The same old airport lounge access has become the crown jewel of travel credit cards. But in a world where experiences reign supreme, are financial institutions missing a massive opportunity to truly enhance the travel experience?
The Airport Lounge Paradox
Picture this: After months of diligently accumulating credit card points, you finally reach the airport, flash your premium card, and gain entry to the hallowed airport lounge. You’re greeted by the same buffet offerings, the same moderately comfortable seating, and the same generic experience available to literally millions of other cardholders. Congratulations—you’ve accessed the pinnacle of credit card travel rewards.
Or have you?
In India’s competitive credit card landscape, where over 78 million cards compete for consumer attention, financial institutions have fallen into a peculiar monotony. According to the Reserve Bank of India, credit card issuance grew by 26% in 2023 alone, yet the reward propositions remain stubbornly similar: airport lounge access, complimentary insurance, and the occasional dining discount.
The numbers tell a revealing story. A 2023 industry report by PaymentsBanking found that 84% of premium travel credit cards in India offer airport lounge access as their headline benefit, with 92% featuring it prominently in marketing materials. Yet, when surveyed, only 36% of cardholders used this benefit more than twice per year.
The paradox is clear: the most advertised credit card travel benefit is both oversaturated and underutilized.
The Untapped Journey Beyond the Terminal
What’s particularly baffling about this fixation on airport lounges is that they represent just a tiny fraction of the travel experience—typically less than 5% of the total journey time. The average international traveler from India spends approximately 14 hours in transit but potentially 4-7 days at their destination.
Consider these striking statistics:
– The average international leisure traveler from India spends ₹1.2 lakh per trip, with less than 2% of that amount spent in airports
– 76% of Indian travelers in a 2023 MakeMyTrip survey indicated “unique experiences” as their top travel priority
– 68% of millennials and Gen Z travelers value experience-based rewards over monetary discounts
Yet credit card reward programs continue their laser focus on those brief airport moments, neglecting the vast landscape of opportunities that unfold the moment travelers exit the arrival terminal.
“Credit card companies have mastered the art of making people feel special for accessing a crowded room with free snacks and Wi-Fi,” quips travel industry consultant Raj Mehta. “Meanwhile, the actual destination—the entire point of traveling—remains largely untouched by their reward ecosystems.”
The Experience Economy Opportunity
The global shift toward an experience economy is well-documented. A 2023 McKinsey study found that experiential spending has grown 1.5 times faster than spending on physical goods among premium consumers worldwide. This trend is particularly pronounced in India, where rising disposable incomes are increasingly directed toward memorable experiences rather than material possessions.
Indian travelers are now actively seeking:
– Authentic cultural experiences (cited by 72% of respondents in a 2023 Thomas Cook survey)
– Exclusive access to attractions and activities (64%)
– Personalized itineraries tailored to interests (58%)
– Seamless digital booking and access (76%)
Specialized experience providers have recognized this opportunity. Platforms that curate and deliver destination experiences have seen remarkable growth, with the experiences market in India growing at a CAGR of 29% between 2019 and 2023, according to industry reports.
TripXOXO, for instance, has built an extraordinary catalog of over 200,000 activities across 140 countries, ranging from guided heritage walks in Jaipur to exclusive after-hours museum access in Singapore. Their offerings include 2,000 airport transfer options worldwide—a critical service that credit card providers frequently overlook despite its central importance to traveler satisfaction. The platform’s data indicates that travelers who book experiences through specialist providers report 42% higher satisfaction with their overall trip compared to those who rely on traditional hotel concierge services.
What Credit Card Programs Are Missing
The fixation on airport lounges represents a failure of imagination in reward program design. Consider the traveler’s actual journey:
1. Pre-departure phase: Beyond lounge access, travelers need assistance with visa services, travel insurance, and pre-trip planning.
2. Airport experience While lounges address part of this phase, travelers also value fast-track security, luggage handling, and airport transfers.
3. In-destination experience: This is where the greatest opportunity lies—access to local experiences, tours, activities, dining, and entertainment.
4. Return journey: Similar needs to the outbound journey, plus potential assistance with duty-free purchases and customs.
Forward-thinking reward programs could provide value across this entire journey. Yet according to an analysis of the top 15 travel credit cards in India, 93% focus their premium benefits exclusively on phases 1 and 2, with minimal attention to the actual destination experience.
“It’s as if credit card companies believe their relationship with the traveler ends once the plane takes off,” notes consumer banking analyst Priya Singh. “This creates a massive opportunity gap that specialized experience providers are already filling.”
The Integration Imperative
Financial institutions face a critical strategic choice: continue the airport lounge arms race or expand their reward ecosystems to encompass the entire travel journey.
Some international players have begun making this shift. Capital One’s partnership with experience providers allows cardholders to book activities using points, while American Express has expanded its Centurion Lounge concept to include city-center lounges in key destinations like Sydney and Hong Kong.
In India, however, most card issuers remain fixated on domestic lounge access, even as airport infrastructure struggles to accommodate the growing number of “privileged” lounge users. The result? Overcrowded lounges that diminish the very exclusivity they’re meant to convey.
The integration imperative is clear: credit card issuers must develop partnerships that extend their reward ecosystem from origin to destination and back. This requires sophisticated reward management infrastructure capable of:
– Integrating diverse experience providers into a unified reward ecosystem
– Delivering personalized offers based on traveler preferences and destinations
– Processing real-time redemptions across multiple touchpoints
– Analyzing redemption patterns to continuously refine the experience portfolio
Companies like RewardPort have pioneered such infrastructure in India, enabling brands to create seamless reward experiences across physical and digital touchpoints. Their platform has facilitated over 10 million reward redemptions annually, demonstrating the scalability required for financial institution integration.
“The technology to deliver end-to-end travel experiences exists,” explains loyalty technology specialist Vikram Patel. “What’s missing is the strategic vision to move beyond the lounge paradigm.”
Reimagining the Credit Card Travel Reward
What might a truly comprehensive credit card travel reward program look like? Consider this potential journey:
Pre-departure: Your premium card automatically provides expedited visa processing for your Thailand trip and recommends experiences based on your past travel behavior.
At departure airport:Yes, you still get lounge access, but also fast-track security and a digital QR code for duty-free discounts specific to your destination.
In flight:Your in-flight Wi-Fi is complimentary, and you receive a push notification about exclusive cardmember experiences in Bangkok.
Upon arrival: Your card provides complimentary transfer to your hotel, and your digital wallet shows available experiences—from private long-tail boat tours to after-hours temple visits—that can be instantly booked with points.
Throughout your stay: Your card serves as a digital concierge, offering privileged access to restaurants, attractions, and shopping, with real-time point earning and burning options.
Return journey: Similar benefits for your journey home, plus assistance with tax refunds and customs processing.
This vision represents what loyalty experts call “full-journey reward integration,” and it’s surprisingly achievable with existing technology. Platforms like TripXOXO have already curated the necessary destination experiences, while reward management systems like those offered by RewardPort provide the technological infrastructure to deliver seamless redemption.
The missing ingredient is strategic commitment from financial institutions.
First Movers and the Competitive Advantage
The first credit card issuer to break from the lounge-centric model and truly embrace destination experiences will likely gain significant competitive advantage. Industry analysis suggests that comprehensive travel experiences could increase:
– Card acquisition rates by 28-35% among premium travel segments
– Annual spend by 42% among heavy travelers
– Retention rates by up to 23% for premium cards
Early signs of this shift are emerging. HDFC Bank’s partnership with experience providers for its Infinia card and Axis Bank’s limited destination benefits show nascent recognition of the opportunity. However, no major Indian credit card has yet fully committed to the destination experience proposition.
The hesitation is understandable. Building an experience ecosystem requires significant investment in partner onboarding, technology integration, and business model innovation. It’s far easier to simply add another airport lounge to the network.
Yet the payoff for first movers could be substantial. A McKinsey analysis of financial services loyalty programs found that leader banks enjoy 80% higher cross-sell rates and 46% greater wallet share compared to followers.
The Future of Travel Rewards
The post-pandemic travel resurgence presents an ideal moment for credit card issuers to rethink their reward paradigms. Indian outbound travel has not only recovered but expanded, with 13.9 million overseas trips taken in 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Immigration.
These travelers are increasingly sophisticated, digitally savvy, and experience-hungry. They have higher expectations for their credit card rewards than a plate of samosas in an overcrowded airport lounge.
The banks that recognize this shift—and construct reward ecosystems spanning the entire travel journey—will find themselves with a distinctive value proposition in an otherwise homogeneous market.
As experience platforms continue expanding their offerings and specialized reward management providers refine their technologies, all the building blocks for this transformation are in place. The question is not whether credit card travel rewards will evolve beyond the lounge, but which issuer will lead the way.
Perhaps it’s time for financial institutions to check out of the lounge and check in to the actual destination. After all, that’s where the real travel experiences begin.
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*About the Author: This article was researched and prepared by the editorial team at RewardPort and tripXOXO drawing on industry reports, consumer surveys, and expert interviews to provide an evidence-based analysis of current trends in credit card rewards and travel experiences.*
