10 Best AirPlus Alternatives In The UAE In 2026

Expense management
April 15, 2026
13 min read
Christelle Hadchity

In this article, I'll walk through the 10 best AirPlus alternatives in 2026, breaking down what each offers, how they handle pricing, and which one fits your business's actual spending management.

TL;DR

  • Pemo is the best AirPlus alternative in 2026 for UAE businesses that want corporate cards for all spending categories, AI-powered expense tracking, and automated accounting in one platform.
  • Qashio, Alaan, and Pluto are strong options for teams that want smart corporate cards with built-in spending controls, AI-powered receipt matching, and direct ERP integrations in the UAE market.
  • If your focus is travel reimbursements or global AP automation, Rydoo and BILL are worth evaluating for those specific workflows.

Why Look for AirPlus Alternatives?

AirPlus has been around for decades and has built a real footprint in the corporate travel card space.

The platform integrates with major booking systems and provides companies with a single statement for all travel-related transactions to make reconciliation simpler for travel-heavy teams.

But when you look at what users are saying on review platforms, a few recurring issues stand out.

1. Customer support that's difficult to reach

This is the most consistent complaint across nearly every recent review.

Users report long response times, phone lines that don't connect, and email exchanges where support agents don't seem to read the details.

One user spent over a month trying to resolve a login issue, sending error codes and screenshots repeatedly, only to have agents keep asking for the same information:

"In a single email chain, I received: Six recommendations to solve the problem by calling the customer service line (after explaining - each time - that the line was not working). Three enquiries if I had an error code (after I sent the error code and screenshots of the error screen in my first email and each of the other times it was requested)." - Trustpilot Review

Another user reported that resolving a simple direct debit query took over a month:

"Customer service is shocking. Over a month to deal with a simple DD query. Always get the same name on email correspondence I.e staff won't share their own names and will not provide the names of directors." - Trustpilot Review

2. The portal and app experience feels dated

Several users call out the AirPlus interface as difficult to navigate.

The web portal is described as basic, and the mobile app reportedly doesn't even show statements, limiting it to balance checks and card payments.

"The user interface of this credit card provider is awful. The website is super basic and designed for you to not find things so you eventually just don't pay in time and find it difficult to understand your balance. The iPhone app is even worse as you cannot even see your statements there." - Trustpilot Review

Another user flagged a system error that incorrectly sent an outstanding payment demand to their managers despite having no balance owed:

"The UX is awful, and their system (if you can even call it that) had an error that sent a 'outstanding payment demand' to my managers, even though there was no outstanding balance!!" - Trustpilot Review

3. Unexpected cross-border fees that add up

AirPlus is often positioned as a solution for business travel, but users have found that using the card internationally comes with charges that aren't always clear upfront.

One user was surprised to find cross-border fees applied on every transaction outside their home country, including within the Eurozone:

"This is marketed as a 'free' company card, except when you look at your bank statements you see that they charge you 'cross-border fees' every time you use your card out of your country, and that is including the Eurozone. Once you add everything up, it turns out WAY more expensive than other paying cards." - Trustpilot Review

What Are the Best Alternatives to AirPlus in 2026?

The best alternatives to AirPlus in 2026 are Pemo, HSBC Virtual Card, and Mamo.

Here's my shortlist of the 10 best AirPlus alternatives on the market:

Solution Best For Pricing
Pemo Corporate cards, expense management, and accounting automation for UAE businesses Free plan available; paid from AED 29/month per cardholder
HSBC Virtual Card Large-value, high-volume supplier payments Pricing not disclosed
Mamo Flexible corporate cards with global usability and cashback rewards Free plan available; paid from AED 99/month
Xpence Real-time transaction categorization and spending analytics Pricing not disclosed
Spendesk Employee expense reimbursements with OCR receipt capture Custom pricing
Qashio Smart corporate cards with rewards, petty cash automation, and ERP integrations Free plan available; paid from $125/month
Rydoo AI-powered expense management with automated receipt scanning From $9/user/month
BILL Unified AP, AR, and spend management operations From $49/user/month
Pluto Account payables management and expense accounting automation Free plan available; paid from $99/month
Alaan AI-driven spending analytics and corporate card management Free tier available; paid from AED 499/month

#1: Pemo

Pemo is the best AirPlus alternative in 2026 for UAE businesses that want smart corporate cards, automated expense tracking, and AI-powered accounting in a single platform.

Full disclosure: Pemo is our platform, but I'll give you an honest breakdown of why it stands out and where it fits.

With Pemo, your team will get physical and virtual Mastercard-powered corporate cards that work for every type of business expense, not just travel.

Our cards connect directly to MENA's top-rated spend management platform, giving your finance team real-time visibility into every dirham spent.

Let's go over the capabilities that make Pemo the best option for teams looking to move beyond AirPlus: 👇

Corporate Cards Built for Every Business Expense

AirPlus focuses on travel payments. Pemo covers everything.

Whether your team is paying for SaaS subscriptions, office supplies, client meetings, fuel, or advertising, Pemo cards work across all categories.

Here are some of the things that set our cards apart:

  • Unlimited virtual cards on every plan, including the free one. Create a dedicated card for each department, project, or vendor in seconds.
  • Physical Mastercard cards are accepted worldwide, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay for contactless payments.
  • Granular spending controls that let you set limits per transaction, per day, per week, or per month. You can also restrict by merchant category, specific vendor, or even time of day.
  • Single-use virtual cards for one-off vendor payments that automatically deactivate after the transaction completes.

➡️  And if something goes wrong, any card can be frozen instantly from the app or desktop. No phone calls, no waiting.

AI-Powered Receipt Collection and Expense Tracking

With AirPlus, expense tracking is mostly manual. You get a central statement for travel, but your team still handles everything else separately.

Pemo takes a different approach.

Every card transaction triggers a push notification asking the cardholder to snap a photo of the receipt.

Our AI matches that receipt to the correct transaction automatically.

  • Auto-receipt matching eliminates the end-of-month receipt chase that most finance teams dread.
  • Custom approval workflows route expenses to the right manager based on amount, department, or expense type. Marketing spend goes to the CMO; anything above a certain threshold goes to the CFO.
  • Real-time expense visibility means transactions appear on your dashboard the moment they happen, not at month-end.
  • A flagging system that alerts finance when receipts are missing or when required information is incomplete.

No more spreadsheets. No more manual expense reports.

Accounting Automation That Closes Your Books Faster

This is where Pemo pulls furthest ahead of a travel-only card like AirPlus.

Our AI Copilot automatically categorizes each transaction into your chart of accounts, assigns VAT treatment, and syncs everything to your accounting software in real-time.

Here's why accounting teams appreciate this:

  • Direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally, so your data flows without manual exports or re-entry.
  • AI-powered categorization that learns from your patterns and gets smarter over time, reducing errors and saving hours of manual work each month.
  • Instant reconciliation that helps finance teams close books up to 5x faster than they would with spreadsheets and bank statements.
  • Invoice management built into the same platform. Capture invoices using AI-powered OCR, route them through approval workflows, and pay vendors directly from your Pemo account.

Exclusive Savings and Cashback on Business Essentials

AirPlus integrates with booking platforms. Pemo goes wider.

When you sign up for Pemo, you unlock access to over 300 partner discounts and cashback deals on things your business already spends on:

  • Up to 2% cashback on card transactions and FX fees.
  • AED 1,600 in Google Ads credit when you spend your first AED 1,600.
  • Up to 15% cashback on Booking.com hotel reservations.
  • 20% off Careem rides (3 rides per month across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other markets).
  • Free access to 1,000 airport lounges worldwide.
  • Discounts on talabat, Airalo, CAFU, Shopify, Meta Ads, and dozens more.

These aren't hidden perks. They're available from the moment you create your free account.

How Does Pemo Compare to AirPlus?

AirPlus is built for one thing: simplifying business travel payments through virtual credit cards.

And for organizations where travel is the main expense category, it does that job.

But Pemo takes a different approach entirely.

Instead of covering just one slice of business spending, Pemo gives you corporate cards, expense management, AI-powered accounting, and invoice automation in a single platform.

Your finance team gets one dashboard where every transaction across every spending category lives together.

AirPlus helps you manage travel card expenses. Pemo helps you manage all business spending from one place, with automation that cuts manual work at every step.

Pemo's Pricing

Pemo has a free plan for up to 2 card users that gives you unlimited virtual cards, a mobile app, expense reports, card spending limits, and the ability to export data in Excel.

To unlock Pemo's advanced expense and accounting features, there are 2 paid plans:

  • Essential: Starts from AED 29/month per cardholder, which adds cashback on online advertising spend, accounting software integrations, spend analytics, and advanced card controls.
  • Business+: Custom pricing starting from 20 card users, which adds higher cashback rates on card spending, custom onboarding and training, and a dedicated customer success manager.

Want to learn more? You can sign up for Pemo's free plan or book a demo to see our solution in action.

Pemo's Pros and Cons

✅ Real-time expense tracking across all spending categories.

✅ Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally.

✅ Automate invoice payments and approval workflows from one platform.

✅ Cashback on advertising spend and up to 2% on FX transactions.

✅ Free plan that includes unlimited virtual cards and AI-powered receipt matching.

✅ G2 users consistently highlight the platform's ease of use.

❌ Wallet top-ups require bank transfers and aren't processed on weekends, based on some user feedback.

#2: HSBC Virtual Card

Best for: Businesses that need secure, high-volume virtual cards for large supplier payments.

Similar to: Alaan, Pluto.

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HSBC provides a virtual card platform that lets finance leaders generate unique card numbers for individual transactions or recurring supplier payments.

The card is particularly suited to organizations handling high-value, repeat payments where security and reconciliation matter most.

Features

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  • Unique card generation: Create single-use or multi-use virtual card numbers with individual account details for every payment.
  • Personalized reporting: Your team gets customized reconciliation reports that help track and compare costs across suppliers.
  • Enterprise-grade security: Built-in fraud protection with zero liability for unauthorized use of virtual card numbers.

Pricing

HSBC does not publish the pricing for its virtual card product. You'd need to fill in a questionnaire on their website, and the bank will follow up with a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ Strong fraud detection capabilities.

✅ Detailed online reporting for cost comparison and expense control.

✅ Trusted banking infrastructure behind every transaction.

❌ No public pricing.

#3: Mamo

Best for: Teams looking for a flexible corporate card solution with global acceptance and cashback rewards.

Similar to: Pemo, Alaan.

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Mamo is a UAE-based payments platform that offers unlimited virtual and physical cards alongside a suite of payment tools for small and mid-sized businesses.

The platform stands out for its transparent fee structure and real-time spending controls.

Features

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  • Unlimited cards: Issue as many virtual and physical cards as your team needs, with no cap on the number of active cards.
  • Global acceptance with cashback: Use cards anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted, earning up to 2% cashback on non-AED transactions.
  • Real-time security controls: PCI-DSS certified platform with instant card freezing, live transaction monitoring, and push notifications.

Pricing

Mamo has three pricing tiers:

  • Growth: Free monthly fee, with a 2.9% plus AED 1 per-transaction charge. Includes corporate cards, payment APIs, and e-commerce integrations.
  • Premium: AED 99/month, with a lower 2.7% plus AED 0.8 per-transaction rate. Adds free UAE ATM withdrawals and branded payment links.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for businesses processing over AED 500,000/month. Includes a dedicated customer success manager.

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Pros and Cons

✅ PCI-DSS certified security.

✅ Up to 2% cashback on international transactions.

✅ Transparent per-transaction pricing model.

❌ 2.9% plus AED 1 per transaction on the free plan adds up with heavy usage, which is why some teams have been looking for Mamo alternatives.

❌ Relatively newer platform, so some features are still catching up to established competitors.

#4: Xpence

Best for: Businesses that want automatic transaction categorization and spending analytics to track employee habits.

Similar to: Pluto, Pemo.

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Xpence is a UAE-based spend management tool that automatically categorizes every business transaction in real-time and offers detailed analytics on how your team spends.

It's a good fit for companies that want data-driven visibility into employee spending patterns.

Features

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  • Auto-categorization: Every transaction is classified the moment it happens, removing the manual sorting that slows finance teams down.
  • Centralized spend tracking: Monitor all employee expenses from a single dashboard with full oversight of who's spending what and where.
  • Spending analytics: Detailed breakdowns of spending habits by employee, department, and category.

Pricing

Xpence does not publish its pricing, so you'd have to contact their team for a demo and a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ Solid subscription management capabilities.

✅ Real-time tracking with approval workflows.

✅ Detailed spending controls and analytics.

❌ No public pricing, unlike many Xpence alternatives.

#5: Spendesk

Best for: Finance teams that need OCR-powered reimbursements and duplicate invoice detection.

Similar to: Qashio.

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Spendesk combines spend approvals, employee reimbursement tools, and invoice management in one platform.

Its OCR technology captures and extracts receipt details automatically, and the system can flag duplicate invoices before they're processed.

Features

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  • Real-time expense monitoring: Your finance team can spot errors and missing receipts as they happen, keeping records compliant.
  • Mobile reimbursements: Employees snap a photo of their receipt and submit a reimbursement request from their phone in seconds.
  • Duplicate detection: The platform automatically catches duplicate invoices and common data entry errors before they reach approval.

Pricing

Spendesk offers 2 paid tiers with custom pricing on both, so you'd need to contact their sales team to get a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ End-to-end invoice management with accounting integrations.

✅ Catches duplicate invoices and data entry mistakes automatically.

✅ Real-time budgeting controls.

❌ Pricing is not transparent.

❌ Some G2 reviews mention that virtual cards can be glitchy at times.

#6: Qashio

Best for: UAE businesses that want smart corporate cards with rewards, petty cash automation, and deep ERP integrations.

Similar to: Alaan.

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Qashio is a spend management platform built for the UAE market that helps organizations control employee spending with smart Visa cards and AI-powered receipt tracking.

The platform also offers an Emirates Skywards Miles rewards program, which is unique among UAE spend management tools.

Features

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  • Petty cash reduction: Qashio claims to help businesses cut petty cash spending by more than 30% by replacing manual cash processes with card-based payments.
  • ERP integrations: Connects with Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, SAP, Xero, Zoho, and other major accounting platforms.
  • Smart corporate cards: Instantly create Visa cards with advanced controls and real-time transaction visibility.

Pricing

Qashio has a free plan for up to 3 users with 6 cards and instant Visa card creation.

The paid plans are:

  • Plus: $125/month billed annually, which adds AI-powered WhatsApp and email receipt submission.
  • Premium: $250/month billed annually, which adds recurring weekly, monthly, and annual spending limits.
  • Business+: $500/month billed annually, which adds auto-receipt collection and matching.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Deep ERP integrations, including NetSuite and SAP.

✅ Advanced accounting segmentation and multi-hierarchy department mapping.

✅ AI-powered receipt tracking with WhatsApp submission.

❌ Setup process can be complex for some teams.

#7: Rydoo

Best for: Finance teams that want AI-driven expense auditing with near-perfect receipt scanning accuracy.

Similar to: Spendesk, BILL.

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Rydoo is an AI-powered expense management platform that automates the full expense lifecycle, from the moment an employee snaps a receipt to the final reimbursement.

The platform's scanning technology claims 95% accuracy when auto-populating expense details from receipt photos.

Features

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  • Smart Audit: AI monitors every expense claim and automatically flags non-compliant or suspicious submissions.
  • Customizable policies: Set your own approval flows, spending rules, and reconciliation settings to match how your company operates.
  • 10-second receipt scanning: Employees photograph a receipt, and the system fills in the amount, vendor, date, and category with minimal manual input.

Pricing

Rydoo has four pricing tiers:

  • Essentials: $9/user/month billed annually. Includes a mobile app with receipt scanner, unlimited expenses, and basic integrations.
  • Pro: $14/user/month billed annually. Adds mileage tracking, per diem management, and approval flows.
  • Business: $18/user/month billed annually. Adds corporate card reconciliation, accounting integrations, and advanced analytics.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing. Adds SSO, dedicated support, and custom implementations.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Fast and accurate receipt scanning.

✅ AI-powered audit catches policy violations automatically.

✅ Affordable entry pricing at $9/user/month.

❌ Accounting integrations with QuickBooks and Xero aren't available on the Essentials plan.

❌ Corporate card features only start from the Business tier.

#8: BILL

Best for: Organizations looking to unify accounts payable, accounts receivable, and spend management on one platform.

Similar to: Xpence, Rydoo.

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BILL is a financial operations platform that brings AP, AR, and expense tracking together under a single login.

The platform also offers the BILL Divvy Card (powered by Visa) with credit lines ranging from $1,000 to $5M for qualifying businesses.

Features

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  • Spend and expense management: Access credit lines alongside budgeting tools and real-time spend tracking through the BILL Divvy Card.
  • Unified financial operations: Handle AP, AR, spending, and expenses from one dashboard with automatic sync across modules.
  • Accounting integrations: Connects to your existing accounting stack with two-way sync starting from the Team plan.

Pricing

BILL has four pricing tiers:

  • Essentials: $49/user/month. Includes basic AP and AR functionality with live chat and phone support.
  • Team: $65/user/month. Adds automatic two-way accounting sync and custom user roles.
  • Corporate: $89/user/month. Adds combined AP and AR management with custom approval policies.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing. Adds multi-location accounting and premium support.

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Pros and Cons

✅ All-in-one platform covering AP, AR, and expenses.

✅ Integrates with your existing accounting software.

✅ The Divvy Card for spend management is free to use.

❌ G2 reviews mention technical issues and payment syncing problems.

❌ Higher rates for international vendor payments.

#9: Pluto

Best for: UAE businesses that need account payables management and automated expense reconciliation.

Similar to: Pemo, Alaan.

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Pluto is a UAE-built spend management platform that combines corporate cards with AP automation, real-time reconciliation, and integration with major accounting software like Xero, Zoho, and Dynamics.

The platform is designed for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.

Features

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  • Budget-controlled cards: Each virtual or physical card can be assigned strict spending limits that automatically decline any transaction over budget.
  • Real-time reconciliation: Transactions sync instantly with connected accounting software, removing the manual matching process.
  • Automated receipt chasing: The platform tracks ATM withdrawals as unreconciled cash and prompts employees for receipts, so your finance team doesn't have to.

Pricing

Pluto offers a free plan for up to 5 card users with 10 virtual cards and 1 physical card per user.

The paid plans are:

  • Growth: $99/month, which covers up to 30 users ($9/month per additional user).
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited users.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Generous free plan for up to 5 users.

✅ Workflow builder for custom expense approval processes.

✅ Automatic reconciliation with major accounting platforms.

❌ Spending limits can only be set to daily, monthly, or annual intervals, which is why some teams have been looking for Pluto alternatives.

#10: Alaan

Best for: Teams that want a deep, AI-driven analytics platform to understand organizational spending patterns.

Similar to: Pemo, Pluto.

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Alaan is a UAE-based spend management platform that pairs virtual corporate cards with an AI-powered analytics engine and customizable approval workflows.

The platform is built for enterprises that want detailed visibility into how and where money is being spent.

Features

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  • AI-powered analytics: Dive deeper into corporate spending with automated insights that help your leadership team make data-driven decisions.
  • One-click receipt matching: Employees upload receipts and the system pairs them with the right transaction automatically.
  • Custom spending controls: Set budgets and restrictions by employee, department, or project, deciding exactly where and how each card can be used.

Pricing

Alaan offers a free tier for up to 3 users with real-time expense tracking and Google Pay and Apple Pay support.

The paid plans are:

  • Premium: AED 499/month for up to 50 users. Adds up to 2% cashback on all transactions, unlimited cards per user, and real-time spending reporting.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited users. Adds custom implementation, HR integrations, custom policies, and native ERP connections.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Up to 2% cashback on all transactions.

✅ AI-powered analytics for deeper spending visibility.

✅ Custom approval workflows for different departments.

❌ Paid plans start from AED 499/month, which is significantly more than most alternatives in the UAE.

❌ Some users report limited customization options for report generation.

Get Started with Pemo for Free Today

AirPlus does a solid job handling virtual payment cards for corporate travel expenses. But for UAE businesses that spend across dozens of categories beyond flights and hotels, a travel-only card leaves gaps.

Most AirPlus alternatives still focus on one piece of the puzzle: some do cards, others do expense tracking, and a few handle AP automation.

Pemo is different.

Instead of a single-purpose travel card, Pemo gives you corporate cards for every spending need, AI that matches receipts and categorizes transactions automatically, and accounting automation that syncs everything to your software in real-time.

Your finance team gets one platform where cards, expenses, invoices, and reporting all live together.

If you're looking for a spend management platform that offers:

  • Unlimited virtual cards on every plan, including the free one.
  • AI-powered receipt collection that eliminates the end-of-month chase.
  • Direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally.
  • Cashback on ad spend, FX transactions, and 300 partner discounts on tools like Careem, Booking.com, and Google Ads.

Then you can sign up for Pemo's free plan or book a demo to see why 10,000+ businesses in the MENA region have chosen us.

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