THESE 5 credit cards provide liberal access to airport lounges. Check the list here
When you are a credit card user, it is vital to make use of the services and features it offers. Among others, one feature that most credit cards carry is the access to domestic and international airport lounges.
This means merely by swiping the card at the reception of airport lounge, you are given access for a limited time period, say half an hour. This access is usually capped till once or twice in a three-month period. Some banks even impose monetary limits on the spend in the preceding quarter to become eligible for this entitlement.
Here, we list out some credit cards which provide access to airport lounge.
I. HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card: This card by HDFC Bank allows a dozen complimentary access within India (at domestic as well international terminals).
II. Axis Bank Select Credit Card: This card provides upto 12 complimentary international airport lounge access through priority pass membership. You can enjoy two complimentary domestic lounge visits per quarter on the spends of ₹ 50,000 in past three months.
The priority pass is renewed automatically upon meeting ₹ 3 lakh spends in preceding card anniversary year.
III. SBI Card ELITE: With this card, you can get two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits every quarter in India. It also allows six complimentary airport lounge visits per calendar year outside India (maximum two visits per quarter) with effect from July 1, 2017.
IV. ICICI Bank Emeralde private metal: This card by ICICI Bank allows unlimited access to both domestic and international airport lounges for both primary and plus card members.
V. HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card (Metal Edition): This invite only credit card also provides unlimited airport lounge access across the globe for both primary and add-on member.
Meanwhile, it is important to note that the banks tend to revise their rules with regards to access to lounge. Therefore, one should check the latest rules which are currently in force. For instance, Tata Neu HDFC Bank credit card has rolled out new rules which will come into force from June 10 onwards. One can click here to know more on this.
Disclaimer: Mint has a tie-up with fintechs for providing credit, you will need to share your information if you apply. These tie-ups do not influence our editorial content. This article only intends to educate and spread awareness about credit needs like loans, credit cards and credit score. Mint does not promote or encourage taking credit as it comes with a set of risks such as high interest rates, hidden charges, etc. We advise investors to discuss with certified experts before taking any credit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
RBI aims to boost economic growth, liquidity with jumbo rate and CRR cuts
Mumbai: In a move to invigorate India's slowing economy and in the wake of consistently easing inflation, the rate-setting committee of India's central bank slashed the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) on Friday, twice the 25 bps that was widely expected. Further it complemented the policy rate cut with a 100 bps reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR). A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. 'Inflation is under a lot of control now, and we can accept that we have won the war,' RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said at a media briefing on Friday following the MPC meeting, adding that the central bank has reduced inflation projection for FY26 to 3.7% from 4% earlier. The unexpected bounty was cheered by the stock markets, with the BSE Sensex closing 0.92% up at 82,188.99, and the Nifty 50 surpassing the 25,000 level with a 252 pts upswing to close at 25,003.5. Bond markets, too, reacted positively, with the shorter end of the yield curve seeing some softening. The 10-year G-sec yield hit an intraday high of 6.290, before rising 4.3 bps to close at 6.289. The repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from RBI, and CRR refers to a certain percentage of cash that all banks have to keep with the RBI as a deposit. After Friday's cut, the repo rate stands reduced to 5.5% from 6% earlier, and CRR to 3% from 4% earlier. The cut in CRR is expected to infuse liquidity worth ₹ 2.5 trillion in four tranches from 6 September to 29 November. The last time the CRR was cut by 100bps was during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when economic growth needed a major push. 'It is imperative to continue to stimulate domestic private consumption and investment through policy levers to step up the growth momentum,' Malhotra said at the media briefing. 'This changed growth-inflation dynamics calls for not only continuing with the policy easing but also frontloading the rate cuts to support growth. The MPC will be carefully assessing the incoming data and the evolving outlook to chart out the future course of monetary policy in order to strike the right growth-inflation balance.' According to Malhotra, the announcement of CRR cut four months in advance is aimed at ensuring certainty to banks and markets regarding the health of the economy. Five of the six MPC members voted for a 50 bps cut, with only Saugata Bhattacharya voting for a 25 bps rate cut. The six-member also changed the policy stance back to neutral from accommodative, citing limited space for further monetary easing. After including Friday's rate cut, MPC has cumulatively cut repo rates by a 100 bps since February this year, a development that economists widely expected would take the full year to roll out. Most treasury heads and economists polled by Mint had predicted a 25 bps rate cut along with no change in policy stance. Only State Bank of India (SBImp) had predicted a 50 bps cut in interest rates. While the MPC has maintained FY26 GDP growth forecast at 6.5%, it expects economic activity to maintain the momentum in the fiscal year, supported by private consumption and fixed capital formation. The committee however cautioned that spillovers emanating from protracted geopolitical tensions, and global trade and weather-related uncertainties could pose downside risks to growth. The MPC lowered its consumer price inflation (CPI) forecast by 30 basis points to 3.7% as the outlook remains benign. However, the committee expects FY27 inflation at 4.5%. High production of wheat and pulses in the rabi crop season along with early onset of monsoon, augurs well for the inflation outlook. Majority of economists, who were earlier expecting 50-100 basis points repo rate cut during the year, are now reading the policy action as an extended pause for the year. HDFC Bank said in a research note on Friday that the RBI is likely to stay on pause on rate cuts at least in the next two policies (August and October). 'Given the inflation trajectory, the RBI has space to cut the repo rate by another 25-50 bps in this cycle, but we see the probability of that happening to be low at this stage. For now, in our base case, we see the policy rate remaining unchanged at 5.5% for 2025.' Nomura, however, expects terminal rates at 5%, with a likely pause in August, followed by 25 bps rate cuts each in October and December. With this cut in repo rate and CRR, the MPC expects policy transmission to be faster than before. 'The comfortable liquidity surplus in the banking system has further reinforced transmission of policy repo rate cuts to short term rates,' said Malhotra in his policy statement. 'However, we are yet to see a perceptible transmission in the credit market segment, though we must keep in mind that it happens with some lag.' Economists also expect that some of the liquidity infusion could be offset by the RBI reducing its forward book. As of April 2025, RBI's forward book stood at $53 billion (up to one-year segment). Between February 2025 and April 2025, RBI reduced its dollar short position by $26, resulting in liquidity drain of $2.3 trillion. 'We believe that the liquidity infusion through the CRR cut would help cushion the rupee drain from the maturity of the RBI's forward book over the coming months,' added HDFC bank in its note.
Mint
7 hours ago
- Mint
TDS on rent: Why the tax department needs to fix its Traces portal
Certain payments made by individuals attract tax deduction at source (TDS), but many are unaware of it. For instance, 2% TDS applies to rent exceeding ₹50,000 per month, 1% on property purchases above ₹50 lakh, and a similar rule applies to high-value freelance or contract payments. The income tax department has been tracking individuals who failed to comply with these TDS rules. Taxpayers who claimed HRA exemption while paying rent above ₹50,000 received SMS and email alerts from the I-T department. The penalty for non-compliance is steep. Tenants who did not deduct TDS on rent under 194-IB can avoid these penalties by proving that the landlord has paid tax on the rental income. This is done by filing Form 26A, a certificate from a chartered accountant (CA) confirming that the tax has been paid. This seemingly simple solution is, however, fraught with technical hurdles. Also Read: Details on rent, home loan, TDS: ITR forms seek more disclosures this year Portal problems The Traces (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) or e-filing portal, which is needed to generate Form 26A, does not allow individual deductors to initiate the process unless the user has a tax deduction and collection account number or TAN number, tax experts told Mint. The tax department's Traces portal is an online platform that helps both deductors and taxpayers view, reconcile, and manage their TDS transactions for filing returns and claiming refunds. To be sure, individuals paying rent to resident landlords aren't required to obtain a TAN to deduct TDS. Even if someone goes through the trouble of getting a TAN, which is an entirely online process and typically takes 2-4 days, the problem doesn't end there. Chartered accountant Ashish Karundia said even when a TAN is obtained, the portal does not have Form 26QC, which is required to fill in details regarding this matter when logged in to the Traces portal. As per Section 201, defaulting tenants can show the landlord's ITR to prove that tax on rental income is paid. To do this, they should initiate Form 26A on the Traces website. The tenant should log in to the Traces platform as a deductor. He needs to initiate Form 26A, add details of non-deduction and assign the Form 26A to a CA for verification through the TAN login on e-filing portal. Also Read: TDS on rent and contract work: How small taxpayers can avoid penalties The process may seem easy, but it is an uphill task due to technical challenges. Logging into Traces through PAN will not work as Form 26A can only be initiated through 'deductor' Traces log-in, which needs a TAN, said Karundia. Deductor login is for those who deduct and deposit the TDS and taxpayer login is for the deductee on whose behalf tax is being paid (landlord in this case). Getting TAN takes 2-4 days to be issued, but even if the tenant gets a TAN number and successfully logs in to the Traces portal as a deductor, a second layer of challenge crops up, said Karundia. 'After logging in, the tenant has to initiate Form 26A and choose the type of form he's filing–26QB for TDS on property purchase, 26QC for TDS on rent or 26QD for TDS on payment to contractors. It is mandatory to choose one of these options before entering other transaction details," he explained. The Traces portal for deductors does not have this option as all three TDS deductions–property, rent and contractual services–are PAN-based and do not require a TAN in the first place. 'Even if the tenant gets a TAN and logs in to the Traces deductor portal, he will still not be able to initiate Form 26A due to unavailability of Form 26QC," said Karundia. Also Read: Relying on rental income in retirement? Take these steps to protect yourself. What needs to change Karundia said Traces should allow users to log in using PAN details instead of TAN, and allow Form 26A initiation for Forms 26QB, 26QC, and 26QD. Once this is initiated, the taxpayer can assign it to a CA through the e-portal. After the CA certifies that the recipient has paid the due tax, they can sign it and get it processed. "Currently, taxpayers can't assign Form 26A to a CA through their taxpayer (PAN) ID in Traces. So, there is a need to extend the ability of assignment of Form 26A to a CA....," said Mayank Mohanka, founder of TaxAaram India and a partner at S.M. Mohanka & Associates. For now, CAs like Karundia are maintaining Form 26A manually. 'Right now there is no other option. The other option is to have the form along with CA-certified Annexure A in physical form with the tenant, " Karundia said. Bhawna Kakkar, chartered accountant and founder, Kakkar & Company, Chartered Accountants, said she is also maintaining the Form 26A manually. 'Due to this technical limitation, such tenants cannot initiate Form 26A filing through Traces. The alternative approach is to manually submit the CA-certified Form 26A along with supporting documents (landlord's ITR, rent income proof, tax paid details) either in response to a notice received from the department or directly to the jurisdictional assessing officer." 'The tenant would still be required to pay interest under section 201(1A) at 1% per month from the month TDS was deductible till the month the landlord filed the ITR. Once the AO is satisfied that the conditions are met, the tenant is not treated as in default for the TDS, and no demand will be raised for the tax amount, only the interest may be payable," said Kakkar. The government has to necessarily address this issues faced by taxpayesr at the earliest so that the ordinary citizens who are ignorant of the TDS provisions can take necessary steps to avoid ending up being 'assessee in default', said Prakash Hegde, a Bengaluru-based CA. "Until the government makes these updates to form 26A, it is going to be big challenge for the defaulters, most of whom are ignorant of the provisions," said Hegde. Kakkar said, 'If procedures are not in sync with the law, the law should be applied instead of procedures, and the law nowhere restricts form 26QB/26QC type payments for the benefit under proviso to section 201. So, the only option left is to proceed manually and provide a manual CA certificate. We actually have given one such certificate."
The Print
7 hours ago
- The Print
How Rajasthan bank employee ‘duped' 41 villagers of Rs 4.5 cr over 3 yrs, to fuel ‘stock trading addiction'
This meant her activities stayed under the radar as customers didn't receive OTPs for withdrawals and the strategy kept working until it didn't. If it hadn't been for a customer trying to withdraw his money from a fixed deposit account in February, Gupta might have been able to go on. Her luck ran out when the bank manager launched an inquiry into the matter and submitted a police complaint on 18 February, attaching an inquiry report that said money had been taken out of 41 bank accounts. Gupta was arrested on 31 May. Between 2020 and 2023, Gupta is accused of having siphoned off a staggering Rs 4.58 crore from 110 bank accounts under the User FD (Fixed Deposit) scheme, turning a position of trust into a tool of deception. She used this money to keep investing in the stock market, where she incurred heavy losses repeatedly. But she didn't stop. Investigators from the Rajasthan Police attribute her actions to an alleged addiction to stock market trading. However, the gamble failed as she kept losing money, derailing her original plan to return the money to the fixed deposits. 'She has said during interrogation that she wanted to be rich quickly. Her knowledge of finance and banking helped her. She kept investing the money from FDs knowing that someone breaking FDs would be a lesser risk for her as people invest for longer periods of time,' a senior police officer told ThePrint. As per her LinkedIn profile, the 26-year-old has been working for ICICI Bank for nearly six years, since October 2019. She completed her graduation in Chemistry from Delhi University in 2018 and then got a post graduate degree in banking and finance from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. This was her first job. Officers say that the losses didn't dissuade Gupta. 'She kept taking out more and more money in the hope that she would get it all back and end up being rich,' the officer added. Senior police officers said that in the past, Gupta had also invested Rs 90 lakh, taken from her father and relatives, and invested it in the share market. Here too, she lost all the money. Investigators said that the 26-year-old devised a strategy to make trading accounts in the name of the villagers, whose money she siphoned out. 'With her exercising full control on their deposits and the OTP system, she kept doing it without anyone getting a whiff about it,' another officer said. During the probe, sources said that all account holders were questioned and her name cropped up as the connecting link. The police zeroed in on her after they accessed the systems of all employees. 'We found the saved data on her system and then took her devices to check. Investigation directed all fingers at her and she confessed to the crime during interrogation,' a senior police officer said. She is a native of Chittorgarh, and lives in Kota after her marriage. Her husband works at the HDFC bank. So far, police say, the probe doesn't suggest that the husband was aware of his wife's 'illegal' activities. An ICICI Bank spokesperson said, 'The interest of our customers is of paramount importance to us. Immediately upon discovering the fraudulent activity, we filed an FIR with the police. We have a zero-tolerance policy against any fraudulent activity and thus suspended the employee involved. We would like to reassure that genuine claims of impacted customers have been settled.' (Edited by Viny Mishra)
