In-depth review
AU CA Credit Card
A genuinely rare thing — a lifetime-free metal card with airport lounge access — but only if you're a Chartered Accountant. It earns 8 reward points per ₹100 (~2% at ₹0.25 a point) on dining, travel, tax payments and software, the exact spends a practising CA makes, for no fee. The single fact to get right: it is profession-gated to ICAI members, so most readers simply can't apply.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹500 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — conditional on ₹5,000 of spend within 30 days of card set-up
2% on Dining
8 reward points per ₹100 on dining (~2%), capped at 5,000 points per statement cycle combined with travel, tax and software
2% on Travel
8 reward points per ₹100 on travel (~2%) — airlines & OTA air/hotel bookings; direct hotel bookings earn the base retail rate. One 5,000-point statement-cycle cap shared with dining, tax and software
Airport Lounge Access
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter; from 1 Oct 2026 a quarter's visits need ₹50,000 of spend in the previous calendar quarter (until then a purchase-active card was enough)
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
24x7 Concierge
Global concierge assistance for travel, dining and lifestyle requests
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹250/month
Insurance Cover
Comprehensive Protection Cover — air accident cover ₹50 lakh, card liability cover, credit shield up to ₹5 lakh, purchase protection up to ₹25,000, and travel covers for baggage loss/delay, flight delay, loss of passport and plane hijack
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS
8 visits/yr
Domestic lounges
₹4,000
Estimated annual value
1.99%
Forex markup
2.0%
Travel reward rate
- Domestic airport lounge access (8 domestic visits/yr, worth ~₹4,000)
- Low forex markup: 2.0%
- Travel insurance cover included
👑 PREMIUM LIFESTYLE BENEFITS
Concierge, golf, hotel membership and high-value perks for premium cardholders.
- 24x7 lifestyle and travel concierge
- Travel insurance and accident cover
For practising Chartered Accountants who make sizeable tax-payment and software spends and want a zero-fee metal card that earns hard on exactly those categories.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 5 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹0.25. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | reward points | 2%8 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹1,250one cap shared with Travel, Government & Tax, Online Shopping |
| Travel | reward points | 2%8 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹1,250one cap shared with Dining, Government & Tax, Online Shopping |
| Government & Taxonly at Tax payments | reward points | 2%8 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹1,250one cap shared with Dining, Travel, Online Shopping |
| Online Shoppingonly at Software purchases | reward points | 2%8 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹1,250one cap shared with Dining, Travel, Government & Tax |
| Other | reward points | 0.5%2 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Utility Bills | reward points | 0.25%1 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
Dining: 8 reward points per ₹100 on dining (~2%), capped at 5,000 points per statement cycle combined with travel, tax and software
Travel: 8 reward points per ₹100 on travel (~2%) — airlines & OTA air/hotel bookings; direct hotel bookings earn the base retail rate. One 5,000-point statement-cycle cap shared with dining, tax and software
Government & Tax: 8 reward points per ₹100 on tax payments (~2%), inside the 5,000-point statement-cycle cap shared with dining, travel and software. AU pays nothing on other government payments · Tax payments
Online Shopping: 8 reward points per ₹100 on software purchases (~2%), inside the 5,000-point statement-cycle cap shared with dining, travel and tax · Software purchases
Other: 2 reward points per ₹100 on other/retail spends (~0.5%)
Utility Bills: 1 reward point per ₹100 on utility, telecom and insurance spends (~0.25%), capped at 100 points per transaction
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Rent · Wallet Loads · Cash Advances · Education · EMI Conversions · BBPS via AU 0101 app · Quasi-cash · Transportation MCCs (Apr 2026) · Govt MCCs except tax payments
These spends earn no rewards at all — not a reduced rate, and not the base rate. They are also normally left out of any milestone or fee-waiver calculation.
Fees & charges
The numbers that matter beyond rewards — verify on the issuer site before applying. Fees below are shown inclusive of 18% GST, as of 5 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 2.99% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 1.99% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹250 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹6,300/yr in total.
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter; from 1 Oct 2026 a quarter's visits need ₹50,000 of spend in the previous calendar quarter (until then a purchase-active card was enough)
Global concierge assistance for travel, dining and lifestyle requests
1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹400 and ₹5,000, capped ₹250 per cycle
Comprehensive Protection Cover — air accident cover ₹50 lakh, card liability cover, credit shield up to ₹5 lakh, purchase protection up to ₹25,000, and travel covers for baggage loss/delay, flight delay, loss of passport and plane hijack
Should you get it?
- Best for: Practising Chartered Accountants (ICAI members), Professionals with high tax-payment and software spends
- Mid tier — a solid all-rounder for steady monthly spend.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on Dining (2% back).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Lifetime-free metal card with 8 points per ₹100 on key categories
- 25% cashback on ICAI membership renewal
- Quarterly domestic lounge access (a ₹50,000 prior-quarter spend gate from 1 Oct 2026) and a 1% fuel waiver up to ₹250
- Welcome benefits: 2,000 bonus points plus a SwiggyOne Quarterly Dining Membership
✕ Cons
- Profession-gated — only ICAI members (Chartered Accountants) are eligible
- Top rate applies to dining, travel, tax and software; base rate elsewhere. Cash, rent, wallet loads, education, government, transportation, EMI, fuel, BBPS and quasi-cash earn no points at all
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄ICAI membership proof
- 📄Aadhaar / valid address proof
- 📄Latest 3 months bank statement
- 📄Income proof — salary slips (salaried) or ITR (self-employed)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Online rewards catalogue (vouchers, merchandise)
- 🎁Flight & hotel bookings via the issuer rewards portal
- 🎁Statement credit / cashback adjustment
What your AU Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Standard redemption
Brand & e-gift vouchers
It is profession-gated — only ICAI members (Chartered Accountants) can hold it, so it is not open to the general applicant.
Frequently asked questions
Who can get the AU CA Credit Card?
What does it earn?
Is it really lifetime free?
How has the AU CA Credit Card changed over time?
Has the AU CA Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the AU CA Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the AU CA Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
An unusually generous lifetime-free card — for those who qualify. At 8 points per ₹100 (~2% at ₹0.25 a point) on tax, software, dining and travel, plus a metal form and lounge access at no annual fee, it is hard to beat for a CA. The catch is simply eligibility — you must be an ICAI member.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 6 earn rules, 4 of them capped, 2 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 4 recorded perks.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the AU CA Credit Card are taken from AU Small Finance Bank's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Reviewed by Devchandra Sah. Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for AU Small Finance Bank. All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
AU CA Credit Card
A genuinely rare thing — a lifetime-free metal card with airport lounge access — but only if you're a Chartered Accountant. It earns 8 reward points per ₹100 (~2% at ₹0.25 a point) on dining, travel, tax payments and software, the exact spends a practising CA makes, for no fee. The single fact to get right: it is profession-gated to ICAI members, so most readers simply can't apply.
AU CS Credit Card
A lifetime-free metal card built specifically for Company Secretaries — 8 reward points per ₹100 (~2%) on dining, travel, tax payments and software, plus 2 domestic airport lounge visits a quarter and 25% cashback on your ICSI membership renewal. It earns hard on exactly the categories a practising CS spends on, at zero fee. The one catch is the door: you must be an ICSI member to hold it, so it is not open to the general applicant.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2025 · last change Oct 2026
2026
- ▼ LoungeEffective 1 Oct 2026
Domestic lounge visits now need ₹50,000 of spend in the quarter before
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter on a purchase-active card→2 visits per quarter, only after ₹50,000 of spend in the previous calendar quarter
From 1 October 2026 the AU CA card's two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits a quarter follow the spend gate AU has applied to its other cards since 10 April 2026: they need net retail spend of ₹50,000 or more on the card in the previous calendar quarter, so the October to December visits depend on July to September spend. Until then a purchase-active card was enough. AU's airport lounge terms, issued on 30 September 2026, revise the condition "(for CA & CS from 1st Oct 2026)". The card is open only to Chartered Accountants.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jul 2026
Fuel fair-usage terms tightened — trigger halved, levy on the whole aggregate
1% fair-usage charge once monthly fuel spends exceeded 50% of the credit limit or ₹50,000→1% on the entire aggregate once a single fuel transaction exceeds ₹10,000 or monthly fuel spends exceed ₹25,000
From 1 July 2026 AU tightened its fuel fair-usage charge: the trigger dropped from ₹50,000 of aggregate fuel spend in a calendar month to ₹25,000 (or a single fuel transaction above ₹10,000), and the 1% charge is now levied on the entire aggregate fuel spend for the month rather than the portion above the threshold. Fair-usage charges do not apply to international transactions. The complimentary fuel-surcharge waiver bands are unchanged.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 14 Jun 2026
New 1% fair-usage charge on transportation spends
No transportation fair-usage charge→1% on the entire aggregate once monthly transportation spends exceed 50% of the credit limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower
From 14 June 2026 AU levies a 1% fair-usage charge when aggregate transportation spends (MCC 4111, 4112 and 4784 — local commuter transport, passenger rail and tolls) in a calendar month exceed 50% of the credit limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower. The charge applies to the entire aggregate transportation spend for the month, not just the excess. IRCTC and select marquee travel partners are excluded, international transactions are out of scope, and AU exempts the ixigo AU co-brand variants entirely. This charge is separate from (and adds to) the April 2026 removal of reward-point earning on transportation MCCs.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardEffective 10 Apr 2026
Transportation spends stop earning reward points
Rail, transit, toll and related transportation MCCs earned rewards under Travel→Rail, transit, tolls and 11 named transportation MCCs (4011, 4111, 4112, 4121, 4131, 4411, 4582, 4784, 4789, 5561, 7523) excluded from earning
AU Bank stopped awarding reward points/cashback on 11 transportation MCCs bank-wide, effective 10 April 2026 — this narrows the categories that count toward the AU CA card's 8-points-per-₹100 Travel rate, since some rail/transit spend that previously qualified as Travel no longer earns.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2025
- ◆ LaunchEffective 2 Dec 2025
AU CA Metal Credit Card launches for Chartered Accountants
AU Small Finance Bank launched the AU Chartered Accountants Program with ICAI, anchored by a lifetime-free metal Visa card earning 8 points per ₹100 on dining, travel, tax and software spends, plus 25% cashback on ICAI membership renewal and quarterly domestic lounge access. The card runs on the Visa Signature variant, and accelerated earning is capped at 5,000 points per statement cycle, with a separate 100-points-per-transaction cap on utility and telecom spends.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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