In-depth review
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.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
2% on Other
Up to 3% cashback via monthly milestones — 1% on ₹7,500, 2% on ₹12,500, 3% on ₹20,000 of monthly spend, capped ₹600/statement cycle
Airport Lounge Access
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter on ₹50,000 spend in the previous quarter. 2 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter (8 a year) — unconditional, unlike the spend-gated airport visits.
Annual Fee Waiver
Fee of ₹749 + 18% GST (₹884 all-in)/yr fully waived when you spend ₹2,00,000/year
24x7 Concierge
Dedicated concierge services for travel, dining and event bookings
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
Air accident cover of ₹50 lakh, credit shield up to ₹2 lakh and purchase protection up to ₹25,000, plus baggage, flight-delay and passport covers and device protection with one-year extended warranty
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS
8 visits/yr
Domestic lounges
₹5,200
Estimated annual value
3.49%
Forex markup
- Domestic airport lounge access (8 domestic visits/yr, worth ~₹5,200)
- Railway lounge access (8 visits/yr, worth ~₹1,500)
- Travel insurance cover included
💰 CASHBACK STRUCTURE
How much you earn back on each type of spend — no points math required.
2.0%
Base rate (all other spends)
- 2.0% on all other spends — no restrictions
👑 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 steady RuPay/UPI spenders who cross ₹12,500 a month and want flat-ish cashback plus airport lounge access without a large annual fee.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | cashback | 2% | ₹600 |
Other: Up to 3% cashback via monthly milestones — 1% on ₹7,500, 2% on ₹12,500, 3% on ₹20,000 of monthly spend, capped ₹600/statement cycle
Earns nothing on: Wallet Loads · Rent · Education · Government & Tax · EMI Conversions · Fuel · Cash Advances · BBPS bill payments · Quasi-cash
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) | ₹884 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹884 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.49% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹100 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹7,500/yr in total.
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter on ₹50,000 spend in the previous quarter
2 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter (8 a year) — unconditional, unlike the spend-gated airport visits
1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹400 and ₹5,000, capped ₹100 per cycle since 1 October 2026 (₹200 before)
Air accident cover of ₹50 lakh, credit shield up to ₹2 lakh and purchase protection up to ₹25,000, plus baggage, flight-delay and passport covers and device protection with one-year extended warranty
Dedicated concierge services for travel, dining and event bookings
Should you get it?
- Best for: Regular monthly spenders wanting cashback, RuPay/UPI users who value airport lounges
- Mid tier — a solid all-rounder for steady monthly spend.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (2% back).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Up to 3% milestone cashback for steady spenders
- Quarterly domestic airport lounge access
- Railway lounge access (2 a quarter) with no spend gate
- RuPay/UPI-linkable, 1% fuel surcharge waiver
✕ Cons
- Top cashback tier and lounge access are both spend-gated
- No accelerated category earn beyond the milestone cashback
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / valid address proof
- 📄Latest 3 months bank statement
- 📄Income proof — salary slips (salaried) or ITR (self-employed)
- 📄Recent passport-size photograph
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Statement credit / cashback adjustment
- 🎁Online rewards catalogue (vouchers, merchandise)
What your Cashback are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Direct cash adjustment — no conversion
Both the top cashback tier and the lounge access are spend-gated, so light spenders will not see the headline value.
Frequently asked questions
How much cashback does the Xcite Ace earn?
Does it offer airport lounge access?
What is the fee?
How has the AU Xcite Ace Credit Card changed over time?
Has the AU Xcite Ace Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the AU Xcite Ace Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the AU Xcite Ace Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
A clean cashback card for the regular spender. The up-to-3% milestone structure rewards consistency, and the quarterly airport lounges are a genuine step up from the railway-only entry Xcite — provided you hit the ₹50,000 previous-quarter spend that unlocks them.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 1 earn rule, 1 of them capped, the spends listed as earning nothing and 5 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 Xcite Ace 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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Guides and reviews related to this card.
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.
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.
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 Ace'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
- ▼ LoungeEffective 10 Apr 2026
Airport-lounge spend-gate raised ₹20,000 → ₹50,000/quarter
₹20,000 previous-quarter spend for 2 domestic lounge visits→₹50,000 previous-quarter spend for 2 domestic lounge visits
The same 10 April 2026 notice raised the domestic-airport-lounge quarterly spend threshold from ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 for Xcite Ace and other cards that gate lounge access on spend. The ₹20,000 figure was still in force immediately before the notice; card-data now records ₹50,000.
Verification: AU Small Finance Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardEffective 10 Apr 2026
Transportation spends stop earning cashback
Transportation spends earned milestone cashback→No cashback on transportation MCCs
From 10 April 2026 AU stopped awarding cashback on 11 transportation merchant categories (rail, transit, tolls and similar — MCCs 4011/4111/4112/4121/4131/4411/4582/4784/4789/5561/7523) across its credit-card portfolio, narrowing which spends count toward Xcite Ace's monthly milestone tiers. (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
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-ace#value-timeline">AU Xcite Ace 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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Applications are submitted to and decided by AU Small Finance Bank. CardAdvisor does not issue cards or process applications.