Santa Claus comes around just once a year. In the meantime, there are Credit Cards.
There are a number of credit cards in India which offer attractive benefits in the form of reward programs, cashbacks, fuel savings, insurance benefits, travel benefits, etc. Choosing the right credit card based on your lifestyle requirements will help you reap the maximum benefits from the card. Here is all the information you need about the top 10 credit cards in India based on various categories and parameters. This will help you choose the right credit card that will add more value and savings to your lifestyle.
| Credit Card | Joining Fee | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|
| FinBooster: YES Bank-BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card | NIL | NIL |
| RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card | NIL | NIL |
| Federal BankBazaar Credit Card | NIL | NIL |
| IndusInd Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card | NIL | NIL |
| RBL Shoprite Credit Card | - | Rs.500 |
| Cashback SBI Card | Rs.999 | Rs.999 |
| SBI Card PRIME | Rs.2,999 | Rs.2,999 |
| HDFC Freedom Credit Card | - | Rs.500 |
| Axis Bank Neo Credit Card | Rs.250 | Rs.250 |
| Yatra SBI Credit Card | Rs.499 | Rs.499 |
| IndusInd Bank Platinum Card | Rs.3,000 | NIL |
The below-mentioned are few of the popular credit cards in India
| Credit Card | Best For |
|---|---|
| FinBooster: YES Bank-BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card | Reward Points |
| RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card | Reward Points |
| Federal BankBazaar Credit Card | Lifestyle |
| Yatra SBI Credit Card | Travel, Flight Booking, Hotel Booking |
| RBL Shoprite Credit Card | Shopping |
| IndusInd Bank Platinum Credit Card | Lifetime Free Card |
| IndianOil Axis Bank Credit Card | Fuel |
| Axis Bank Neo Credit Card | Cashback, Hotel, Movies |
| HDFC Bank Diners ClubMiles Card | Lounge Access |
| IndusInd Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card | Travel, Dining, Lifestyle |
| Cashback SBI Card | Cashback |
We have shortlisted a few credit cards that offer a variety of exciting features and benefits. You can read about them below:
The FinBooster: YES Bank - BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card is the first ever credit card in India that comes with a credit tracker dashboard. It offers a lifetime free subscription to CreditStrong, a credit fitness report with a real-time dashboard that helps to monitor your credit score.
FinBooster: YES Bank - BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card comes with no joining and annual fees.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| No cap on reward points | No annual fee. No Joining fee. |
| Cardholders can share reward points with friends and family | Get 5x reward points on online dining spends |
| Get a free subscription to CreditStrong | Get 3x reward points on online grocery spends |
| Get accidental death cover | 1% fuel surcharge waiver |
The RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card is a lifetime free credit card that makes your daily spends rewarding. It offers 5X rewards on groceries and higher reward pints on a variety of other spends. It also offers other facilities such as easy EMI conversion, balance transfer, and pre-approved loan facility.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Lifetime free credit card. No annual fee. No joining fee. | All spends over Rs.2500 can be converted into easy EMIs |
| No limit on the number of transactions for cashbacks | Earn 5X Reward Points on grocery spends (maximum Rs.1000 per month) |
| No limit on the number of transactions for cashbacks | Get instant funds into your bank account through the Xpress Cash Facility |
| You can add up to five complimentary cards | Get up to 10% cashback on Zomato and BookMyShow transactions |
The Federal BankBazaar Credit Card, a co-branded card, comes with a lifetime free feature. It offers extra reward points on e-commerce, dining, and grocery expenditures. A special feature allows users to earn 10 times the regular reward points on their initial spend within the first 10 days.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| The interest-free period extends up to 48 days. | Accumulate up to 3x reward points on all online expenditures. |
| There is no requirement to pay a joining fee. | Enjoy a 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations in India with the Federal BankBazaar Credit Card. |
| No annual membership fee is applicable. | Effortlessly redeem your reward points on www.federalrewards.in for merchandise and services. |
| Up to four add-on cards can be obtained. | Card is free for lifetime |
| Upon card approval, a complimentary CreditStrong Product subscription is included. | Reward points remain valid for 36 months, excluding the month of accrual. |
The IndusInd Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card is a credit card that is ideal for those who love to shop. It provides flexible reward points on certain categories such as consumer durable spends, departmental store spends, movie ticket bookings, and bill payments. This card is suitable for those who are new to credit because it comes with relaxed eligibility criteria.
It is a lifetime free credit card with no annual or joining fees. IndusInd Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card offers reward points across a wide category of spends.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Lifetime free card. No joining or annual fees | Fuel savings of up to Rs.2,400 at fuel stations across the country |
| Savings points can be converted to airline miles | Travel insurance cover for lost baggage (up to Rs.1 lakh), lost passport (up to Rs.50,000), delayed baggage (up to Rs.25,000), lost ticket and missed connection (up to Rs.25,000 each). |
| Savings points on dining, retail, entertainment, and various other categories | 1% waiver on fuel surcharge on all the petrol pumps across the country |
| It is a chip based contactless card | Get reward points on utility bills |
This card is suitable for fuel, shopping, and entertainment spending. The card provides value back in the form of reward points and instant discount across different brands. Every time you shop using the RBL Bank Shoprite Credit Card, you can earn reward points and redeem them for a wide range of products of your choice.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| No annual or joining fee. Lifetime free credit card | Get 5% cashback on grocery purchases |
| Get 2,000 reward points as a Welcome Benefit | Get 10% off on movie ticket booking & Fuel surcharge waiver of Rs.100 |
The Cashback SBI Card offers cashback on purchase and helps you save more on your daily spends. This credit card also offers exciting benefits such as complimentary airport lounge visits, fuel surcharge waivers, etc.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| You can pay your utility bills using ‘Easy Bill Pay’ feature | All offline sales and utility bill payments receive a flat 1% reward |
| 1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel spends at petrol pumps across India* | Enjoy 4 Free domestic airport lounge visits per year.* |
| Comes with Easy Bill Pay' facility to pay your mobile, electricity, and other utility bills conveniently | 5% cashback on online purchases |
*T&C applicable
SBI Prime Credit Card is a all in one credit card which offers benefits for shopping, flight, rewards, hotels, dining, and lots more. The card also provides accelerated rewards on transactions like restaurant, groceries, as well as department shop purchases which makes it a best option for high spending customers. This card also offers complimentary memberships to Club Vistara, Priority Pass, and Trident Red Tier.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Get complimentary Club Vistara Silver Membership | Welcome gift of Rs.3,000 e-voucher for leading fashion brands |
| Get complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership | Renewal fee is waived on annual spends of Rs.3 lakh |
| Every Rs.100 spent on movies, dining, groceries, and departmental stores earns 10 Reward Points | Cardholders will get Rs.7,000 e-gift vouchers from Pantaloons or Yatra on spending Rs.5 lakhs each year |
A major entry-level credit card from HDFC Bank, the HDFC Freedom Credit Card is primarily designed for new cardholders.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Enjoy an interest-free period of up to 50 days. | Enjoy 5X reward points on everything from grocery, dining, movie, railway, and taxi bookings. |
| Spend Rs.50,000+ in a year and get your renewal fee waived off. | Enjoy 5X reward points on everything from grocery, dining, movie, railway, and taxi bookings. |
| Get a renewal bonus of 500 points when you pay your renewal fee. | Avail 10X reward points on your SmartBUY and PayZapp purchases. |
Moviegoers and shoppers love the Axis Bank Neo Credit Card. It offers some of the best dining, shopping, and entertainment benefits in India. Cardholders can also earn reward points on their spendings and make purchases on EMI.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Earn 1 reward point for every Rs.200 that you spend. | Get 5% off on your utility bills paid via Paytm. |
| Minimum 15% discount on dining bills at select restaurants | Get up to 40% off on your orders made on Zomato. The maximum discount you can get is Rs.120. |
| Get 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all petrol pumps | Get 10% off on every movie ticket you buy via BookMyShow. Get a maximum of Rs.100 as a discount every month |
The State Bank of India (SBI) and Yatra have partnered to offer Yatra SBI Credit Card, which is one of the best travel credit cards in India at present. Apart from offers on domestic and international travel, this card has multiple benefits in store for the cardholders.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Get Yatra vouchers worth Rs. 8,250 as a welcome gift | Spend up to Rs.1 lakh in a year to avail annual fee waiver from the second year. |
| Waiver on fuel surcharge of up to Rs.100 in a month | Get 6 reward points on every Rs.100 that you spend on departmental stores, dining, grocery, movies, and entertainment. |
| Get a discount of Rs. 4,000 on domestic flight bookings, for a minimum transaction of Rs. 40,000 | Get a discount of Rs. 1,000 on domestic flight bookings, for a minimum transaction of Rs. 5,000 |
This premium credit card is ideal for people who wish to live a posh life. It offers multiple lifestyle and dining benefits to the cardholders.
| Features | Why Should You Avail |
|---|---|
| Enjoy complimentary golf lessons and games at golf courses in India. | Lifetime free credit card. No annual fee. No joining fee |
| Enjoy comprehensive insurance benefits | Get free air accident cover up to Rs.25 lakh |
| Enjoy fuel surcharge waiver* of 1% at petrol pumps across the country | Get 24/7 auto assist facility during an emergency |
Salaried individuals can choose from a wide range of credit cards available in India. Depending on their monthly salary, they can be eligible for various premium credit cards that offer travel and lifestyle benefits such as the SBI Prime Card. Those who want to save more on their daily spends through cashback and higher reward points can opt for cards such as the Finbooster credit card or the RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card.
Given below are few of the factors which you need to consider before opting for a credit card:
Credit Score: With a higher credit score, you can increase your chances of getting your credit card application approved and enjoy a higher credit limit.
Interest Rates: The interest rates charged for the credit card can vary from one card to another. Hence, do consider the interest rate charged when opting for a credit card of your choice.
Fees: Many credit cards come with annual fees and joining fees and it is important that you understand how much fee you will need to pay while opting for a credit card.
The FinBooster: YES Bank - BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card gives you access to a free real-time dashboard through which you can track you spend and credit score, thereby helping you maintain a good credit report.
No, there is a range of credit cards offered by different banks which offer many benefits at zero annual fee or joining fee, or at a nominal annual and joining fee. Some of the credit cards are HDFC Bank Moneyback credit cards etc.
You have a lot of options for shopping credit cards in India. Depending on your need, you can choose SBI SimplySave Credit Card, or HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card, to name a few.
The system of reward points varies from one credit card to another. For the best reward points you can choose the FinBooster: YES Bank - BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card, HDFC Freedom Credit Card, or IndusInd Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card to name a few.
Many credit cards in India comes with basic travel benefits which include lounge access at the airport, accelerated reward points on travel bookings, etc. However, there are many credit cards which offer added benefits on travel such as HDFC Bank Regalia credit card, etc.
There are several credit cards which offer a wide variety of entertainment benefits. However, there are a certain set of cards which are solely entertainment oriented. They offer the best benefits when it comes to entertainment along with a few features across other categories as well. The Kotak PVR Gold Credit Card, HDFC Moneyback Credit Card and the Axis Bank Neo Credit Card are among the top credit cards for entertainment expenses.
Most cards which are mentioned above come with a set of dining privileges which will be given to you while you are dining out. There are also certain cards which offer discounts and cashback while ordering online. The HDFC Bank Diners Club Credit Card and the IndusInd Bank Platinum Credit Card are some of the credit cards which offer best-in-class dining benefits.
There is a certain number of lounge visits allotted to you with your credit card which are free of cost. However, after exceeding the maximum number of visits, you will have to pay a certain amount as a fee to utilise the lounge in domestic and international airports. The fee generally is the same for most credit cards. It is advised that you read the terms and conditions for domestic and international lounge access before using the card.
The minimum salary required to apply for a credit card varies from one bank to the other. There are also credit cards offered for first-time applicants who may not have a higher income but can get a credit card with a lower credit limit depending on the various factors checked by the bank.
For the reward points, you can visit the website of the bank and redeem the points which have been accumulated in your card. The reward points can be redeemed to avail a wide range of products and services across various categories through the partnerships the bank has with other companies. Benefits such as movie tickets, dining, etc., will be automatically given to you once you use the credit card. However, it is important to know the terms and conditions of the benefits which are given with your card.
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