Axis Bank, Scapia launch no-fee travel credit card with zero forex markup
Axis Bank and travel fintech Scapia have launched a co-branded travel credit card on Mastercard and RuPay, targeting digitally native Indian travellers with no joining or annual fee, zero foreign-exchange markup, travel-booking rewards and airport privileges.
What happened
Axis Bank and travel fintech Scapia launched a no-fee co-branded travel credit card for digitally native Indian travellers, offering zero forex markup, rewards,
Key facts
- Zero foreign exchange markup
- Up to 20% rewards on eligible travel bookings
- Up to 10% rewards on other eligible spends
- No joining fee
- No annual fee
- Users have travelled to over 175 countries
- Third banking partnership
- Onboarding began September 3
Why this matters
The co-brand demonstrates how banks can use fintech partnerships and dual-network issuance to acquire younger travel customers without building a full travel ecosystem in-house.
What to watch
- Card approval volumes, monthly active cards, and the share of customers completing their first travel booking in the Scapia app.
- International transaction mix, average forex spend per active card, and whether zero-markup usage attracts profitable high-frequency travellers or reward optimizers.
- Changes to reward redemption rates, hotel/flight booking margins, and the breadth of merchant-funded travel offers.
- Airport lounge access policy changes, benefit caps, or user complaints about availability and eligibility.
- Responses from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Card, IDFC FIRST Bank, Federal Bank, and other travel-card issuers.
- Any revisions to card fees, forex terms, credit underwriting criteria, or minimum-spend requirements.
- Axis Bank is likely to market the card through digital onboarding, travel-season campaigns, and targeted offers for existing savings-account and credit-card customers.
- Scapia will likely expand merchant-funded hotel, airline, visa, and airport-service offers to make rewards economically sustainable and increase booking frequency.
- Competitor issuers may introduce limited-period zero-forex offers, reduced annual-fee thresholds, or enhanced airport and travel-insurance bundles.
- The partners may add spend-based credit-limit increases, subscription-style premium tiers, or co-branded loyalty integrations after establishing a core user base.