Kotak Air+ Credit Card

The number that decides it: ₹3,000

Kotak Air+ is two different cards depending on one figure. Get it lifetime free and Reddit calls it "an absolute steal". Pay the ₹3,000 + GST annual fee users report, and most holders say the rewards and lounges fall short of other travel cards at that price.

A quick note on the name: this page covers Kotak Air+, with 5 Air Miles per ₹100 on Kotak Unbox travel and Priority Pass visits. Kotak also sells a simpler Kotak Air card (3 Air Miles per ₹100, 4 domestic lounge visits only after ₹60,000 of spend in a quarter). Check which name is on your offer.

Our October 2026 check could not load Kotak's fee table. Our records show ₹0 joining and ₹3,000 annual, but treat both as unconfirmed and read the fee schedule in your application.

What you get, fee or no fee

• 5 Air Miles per ₹100 on flights and hotels booked through Kotak Unbox.
• 2 Air Miles per ₹100 on other eligible spends.
• 2,500 Air Miles as a welcome benefit and again on renewal.
• 4 domestic lounge visits a year (max 2 a quarter) and 2 international visits through Priority Pass.
• 2% forex markup and a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.

The lounge part is what holders like most. Unlike Kotak Air, users say there is no quarterly spend target before you can use the visits.

What are the Air Miles worth?

Kotak does not state a rupee value per Air Mile in our data, so we do not publish an effective rate. Users describe transferring to Accor at 2 Air Miles to 1 Accor point, and many call the Unbox rate "5%", which assumes about ₹1 a mile.

Here is a year at that assumption: ₹60,000 of Unbox flights and hotels earns 3,000 miles, ₹2.4 lakh of other spend earns 4,800, and the renewal bonus adds 2,500. That is 10,300 miles. If a mile really is worth ₹1, you get about ₹10,300 back on ₹3 lakh, before lounges. If your redemption is worth less, so is the card.

"LTF" on the phone, a fee in the app

This is the complaint that keeps coming up. A recent thread describes a WhatsApp from Kotak promising zero joining and annual fee, while the app showed a ₹3,000 annual fee. Another holder says their card was lifetime free only as long as they kept a higher Kotak relationship status, and chargeable at ₹3,000 + GST otherwise.

Before you accept:

1. Get "lifetime free" in writing, not "first year free" or "fee reversal on request".
2. Read the fee line in the application form and the welcome kit.
3. Ask whether the free status depends on your account balance or relationship tier.
4. Check your first statement. If a fee shows up, raise it with the written offer in hand.

Our verdict on Kotak Air+

Take Air+ if Kotak offers it to you free in writing, you fly a few times a year, and you are happy to book through Unbox or move miles to Accor. At no cost, the lounge visits and 2% forex are a good deal.

Pass on it at full fee unless you have done the math above and it works for you. Users who compare it most often pick Axis Horizon for direct airline spends. If you just want simple returns from Kotak, look at Kotak Cashback+, which launched alongside Air+.

Credit Card Information Compiled by: Abhijeet Kumar | Reviewed by: Anmol Ratan Sachdeva