insurance categories.
• Get 2000 reward points on spends of Rs. 2,00,000 on your card and 1000 reward points each time you exceed Rs. 1,00,000.
• Reward points can be redeemed against movie and travel vouchers, mobiles, appliances, lifestyle products, and more.

AU Bank Vetta Credit Card

Access a host of unparalleled perks with the AU Bank Credit Card . With unrestricted benefits across merchant categories, retail spends, grocery, departmental stores, and utility bill payments, this card rewards you awesomely.

Key Highlights:

• Get 4 reward points per INR 100 spent on grocery and departmental stores and utility bill payments.
• Get 2 reward points per INR 100 spent across all other merchant categories.
• Get 1 reward point per INR 100 spent on insurance and utility and Telecom, subject to a maximum of 100 reward points per transaction.
• Earn 500 reward points and bonus 1000 reward points on retail spends of up to INR 50,000 and INR 1 lakh per quarter.

Make My Trip ICICI Signature Credit Card

This card offers a luxurious travel experience to the cardholder through complimentary memberships, holiday vouchers, additional reward points on travel bookings, free lounge visits, etc. Enjoy a premium travel experience with this card co-branded between a popular travel brand Make My Trip and ICICI Bank.

Key Highlights:

• Enjoy welcome benefits of an MMT holiday voucher worth Rs. 2500, 1500 My Cash points, and an MMTBlack Platinum membership.
• Enjoy membership to the MMT Black Loyalty Programme
• Earn up to 4 My Cash points on hotel and flight bookings on MakeMyTrip per Rs. 200
• Save up to Rs. 3600 annually on purchasing movie tickets through the BookMyShow platform.

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card

This card has been designed absolutely for travel lovers. Hop around with premium travel benefits such as holiday vouchers, cash points on flight ticket and hotel bookings, complimentary railway and airport lounge access, etc.

Key Highlights:

• Get a MyCash Plus MakeMyTrip holiday voucher worth Rs. 3000 as welcome benefit
• Get 1 My Cash point for each domestic spends of Rs. 200
• Earn 1.25 My Cash points for every international spends of Rs. 200
• Earn 2 My Cash points for booking flight tickets on Make My Trip.
• Earn 3 My Cash points for booking hotels on Make My Trip.
• Get complimentary domestic and airport railway lounge visits.
• Enjoy an extended validity of 1.5 years as joining benefit.

AU Bank Zenith Credit Card

This card provides an opulent experience with rewards across international transactions, domestic and international airport lounge access , railway lounge access, low forex currency fee, and a luxurious dining membership.

Key Highlights:

• This card has a lower cross currency mark up fee of 1.99%.
• Get 20 reward points per INR 100 spent on international transactions, grocery, and departmental stores.
• Get 10 reward points per INR 100 spent on international transactions, grocery, and departmental stores.
• Get 5 reward points per INR 100 spent across all merchant categories.
• Get 1 reward point per INR 100 spent on utility, telecom, and insurance.
• Get vouchers worth INR 1,000 on retail spends of minimum INR 2 lakhs each quarter.
• Enjoy benefits across dining with a 1 year Taj epicure membership on reaching milestone spends of INR 8 lakhs or more in an anniversary year.
• Get access to global concierge assistance 24/7 on categories of travel, leisure, and entertainment.

ICICI Bank Rubyx Credit Card

Enjoy privileges across dining, lifestyle, shopping, travel, movies, etc with this exciting card. Users can enjoy elevated spending potential and comprehensive insurance coverage with this card.

Key Highlights:

• Enjoy welcome vouchers worth Rs. 5000 on paying the joining fee
• Get 2 reward points on transactions worth Rs. 100 on domestic spends
• Get 4 reward points on transactions of value Rs. 100 on international spends
• Get 1 reward point on transactions of value Rs. 100 on utility and insurance spends
• Get 2 complimentary visits per quarter at domestic airport lounges
• Get 2 complimentary visits per quarter at a domestic airport lounge in India on spending Rs. 5000 or more in the previous quarter
• Get a discount of 25% (Up to Rs. 150) on purchasing at least 2 tickets on BookMyShow and Inox, twice a month.

Ixigo AU Credit Card

This card is a great pick for those who want to travel within India. Although it gives only one international lounge access, it provides 8 free railway lounge visits. This card especially gives accelerated reward points on booking train tickets on Ixigo.

Key Highlights:

• Enjoy the privilege of getting 1000 reward points on conducting one successful transaction within the first 30 days of issuing the card
• Get Rs. 1000 Ixigo Money on conducting one successful transaction within the first 30 days of issuing the card.
• Enjoy a zero forex markup fee on international transactions
• Get an insurance cover of up to Rs. 2 lakhs on RuPay cards
• Earn 10 reward points on online transactions
• Earn 5 reward points on offline transactions.
• Earn 20 reward points on Ixigo train ticket bookings.

Conclusion

Railways are a major means to travel in India be it for long journeys or short ones. To make these journeys comfortable for their customers, railways and credit card issuers have made great efforts to provide travelers with lounge access. Before choosing a card for railway lounge access, you should go ahead and compare them along with your needs and wants. Then, choose the railway lounge access credit card most suitable for you and which will help you build financial stability.