Travel Card offers for business travelers

Business travel may sound like adventure to the fence sitters but can involve a lot of stress for the travelling businessmen. From ensuring a cost effective trip by booking the right hotels and choosing the suitable airline, business travel has many dimensions to it. Carrying optimum cash and using a low cost travel credit card are other significant financial aspects that can be the difference between a successful business trips over an ordinary one.

Frequent business travel involves a lot of repeated costs like booking air tickets and hotels. Using travel credit cards can ensure optimum accumulation of air miles and cash back rewards for hotel bookings making their trip more cost effective. With RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) allowing for only a maximum of $3000 in cash, carrying travel card means business traveler is never short of funds for the trip or any unwanted emergency.

Things to look out for in an optimum travel credit card

While every travel card claims to be one of the best targeting itself for the business travelers, there are some core essentials that an ideal travel credit card must fulfill. Ideally a travel credit card for business travelers should offer maximum reward points across travel categories including car rentals, hotels and airline bookings. The offering concierge services also play a significant role as is access to various airport lounges for both domestic and international travel.

Three popular travel credit card options

While travel credit cards are available from various banks there of the most popular options covering almost all travel essentials for business travel include:

Citibank PremierMiles Credit Card

With an affiliation with over 100 airlines, Citi PremierMiles Credit Card offer miles on all  spends allowing for redemption for flights, hotel stays and car rentals. The card offers 10 Miles per Rs.100 spent on all airline transaction with no expiry date for the accumulated miles. The card comes with an interest rate of 37.20% and 42.00% per annum and an annual fee of Rs. 3,000.

American Express Platinum Travel

The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card offers 1 rewards point for every1 Rs.50 spent. Spending Rs.1.9 lacs in a year gets users eligible for free vouchers from IndiGo airlines. The card offers 5000 milestone bonus membership rewards points at sign up. The card comes with an annual fee of Rs. 3500.

HDFC Bank Regalia card

HDFC Regalia credit card is popular with business travelers frequently travelling overseas as it offers one of the lowest foreign currency mark-up fees of 2% on international transactions. In addition the card allows for a complimentary airport lounge access through its priority pass membership feature. Another essential feature ideal for business travelers is the fact that the card allows conversion of reward points into Air Miles of leading domestic and international airlines.

Choosing a travel credit card for business travel should be based on travel patterns and perks that suit your lifestyle. Information on overdraft limit and late payment charges along with active comparison of credit cards from various banks should be adopted.