Book Flights on No-Cost EMI in India: Every Option Ranked
By Vihaan Patel (Vihaan Patel covers the intersection of travel and digital payments — Indian OTAs, airline-direct booking flows, UPI vs credit-card surcharges, RBI tokenisation rules and the booking-funnel mechanics that quietly cost (or save) you money.) · Published · 12 min read
No-cost EMI on flights sounds free but rarely is — processing fees quietly make it a 2–5% loan. Here's which bank card + OTA combination actually costs you the least in 2026.
TL;DR — what 'no-cost EMI' actually means
No-cost EMI on Indian flight bookings means the interest is subsidised — either by the OTA, the airline, or the bank — so you pay just the principal split over 3, 6, or 9 months. In theory, ₹12,000 flight = ₹4,000/month for 3 months, nothing extra. In practice, there's often a processing fee (typically around ₹150–₹299 on booking platforms) and occasionally an interest component buried in the 'discount on sticker price' mechanism. The genuinely free options exist, but you have to know which bank-card and OTA combination to use. Below is my attempt at ranking them honestly.
Related: Get a free seat to cut total trip cost | Fix name errors for free | Compare flight prices on FlightGPT
How 'no-cost EMI' actually works (the honest version)
Banks don't offer no-cost loans out of altruism. Here's the mechanism: the airline or OTA gives the bank a 'merchant discount' — essentially a portion of the transaction value. The bank uses that discount to cover the interest it would otherwise charge you. When there's no merchant discount, the bank adds a 'subvention' — meaning the EMI is technically interest-bearing, but the interest amount is collected from you upfront as a 'processing fee' so the monthly installments look flat.
This is why you see that ₹199 or ₹299 'processing fee' on EMI conversions on MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, and EaseMyTrip. It's not nothing — on a ₹8,000 booking, a ₹299 processing fee is close to 4% extra on a 3-month EMI. That's meaningful. Some OTA-bank combinations waive this fee during promotional periods (sale events, card launch promotions, travel fests). Others build the interest into the 'original price' shown and call it no-cost because the installments equal that inflated original.
Real no-cost EMI — zero processing fee, no inflated original price — does exist but it's the minority of offers. I'll flag which ones qualify below.
HDFC Bank cards: the most consistent no-cost EMI on flights
HDFC Bank holds the largest credit card base in India and has the most consistent no-cost EMI availability on flights through both OTAs and airline direct channels. Key details as of 2026:
- Cards eligible: Most HDFC credit cards including Millennia, Regalia, Diners Club, and co-brand cards like HDFC Indigo and HDFC Air India. Debit card EMI is available on select HDFC debit cards but with stricter eligibility.
- Tenures typically available: 3, 6, 9 months (some cards go to 12 on higher ticket values).
- OTA performance: MakeMyTrip and Goibibo (same parent) have a strong HDFC EMI partnership. The ₹299 processing fee is sometimes waived during HDFC-branded sale events — worth timing if you're planning ahead. EaseMyTrip has also run HDFC-specific no-fee EMI windows.
- Airline direct: Air India's website offers HDFC EMI at reasonable terms. IndiGo's payment page also supports HDFC EMI, though the processing fee waiver is less predictable.
My honest take: HDFC is the most reliable pick for no-cost (or near-no-cost) EMI on flights if you have one of their mass-market credit cards. The Regalia and Millennia in particular crop up in OTA promotions often enough that it's worth having one in your wallet for exactly this use case.
ICICI Bank: competitive but watch the processing fee
ICICI Bank cards are the second most common EMI option on Indian OTAs. The EMI offers are broadly available across their card portfolio, but the processing fee is more consistently applied than with HDFC — you'll often see ₹199–₹299 on the EMI conversion screen even during sale events.
- Strengths: Wide card acceptance on all major OTAs. Amazon Pay ICICI card (arguably ICICI's most popular consumer card) does sometimes get specific travel promotions.
- Weakness: The processing fee waiver is rarer on ICICI than on HDFC. If you're comparing a 3-month EMI at ₹299 processing fee vs. a 3-month EMI at zero fee, the ICICI option is the same loan at a higher cost.
- Best use case: ICICI cards shine on 6-month or longer tenures for higher-value international tickets (₹25,000+), where the processing fee is a smaller percentage of the total.
SBI Cards: best for SBI-specific OTA promos
SBI Cards (the credit card subsidiary) is a frequent partner in MakeMyTrip's travel fest sales, Cleartrip promotions, and holiday-season campaigns. The EMI terms from SBI are fairly standard — 3/6/9 month tenures, processing fee often in the ₹199–₹299 range — but the bank runs specific 'zero processing fee EMI' windows during travel season (typically October–December and April–May) that are genuinely good value.
SBI Simply Click and SBI Prime are the two cards most consistently featured in travel EMI promos. If you're an SBI account holder who already has one of these, check the SBI Card portal or the OTA's offer page before booking — a zero-processing-fee window during a sale event is effectively a free loan.
One SBI-specific quirk: SBI debit card EMI (Flexipay) is available but requires a minimum account balance and has more complex eligibility criteria than credit card EMI. Stick to the credit card option for simplicity.
Bajaj Finserv: the highest limit but the smallest free-of-cost window
Bajaj Finserv's EMI Network Card (and their buy-now-pay-later product Bajaj Pay Later) is genuinely useful for people who don't have a credit card but need EMI. The EMI Network Card is a physical card accepted at thousands of merchants and is technically available on some OTAs (MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip have listed it as an EMI option).
The catch: Bajaj Finserv rarely runs zero-processing-fee EMI on flight bookings. Their processing fee can be in the range of ₹299–₹499, and there may be interest components that make it less 'no-cost' than advertised. The product is better suited to electronics and appliances where it has deeply embedded merchant relationships. For flights, use a bank credit card over Bajaj unless you have no other EMI option.
Bajaj Pay Later (BNPL) is a separate product — it's a revolving credit line. It's fast to use but carries an interest rate if not fully paid by the due date. Don't confuse BNPL with zero-cost EMI; they're different products with different cost structures.
BNPL options: LazyPay, Slice, and the fine print
Buy-now-pay-later products — LazyPay, Slice (now merged with North East Small Finance Bank), ZestMoney — have had a turbulent ride in Indian fintech. Of these, LazyPay is the most consistently available on major OTAs for travel EMI. The terms:
- LazyPay: 'Pay in 3' or pay-later options available on MakeMyTrip and Ixigo. The 'pay in 3' option (split over three months) sometimes runs with zero fee on specific amounts during promotional periods. Outside promotions, expect a processing fee. Interest kicks in if you miss the due date.
- Slice: After the bank merger, Slice's BNPL product is now more conservative in its offers. Still available on some OTAs but less aggressively promoted than in 2023–2024.
BNPL for flights is better than nothing if you have no credit card, but it's typically more expensive than a bank card EMI when you add all fees. Use it for a genuine short-term cash-flow gap, not as a routine booking strategy.
Which OTAs waive the ₹299 processing fee — and when
The fee waiver is the real prize, and it's almost always tied to a promotional window. Here's the pattern I've observed:
- MakeMyTrip: Waives the EMI processing fee most regularly — typically during its 'Moneyback' sale, its annual travel festival (usually February and September), and during bank-partnership promotions (HDFC has the most frequent ones). Worth checking the 'Offers' page before you book.
- EaseMyTrip: Often runs zero-processing-fee EMI as part of its 'zero convenience fee' positioning. The offer isn't always card-specific — sometimes it applies across all eligible bank cards during a sale window.
- Ixigo: Less consistent on fee waivers but has run HDFC and SBI-specific zero-fee windows. Check their offers page before assuming the fee applies.
- Cleartrip: HDFC and SBI partnerships, fee waiver availability is sporadic. Their UI makes it easy to see the EMI terms before confirming — always review the breakup.
- Airline direct (Air India, IndiGo): Direct airline bookings sometimes have exclusive bank EMI promos not available on OTAs. IndiGo runs HDFC-specific EMI offers a few times a year. Worth checking if you're buying direct anyway.
The honest summary: there's no permanently free-always option. But if you time a booking to coincide with a MakeMyTrip or EaseMyTrip sale window, use an HDFC Millenia or Regalia card, and select a 3-month tenure — you're genuinely close to a zero-cost EMI on a domestic flight. For finding the cheapest base fare to EMI-split, start the search at FlightGPT to compare across airlines and dates first.
Frequently asked questions
What is no-cost EMI and does it really cost nothing?
No-cost EMI means you pay only the principal in equal monthly installments — no interest added on top. In practice, many no-cost EMI offers on Indian OTAs include a processing fee (typically around ₹199–₹299) that makes them slightly costly. True zero-fee no-cost EMI exists during promotional windows on MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, and similar platforms. Always check the EMI breakup screen before confirming.
Which credit card is best for no-cost EMI on flights in India in 2026?
HDFC Bank credit cards (Millennia, Regalia, Diners Black) have the most consistent no-cost EMI partnerships with MakeMyTrip and Goibibo, and the processing fee is waived most frequently during HDFC-sponsored sale events. ICICI and SBI cards are solid alternatives, with SBI running particularly good promos in the October–December travel season.
Can I get no-cost EMI on international flight bookings, not just domestic?
Yes, most credit card EMI offers on Indian OTAs apply to both domestic and international bookings. The main variable is the minimum booking amount — some bank-EMI partnerships have a floor (typically around ₹3,000–₹5,000) below which EMI isn't available. International tickets almost always clear this threshold. Terms are the same; just check that your card is eligible for international transactions if it's a primarily domestic card.
Is UPI-based or debit-card EMI available for flight bookings?
Debit card EMI is available on some platforms — HDFC debit card EMI (via NetBanking) and SBI Flexipay are the most common. It requires your account to be in good standing and sometimes needs prior activation. UPI-based EMI (through apps like PhonePe with their BNPL integration, or Google Pay's pay-later) is available at select OTAs but the EMI limits are typically lower than credit cards, making it more suited to short domestic hops than international tickets.
Does choosing EMI affect my credit score?
Converting a credit card transaction to EMI doesn't directly hurt your credit score — it does reduce your available credit limit during the EMI period, which can affect your credit utilisation ratio. If your utilisation goes above 30–35% of your total limit due to the EMI, it can have a mild negative effect on your score. The effect reverses as you pay down the EMI. Missing an EMI payment would hurt your score meaningfully — set up auto-pay if you go this route.
Can I cancel a flight I booked on EMI and get a full refund?
Yes, but the refund process is more complex than a regular booking. The refund (if eligible under the airline's cancellation policy) typically goes back to your credit card account, and the bank then needs to cancel the outstanding EMI instalments. Some banks do this automatically; others require a call to customer service. The processing fee is often non-refundable. Check both the OTA's and your bank's refund/EMI-cancellation policy before booking an EMI ticket for a trip that's uncertain.