How to Pay Credit Card Bill for Co-branded Travel Cards

Co-branded travel credit cards in India are issued by bank card issuers in partnership with airlines, hotel programmes, and travel platforms. The most prominent examples include the SBI Card Air India co-branded cards, the Axis Bank Vistara credit card, the HDFC Bank Tata Neu HDFC credit card, the ICICI Bank MakeMyTrip credit card, the Kotak Mahindra Bank Indigo credit card, and several others. Each of these cards earns airline miles, hotel points, or travel cashback that accumulates with the travel partner — creating a reward ecosystem where the value depends directly on sustained card usage and timely bill payment.

For travel card holders, the bill payment process is identical in mechanics to paying any other credit card bill — the same payment channels apply. What is distinctive about travel cards is the relationship between payment behaviour and rewards accumulation, and some specific considerations that apply to cards with milestone-based annual fee waivers and loyalty programme integration.

How co-branded travel card bill payment works

A co-branded travel credit card is issued and managed by the bank partner — SBI Card, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, or another issuer. The bank handles all aspects of the credit card account: billing, payment collection, customer service, credit limit, and statement generation. The travel partner — Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, MakeMyTrip, Tata Neu — provides the reward currency and the redemption platform.

Bill payments are therefore made to the bank issuer, not to the travel partner. The channels used are the same as for any other card from that bank: UPI through a payment app, the bank's own mobile app or net banking portal, BBPS billers, or NEFT. The travel partner receives no payment from the cardholder — it only receives miles or points accrued from purchases, which it then manages within its loyalty platform.

Paying the SBI Air India credit card bill

SBI Air India co-branded cards are issued by SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited. Bill payment follows the same routes as any SBI credit card. Through the SBI Card mobile app — which is the most integrated channel — navigate to the payment section, select the SBI Air India card from the linked cards list, choose the payment amount, and confirm. Through UPI apps such as Google Pay, PhonePe, or Amazon Pay, add SBI Card as a BBPS biller using the card number, and pay from any linked bank account. Through NEFT from any bank, use the IFSC code SBIN00CARDS and the card number as the account number.

For SBI Air India card holders, maintaining timely full payment is particularly important because late payment or carrying a revolving balance not only attracts high interest but can also affect eligibility for annual fee waiver milestones — if the card has a spend-based fee waiver, interest charges from a revolving balance may count toward the spend requirement on some cards but reduce the effective value of the rewards earned.

Paying the Axis Bank Vistara credit card bill

Axis Bank Vistara cards — co-branded with Vistara, which merged with Air India — are issued by Axis Bank. Following the Vistara-Air India integration, these cards continue to be managed by Axis Bank. Bill payment routes include the Axis Mobile banking app, Axis Bank net banking, UPI through any major payment app with Axis Bank Credit Card as the BBPS biller, and NEFT using Axis Bank's designated credit card NEFT IFSC code.

For Vistara and Air India miles earned on this card, the miles are credited to the Air India loyalty account — Flying Returns — associated with the card. Paying the bill on time is essential because some milestone-based mile awards — where bonus miles are credited upon reaching a spending threshold — may be voided or delayed if the account has any payment delinquency. Checking the card's specific terms for milestone benefits and their payment compliance requirements is recommended.

Paying the HDFC Bank Tata Neu HDFC credit card bill

The Tata Neu HDFC credit card is issued by HDFC Bank and earns NeuCoins — Tata Neu's reward currency — on Tata Neu app purchases and on other spending categories. Bill payment follows standard HDFC Bank channels: the HDFC Bank mobile app, HDFC net banking, UPI through any app with HDFC Bank Credit Card as the BBPS biller, and NEFT using HDFC Bank's designated credit card NEFT IFSC code.

NeuCoins accumulated on this card are redeemable within the Tata Neu ecosystem — for Tata Neu purchases, Air India flights, BigBasket orders, and other Tata brands. The reward structure means that the total financial benefit from this card is deeply linked to active usage and on-time payment, as NeuCoins expire if the card account becomes delinquent according to the card's terms.

Paying the ICICI Bank MakeMyTrip credit card bill

ICICI Bank MakeMyTrip cards earn My Cash — MakeMyTrip's reward currency redeemable on the MakeMyTrip platform for flights, hotels, and holiday packages. The card is issued by ICICI Bank and follows all standard ICICI Bank payment channels: iMobile Pay app, ICICI Bank net banking, UPI via any app with ICICI Bank as the BBPS biller, and NEFT.

Paying the Kotak Mahindra Bank IndiGo credit card bill

Kotak Mahindra Bank issues IndiGo co-branded cards that earn 6E Rewards points redeemable on IndiGo flights. Bill payment is through Kotak's standard channels: Kotak Mobile Banking app, Kotak net banking, UPI via any app with Kotak Bank Credit Card as the BBPS biller, and NEFT.

Why timely full payment is more critical for travel cards

Travel cards are designed to deliver value through accumulated rewards on spending. The effective return on a travel card — in miles, points, or travel cashback — is meaningful only when the card is used for purchases and the bill is paid in full each month. When a revolving balance is carried, the interest charged — typically 36% to 48% per annum — far outweighs the reward value earned on the spending. A cardholder earning two rupees of reward value per one hundred rupees spent while paying forty-two paise in monthly interest per one hundred rupees of balance is receiving a deeply negative net financial outcome.

Additionally, many premium travel cards with annual fees offer spend-based waivers — if a cardholder spends a specified amount in the year, the annual fee for the next year is waived. Maintaining payment in good standing is a condition for these waivers on most cards. A missed payment that leads to a late fee and a delinquency marker can reset or complicate the waiver eligibility calculation.

Using auto-pay for travel cards

Given the importance of timely full payment for maximising travel card rewards, setting up auto-pay for the total amount due through the card issuer's own app or net banking is strongly recommended for all travel cardholders. Auto-pay ensures the full bill is cleared every month without manual intervention, preserves the interest-free period, protects reward accumulation, and maintains the account in good standing for annual fee waiver eligibility.

For SBI Card users, the SBI Card app supports auto-pay setup. For Axis Bank, the Axis Mobile app supports standing instruction setup. For HDFC Bank, the HDFC Bank app and MyCards portal support auto-pay. For ICICI Bank, iMobile Pay supports auto-pay setup. For Kotak, the Kotak Mobile Banking app supports it. In all cases, the recommended setting is total amount due.

Credit card payment services are subject to applicable terms and conditions. Stashfin is an RBI-registered NBFC. Please read all terms carefully before use.