Club Vistara (CV) is the frequent flyer program of Vistara, a relatively new airline in India, which just crossed the three-year mark since the airline commenced operations in January 2015. The airline is a venture between TATA and Singapore Airlines to create the new premier airline in India, with an enhanced focus on service and quality for domestic passengers in India, exemplified by the company’s slogan, “Fly the new feeling.” The airline has a fleet of 16 A320 and A320neo aircraft all of which are in a 3 class configuration (Business, Premium Economy, and Economy). The airline’s hub is at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and serves 21 destinations in total.

Tiers

Vistara’s program has four tiers: Base, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Similar to Emirates Skywards, both earning and requalifying for a tier requires the same number of tier points.

The first non-introductory level of Club Vistara is Silver and requires 15,000 Tier Points in 12 months to earn this tier and if you do not make it to the Gold tier within the next 12 months, you will need another 15,000 Tier points to maintain this tier. If you don’t earn 15,000 tier points, you can earn and re-qualify for this status with 20 flights in the year.

To move from Silver to Gold in CV will require you to earn 25,000 Tier points total in the year and another 25,000 Tier points during the qualifying year to maintain the tier for another year. Alternatively, 30 flight segments in the year will net you an upgrade to CV Gold and another 30 will allow you to stay in this tier.

To achieve what Vistara calls the “zenith” of their tier structure, Platinum, members will need to earn 35,000 Tier points or fly 40 segments with the airline. Again, requalifying for this tier will require an additional 35,000 Tier points or 40 segments.

If a member is unable to maintain their tier or upgrade to the next tier in the year they earn status, they will be downgraded to the next tier.

Note: All tier points of flight segments for all tiers need to be on Vistara and cannot be earned with other airlines. However, Club Vistara points can be earned when flying on Singapore Airlines. For a detailed earning structure on Singapore Airlines, visit this link.

Mileage Benefits and Information

Vistara’s program is a revenue-based program, rather than a distance-based program. Members will earn both Club Vistara and Tier points when they fly. Members earn miles based on the amount they spend on their ticket with different tiers earning different amount as well. Club Vistara points (CV points) are those miles that can be redeemed for things like reward flights on Vistara or their airline partners, Singapore Airlines and Silk Air. To see the award chart for this, visit this link. Tier points are not redeemable.

All Club Vistara members earn 8 CV Points and 8 Tier points per 100 Rupees (INR) spent, with higher status members earning a bonus on top of this. Intuitively, this allows higher status members to attain and retain status faster than base members.  

Once you’ve reached the Silver tier, you will earn an additional point per 100 INR spent. (9 CV/Tier points per 100 INR).

At the Gold tier, members will earn 2 points more than base members with 10 CV and Tier points per 100 INR spent. Making earning Platinum status a little bit easier.

Platinum members will earn 11 CV and Tier points per 100 INR spent, 3 points more per 100 INR than base members. While they aren’t earning for another tier, they will be earning to requalify and this boosted mileage accrual will make that easier for members.

For an idea of what earning on Vistara is like, I’ve outlined it below for the Mumbai (BOM) – Delhi (DEL) route.

In the screenshot above you can see that the roundtrip cost for the flight would be 8,203 INR. Since Vistara breaks point earning down per 100 INR spent, that means it would work out to 82 points if you were earning 1 point per 100 INR spent. With the earning rates for CV members, these are what members would earn for the BOM – DEL roundtrip:

• Base: 82 (base points) * 8 (base bonus) =656 CV and Tier points
• Silver: 739 CV and Tier points
• Gold: 820 CV and Tier points
• Platinum: 902 CV and Tier points

However, 8,203 INR for this segment is a bit high and can be attributed to the dates chosen. Looking ahead a few weeks and adjusting the days, I can find a ticket for 4,948 INR on the same route.

Earning for this roundtrip would be as follows:

• Base: 392 CV and Tier points
• Silver: 441 CV and Tier points
• Gold: 490 CV and Tier points
• Platinum: 539 CV and Tier points

Lounge Access

Something interesting about Indian airlines is that many do not operate their own lounges, especially within India. Vistara’s hub is Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and operates their own lounge for passengers at the airport, but uses other (contract) lounges outside of Delhi.

Silver members do not have lounge access, but they are given one lounge access voucher which they can use to gain entry to a lounge. Gold and Platinum members do have access to lounges whenever they fly on Vistara. Additionally, Gold members are given two lounge access vouchers for guests, while Platinum members are given four lounge access vouchers.

Priority Benefits

Members of Club Vistara who have Silver, Gold, and Platinum status all enjoy varying levels of priority benefits while at the airport and when flying the airline.

Priority Check-in

Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members will all enjoy a faster check-in process by being able to check-in at priority check-in counters. Silver members will have access to the Premium Economy counter, while Gold and Platinum members will be able to access the business class counter.

Priority Baggage

While at the check-in counter, Gold and Platinum members will have their bags tagged with priority tags to ensure that their bags are on the belt first when at their destination.

Priority Waitlist Clearance and Airport Standby

For Silver, Gold and Platinum members who are on the waitlist for a flight, they will enjoy priority over members in the tiers below them. However, only Gold and Platinum members will have priority when on standby for a flight.

Priority Boarding

Gold and Platinum members flying on Vistara will enjoy the peace of mind that comes with their priority boarding benefits. They’ll often be called along with business class, so for those members in Premium Economy and Economy, they’ll be able to secure a spot for their carry-on and settle into their seat before the longer Economy boarding process.

Upgrade Vouchers

One benefit of Vistara that you don’t always see on other airlines is the upgrade vouchers they hand to members of CV who have status. These upgrade vouchers can be redeemed at check-in, where you’ll be moved to next class of service depending on availability. Silver members will receive one upgrade voucher, Gold members will receive three and Platinum members will receive five.

Baggage Benefits

Silver members receive an additional five kilos to their checked allowance, while Gold and Platinum members receive an additional 10 and 15 kilos respectively. I’ve taken a chart from the Vistara website below outlining the different allowance combinations:

In addition to the checked baggage, Gold and Platinum members enjoy an additional five kilos in carry-on weight – with a total of 12 kilos in carry-on, business travelers can easily save time by not checking-in a suitcase.

Platinum Exclusive

Club Vistara Platinum elites have two benefits that are just for them. The first, they do not have to pay a rescheduling fee on any of their tickets. The second is access to a Meet and Greet service. I couldn’t find any more information on what this service exactly entails, but will update this when I do.

Benefits with Other Airlines

As I touched on earlier, Singapore Airlines has a 49% stake in Vistara and thus extends certain privileges to Gold and Platinum Club Vistara members.

Lounge Access

Platinum and Gold members of Club Vistara will have access to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge in Singapore and Business Class SilverKris lounges when overseas. However, no guests will be allowed into lounges when flying Singapore Airlines.

Baggage Benefits

Gold and Platinum members will also enjoy the ability to check-in an additional 20 kg when flying Singapore Airlines. Their bags will also be tagged and entitled to priority baggage services when flying on Singapore Airlines.

Priority Boarding

When available, Gold and Platinum members will be able entitled to priority boarding when flying Singapore Airlines. Since Singapore Airlines only operates a fleet of widebody aircraft, this can be valuable when flying a long-haul route as you’ll have your bag above you if you need anything over the course of the flight.