In-depth review
AU Bank Xcite Credit Card
An entry-level card that quietly out-earns its tier — 15 reward points per ₹100 (≈3.75%) on dining, movies, departmental stores and groceries, plus 3 per ₹100 on other retail, all for a token ₹249 fee. The catch isn't the earn rate; it's AU's ₹0.25-per-point currency and thinner redemption catalogue, the fuel/wallet exclusions, railway-only lounges and the fact that it isn't lifetime-free. Strong everyday earner for someone who'll spend in its bonus categories.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
3.75% on Dining
15 reward points per ₹100 on dining and movies (1 point ≈ ₹0.25, so ≈3.75%)
3.75% on Groceries
15 reward points per ₹100 on grocery and departmental stores
Railway Lounge Access
Complimentary: 8 railway lounge visits a year (2 a quarter)
Annual Fee Waiver
Fee of ₹249 + 18% GST (₹294 all-in)/yr fully waived when you spend ₹1,00,000/year
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹100/month
UPI Linked
Pay UPI QR codes from your credit line. What UPI payments earn can depend on the app you pay through, so check the rewards details.
Insurance Cover
Complimentary device-protection plan for mobiles, tablets, laptops and select electronics
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
3.49%
Forex markup
- Railway lounge access (8 visits/yr, worth ~₹1,200)
- Travel insurance cover included
🍽️ FOOD & DINING BENEFITS
Dining rewards, food delivery cashback and partner benefits.
3.8%
Dining cashback rate
- 3.8% return on restaurant and dining spends
For entry-level spenders whose budget lives in dining, movies, grocery and departmental stores and who want an unusually strong category earn at a token fee — with UPI linkage as a bonus, not the point.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹0.25. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | reward points | 3.75%15 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Groceries | reward points | 3.75%15 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Other | reward points | 0.75%3 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Insurance | reward points | 0.25%1 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Utility Bills | reward points | 0.25%1 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
Dining: 15 reward points per ₹100 on dining and movies (1 point ≈ ₹0.25, so ≈3.75%)
Groceries: 15 reward points per ₹100 on grocery and departmental stores
Other: 3 reward points per ₹100 on other retail spends, online and offline; 2X base points on retail spends made from the 1st to the 5th of each month (applies to base points only)
Insurance: 1 reward point per ₹100 on insurance spends
Utility Bills: 1 reward point per ₹100 on utility and telecom spends, capped at 100 reward points per transaction
Earns nothing on: Rent · Education · Government & Tax · EMI Conversions · Fuel · Cash Advances · BBPS bill payments · Quasi-cash · Transportation MCCs (Apr 2026)
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 11 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹294 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹294 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.49% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹100 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹2,000/yr in total.
Complimentary device-protection plan for mobiles, tablets, laptops and select electronics
2 complimentary railway lounge visits each quarter (8 a year) across major stations
1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹400 and ₹5,000, capped ₹100 per statement cycle since 1 October 2026 (₹200 before, per AU's KFS and MITC)
Should you get it?
- Best for: Entry-level spenders concentrated in dining, movies, grocery and departmental stores, RuPay credit card for linking to Google Pay/PhonePe, Everyday category earner alongside a primary Visa/Mastercard card, AU Bank customer who primarily transacts via UPI
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on Dining (3.75% back).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- 15 reward points per ₹100 (≈3.75%) on dining, movies, grocery and departmental stores
- Low ₹249 annual fee, waived on ₹1 lakh of annual spend
- Instant digital issuance via AU Bank app
- RuPay UPI credit card — link to Google Pay, PhonePe, BHIM for digital payments
✕ Cons
- AU reward points are worth about ₹0.25 each, with a thinner redemption catalogue than the majors
- No airport lounge access — railway lounges only
- Acceptance gaps on some terminals for RuPay credit mode
- Fuel, rent, EMI and government spends earn no reward points
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / address proof
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Redeem reward points for statement credit and catalogue vouchers via the AU app
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
AU's reward point is worth about ₹0.25 with a thinner redemption catalogue than the majors — and the lounges are railway-only.
Frequently asked questions
Is AU Xcite lifetime free?
Where does it earn the most?
Does it give airport lounge access?
How has the AU Bank Xcite Credit Card changed over time?
Has the AU Bank Xcite Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the AU Bank Xcite Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the AU Bank Xcite Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
Xcite out-earns its tier where it counts: 15 reward points per ₹100 (≈3.75%) on everyday bonus categories for a ₹249 fee that waives at ₹1 lakh of annual spend. The ceiling is AU's ₹0.25 point value and thinner redemption catalogue — earn here, redeem modestly.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 5 earn rules, the spends listed as earning nothing and 3 recorded perks. The renewal fee is conditional — it is waived on a published spend target, so the fee you pay depends on what you spend.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the AU Bank Xcite 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 11 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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Read more
Guides and reviews related to this card.
AU Bank Xcite Credit Card
An entry-level card that quietly out-earns its tier — 15 reward points per ₹100 (≈3.75%) on dining, movies, departmental stores and groceries, plus 3 per ₹100 on other retail, all for a token ₹249 fee. The catch isn't the earn rate; it's AU's ₹0.25-per-point currency and thinner redemption catalogue, the fuel/wallet exclusions, railway-only lounges and the fact that it isn't lifetime-free. Strong everyday earner for someone who'll spend in its bonus categories.
AU Altura Credit Card
A basic entry cashback card — 2% on groceries, departmental stores and utilities (capped ₹50/month), plus a fuel surcharge waiver — best understood as a credit-building starter, not a rewards engine. The one thing to correct before applying: it offers railway lounge access, not airport lounges. Take it for what it is, build your score, and upgrade later.
AU Xcite Ace Credit Card
A ₹749 RuPay cashback card that pays up to 3% through monthly milestones and adds quarterly domestic airport lounge access — a genuine step up from the railway-only base Xcite. The catch is that both the top cashback tier and the lounges are spend-gated: you need ₹20,000 a month to reach the full 3%, and ₹50,000 in the previous quarter to unlock the lounges. A clean, consistent-earner card for the steady spender; underwhelming for a light one.
Jupiter Edge+ CSB Bank RuPay Credit Card
Answers a real question — why should UPI payments earn nothing? — with a workable RuPay card that rewards QR-code payments made through the Jupiter app. App-native and genuinely useful for the UPI-first spender, and free to take on Jupiter's current offer (the regular ₹999 joining fee can return, so it's not formally lifetime-free). But successive 2026 devaluations trimmed both the earn rate (travel 10%→7%→~5% on Jupiter Flights only) and the rewards currency (Jewel value ~30% lower for statement credit), and since October 2026 the 10% shopping rate needs more than ₹15,000 of spend in the statement cycle. Redeem via vouchers, not statement credit.
AU Tejas Credit Card
A deal-led entry card whose headline is flat 10% cashback at partner brands — movies, grocery and food delivery, cabs and bill payments — but only at those partners and only up to ₹250 a month. Off-partner spend drops to an ordinary points rate. The value is entirely a function of whether your apps match AU's partner list, so read that list and the caps before you apply.
AU Xcite Ultra Credit Card
The points-flavoured Xcite — the same ₹749 RuPay card as the cashback Xcite Ace, but earning by transaction channel rather than category: 4 reward points per ₹100 on offline spends, 8 per ₹100 online and 12 per ₹100 on international spends, plus monthly and anniversary milestone points and quarterly airport-lounge access gated on ₹50,000 of previous-quarter spend. The online channel (≈2% at ₹0.25 a point) is the real story; the 12-point international headline is a trap, since ≈3% back still trails the 3.49% forex markup.
AU InstaPay Credit Card
A lifetime-free, fully virtual RuPay card that AU issues only to its own existing credit cardholders — it shares your primary AU card's limit and exists to give that relationship a UPI-linked face. It pays 1% cashback on UPI spends at everyday categories, capped at ₹100 a statement cycle, plus a fuel surcharge waiver. Judge it as a companion card, not a first card and not a rewards card: the ₹100 cap keeps the earning nominal by design.
Paytm AU Credit Card
A lifetime-free RuPay co-brand built for people who already live inside the Paytm app — up to 2% on Paytm Scan & Pay (UPI), 5% on Paytm Travel and Paytm Gold, and a base rate on everything else. Its value tracks how much of your spending actually runs through Paytm. Off-app, the earn is ordinary, so treat it as a free companion to a primary card, not a replacement for one.
AU Altura Plus Credit Card
A ₹499 RuPay card that pays 1.5% cashback on offline retail (capped ₹100 per statement cycle) and 2X reward points (2 per ₹100) online, with a recurring 500-point monthly milestone for steady spenders. It's a sensible second rung above the entry Altura, not a rewards engine — and the one thing to get right before applying is that the lounge access is railway, not airport.
AU NOMO Credit Card
A secured card issued against a fixed deposit — so no income or credit history is needed — that still earns like an unsecured rewards card: 2 points per ₹100 on retail, a 500-point welcome and quarterly milestones. Its real standout is a rare 0.99% foreign-currency markup that even many premium cards can't match. At ₹199 (not lifetime-free), it's an unusually capable credit-builder — and because it is issued on Visa, that markup works wherever Visa is accepted abroad.
AU Prathama Credit Card
A genuine ₹100 starter card built around one honest idea — rewarding the recurring payments and contactless spends of someone taking their first credit card. It earns modestly (1 point per ₹100 base, 2 points on contactless Tap & Pay and on spend above ₹5,000 a cycle), and hands out a one-time 500-point bonus per merchant when you first set up an auto-pay. Treat it as a credit-building tool, not a rewards engine: take it, build a repayment record, and upgrade when your spending grows.
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 2023 · last change Oct 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Oct 2026
Fuel surcharge waiver cap cut from ₹200 to ₹100 a month
1% waiver, capped at ₹200 per statement month→1% waiver, capped at ₹100 per statement month
From 1 October 2026 the Xcite's 1% fuel surcharge waiver (on fills of ₹400 to ₹5,000) is capped at ₹100 per statement month, down from ₹200, so the most it can save in a year falls from ₹2,400 to ₹1,200. AU's MITC dated 30 September 2026 lists the Xcite cards in its ₹100 row, where the July 2026 edition had the Xcite series at ₹200, and the card's page now says ₹100. The 1 October date is the one AU announced for the same revision on its Zenith, Vetta and Altura Plus pages; no dated line for this card was captured, so the date is reconstructed.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: Reconstructed
- ▼ 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-category spends stop earning rewards
AU stopped awarding reward points on 11 transportation MCCs (rail, transit, tolls and similar) bank-wide, including on Xcite. (Dating note, 2026-08-06: AU's own surfaces carry both 1 April and 10 April 2026 as the effective date of the transportation change, and the bank-wide revision PDF originally cited for it now serves a lounge-only notice at the same URL; both dates are disclosed rather than silently picking one.)
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2025
- ▼ FeeEffective 3 Dec 2025
Lifetime-free positioning ends — ₹249 annual fee introduced
Lifetime free→₹249 + GST joining and annual, waived on ₹1,00,000 annual retail spends
AU's Key Fact Statement v1.6 (3 December 2025) prices the Xcite at ₹249, and the product page shows a ₹249 + GST annual membership fee waived on ₹1 lakh of retail spends in the previous card-anniversary year. The card launched lifetime-free on the SwipeUp platform in 2023. AU published no dated notice for the change and the Wayback Machine holds no captures of the Xcite page from the interim, so the KFS date is used as the dated upper bound — the fee may have been introduced earlier. The sibling Xcite ACE and Xcite Ultra timelines record the same fee round.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: Reconstructed
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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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/au-xcite#value-timeline">AU Bank Xcite Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
Terms & reward changes
Tracked updates to this card's fees, rewards and benefits — newest first.
- 💳 Fee changeEffective 1 Oct 2026
From 1 October 2026 AU caps this card's fuel-surcharge waiver at ₹100 per statement cycle.
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