Indigo, a low-cost airline is the largest airline in India having more than 50% market share in terms of passengers carried. To accelerate the benefits for its customers Indigo launched the “6E Reward” program available on the co-branded credit cards issued by HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Let’s find out about the Indigo 6E reward credit cards.
Firstly, Know About Indigo 6E Rewards Program
The 6E Rewards program by Indigo is a credit card-based reward program that allows cardholders to earn 6E rewards which are redeemable against Indigo flights booking.
What is 6E Rewards?
Before moving to the Indigo 6E Rewards credit card it is essential that you know about 6E Rewards.
In simple terms, 6E rewards are the points (just like other credit cards) that a cardholder earns on spending using an Indigo Ka-Ching 6E Rewards Credit Cards.
Versions of 6E Rewards
The 6E Rewards have two versions. One version is a base version and the other is an upper version. There is nothing premium about these versions.
6E Rewards: Basic Version
6E Rewards is the basic version of overall 6E Rewards. The basic version allows you to earn 6E Rewards but at a lower rate.
6E Rewards XL: Upper Version
The upper of 6E Rewards is 6E Rewards XL which allows you to earn 6E rewards at accelerated or higher rates.
However, it is not like the 6E Rewards XL is a premium version that gives 2x or 3x the basic 6E rewards. It just has some added benefits that are not so special. We will tell you in detail later on.
How to use 6E Rewards?
There is only two use of 6E Rewards. You can use 6E Rewards earned on Indigo 6E Rewards Credit Card for:
- Flight Booking
- Any Add-Ons like seat selections, Food, etc.
However, the redemption of 6E Rewards carries a redemption fee and any taxes applicable on the booking of flights or add-ons are to be borne by the cardholder.
Is Indigo 6E Rewards Program a frequent flyer program?
No, Indigo 6E Rewards Program is not a frequent flyer program. In frequent flyer programs, flyers are allotted a tier or a status which is then upgraded based on the number of flights taken or amount spent or points earned, or a combination of these.
Related: Club Vistara: Frequent Flyer Program from Vistara Airlines.
Related: AirAsia India NeuPass Frequent Flyer Program.
Indigo Ka-Ching 6E Rewards Credit Cards: Overview
Indigo has two Ka-Ching 6E Rewards credit cards. One of the credit cards has a basic version of 6E Rewards and the second one have the upper version of 6E Rewards which is 6E Rewards XL.
Here is the overview of Indigo 6E Rewards Credit Cards:
| Type | Airline Credit Card | Airline Credit Card |
| Version | 6E Rewards | 6E Rewards XL |
| Annual Fees | Rs. 700 | Rs. 2500 |
| Welcome Benefit-1 | Air Ticket | Free Air Ticket |
| Welcome Benefit-2 | 6E Prime Addon | 6E Prime Addon |
| Welcome Benefit-3 | Stay Voucher | Stay Voucher |
| Welcome Benefit-4 | Dining Voucher | Dining Voucher |
| Renewal Fees | Rs. 700 | Rs. 2500 |
| Reversal of Annual Fees | No | No |
| Renewal Benefits | No | No |
| Default Reward Rate | 1% | 2% |
| Forex-MarkUp | 3.50% | 2.5%/3.5% |
| Maximize Reward Earn By | Spending on Partners | Spending on Partners |
| Redemption Maximization | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Stand Out Feature | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Note: Annual Fees and other credit card charges such as Forex Mark-up carry GST @18%.
Fees and Welcome Benefits
The fees and benefits differ based on the version of credit.
6E Rewards Credit Card Fees and Welcome Benefits:
Fees:
The 6E Rewards credit card has annual fees of Rs. 700 plus taxes. There is no annual fee reversal option.
Welcome Benefits:
- Air Ticket: Worth Rs. 1500
- 6E Prime Addon: Worth Rs. 899
- Stay Voucher:
- From Accor Hotels
- Discount Voucher
- Up to 30% Discount
- Worth Rs. 5000
- Dining Voucher:
- From Accor Hotels
- Discount Voucher
- Worth Rs. 1000
6E Rewards XL Credit Card Fees and Welcome Benefits:
Fees:
The 6E Rewards XL credit card has annual fees of Rs. 2500 plus taxes. There is no annual fee reversal option.
Welcome Benefits:
- Air Ticket: Worth Rs. 3000
- 6E Prime Addon: Worth Rs. 899
- Stay Voucher:
- From Accor Hotels
- Discount Voucher
- Up to 30% Discount
- Worth Rs. 5000
- Dining Voucher:
- From Accor Hotels
- Discount Voucher
- Worth Rs. 1000
Air Ticket
Welcome benefits of Air Ticket will be offered as Free Air Ticket but that actually is not the case. Since the value of these Air tickets would only allow you a discount on your flight ticket price. Also, air ticket prices have gone up sharply recently so you will have to shell out some money to actually use your Air Ticket.
Related: All Vistara Credit Cards: Detailed Analysis.
How to Earn 6E Rewards using Indigo Credit Cards?
The best part about the Indigo Credit card is that you can earn 6E rewards on any spending. Even fuel spending earns you money. However, there is just one exception which is spending on prepaid payment instruments like wallets.
Here are the spending-wise and 6E Rewards version-wise earnings:
| 6E Rewards Earnings | 6E Rewards | 6E Rewards XL |
| Spending on | ||
| IndiGo | 2.5%* | 5%* |
| Dining, entertainment, and grocery | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| Other spends(including fuel) | 1.00% | 2.00% |
| Partners | ||
| Tata 1mg | 3.00% | 5.00% |
| MMTC-PAMP | 3.00% | 5.00% |
| 6E Treats (Dining partner) | 3.00% | 3.00% |
| Accor Hotels (Stay Partner) | 3.00% | 6.00% |
| Indian Oil (Fuel Partner) | 3.00% | 4.00% |
| Bombay Shaving Company | 5.00% | 10.00% |
| Hammer | 5.00% | 10.00% |
| Pilgrim | 5.00% | 10.00% |
| Avis (Car rental partner) | 7.00% | 10.00% |
| Inox (Entertainment Partner) | 10.00% | 15.00% |
| Sugar | 10.00% | 15.00% |
Note: The earnings are calculated on every Rs. 100 spent. Spending on Indigo with Kotak Ka-Ching credit card will have 3% earnings on 6E Rewards and 5% earnings on 6E Rewards XL.
The default reward earning of 1% or 2% is very low compared to the cost of a flight ticket. Even 6E Rewards earnings on Indigo are very low as these days you can easily get a 10% discount on flight tickets. Also, dining benefit is only available through 6E treats. The 6E reward of 3% on dining is very low as you can easily get a discount of 15% on booking made via Dineout or Eazy Diner or Swiggy One. However, let us see if we can maximize the earnings of 6E Rewards.
How to Maximize Earnings of 6E Rewards?
The 6E Rewards Credit Card does not make sense as you can never maximize it is earnings for the purchase of a flight ticket. However, 6E Rewards Credit Card XL may work but high fees of Rs. 2500 annually may not provide great benefits. To recover your annual fees you will have to shell out Rs. 125000 at a 2% reward rate. The only way you can maximize 6E Rewards earnings is by spending at Indian Oil. Even moving ticket spending will not work as you can easily get better discount offer these days on credit cards. So, if you have annual fuel spend of Rs 2 lacs then switching it to Indian Oil may work as you can earn Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8000 worth of 6E Rewards.
Indigo 6E Rewards Credit Cards: Value Check
We found it difficult to have a concrete way to maximize the earnings of 6E Rewards. So, to cross-check we check the value that an Indigo 6E Rewards Credit card gives as against a flight ticket.
The minimum price of the Delhi-Mumbai Flight on 1st Feb 2023 is Rs. 5388 with a base fare of Rs. 4661. In any case, you have to bear the taxes so that you pay only the base fare with 6E Rewards. So to pay Rs. 4661 using your 6E Rewards you need to spend a good Rs. 2 lacs if expenses are on normal spending. But there are some great cashback cards like the SBI Cashback credit card which gives you 5% cash back on every online transaction so you can earn Rs. 10000 on the spending of Rs. 2 lacs online. Even some credit cards have a default cashback rate of 2%. So having an Indigo Credit Card to reduce your flight ticket cost will not work.
Additional Benefits of Indigo Ka-Ching 6E Rewards Credit Cards
Here are some additional benefits which Indigo Ka-Ching 6E Rewards Credit Cards have:
- Discounted Convenience Fees of Rs. 150
- Domestic Aiport Lounge with 6E Rewards XL Credit Card
Bottomline
We believe, “With great power comes great responsibility”. However, Indigo being the largest airline in India irrespective of being a low-cost airline should have offered something extraordinary. For Example, a True free air ticket or a milestone base true air ticket. But it’s not there which makes these cards less exciting. However, if premium experience or international travel is not on your mind but you only want to save a bit so that you can take a short journey with spending less than Rs. 2500 then Indigo 6E Rewards Credit Card may work for you. But there are way better options.
