In late October 2021, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndiGo announced that they would launch a co-branded credit card allowing card members to earn points that can be spent on IndiGo. While the card did not come through in November 2021 as initially announced, IndiGo’s Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, Sanjay Kumar, told me in a conversation recently that it was ready for launch. We wrote about the product offering exclusively earlier this month.

At a ceremony organised airside at the Delhi Airport on December 14, 2021, IndiGo and Kotak Mahindra Bank came together to officially unveil the product and launch it for applications. From IndiGo, CCO Willy Boulter was present, while from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ambuj Chandna, the President of the Consumer Assets division was present for the launch. One of IndiGo’s A321neos provided the perfect backdrop for the launch. As IndiGo and Kotak Mahindra Bank said, there’s a flight in every spend. 

On the occassion, Ambuj Chandna, President – Consumer Assets, Kotak Mahindra Bank said,

For us it has always been customer first and it has been our constant endeavour to provide the most attractive proposition that meets the aspirations and preferences of customers. With travel taking off in a big way, we have partnered with IndiGo to help our customers go places with Ka-ching. We have designed Kotak-Indigo Ka-ching to deliver a magical experience to our customers who love to travel. The Kotak-IndiGo Credit Card is a valuable addition to our growing portfolio of cards and will be the preferred card in our customer’s wallet.

William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said,

We are pleased to partner with Kotak Mahindra bank to launch our co-branded credit card Ka-ching to provide the customers a memorable and hassle-free experience when they fly IndiGo. It is a perfect partnership as KMBL’s huge base of customers will be able to avail benefits including IndiGo flight tickets and other services with 6E rewards accumulated on flight bookings, dining, entertainment and other spends. We strive to offer the best service to our customers every single day, as their satisfaction is at the heart of what we do. We have immense conviction in our partner KMBL, as both the brands believe in consistently enhancing engagement to deliver an outstanding customer experience.

The new Kotak IndiGo Ka-Ching Credit Card

The new credit cards, just like the HDFC Bank co-branded credit cards, have been branded as ‘Ka-ching’, going after the sound of the money. The cards will be offered in two variants, 6E Rewards and 6E Rewards XL. Customers will be able to avail of complimentary Air Tickets on activation for an amount of INR 1,500 or INR 3000, depending on the variant. The credit cards will allow customers to accrue accelerated 6E Rewards on IndiGo transactions. They can also earn an additional 15-20% 6E Rewards on dining, shopping, transport, and medical spending with Featured Partners. Kotak will issue these cards on the Visa network.

Furthermore, customers will have access to other benefits, including priority check-in, choice of seats, and a complimentary meal.
The Ka-ching card will also offer travel and lifestyle benefits. This includes lounge access and the freedom to play golf in some of the top golf courses in India.

Let’s have a look at the two variants. The 6E Rewards card, the entry-level card, will have the following features.

• 1 Complimentary Air Ticket worth INR 1,500 on activation
• One 6E Prime Add-on (priority check-in, choice of seat, and a complimentary meal)
• 3% 6E Rewards on IndiGo transactions
• 2% 6E Rewards on dining, entertainment and grocery transactions
• 1% 6E Rewards on all other non-IndiGo purchases (including fuel)
• Up to 15% 6E Rewards on Feature Partner transactions
• A discounted convenience fee of INR 150 per passenger per segment

The 6E Rewards XL card, which is the higher-end version of the product, is even more power-packed and has a much higher reward on spending:

• 1 Complimentary Air Ticket worth INR 3,000 on the activation
• One 6E Prime (priority check-in, choice of seat, and a complimentary meal)
• 6% 6E Rewards on IndiGo transactions
• 3% 6E Rewards on dining, entertainment and grocery transactions
• 2% 6E Rewards on all other non-IndiGo purchases (including fuel)
• Up to 20% 6E Rewards on Feature Partner transactions
• 8 Complimentary Domestic airport lounge access
• A discounted convenience fee of INR 150 per pax per segment
• An Accor hotels stay voucher (30% off) in the first year
• Accor hotels dining voucher worth INR 1,000
• A Budweiser 0.0 gift voucher worth INR 250

The 6E Rewards card will be priced at INR 750 per annum, and the 6E Rewards XL will price at INR 1,500 per annum. These are products targetted at Indian travellers who are counting on IndiGo for their travel needs. Everyone who signs up for the product is getting their money back just with the air tickets itself.

This card is the same but slightly better than the HDFC Bank Ka-Ching Credit Card, which is offered on the MasterCard platform, in the sense that there is a 0.5% and 1% better earning ratio on spending on IndiGo with the two variants. I expect that when the embargo on MasterCard issuances is lifted, IndiGo has a complete suite of card issuers on both networks to offer the card on for now.

IndiGo and Kotak are both taking applications for this product on their websites. I already applied for mine and got approved, and just waiting for the card to arrive in the mail before I can tell you more about the product.

Bottomline

IndiGo’s new Kotak Bank Ka-Ching Credit Cards will offer the ability to earn cashback in terms of 6E Rewards for their flights with the airline, stays with Accor Hotels and other spending on dining and lifestyle. The card is now live, and I gather Kotak will soon be going on a marketing blitz for the product to grab more signups.

What do you think of the new IndiGo Credit Card powered by Kotak Mahindra Bank?

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