IndusInd Bank Avios Credit Card for Flights 2026 — Miles, Forex and Complete Guide

What is the IndusInd Bank Avios Visa Infinite card?

The IndusInd Bank Avios Visa Infinite Credit Card is India's only co-branded Avios credit card, launched in partnership with both British Airways and Qatar Airways, and it earns the Avios currency directly into one of their loyalty programs — no intermediate IndusInd points required.

You choose your loyalty program at card issuance: either British Airways Executive Club or Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Because Avios are now a shared currency across six airline programs — British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and Finnair — you can pool and transfer Avios between all of them at 1:1 at any time.

The card is a metal Visa Infinite product, which means it sits in the premium tier of Visa's product hierarchy — above the standard Infinite and Signature tiers — and carries benefits like complimentary Priority Pass membership and airport Meet & Greet services. The physical card is a metal card, a detail that matters to some travellers at premium airline check-in desks.

Avios earn rates: what you actually earn per rupee

The IndusInd Avios card earns at four different rates depending on where you spend, with the highest rate of 6 Avios per ₹200 reserved for POS (point-of-sale) transactions at your single chosen preferred international destination.

Here is the complete earn structure as confirmed on the IndusInd Bank official card page (June 2026):

The "preferred international destination" rule is a unique feature of this card. You choose one country when you apply — for example, Ireland, UK, UAE, or USA — and all POS transactions physically made in that country (swiping at a restaurant, hotel, or shop counter) earn 6 Avios per ₹200 rather than the standard 3. Online transactions in that same country's merchant category earn 3 Avios per ₹200. You can change your preferred destination once per card anniversary year by calling IndusInd at 1860 267 7777 — the change takes effect from the next billing cycle.

For an Indian student or working professional based in Ireland, this makes Ireland an obvious preferred-destination choice, turning every supermarket visit, bus ticket, and dinner into Avios at double the standard rate.

Forex markup: the 1.5% preferred-destination rule explained

The IndusInd Avios card charges a 1.5% foreign currency markup on transactions at your preferred international destination and 3.5% at all other international locations — making it one of the lowest forex-markup premium cards in India, but only for one country per year.

Most Indian premium cards charge a flat 3.5% forex markup on all international transactions. The IndusInd Avios card's 1.5% rate for your preferred destination is genuinely competitive — only a handful of Indian cards (such as the Federal Bank Scapia, which is zero-forex but a much simpler rewards card) beat it. After adding 18% GST on the markup itself, the effective cost is approximately 1.77% at your preferred destination versus 4.13% elsewhere.

The 3.5% rate at non-preferred destinations is standard for premium Indian cards — it is the same as HDFC Diners Black, Axis Atlas, and Axis Magnus. So if you are booking a flight on Lufthansa's German website while sitting in Dublin, and you have set Ireland as your preferred destination, that online transaction earns only 3 Avios per ₹200 (the online preferred-destination rate) — the 6 Avios rate applies only to physical POS transactions, not online.

Lounge access: Priority Pass, domestic, and meet-and-greet

The IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite card provides complimentary Priority Pass membership with 2 international lounge visits per calendar quarter (8 per year), 2 domestic lounge visits per quarter via Visa Infinite, and 2 complimentary airport Meet & Greet services per year for the cardholder and a companion.

The Priority Pass membership covers 1,300+ lounges worldwide. For Indian travellers flying DEL–DOH–DUB, this typically means:

• Departure from India — Priority Pass access at Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 (T3) international departures, or equivalent at BOM/HYD/BLR terminals.
• Transit in Doha (DOH) — Qatar Airways operates the Al Mourjan, Al Safwa, and Al Maha lounges, which are accessible through the airline's own lounge program (separate from Priority Pass) — Priority Pass does not access Al Mourjan. However, several premium airport lounges at DOH do accept Priority Pass, including the Al Maha lounge in the transit area.
• Departure from Dublin (DUB) — Dublin Airport's premium lounges are limited; most Priority Pass access is via the No. 1 Traveller lounge.

Beyond 2 visits per quarter, each additional visit is charged at USD 35 per person to the cardholder's account. The 2 domestic lounge visits per quarter cover participating Visa Infinite lounges at Indian airports — most major Indian airports have at least one such lounge.

The Airport Meet & Greet service provides personal assistance at check-in and the security queue — two complimentary services per year cover the primary cardholder and one companion. This is available at select airports in India and internationally.

On-the-Ground Insight: "I fly Delhi to Dublin via Doha three or four times a year for my PhD research at UCD. I set Ireland as my preferred destination on the IndusInd Avios card — I earn 6 Avios on every euro I spend at Irish shops and restaurants. The Priority Pass means I use the lounge on my way out of Terminal 3. The only frustration is that the 2-visit quarterly limit runs out fast if you travel a lot — after that, it's USD 35 a visit." — Riya M., UCD School of Engineering, Dublin, 2025 intake

Welcome and milestone bonuses

The IndusInd Avios card awards 20,000 bonus Avios as a welcome gift when you spend ₹5,000 within 30 days of card issuance, and up to 36,000 bonus Avios per year through two spend milestones of ₹8 lakh each.

The milestone structure as of June 2026 (confirmed via the IndusInd Bank official card page):

Milestone Avios are credited 10 days after the statement date following the milestone achievement. The annual renewal bonus of 5,000 Avios is credited after payment of the renewal fee — it effectively reduces the net annual fee cost to ₹5,000 minus the value of 5,000 Avios (approximately ₹2,000–₹2,500 at typical Avios valuations of 0.4–0.5 pence / ₹0.33–₹0.42 per Avios).

If you hit both milestones in a year — which requires ₹16 lakh of card spend — you receive 36,000 bonus Avios on top of your regular earn, plus the 5,000 renewal Avios. At ₹16 lakh spend, you would also earn approximately 24,000 regular Avios (assuming a blended 3 Avios per ₹200 rate), giving a total of around 65,000 Avios annually.

How to redeem Avios for India–Ireland flights

The most powerful redemption for India–Ireland travellers is using Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios to book award seats on Qatar Airways flights from Delhi, Mumbai, or Hyderabad to Doha, then connecting to Dublin — typically 40,000–70,000 Avios for Economy or Business in off-peak periods.

Qatar Airways does not publish a fixed award chart — redemption prices are dynamic and based on demand. The Qatar Airways My Calculator tool gives real-time Avios pricing for any route. As a reference, typical redemption values observed in early 2026:

• DEL/BOM → DOH (one-way Economy): approximately 13,000–20,000 Avios
• DEL → DUB via DOH (one-way Economy): approximately 40,000–55,000 Avios
• DEL → DUB via DOH (one-way Business / Qsuite): approximately 70,000–100,000 Avios in peak

For British Airways users, Avios can also be used to book short-haul award flights on Aer Lingus between London Heathrow and Dublin — a useful top-up for connecting via LHR. Aer Lingus uses the same Avios currency; a Dublin–London short-haul redemption typically starts from 7,500 Avios one-way in off-peak economy.

Avios can also be transferred between the six partner programs at 1:1 ratio via the British Airways Combine My Avios tool or the Qatar Airways convert and link accounts page. This means Avios earned via the IndusInd card can be pooled from all six programs before redeeming for a high-value Qsuite award, for example.

The DCC trap on international airline websites

When booking Qatar Airways or British Airways tickets on their non-Indian websites, you will often be shown the option to pay in INR — always decline this and pay in the local currency (USD, GBP, EUR, QAR) to avoid Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), which adds 4–8% above the mid-market rate.

DCC is most common when booking on:

• British Airways (ba.com) — when billing through a third-party payment processor that detects an Indian card, it may default to INR settlement. Look for a "Pay in GBP" or "Pay in local currency" option.
• Qatar Airways (qatarairways.com) — the Indian site (qatarairways.com/en-in) charges in INR natively, but at its own conversion rate. The UK or international site charges in GBP or USD, respectively.

The Point-of-Sale (PoS) arbitrage opportunity here is real: a DEL–DOH–DUB round-trip on British Airways' UK site priced in GBP may differ from the same flight priced on the India site in INR. Always check both sites before booking — the difference can be ₹5,000–₹15,000 on long-haul routes. Pay in GBP using your IndusInd Avios card (which charges 3.5% on non-preferred UK transactions, or 1.5% if you have set the UK as your preferred destination).

TCS and LRS: what applies when you book abroad

Tax Collected at Source (TCS) of 5% applies on international flight bookings made through a travel agent or OTA when the annual spend under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) exceeds ₹7 lakh — but direct airline bookings made on the airline's own website are currently not classified as LRS remittances and do not attract TCS.

The key distinction under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Income Tax Department rules as of June 2026:

TCS is not a final tax — it is a tax credit you can claim back when filing your ITR. However, the cash-flow impact during the year is real if you are a student or early-career professional. For most direct airline bookings on the IndusInd Avios card, TCS does not apply — which is another reason to book directly on ba.com or qatarairways.com rather than through an OTA.

IndusInd Avios vs Axis Atlas vs ICICI Emeralde: full comparison

The IndusInd Avios card wins on direct Avios earn for Qatar/BA loyalists and offers the lowest preferred-destination forex markup; Axis Atlas is better for multi-airline flexibility since EDGE Miles transfer to 15+ programs; ICICI Emeralde leads on lounge access with unlimited Priority Pass visits.

One critical update as of June 2026: Axis Bank has paused new applications for the Atlas Credit Card, according to Paisabazaar and multiple cardholder reports. Existing holders retain their benefits, but if you are evaluating new cards today, the Atlas is not currently available — making the IndusInd Avios card the primary option for direct Avios accumulation in India.

True cost formula: a real DEL–DUB booking example

When booking a DEL–DUB return via Doha on Qatar Airways using the IndusInd Avios card with Ireland as your preferred destination, the true cost calculation shows a significant saving versus a standard Indian card — and the Avios earned can offset a future flight entirely.

Example scenario: Priya books DEL–DOH–DUB–DOH–DEL (return) on Qatar Airways in Economy for ₹95,000 total, paying on qatarairways.com/en-gb (UK site) in GBP. She has set Ireland as her preferred destination. The UK booking is a non-preferred destination, so the 3.5% markup applies.

• Base fare: ₹95,000
• Forex markup (3.5% on ₹95,000): ₹3,325
• Avios earned: ₹95,000 ÷ ₹200 × 5 Avios = 2,375 Avios (Qatar Airways direct booking rate)
• Avios value at ~₹0.38 per Avios: ≈ ₹903 back
• Net true cost: ₹95,000 + ₹3,325 − ₹903 = ₹97,422

By contrast, if Priya had set the UK as her preferred destination instead of Ireland (since she is booking on the UK site in GBP), the math changes:

• Forex markup (1.5% on ₹95,000): ₹1,425
• Online preferred-destination earn rate: 3 Avios per ₹200 = 1,425 Avios
• Avios value: ≈ ₹541
• Net true cost: ₹95,000 + ₹1,425 − ₹541 = ₹95,884

The preferred-destination choice can save ₹1,538 on a single return booking. For three annual trips, that is ₹4,614 in forex savings alone — nearly covering the ₹5,000 annual fee in Year 2.

Pros, cons, and who should get this card

The IndusInd Avios card is best suited to Indian travellers who fly Qatar Airways or British Airways at least twice a year and are willing to optimise their preferred destination to maximise the 1.5% forex rate and 6 Avios per ₹200 earn.

Get this card if: You fly Qatar Airways or British Airways regularly, your preferred international destination is one country (Ireland, UK, or UAE work well), and you value direct Avios over flexible multi-program miles. The welcome bonus of 20,000 Avios is easily enough for a short-haul Qatar award or a significant Qsuite upgrade contribution.

Skip this card if: You fly Air India, IndiGo, or Emirates primarily; you want unlimited lounge access (ICICI Emeralde wins there); or you prefer miles transferable to hotel programs like Marriott or Hyatt (Axis Atlas or HDFC Infinia serve that need better).

Eligibility and how to apply

The IndusInd Bank Avios Visa Infinite card requires a minimum net annual income of ₹12 lakh for salaried applicants (₹15 lakh for self-employed), a minimum age of 18, and a CIBIL score of 750+ for the strongest approval chances.

Eligibility criteria as confirmed on IndusInd Bank's eligibility page:

• Age: 18 to 75 years
• Income (salaried): Net annual income ≥ ₹12 lakh
• Income (self-employed): Net annual income ≥ ₹15 lakh
• Credit score: CIBIL 750–900 for best approval odds
• Residency: Indian residents (NRI eligibility: contact IndusInd directly)

Documents required: PAN card (mandatory), Aadhaar or Passport (identity proof), latest salary slips or ITR (income proof), and a utility bill or bank statement as address proof.

You can apply directly at the IndusInd Bank Avios card page or through comparison platforms like Paisabazaar or BankBazaar. At application, choose your loyalty program (British Airways Executive Club or Qatar Airways Privilege Club) and your preferred international destination — both can be changed later (program choice typically at annual renewal, preferred destination once per anniversary year).