Nowadays, obtaining complimentary airport lounge access has become a benefit that various credit cards offer. This used to be a premium feature, but it is also now available for entry-level credit cards. However, there is another travel benefit making its way on some credit cards – the railway lounge access. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has enhanced its facilities by making well-equipped railway lounges at various stations. These railway lounges offer many facilities that include comfortable seating in a relaxed environment, food, free Wi-Fi, and snacks.
Hence, if you are a frequent train traveller, gaining access to these railway lounges can be a terrific way to unwind before a long journey. IRCTC has launched several executive lounges on selected railway stations and is expanding its services rapidly into smaller cities as well. To enable travellers to gain access to these lounges, it has associated with various credit cards to offer complimentary railway lounge access.
In this blog, Fintra lists some of the best credit cards offering complimentary railway lounge access. The topics we will talk about are as follows:
Below is the list of the complimentary facilities provided by the IRCTC railway lounges. Generally, these lounges get outsourced to private catering companies or hotels, and the quality of the facilities might vary:
Any additional service will be chargeable separately as per the operator's prices for that service.
Following are some of the top credit cards that currently are offering Railway Lounge access in India:
1. With ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card, get 1 complimentary railway lounge access each quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here and here.
2. With MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card, get 1 complimentary railway lounge access in a quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here and here.
3. With ICICI Bank Rubyx Credit Card, get 2 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here and here.
4. With MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card, get 1 complimentary railway lounge access in a quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here and here.
5. With ICICI Bank Mine Credit Card, get 1 complimentary railway lounge access per month. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here and here.
6. With SBI IRCTC Premier Credit Card, get 8 complimentary railway lounge access in a year, max 2 per quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here. To learn more about other SBI Credit Cards, please click here.
7. With IRCTC Rupay SBI Platinum Card, get 4 complimentary railway lounge access in a year, max 1 per quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata(Sealdah), and Madurai. To know more please click here. To learn more about other SBI Credit Cards, please click here.
8. With all IDFC First Bank Credit Cards, IDFC First Bank Millennia/ Classic/ Select/ Wealth, get 4 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter. The cities where you can enjoy Railway Lounge Access are: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata(Sealdah). To know more please click here. To learn more about other IDFC First Bank Credit Cards, please click here.
9. With AU Bank Zenith Credit Card, get 2 complimentary railway lounge access per quarter at railway stations in New Delhi, Kolkata (Sealdah), Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Agra. To know more please click here. To learn more about other AU Bank Credit Cards, please click here.
10. With AU Bank Vetta Credit Card, get 2 complimentary railway lounge access per calendar quarter at railway stations in New Delhi, Kolkata (Sealdah), Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Agra. To know more please click here. To learn more about other AU Bank Credit Cards, please click here.
11. With AU Bank Altura Plus Credit Card, 2 complimentary lounge access per calendar quarter, using VISA Card at railway stations in New Delhi, Kolkata (Sealdah), Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Agra. To know more please click here. To learn more about other AU Bank Credit Cards, please click here.
12. With AU Bank Altura Credit Card, get 2 complimentary lounge access per calendar quarter at railway stations in New Delhi, Kolkata (Sealdah), Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Agra. To know more please click here. To learn more about other AU Bank Credit Cards, please click here.
13. With IRCTC BoB Credit Card, get 4 complimentary railway lounge access per calendar year, 1 per quarter, at railway lounges in Agra, Jaipur, New Delhi, Ernakulam, Madurai, Ahmedabad, and Sealdah. To know more please click here. To learn more about other Bank of Baroda Credit Cards, please click here.
From the above list of credit cards and information, you can now easily select the one that fits your requirements for accessing the railway lounges of IRCTC. At present it may appear that the list of lounges for complimentary access is limited, however, in the coming weeks and months, it is sure to increase.