Time for a vacation with these best cards for travel
Travelling opens us up to different cultures and experiences. What better than to soak up these experiences and enjoy while saving money on your adventures.
These card offerings from Pakistani banks will help you save money while travelling by collecting miles, reward points, cashbacks, and granting lounge access across the world.
Standard Chartered
As an international bank, Standard Chartered has some of the best affiliations and travel savings in Pakistan. The bank offers two credit cards in collaboration with Emirates.
Emirates Platinum Card
The Emirates Platinum Card is a great entry-point into SCB travel savings. You can earn 5,000 bonus Skyward Miles when you are approved and activate the platinum credit card.
Additionally, up to 8,000 Skyward Miles are also on offer if you purchase an Emirates ticket using the credit card.
In contrast to regular credit cards which offer cashback in terms of rupees, SCB’s Emirates Platinum Card does it slightly differently. SCB offers Skyward Miles for PKR 125 spent.
| Spend in/ at | Amount | Skywards Miles Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Local Currency | PKR 125 | 1 Skywards Mile |
| Foreign Currency | PKR 125 | 2 Skywards Miles |
| Emirates.com or Emirates Sales Centers in local currency | PKR 125 | 2 Skywards Miles |
| Emirates.com or Emirates Sales Centers in foreign currency | PKR 125 | 4 Skywards Miles |
Alternatively, if you want to purchase Emirates Skyward Miles directly from Emirates website, you can get 25% off on a transaction made using the Emirates Platinum Credit Card.
Other travel benefits include:
- Six complimentary visits to over 20 lounges worldwide as well as access to Pakistani CIP Lounges.
- Complimentary airport transfers.
- Priority Check-in at airports.
- Exclusive discounts on shopping and food across the world.
- Access to Concierge Service.
- Discounts on airport services, car rentals, hotel bookings
- Win Skywards Miles when shopping at Dubai Duty Free and when booking hotels through Rocket Miles
Emirates Infinite Card
The Emirates Infinite Card is one step above the Platinum Card, adding to the incredible offers and savings. With the Infinite Card you can earn 20,000 Skywards Miles upon card activation, instead of only 5,000. Additionally, on the purchase of two Emirates tickets worth PKR 25,000 or more, you get 30,000 bonus Skywards Miles. Previously, this bonus was limited to only 8,000 miles on the platinum card.
The Infinite Card also offers better miles cashbacks when you complete a transaction using the Emirates Infinite Card. You earn miles on every PKR spent instead of PKR 125.
| Spend in/ at | Amount | Skywards Miles Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Local Currency | PKR 100 | 1 Skywards Mile |
| Foreign Currency | PKR 100 | 2 Skywards Miles |
| Emirates.com or Emirates Sales Centers in local currency | PKR 100 | 2 Skywards Miles |
| Emirates.com or Emirates Sales Centers in foreign currency | PKR 100 | 4 Skywards Miles |
Additionally, the Infinite Card also entitles you to a complimentary Skywards Silver membership for one year. This membership gives you access to the lounge at Dubai Airport, bonus miles and extra baggage.
Travel Insurance
Also offered with this card is travel insurance with coverage up to USD 1 Million.
| Coverage for Inconvenience | |
|---|---|
| Delayed departure | Up to USD 1,000 |
| Baggage delay | Up to USD 500 |
| Loss of Personal Belongings | Up to USD 2,500 |
| Personal Accident Benefits | Up to USD 1,000,000 (International) |
| Personal Accident Benefits | Up to USD 100,000 (Domestic) |
| Emergency Medical Expenses | Up to USD 1000,000 |
| Evacuation and Repatriation Expenses | Up to USD 500,000 |
| Hospital Daily Cash | USD100 per day , up to USD 3,000 |
| Trip Cancellation/Curtailment | Up to USD 7,500 |
Other travel benefits include:
- Unlimited complimentary visits to over 1000 lounges worldwide as well as access to Pakistani CIP Lounges.
- Complimentary airport transfers.
- Priority Check-in at airports.
- Exclusive discounts on shopping and food across the world.
- Access to Concierge Service.
- Discounts on airport services, car rentals, hotel bookings
- Win Skywards Miles when shopping at Dubai Duty Free and when booking hotels through Rocket Miles
Undoubtedly, the mentioned benefits make the Emirates Infinite Card top the list of best cards for travel available in Pakistan.
Bank Alfalah
Bank Alfalah is the fifth largest private Bank in Pakistan with a network of over 700 branches in more than 200 cities across Pakistan. The bank offers good travel deals on their cards and is also the only Pakistani bank to offer an American Express card.
Gold American Express Credit Card
American Express is a service provider similar to Visa and Mastercard, albeit with fewer acceptance across the world. The real benefits of AmEx can be experienced when traveling to North America.
Bank Alfalah’s Gold AmEx Card offers unlimited cashback on domestic and international spending along with various online and offline shopping discounts. For travel, the card provides health and accident coverage not only for the cardholder but also for accompanying family members.
The card also offers complimentary lounge access at major Pakistan airports and payments in rupees for international transactions.
VISA Platinum Credit Card
Visa Platinum is the most premium credit card Bank Alfalah offers. In addition to the exclusive local deals and discounts offered, the card also has various travel benefits.
Bank Alfalah’s Jetsetter Travel Program is a reward points redemption program made for travel.
| Spend in / | Amount | Orbits Earned | Orbit Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency | PKR 200 | 1 Orbit | PKR 3 |
| Foreign Currency | PKR 200 | 2 Orbits | PKR 6 |
When using Orbit Points on the Jetsetter program, the value of all points is increased 3x. Subsequently, these points can be redeemed for purchasing airline tickets, seat upgrades and hotel bookings.
As a Visa Platinum Card holder, you also get access to the bank’s travel desk to help you book tickets and arrange visas.
Alongside those benefits, you are also entitled to a concierge service and a dedicated helpline among other features.
Faysal Bank
Faysal Bank has over 500 branches across 200 cities of Pakistan. The branch is in the process of converting all operations to Islamic banking standards. Currently, it offers a wide range of debit and credit cards. The top tier, most premium card is their World Credit Card.
World Credit Card
The Mastercard World Credit Card offers incredible discounts on domestic brands, instant reward points redemption, and 0% markup installment plans among many other benefits.
Particularly for travel, the card offers:
- Access to CIP lounges across Pakistan and many international airports.
- Double points on international spending.
- Discounts on tickets, hotels, car rentals, shopping & dining discounts.
World Credit Card holders also get Travel Inconvenience Insurance as outlined below:
| Inconvenience | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Baggage loss | up to USD 3,000 |
| Baggage delay | USD 300 |
| Trip cancellation | up to USD 7,500 |
| Trip curtailment | up to USD 7,500 |
| Trip delay | USD 300 |
| Missed connection | USD 300 |
Additionally, medical coverage during travel is also offered:
| Inconvenience | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Personal accident insurance | up to USD 500,000 |
| Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation | up to USD 500,000 |
| Medical emergency expenses | up to USD 500,000 |
| Daily in-hospital cash benefit | up to USD 100 per day |
Habib Bank Limited
HBL is Pakistan’s largest bank with over 1,700 branches across the country. The bank offers a wide range of debit and credit cards.
Platinum Credit Card
Lastly, on our list of best cards for travel in Pakistan is HBL’s Platinum Credit Card. It is the bank’s most premium card offering the most benefits and features.
For travel, the Visa Platinum Card offers
- Access to select airport lounges across the world.
- 3x rewards points for international transactions.
- Discounts at 50,000 hotels worldwide through HotelClub
- VISA benefits at over 900 Luxury Hotels around the world.
These were some of the best cards for travel available in Pakistan. Also checkout our article on the best debit cards for online payments in Pakistan.
