Air India SBI Signature Card

Quick verdict: _Discontinued — SBI stopped issuing Air India co-branded cards to new applicants from 10 October 2024 (post Vistara–Air India merger); existing cardholders keep their benefits and this page stays for reference._

A focused airline co-brand that paid off for one kind of person — the traveller who flies Air India regularly and books those tickets on the card. You earn 10 Reward Points per ₹100 on Air India tickets, points convert 1:1 to Air India Maharaja Points, and there's a 20,000-point welcome plus a 5,000-point anniversary gift. But the ₹4,999 fee and a plain 4-point base rate mean everyone else should look elsewhere.

After the Vistara merger folded into Air India, SBI stopped issuing new Air India co-branded cards (both this and the Platinum) from October 2024, so it is closed to new applicants — existing cardholders keep their benefits. The pitch is narrow and honest: reward the people who actually fly Air India, and don't pretend to be a card for everybody.

How it earns

Two rates matter here:

• 10 Reward Points per ₹100 on Air India tickets booked via the website, app, booking offices or call

centres — including Super Saver fares, for yourself and others.

• 4 Reward Points per ₹100 on everything else.

Reward Points convert 1:1 into Air India Maharaja Points, with a minimum redemption of 5,000 points in multiples of 5,000. Conversion completes within seven working days and, importantly, cannot be reversed once done — so convert only when you're ready to book.

The honest caveat is valuation. The headline reads "1 point = 1 Maharaja Point," which sounds like ₹1, but a Maharaja Point is realistically worth well under a rupee depending on the award flight. I value the earning conservatively, which puts the Air India-ticket rate at a genuinely strong effective return and the 4-point base rate at something ordinary. Treat this as a card for airline miles, not for cashback-style everyday value.

Welcome, anniversary and milestones

This is where the card front-loads its value:

• 20,000 Reward Points welcome, credited within 15 days of paying the joining fee.
• 5,000 Reward Points every anniversary — a genuine recurring sweetener that offsets part of the fee.
• Annual milestone bonuses of 20,000 points at ₹5 lakh, 30,000 at ₹10 lakh and 50,000 at ₹20 lakh of

spend — up to 1,00,000 bonus points a year if you're a very heavy spender.

The 20,000-point welcome alone recovers a meaningful chunk of the ₹4,999 fee in year one, and the anniversary gift keeps the maths reasonable in later years — provided you value and use Maharaja Points.

Lounges, fuel and membership

You get complimentary Air India Maharaja Club membership, which is what makes the 1:1 conversion useful in the first place. On lounges, there are 8 domestic visits a year (max 2 per quarter) via Visa, plus complimentary Priority Pass membership (worth $99) for international lounges — note a usage fee of up to $27 applies per Priority Pass visit, so it's not unlimited free access. A standard 1% fuel surcharge waiver (₹500–₹4,000 transactions, capped at ₹250 per cycle) rounds things out.

Who it's right — and wrong — for

Hold this card if you fly Air India several times a year and book those tickets on the card. For you the 10-point ticket rate, the welcome and anniversary points, and free Maharaja Club membership combine into real value that clears the ₹4,999 fee comfortably.

It's the wrong card for anyone who flies other airlines, for people who want flexible rewards not locked to one carrier (the SBI Card MILES transfers to 25+ partners and suits them better), and for anyone expecting cashback-grade everyday returns — the 4-point base rate won't deliver that. There's also no renewal-fee waiver, so the fee is a fixed annual cost you must out-earn.

The bottom line

The Air India SBI Signature Card does one thing and does it well: it rewards genuine Air India loyalty. Book your Air India tickets on it, use the Maharaja Club membership, and bank the welcome and anniversary points, and it earns its ₹4,999 keep. If Air India isn't your regular airline, this isn't your card — a flexible travel card like the Axis Horizon or SBI MILES will serve you far better. Know which traveller you are, and the decision is easy.