Can zero-forex, lifetime-free Scapia outdo other travel credit cards?

The card, launched in association with Federal Bank, has a fairly simple rewards system for flights, room bookings

- Shipra Singh

• One can't compare prices for stays with Airbnb or flights on other OTAS to get the cheapest deal

The holiday season is about to start and many people have already planned their exotic vacations. Many dip into their savings, others have a systematic investment plan in place for such holidays and a few use travel credit cards. These cards are largely a premium product in India–high annual fee, and even higher income threshold for eligibility but the rewards truly unlock if you spend ₹6 lakh and above annually with the card. So, how can a 25-year-old young professional, with a modest salary and love for travelling, get a travel credit card? She should settle for a cashback card until her income increases, one would say. Scapia, an Indian travel fintech, wants to change that.

Scapia offers a lifetime free (LTF) credit card in partnership with Federal Bank that earns rewards on most purchases and lets you redeem the accumulated rewards towards hotels and flight tickets through its mobile application. It gives unlimited domestic lounge access after you spend ₹5,000 on the card in a month—among the lowest lounge eligibility criteria in the industry—and zero forex markup on international spends. Forex markup is a fee that the bank or card-issuing company charges to enable international transactions on a card.

Anil Goteti, founder, Scapia, said the firm offers forex conversion at a mid-market rate. "Our spread is the same as the Visa [card] rate," he said.

Both zero forex markup and lounge access are key value propositions of any travel credit card. Gurgaon-based Shaleen, who did not wish to be identified by his last name, took the Scapia card before he set out for his vacations to Germany earlier this year. Hitherto, he had to pay the markup and tax on each foreign spend, so Scapia’s no-forex proposition was impressive.