The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Credit Card Points in India (2025)
Imagine this: You’re reclining in a spacious business class seat, sipping a cool drink as you fly towards a sun-drenched beach in [Thailand/Maldives/Seychelles/Bali/India]. It sounds like an expensive dream, right?
For most of us in India, the high cost of travel can feel like a barrier. We see the ads for credit card rewards, but the world of points, miles, and loyalty programs seems like a complicated game with confusing rules, designed to benefit the banks, not us. It’s easy to feel like you’re being left behind.
What if I told you that this system is not only understandable but beatable?
My name is Sahil Gulati, and I started Dealuni.com for one reason: to pull back the curtain on smart travel. This isn't about finding a rare 10% discount. This is about learning a system that can cut your travel costs by 50%, 70%, or even more.
In this guide—the very first in our "Deal University"—I will give you the foundational knowledge to start your travel hacking journey. By the time you finish reading, you will understand:
- What points and miles really are.
- The fastest ways to earn a large number of them.
- The single biggest mistake most beginners make (and how to avoid it).
You are about to learn the art of traveling on points. Let's begin
What Exactly Are Credit Card Points? (The Basics)
The easiest way to think about credit card points is as a private currency.
Just like an airline has its own currency (like Air India's Flying Returns miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles), banks and credit card companies have created their own currencies as a way to reward you for your loyalty. When you spend money on your card, you're earning a small amount of that bank's private money.
In India, these points generally fall into two main categories:
1. Bank Reward Points
These are the flexible points you earn directly from the bank that issued your card. They are the most powerful type of points for travel hacking.
Examples: HDFC Bank's Reward Points, American Express Membership Rewards, or Axis Bank's EDGE REWARDS.
Their Superpower: Flexibility. The key advantage of these points is that you can often transfer them to many different airline and hotel partners. For example, you can transfer your HDFC points to Finnair, Singapore Airlines, or even Accor hotels, giving you incredible choice.
2. Co-Branded Points (or Miles)
These points are tied to a specific travel brand, usually an airline or a hotel chain. You earn these points by using a "co-branded" credit card.
Example: Think of the 'Indusind Bank Avios Visa Infinite Card'. When you spend on this card, you aren't earning Indus bank points; you're earning Avios points directly.
Their Superpower: Simplicity. These are less flexible, as they lock you into one program. However, they are great if you are loyal to a specific airline and often come with brand-specific perks like free flights or upgrade vouchers.
Why Are These Points So Valuable? (The Goal)
You might be thinking, "This sounds complicated. Why bother with points when I can just get a simple 5% SBI cashback card?"
That's a fair question, and the answer is the key to unlocking extraordinary travel. The secret is that the value of a point isn't fixed. While a cashback card might give you a set 2% or 5% return on your spending, a travel point can be worth 5%, 10%, or even more, depending on how you use it.
Let's look at a real-world example:
Imagine you want to fly business class from Delhi to London.
Paying with Cash: A round-trip business class ticket on a top airline like Air India or British Airways can easily cost ₹1,20,000 or more.
Paying with Points: By transferring points from a credit card like HDFC Infinia or Amex Platinum to an airline partner, you could book that exact same seat for around 60,000 points plus some minor taxes
Let's do the simple math on that redemption. You are using 60,000 points to get a ticket worth ₹1,20,000.
That means each point is giving you a value of ₹2!
Your credit card, which might earn you 5 points for every ₹150 spent, is suddenly giving you a return of over 8%. No cashback card in India even comes close to that kind of value.
This is the magic of travel hacking. We aren't collecting points to get a free toaster from a rewards catalogue. We are collecting them to gain access to luxury travel experiences that would otherwise be outrageously expensive.
How to Earn Points: The 3 Main Methods
Now that you understand why points are so valuable, let's get into the fun part: how to actually earn them. While it might seem complex from the outside, there are really only three primary ways to accumulate a large number of points.
Method #1: The Welcome Bonus (The Jackpot)
This is, without a doubt, the single fastest way to earn a massive chunk of points. When you sign up for a new travel credit card, the bank will often offer you a large "welcome bonus" or "joining bonus" of points after you meet a minimum spending requirement in the first few months.
- Example: A card like the American Express Platinum Bank might offer 80000-150000 bonus points after you spend ₹1,00,000 in the first 3 months. That bonus alone could be enough for a round-trip ticket to a place like Dubai or Singapore if transferred to the right airline partner.
- The Strategy: Your first goal in travel hacking should always be to earn a welcome bonus. It gives you a huge head start and provides the immediate gratification that makes this hobby so rewarding.
Method #2: Daily Spending (The Slow & Steady Burn)
This is the most straightforward method. For every rupee you spend on your credit card for your daily needs—from groceries at your local store to paying your electricity bill—you earn a base number of points
- Example: The HDFC Regalia Gold card might offer 4 reward points for every ₹150 you spend. This is your base earning rate.
- The Strategy: The key here is consistency. By shifting all of your regular, planned spending from cash or debit cards to your points-earning credit card (and paying the bill in full every month!), you ensure a steady accumulation of points over time.
Method #3: Accelerated Rewards & Multipliers (The Smart Hack)
This is where you can really speed up your earnings. Most travel credit cards offer "accelerated rewards" or "multipliers," where you earn points at a much higher rate (like 5x or 10x the base rate) for spending in specific categories.
- Example: Your American Express Platinum Card might offer a 5x multiplier on spending through their travel portal, or your Axis Atlas card might give you 5x points on travel-related purchases.
- The Strategy: Identify which of your cards gives you the best multiplier for your most common spending categories (like dining, travel, or online shopping). By using the right card for the right purchase, you can dramatically increase your points balance without spending any extra money
The Biggest Beginner Mistake to Avoid
If you remember only one thing from this guide, let it be this: Do not redeem your valuable travel points for merchandise or gift cards from your bank's rewards catalogue.
Banks will constantly tempt you to trade your points for a new toaster, a shopping voucher, or a small cashback credit. This is almost always a terrible deal.
Think of it like trading a gold coin for a pile of pennies. While it might feel good to get something "free," the value you're getting is incredibly low
- When used for travel: As we saw, a point can be worth ₹1, ₹2, or even more.
- When used for a gift card: The value is often fixed at around ₹0.20-0.25 per point
You would be throwing away at least 75% of the value you worked so hard to earn!
The Golden Rule: Always aim to use your points for their highest potential value: flights and hotel stays.
Your Journey Starts Now
Congratulations! You've made it through your first lesson at the Deal University. You now know more about the art of travel hacking than 99% of people in India.
Let's quickly recap what you've learned:
- Credit card points are a valuable currency, not a gimmick.
- Welcome bonuses are the single fastest way to earn a large number of points.
- The magic happens when you redeem your points for high-value travel, not low-value merchandise.
This is the foundation of smart travel. You are now equipped with the knowledge to start earning your way towards that dream trip.
Welcome to the club. Your adventure is just beginning.
