Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card
The Air India SBI Platinum is a card caught mid-transformation — closed to new applications for an extended period (since October 2024, after the Vistara–Air India merger), with the loyalty programme underneath it completely rebuilt: Flying Returns is gone, the Maharaja Club is in, and a March 2025 devaluation cut its Air India earn from 15 to 5 RP/₹100. It now earns 5 reward points per ₹100 on Air India and 2 per ₹100 on daily spend, converting 1:1 to Maharaja Points (which expire after 24 months, extendable by flying). A refreshed Maharaja Club co-brand is reportedly in development to replace it. For existing holders who fly Air India it is a reasonable hold while the programme stabilises; for everyone else, the smart move is to wait for the new card.
Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
️ 2.5% on Travel
5 reward points per ₹100 on Air India (cut from 15 in Mar 2025); convert 1:1 to Maharaja Points (expire 24 months)
️ 1% on Other
2 reward points per ₹100 on daily spend (1:1 to Maharaja Points)
️ Airport Lounge Access
2 complimentary visits per quarter at domestic and international airport lounges
Hotel Membership
Complimentary Air India Maharaja Club membership; reward points convert 1:1 to Maharaja Points
Full reward structure
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | airline miles | 2.5% | — |
| Other | airline miles | 1% | — |
Fees & charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹1,769 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹1,769 |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹11,000/yr in total.
️ lounge access ~ ₹8,000 /yr
8 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits a year (2 per quarter) under the Visa Lounge Access programme
hotel membership ~ ₹3,000 /yr
Complimentary Air India Maharaja Club membership; reward points convert 1:1 to Maharaja Points
Should you get it?
Best for: Air India frequent domestic and international flyer, Maharaja Club (Maharaja Points) collector, SBI account holder with loyalty to Air India's TATA network, Aspiring business class redeemer accumulating Maharaja Points
Mid tier — a solid all-rounder for steady monthly spend.
Strongest value if you spend heavily on Travel ( 2.5% back).
Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
✓ Pros
- Earns reward points on every rupee spent — converting 1:1 to Air India Maharaja Points
- Accelerated earn on Air India ticket bookings
- Air India is rebuilding its network post-TATA acquisition — miles becoming more valuable
- Low fee for an airline co-branded card
✕ Cons
- Discontinued — SBI Card no longer accepts new applications for this card
- Best value only for frequent Air India flyers
- Modest 2 points per ₹100 on general spends
Eligibility & documents
Min. income
₹30,000 /mo
Employment
Salaried · Self-employed
Documents required
- PAN card
- Aadhaar / address proof
- Income proof (salary slips or ITR)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
🎁 Convert reward points 1:1 to Air India Maharaja Points
🎁 Redeem Maharaja Points for Air India award flights and upgrades
What your SBI Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Statement credit Capped at 60,000 pts/month from Apr 2026
Rewards catalogue / vouchers Vouchers & merchandise
Airline / hotel transfer (co-brands & AURUM) BEST Only four SBI cards can transfer Reward Points at all. The two Air India co-brands reach Air India alone, at 1:1 (⇒ ₹1/pt — the only SBI Reward Point route that beats cash). AURUM reaches four partners through its own portal — Air India 5:1, Qatar 5:1, Club ITC 5:1, airasia 4:1 — and EVERY ONE OF THEM LOSES MONEY: at 5:1 an Aurum point is worth ₹0.20 against the ₹0.25 SBI itself publishes for it, and the airasia route is ₹0.05. AURUM earns plain SBI Reward Points despite the 'AURUM Reward Points / ARP' branding: SBI's own T&C says points carry forward UNCONVERTED on upgrade to Aurum, keeping the old card's expiry, which no separate currency could do. Do not confuse any of this with SBI Card MILES, which earns Travel Credits — a genuinely different currency with 25 partners, and which reaches Club ITC at 2:1 where Aurum gets 5:1.
✈ Transfer partners ✈ Air India Maharaja Club ( 1:1 ) Value your balance: SBI Reward Points ✈ Air India Maharaja Club ( 1:1 ) ₹ 10,000 vs. typical redemption ₹ 2,500 Direct transfers from this card only, ranked by what a point is worth in the destination programme . Full calculator, every currency → The concern Closed to new applications and mid-rebuild — the earn was devalued (15→5 RP/₹100), the loyalty currency changed, and the replacement card is not out yet.
The bottom line
New applicants have essentially nothing to act on here: SBI Card shut this product to fresh applications back in October 2024, and the loyalty scheme it feeds into has since been overhauled from the ground up, with Flying Returns giving way to the Maharaja Club and Air India earn dropping to 5 RP per ₹100. Those who already hold the card can reasonably sit tight while the new programme settles in, but anyone weighing whether to sign up should simply wait for its eventual successor.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card are taken from SBI Card 's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page . Last verified 19 Jul 2026 . Reviewed by Devchandra Sah . Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for SBI Card . All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2013 · 4 changes · last change Mar 2025
▲ Revaluation ▼ Devaluation ◆ Neutral / reversed
2025 1 change — 1 cut
▼ Reward Effective 31 Mar 2025
Air India earn slashed from 15 to 5 Reward Points per ₹100
15 Reward Points per ₹100 → 5 Reward Points per ₹100
Effective 31 March 2025, SBI Card cut the Platinum's accelerated earn on Air India tickets booked by the primary cardholder from 15 to 5 Reward Points per ₹100 — a 66.7% reduction — leaving the base 2 points per ₹100 on other spends unchanged. The parallel Signature variant was cut from 30 to 10.
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · Confidence: High
2024 2 changes — 1 cut, 1 neutral
◆ Redemption Effective 12 Nov 2024
Flying Returns retired; card rewards now feed the new Maharaja Club
Flying Returns miles → Maharaja Points (24-month expiry, extendable by flying)
On 12 November 2024 Air India merged Flying Returns and Club Vistara into a single programme, Maharaja Club, with Maharaja Points as the currency. The Platinum's reward points now convert 1:1 into Maharaja Points instead of Flying Returns miles; the underlying award chart was later repriced (a mixed revaluation) on 1 April 2026.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
▼ Eligibility Effective 10 Oct 2024
Closed to new applications after the Vistara–Air India merger
Open to new applicants → Discontinued — existing holders only
With effect from 10 October 2024, SBI Card discontinued the issuance of new Air India SBI Platinum (and Signature) cards ahead of Vistara's merger into Air India. Existing cardholders keep the card, but no new applications are accepted; a refreshed Maharaja Club co-brand has been flagged as coming but is not yet issued.
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · Confidence: High
2013 1 change — 1 neutral
◆ Launch Effective 2013
Air India & SBI Card launch the Air India SBI Platinum co-brand
SBI Card and Air India launched their co-branded cards (Platinum entry tier) in September 2013, bundling complimentary Flying Returns frequent-flyer membership. The Platinum earned an accelerated 15 Reward Points per ₹100 on Air India tickets booked for self via airindia.com/app and 2 per ₹100 on other spends, plus a 5,000-point welcome bonus and milestone bonuses (5,000 points at ₹2 lakh and 10,000 points at ₹3 lakh annual spend), with points converting 1:1 to Air India miles.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: Reconstructed
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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Quick summary
Type Mid credit card
Reward rate 1%–2.5%
Best for Air India frequent domestic and international flyer
Joining fee ₹1,499
Annual fee ₹1,499
Reviewed by
Devchandra Sah · Cards tested, miles earned, trips booked — for over a decade
Last verified 19 Jul 2026
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