REWARD POINTS CARDS
Best Reward Points Credit Cards in India 2026
Top reward points credit cards in India. Earn points on every spend and redeem for vouchers, merchandise, flights, and hotel stays. Ordered by our own shortlist, chosen and ranked by hand — weighing real-world return against whether you can actually get the card. For the order at your own spend, use the recommender.
Reward points credit cards let you earn points on every transaction that you redeem for vouchers, products, flights, or hotel stays. The best points cards in India reward accelerated earning on chosen categories plus a flexible redemption catalogue, so frequent spenders can extract well over 1% in value.
Point value varies widely — from about 25 paise to ₹1 per point on mainstream cards, and up to ₹4–₹5 per mile on the newest ultra-premium miles cards — depending on the card and how you redeem. Transferring points to airline or hotel partners usually gives the highest value; statement credit gives the lowest. The cards below are our editors’ picks for reward points — chosen for overall value and redemption strength, strongest first.
Reward points cards, ranked
₹10,000/yr
annual fee · ≈ ₹11,800 incl. GST
● BEST FOR: 4.33% reward points on Dining
₹5,000/yr
annual fee · ≈ ₹5,900 incl. GST
● BEST FOR: 3.33% reward points on all spends
₹20,000/yr
annual fee · ≈ ₹23,600 incl. GST
● BEST FOR: 3% reward points on all spends
₹4,999/yr
annual fee · ≈ ₹5,899 incl. GST
● BEST FOR: 4.5% reward points on Online Shopping
Want a shortlist matched to your actual spending?
Find my perfect card — free →Frequently asked questions
How much is one credit card reward point worth?
Do reward points expire?
Are reward points or cashback better?
Can I convert reward points to cash?
Recent changes to these cards
The latest source-verified changes to the cards ranked above, from their value timelines. A strong reward points cards card can be devalued overnight — this is how each pick has actually behaved.
SmartBuy brand-voucher earning capped at 3,000 RP/mo
Up to 10,000 RP/mo via vouchers (Metal)→3,000 RP/mo via Brand Vouchers
A separate, much lower ceiling now applies to Brand Vouchers (GyFTR/Woohoo) on SmartBuy — accelerated points on vouchers capped at 3,000 RP per calendar month (Diners Black Metal cut 10,000→3,000; older PVC Diners Black 7,500→3,000). The overall SmartBuy accelerated cap is unchanged, but the rest must now be earned via non-voucher categories.
Verification: HDFC SmartBuy ↗ · Confidence: High
A ₹100 fee now applies every time you redeem reward points
No charge to redeem→₹100 + GST per redemption
From 15 June 2026 YES Bank charges ₹100 plus GST each time reward points are redeemed on the Marquee. The bank's consolidated Most Important Terms and Conditions applies this fee to only two cards in the range — the Marquee and the RESERV — so it is a targeted change rather than a bank-wide one. On its own the amount is small, but it penalises redeeming in small batches: the flat charge is the same whether you cash out 1,000 points or 3,00,000, so the sensible response is to redeem less often and in larger amounts. The Marquee's 1.00% foreign-currency markup was left untouched in the same revision.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Cash-advance, auto-debit-failure and cash-deposit charges raised
Cash advance 2.5% or 500 rupees; auto-debit failure 2% or 450 rupees capped at 1,500; branch cash deposit 100 rupees→Cash advance 2.5% or 650 rupees; auto-debit failure 2.5% or 500 rupees capped at 5,000; branch cash deposit 500 rupees
Three servicing charges went up together on 15 June 2026. The minimum cash-advance fee rose from 500 to 650 rupees, the charge for a failed auto-debit went from 2% or 450 rupees to 2.5% or 500 rupees, and depositing cash at a branch to repay the card went from 100 to 500 rupees. The auto-debit change is the one worth noticing: alongside the higher rate, the per-statement ceiling on that charge moved from 1,500 rupees to 5,000, so a large missed payment can now cost several times what it would have before. None of these touch ordinary card spending - they are the cost of borrowing cash, bouncing a payment, or repaying over the counter.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Fuel surcharge waiver band narrowed to 500 to 5,000
400 to 5,000 rupees→500 to 5,000 rupees
The 1% fuel surcharge waiver still applies, but the window of transactions that qualify for it moved on 15 June 2026. YES Bank replaced the single 400-to-5,000-rupee band that covered its whole range with a per-variant table, and this card sits in the 500 to 5,000-rupee band. The floor rising to 500 rupees is the part most likely to bite: small top-ups that used to earn the waiver no longer do. The Marquee keeps the range's most generous ceiling on the waiver itself, at 1,000 rupees a statement cycle.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Over-limit facility reinstated, at 550 rupees a transaction
Withdrawn since 1 May 2025 - spends above the sanctioned limit were declined→Available again, at a flat 550 rupee charge per over-limit transaction
YES Bank brought back the over-limit facility on 1 June 2026, thirteen months after withdrawing it. The Marquee was covered by both the withdrawal and the reinstatement. A transaction that takes the balance past the sanctioned limit now goes through rather than being declined, and carries a flat charge of 550 rupees plus GST. Whether any given account gets the facility, and how far over the limit it may go, is set by the bank from the customer's credit profile and repayment record rather than being a published entitlement. It is a convenience worth having in an emergency and an expensive habit otherwise, since the charge applies per offending transaction.
Verification: YES Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Show 10 more changes
Dynamic currency conversion markup raised to 1.75%
1% markup→1.75% markup
HDFC's MITC: "Dynamic currency conversion Markup Fee: With effect from 15th May 2026, a Markup fee of 1.75% will be levied on all transactions carried out in Indian Currency at an international location or at merchants which are located in India but registered overseas." This is separate from, and stacks on top of, the card's ordinary foreign-currency markup. It is the charge you pay for accepting a terminal's offer to bill you in rupees while abroad - always decline that offer and pay in the local currency. It also catches India-based purchases from merchants registered overseas, which is easy to trigger without leaving the country. The PIXEL MITC dates the same change 17 May 2026.
Verification: HDFC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
HSBC Rewards Marketplace adds 20 transfer partners at 1:1
Catalogue / voucher redemption, no transfer partners→20 partners (15 airlines + 5 hotels), mostly 1:1
HSBC unveiled the HSBC Rewards Marketplace, adding 20 airline and hotel transfer partners — 15 airlines (Air India Maharaja Club, KrisFlyer, Etihad, British Airways, Flying Blue, Qatar and more) and five hotel chains (Accor, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG, Shangri-La Circle, Wyndham) — with 1:1 conversion for most partners on Premier and roughly one-day conversion turnaround, plus a 20,000+ item redemption catalogue.
Verification: HSBC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Over-limit facility discontinued
From 1 May 2025 YES Bank discontinued the over-limit facility on its credit cards; spends above the sanctioned limit are declined and the ₹500 overlimit charge no longer applies.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Fuel dropped and category caps added to the 3X earn
3 RP/₹100 on all spends, no exclusions→Fuel earns nothing; ~11 categories capped at ₹1,00,000/month
From 1 April 2025 fuel stopped earning Reward Points entirely, and a cumulative ₹1,00,000 monthly cap was applied to the 3X earn on utilities, insurance, tax, jewellery, money transfer, real estate, e-wallets, education/government and financial/non-financial institutions. HSBC had originally planned to exclude these categories outright but walked that back to caps before go-live, keeping only fuel fully excluded.
Verification: HSBC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Redemption consolidated to the mobile app
PhoneBanking (IVR), online banking and website→HSBC India Mobile Banking app only, instant redemption
From 1 April 2025 points redemption moved exclusively into the HSBC India Mobile Banking app with real-time/instant redemption; the phone-banking (IVR), online-banking and website redemption channels were discontinued.
Verification: HSBC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Government, marketing & advertising spends stop earning points
From 1 April 2025 the Marquee earns no reward points on government, marketing and advertising transactions, narrowing the categories that qualify for its accelerated earn.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Lounge access spend-gated at ₹1 lakh/quarter
Lower spend threshold→₹1,00,000 spend in previous quarter
Complimentary airport lounge visits now require ₹1,00,000 of spend in the preceding calendar quarter, effective 1 April 2025 — turning a headline perk into a spend-gated one.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Airport transfers, meet-and-greet and luxury access added
HSBC Premier added chauffeured airport transfers (2 domestic/year via Avis), airport meet-and-greet (4 domestic + 2 international/year via Adani One across 15 airports), and luxury access to Bicester Collection private suites and TataCliq Luxe Avenue.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: Reconstructed
Welcome bonus switched from Taj voucher to 20,000 Reward Points
₹12,000 Taj Hotels gift card→20,000 Reward Points (transferable 1:1)
The sign-up bonus changed from a ₹12,000 Taj Hotels gift card to 20,000 Reward Points, which are now transferable to airline and hotel partners at 1:1 — more flexible for travel redemptions than the fixed hotel voucher.
Verification: HSBC Bank ↗ · Confidence: Reconstructed
Finance charges raised to 3.99% per month
3.99%/month (47.88% p.a.)
YES Bank raised credit-card finance (interest) charges to 3.99% per month — about 47.88% annualised — effective 1 December 2024, applying to revolved Marquee balances. Superseded: the current MITC (CMITC_V18_28072026) places the Marquee in the 2.99%/month (35.88% p.a.) band alongside YES Private, Private Prime and Reserv.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
How this list has changed
Our picks move when the cards do — these are CardAdvisor’s own list updates, dated, with the reason. They are editorial decisions, not issuer events.
- 25 Sept 2026 · Removed Hdfc Infinia — Now on our premium list only, where it ranks first — we now list each card once.
- 25 Sept 2026 · Removed Hdfc Regalia Gold — Now on our travel list only, where it ranks higher — the SmartBuy travel route is its case. We now list each card once.
- 14 Aug 2026 · Removed Axis Magnus — The April 2026 transfer-partner cull and milestone withdrawal left a realistic ~1.2–2% return against a ₹12,500 fee.
- 14 Aug 2026 · Removed Amex Platinum Charge — A ~1.5% base earner — a lifestyle and perks card, not a points engine. It stays on the premium list, where its case actually lives.
- 14 Aug 2026 · Added HSBC Premier World Mastercard — 3% base at a published ₹1/point with a 20-partner transfer table — gated by an HSBC Premier relationship, not an invite.
- 14 Aug 2026 · Added YES Bank Marquee Credit Card — 4.5% on online spends and 2.25% base with a generous cap; the strongest open mid-fee points earner in the current catalog.