Loyalty always pays, the statement is also true for air travel. If you are a frequent flyer, you must know that traveling regularly by air is not cheap. When time is money, who doesn’t love to reduce travel time to explore more at the destination. This is the reason, most of the Millennials or present frequent flyers must have signed for one of the best frequent flyer program in India.
What does a Frequent Flyer Program mean to you?
In 1982, the first airlines, which invented the complete loyalty program, was aware that if they provide their passengers with more facilities and benefits, they will come back and pay off more than a one-time traveler.
A frequent flyer program is a loyalty and reward system, organized by an airline. In a frequent flyer program, a passenger will earn airline miles, travel points, or reward points. You can use these points to purchase flight tickets, upgrade your travel category, get access to an airport lounge, or any other facility provided by the airlines. Well, the more you fly more you earn!
Mostly to sign-up for a frequent flyer program, you only need to create an account on the airline’s website; however, some airlines are paired with some of the major credit card providers and you may need to get a credit card for them.
In past, you get the air miles or travel point only by flying through the airlines, which is equal to the distance you traveled. However, the competition is increasing and everybody is doing their best to retain their customers. Now, you can earn the miles or points by making any purchase using your credit card.
If you are traveling frequently, registering for a frequent flyer program in India is a big step; to save money when traveling and getting a better experience and comfort.
What are the options to choose the best frequent flyer program in India?
If we include both, the domestic and the international airlines, the list of frequent flyer program in India is huge. However, if we only look for domestic airlines, we only have Air India, Vistara, and SpiceJet running a loyalty program.
Flying Returns by Air India
The Flying Returns loyalty program is a one-off loyalty program that allows you to earn points by traveling through other airlines. Yes, you read it right! You can earn loyalty points by traveling through any of the airlines which are members of Star Alliance.
You can redeem the points accumulated in the FR account for award tickets for self or others to travel on Air India or other Star Alliance member airline.
There are three tiers of program membership that is Silver Edge Club, Golden Edge Club, and The Maharajah Club. You shift through them as you earn more points. Each tier has its privileges.
Silver Edge Club
When you acquire 25000 points in the past 365 days, you join the Silver Edge Club. As a member, you get the following perks:
- Extra 15% FR bonus points.
- An additional baggage allowance of 10 Kgs.
- One additional piece of baggage as per cabin class baggage allowance.
- One upgrade voucher.
- Priority Check-In and Boarding.
- Fixed cancellation/refund/rebooking fee will be INR 1000/- per Coupon for tickets.
Golden Edge Club
After acquiring 50000 Tier Status points in their FR account in the past 365 days, one automatically moves to the Golden Edge Club. The benefits include:
- Extra 25% FR bonus points.
- An additional baggage allowance of 20 Kgs.
- One additional piece of baggage as per cabin class baggage allowance.
- Two upgrade vouchers.
- Priority Check-In and Boarding.
- Priority delivery of baggage.
- Free cancellation/refund/rebooking.
The Maharajah Club
After you acquire 75000 Tier Status points in your FR account in the past 365 days, you automatically join the Golden Edge Club. In addition to the benefits of Golden Edge Club, you get the following benefits:
- Extra 30% FR bonus points.
- Three upgrade vouchers.
For more information on the Flying Returns frequent flyer program in India, go to their official website.
Club Vistara by Vistara Airline
Vistara is a growing airline that has flights on a few domestic routes. According to them, Club Vistara is the most unique and the fastest rewarding frequent flyer program in India. Unlike others, in this loyalty program, you do not earn points according to the distance you travel. However, you earn points according to the amount you spend. In addition to that, you get points with every swipe of Axis Bank Vistara Credit Cards and Club Vistara SBI Credit Cards. Four tiers in the Club Vistara loyalty program are CV Base, CV Silver, CV Gold, and CV Platinum.
To know more about their benefits and privileges, visit their official page.
SpiceClub by SpiceJet
The SpiceClub also offers you to earn points according to the amount you spend. With this loyalty program, you get free flights, complimentary meals, priority check-in, free flight change/cancellations. You get additional 250 points if you book a flight directly from their official website or mobile application. The best thing about their frequent flyer program is that you get one free flight voucher after every 10 flights you take off.
The SpiceClub offers you four tiers; Classic, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The benefits keep on increasing as you climb the level of membership.
Visit SpiceClub’s official website for complete details on their frequent flyer program.
Suggestion: How a computer repairs Brisbane can help.
Final Verdict
We do not have many options to select the best frequent flyer program in India and the benefits may seem the same, however, every program has its pros and cons.
You must take due diligence and read all the terms and conditions before registering for any program.
The rewards provided by Flying Returns are great, but it is not easy to acquire the points as you get only a few points when flying on domestic routes. The Club Vistara fulfills the promise to provide you the fastest reward points because you can earn by swiping their partnered credit cards on the ground, but they do not fly on all the domestic routes.
I would suggest you go with the SpiceClub membership as they fly on most of the routes and they also claim to be the fastest rewarding frequent flyer program in India.
Thanks for the detailed comparison of frequent flyer programs in India! I’ve been trying to decide between IndiGo’s iPlus and SpiceJet’s FlyBot, and this guide helped me make an informed decision. Will definitely be trying out the Simplus program with Air India to see how it compares!
Very informative post! I’ve been looking to improve my travel loyalty program and this guide has given me a better understanding of the different programs available in India. Would love to know more about the redemption options and blackout dates of the programs mentioned.