Rewards credit cards come with a base reward rate but they also offer accelerated earning across select spending categories or brands. Since credit cards mostly focus on one or two main categories, it is important to understand your preferences, expenses you wish to save on and the brands you are loyal to. “Choose a card that allows you to earn maximum rewards on your preferred spends. In addition to how many points you can earn, you must consider the redemption rate as well, before making a choice. Both earning rate and redemption rate come into play when calculating the final value that you can get out of a rewards credit card,” said Rohit Chhibbar, Head of Credit Cards Business, Paisabazaar.
Top banks’ credit cards with low annual fee
While most cards come with a general reward points program, some cards may offer air miles, which would help you save a significant amount on travel. Similarly, some co-branded cards may provide loyalty points, which could only be redeemed at the associated platform, added Chhibbar. “Understand your needs, compare cards and choose the one that aligns with your spending habits and offers maximum value” he said.
Listed below are the best rewards credit cards in India, chosen basis their reward earning rate, redemption value and overall value-back potential across multiple spending categories. (Source: Paisabazaar; All card information is sourced from the card provider website as of 16 April 2024.)
SBI Card PRIME
Annual Fee
Key Features
- 20 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on birthday
- 10 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on movies, dining, departmental stores and groceries
- 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other retail purchases, except fuel
- 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25
- E-gift vouchers worth Rs. 3,000 from Bata/Hush Puppies, Yatra.com, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop or Aditya Birla Fashion on joining
- 4 complimentary international Priority Pass lounge visits per year (up to 2 per quarter)
- 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per year (up to 2 per quarter)
- Pizza-hut e-voucher worth Rs. 1,000 on spending Rs. 50,000 in a calendar quarter
- Yatra/Pantaloons e-gift voucher worth Rs. 7,000 on Rs. 5 lakh annual spends
- Complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier membership and Club Vistara Silver membership
- Annual fee waived off on reaching Rs. 3 lakh annual spends
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 250 per month, on fuel spends of Rs. 500 to Rs. 4,000
HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Features
- 20 reward points per Rs. 150 spent on Nykaa, Myntra, Marks & Spencer and Reliance Digital
- 4 reward points per Rs. 150 spent on other categories
- Exclusive Gold Catalogue for reward redemption via SmartBuy (1 RP = Rs. 0.65)
- Gift voucher worth Rs. 2,500 on joining fee payment
- Complimentary Club Vistara Silver Tier & MMT Black Elite memberships on spending Rs. 1 lakh within 90 days of card issuance
- 12 complimentary airport lounge visits within India and up to 6 lounge visits outside India per year via Priority Pass
- Rs. 1,500 voucher from Myntra, Marriott, Reliance Digital or Marks & Spencer on reaching quarterly spends of Rs. 1.5 lakh
- Rs. 5,000 flight voucher each on reaching annual spends of Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 7.5 lakh
- Up to 7.5% savings on dining via Swiggy Dineout
- Annual fee waived off on reaching annual spends of Rs. 4 lakh.
Axis Bank SELECT Credit Card
Annual Fee
- Rs. 3,000 (Nil for Burgundy members)
Key Features
- 10,000 EDGE reward points worth Rs. 2,000 on making the first transaction within 30 days of card issuance
- 10 EDGE reward points on every Rs. 200 spent
- 2X, i.e., 20 EDGE reward points per Rs. 200 spent on retail shopping
- 5,000 EDGE Reward points on annual spends of Rs. 3 lakh
- Up to 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits in a year on spending minimum Rs. 50,000 in the previous 3 months*
- Up to 12 complimentary international airport lounge visits in a year via Priority Pass
- Rs. 500 off on BigBasket once per month
- Rs. 200 off on Swiggy twice a month
- Up to Rs. 800 off via EazyDiner under Dining Delights program
- Up to 12 complimentary golf rounds in a year**
- Annual fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 8 lakh**
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 400 per month, on fuel spends of Rs. 400 to Rs. 4,000.
American Express SmartEarn™ Credit Card
Annual Fee
Rs. 495
Key Features
- 10X Membership Rewards® Points on Zomato spends, up to 500 points per month
- 10X Membership Rewards® Points on Flipkart, Myntra, Blinkit, Uber, Nykaa, Ajio, PVR & BookMyShow, up to 500 points per month
- 5X Membership Rewards® Points per Rs. 50 spent on Amazon & Paytm Wallet, up to 250 points per month on both the merchants combined
- 1 Membership Rewards® Point per Rs. 50 spent on other categories, except for fuel, insurance, utilities, cash transactions & EMI conversion at POS
- Rs. 500 cashback on spending Rs. 10,000 within 90 days of card membership
- Rs. 500 voucher each on reaching annual spends of Rs. 1.20 lakh, Rs. 1.80 lakh & Rs. 2.40 lakh respectively
- Annual fee waived off on spending Rs. 40,000 and above in the previous card membership year
- 0% convenience fee on fuel transactions of less than Rs. 5,000 at HPCL petrol pumps
HDFC MoneyBack+ Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Features
- 500 Cash Points on membership fee payment
- 10X Cash Points on Flipkart, Amazon, BigBasket, Swiggy & Reliance Smart SuperStore
- 5X Cash Points on EMI transactions at merchant locations
- 2 Cash Points per Rs. 150 spent on all other categories, except fuel, wallets/prepaid card loads, rent payment, government-related spends & vouchers
- 1 Cash Point = Rs. 0.25
- Rs. 500 gift voucher on spending Rs. 50,000 per quarter
- Up to 20% off on partner restaurants via Swiggy Dineout
- Annual fee waived off on reaching annual spends of Rs. 50,000
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver up to Rs. 250 per cycle on fuel spends of Rs. 400 to Rs. 5,000.
IDFC FIRST Power+ Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Features
- 30 reward points per Rs. 150 spent (5% savings) on grocery, utilities & IDFC FIRST FASTag
- 5% cashback, up to Rs. 1,000, on the 1st EMI conversion
- Up to 50% off on Eco Rent A Car & Europcar as welcome bonus
- 30 reward points* per Rs. 150 spent on HPCL fuel & LPG spends
- 3 reward points per Rs. 150 spent on UPI* and other retail spends
- 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25
- 6 Happy Coins as Payback Rewards (1.5% savings) per Rs. 100 spent on HP Pay app
- Rs. 150 off on Swiggy orders above Rs. 500 and Rs. 500 off on ZoomCar rentals as welcome benefit
- Rs. 500 cashback on the first HPCL spend of minimum Rs. 500 within 30 days of card set-up
- 1 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per quarter on minimum monthly spends of Rs. 20,000*
- 25% off, up to Rs. 100, on movie tickets once per month
- Annual fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 1.5 lakh.
Notes
*Revised features as applicable from 1st May 2024 onwards.
**Revised features as applicable from 20th Apr 2024 onwards.
