Kotak Air+ vs ixigo AU (2026)
Budget-travel co-brands at the entry gate — Kotak's airline tie-up against AU's OTA play. Neither builds wealth; one builds Maharaja balances.
Head to head
| Metric | Kotak Air+ | ixigo AU |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #16 | #28 |
| Annual fee | ₹3,000 + GST | ₹0 + GST |
| Fee waiver | None | None |
| Forex markup | 2% + GST | 0% — zero forex markup (AU's ixigo/travel carve-out; Ananta pays 3.49%, Zenith+ 0.99%) |
| APR | 3.5%/mo (42%/yr) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) — AU standard retail tier (all AU cards except Zenith+) |
| Effective reward rate | 2.0% | 1.3% |
| Currency | Kotak Air Miles | ixigo AU Reward Points |
| House value | ₹1.00/pt | ₹0.50/pt |
| Welcome benefit | 2,500 Air Miles (₹2,500) on joining + 2,500 Air Miles at every renewal | 1,000 reward points + ₹1,000 ixigo money on your first transaction within 30 days |
| Lounge doors opened | 606 of 662 | 627 of 662 |
| Income — salaried | not published | ₹25,000/month, or CIBIL 750+ (community) |
| Income — self-employed | not published | not published |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
Net annual value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
Kotak Air+ out-earns ixigo AU at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Transfer reach
Only Kotak Air+
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Air India Maharaja Club
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, Kotak Air+ nets ₹46,400 against ₹25,000 — a ₹21,400 gap. At ₹5L/month, Kotak Air+ nets ₹1,64,000 against ₹70,000 — a ₹94,000 gap. Lounge chasers: ixigo AU opens 627 of 662 tracked doors to Kotak Air+'s 606.
Our standing verdicts: Kotak Air+ — Keep; ixigo AU — Keep. On our board, Kotak Air+ sits at #16 to ixigo AU's #28 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →