Air India and SBI Card are teaming up on a new co-branded credit card for Maharaja Club, the airline's loyalty program. The card will run on the Visa network. Air India announced the partnership on Oct. 28, 2026, in a press release that also included comments from SBI Card and Visa.
What the release does not include matters just as much. There is no launch date yet. There is no annual fee, no welcome bonus and no earn rate. Business Today, which covered the news on the same day, also reported that those details have not been announced. So this is a heads-up, not a card you can apply for today.
What Air India announced
The card is built for Maharaja Club members. Air India and SBI Card describe it as a travel and lifestyle card that will reward everyday spending with Maharaja Club points. Visa is the payment network partner.
Nipun Aggarwal, Air India's chief commercial officer, set a big goal for the program. He said the partners want to build what he called India's most compelling travel credit card and to make Maharaja Club "the loyalty currency of choice for millions of Indians."
Salila Pande, the managing director and CEO of SBI Card, and Suresh Sethi of Visa also gave statements in the release. Both framed the card as a way to bring travel rewards to more Indian cardholders.
Why SBI Card is a big partner
SBI Card is one of India's largest card issuers. Business Today reported that it had about 2.32 crore cards in force as of September 2026. That is roughly 23 million cards. A card with that kind of reach could put Maharaja Club points in a lot of new wallets.
This is not Air India's only bank deal. Points Frog covered a separate Air India partnership with Standard Chartered earlier this month. Air India clearly wants several banks feeding points into Maharaja Club.
Where Maharaja Club stands
Air India redesigned its loyalty program in 2024 and named it Maharaja Club. According to the release, the program has added more than 5 million members since then.
Members can earn and redeem points across Air India's network of 104 destinations. They can also use the program on 25 other Star Alliance airlines. The release says Maharaja Club has more than 100 partner brands outside of flying.
That Star Alliance link is the key point for travelers outside India. Points earned on an Indian credit card could, in theory, help pay for trips on partner airlines around the world. How useful that will be depends on the earn rate and award pricing, which we do not know yet.
The reaction on X
Indian card watchers moved fast once the news broke. Several accounts that track Indian credit cards shared the announcement.
At least one user on X said they were holding off on another SBI card to keep room for this one. "Not applying for Zomato SBI card so I can later apply for Air India SBI card," the user posted.
What to do now
There is nothing to apply for yet. If you live in India and fly Air India, a few steps make sense:
- Join Maharaja Club if you have not already. It is free, and a card like this will deposit points into your account.
- Watch for the launch details. The fee, welcome offer and earn rate will decide whether the card is worth it.
- Think about how many SBI cards you already hold. Some readers on X are already planning around that.
We will update readers when Air India and SBI Card share the full card terms.