In-depth review
IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card
The IRCTC BOBCARD is a railway co-brand for frequent train travellers: 16 reward points per ₹100 (~4% at ₹0.25/point) on IRCTC AC-class tickets year-round, rising to 40 RP/₹100 (~10%) only in two seasonal windows, plus railway lounge access and a surcharge waiver. The eye-catching 10% is seasonal — the card's real value tracks the ~4% standard rate and how much you book by rail.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹125 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — usually conditional on a first spend within 30–90 days
16 points/₹100 on Travel (~4% value)
16 RP/₹100 (~4%) standard on IRCTC AC/CC/EC train tickets; up to 40 RP/₹100 (~10%) only in promo windows 15 Jan–31 Mar & 15 Jul–15 Sep. SmartDeal — 8 RP/₹100 (~2%) flights, 20 RP/₹100 (~5%) hotels
1% on Groceries
4 reward points per ₹100 (~1%) on departmental stores, capped at 1,000 points/month (~₹250)
Railway Lounge Access
Complimentary: 4 railway lounge visits a year (1 a quarter)
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.
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
3.5%
Forex markup
4.0%
Travel reward rate
AIRLINE / TRAVEL PARTNERS
- Railway lounge access (4 visits/yr, worth ~₹600)
- Miles on: IRCTC railway ticket bookings (irctc.co.in / IRCTC Rail Connect app), AC/CC/EC classes
- 4.0% effective return on travel bookings
Frequent train travellers who book AC-class tickets on IRCTC and want railway-booking rewards plus railway lounge access — with UPI on a RuPay rail. The headline 40 RP rate is seasonal, so it suits regular rail travellers rather than occasional ones.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travelonly at IRCTC railway ticket bookings (irctc.co.in / IRCTC Rail Connect app), AC/CC/EC classes | reward points | 4%16 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Groceries | reward points | 1%4 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹250 |
| Other | reward points | 0.5%2 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
Travel: 16 RP/₹100 (~4%) standard on IRCTC AC/CC/EC train tickets; up to 40 RP/₹100 (~10%) only in promo windows 15 Jan–31 Mar & 15 Jul–15 Sep. SmartDeal — 8 RP/₹100 (~2%) flights, 20 RP/₹100 (~5%) hotels · IRCTC railway ticket bookings (irctc.co.in / IRCTC Rail Connect app), AC/CC/EC classes
Groceries: 4 reward points per ₹100 (~1%) on departmental stores, capped at 1,000 points/month (~₹250)
Other: 2 reward points per ₹100 (~0.5% at ₹0.25/point) on other spends, including UPI
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Utility Bills · Rent · Insurance · Education · Government & Tax · Supermarkets / convenience stores (MCC 5411/5499) · Telecom · Transportation / toll / bus · Agriculture / contractor · Charity · Fast food restaurants
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) | ₹413 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹590 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹100 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹1,800/yr in total.
Up to 4 complimentary railway lounge visits a year (max 1 per quarter)
1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000, capped at ₹100 per statement — fuel spends earn no reward points
Should you get it?
- Best for: Frequent train traveller who books AC-class on IRCTC, Wants railway lounge access on a low-fee card, Bank of Baroda customer wanting a rail co-brand with UPI
- Mid tier — a solid all-rounder for steady monthly spend.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on Groceries (1% back; 4% only at IRCTC railway ticket bookings (irctc.co.in / IRCTC Rail Connect app), AC/CC/EC classes).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- ~4% value-back on IRCTC AC-class train tickets year-round, up to ~10% in seasonal windows
- ~2% on flights and ~5% on hotels via BOBCard SmartDeal
- Railway lounge access and a railway transaction surcharge waiver
- Exempt from the 1% railway-booking processing fee (on railway transactions of ₹30,000+ from 1 April 2026) that other BOBCARDs pay
- UPI-linked RuPay — pay by scanning QR codes
- 4 RP/₹100 on departmental stores
✕ Cons
- The ~10% rate is seasonal (15 Jan–31 Mar & 15 Jul–15 Sep only); the standard IRCTC rate is ~4%
- General spends earn ~0.5%; niche unless you travel frequently by train
- 3.5% forex markup — not for international transactions
Eligibility & documents
This is the figure for salaried applicants. Where BOBCARD sets a separate one for the self-employed, its own eligibility page gives it.
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.
- 🎁Convert reward points to IRCTC Travel Points (4 RP = 1 Travel Point)
- 🎁Statement credit / cashback adjustment (₹0.25/point)
What your BOB 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
The eye-catching 40 RP/₹100 (~10%) rate applies only in two seasonal windows; the standard IRCTC rate is 16 RP/₹100 (~4%), and general spends earn ~0.5% — so the card pays off mainly for genuinely frequent rail travellers.
Frequently asked questions
What do I earn on IRCTC train bookings?
Do flights and hotels earn rewards?
Can I use it on UPI?
Is there lounge access?
What are the fees?
How has the IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card changed over time?
Has the IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card change in 2025?
The bottom line
A focused rail co-brand: ~4% back on IRCTC AC-class train tickets year-round (up to ~10% in two seasonal promo windows), plus railway lounges, a surcharge waiver and UPI on RuPay. SmartDeal adds ~2% on flights and ~5% on hotels. Outside these the earn is ordinary (~0.5%), so its value is proportional to how much you travel by train.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 3 earn rules, 1 of them capped, 1 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 2 recorded perks.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card are taken from BOBCARD'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 BOBCARD. 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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IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card
The IRCTC BOBCARD is a railway co-brand for frequent train travellers: 16 reward points per ₹100 (~4% at ₹0.25/point) on IRCTC AC-class tickets year-round, rising to 40 RP/₹100 (~10%) only in two seasonal windows, plus railway lounge access and a surcharge waiver. The eye-catching 10% is seasonal — the card's real value tracks the ~4% standard rate and how much you book by rail.
HPCL ENERGIE BOBCARD Credit Card
The HPCL ENERGIE BOBCARD earns 24 reward points per ₹150 (~4% at ₹0.25/point) at eligible HPCL outlets plus a 1% HPCL fuel surcharge waiver, with quarterly domestic lounge access on a ₹499 fee that waives at ₹50,000. Both fuel benefits are gated to HPCL's eligible-outlet list and capped at 1,000 points a statement, and the base rate is a weak 2 RP per ₹150 — so it earns its keep only if you are genuinely loyal to HPCL.
BOBCARD Easy Credit Card
BOBCARD Easy is Bank of Baroda's entry-level RuPay rewards card — 5 reward points per ₹100 (~1% at ₹0.20/point) on movies and departmental stores, 1 RP elsewhere, with a low ₹35,000 fee-waiver bar and UPI linking. A sensible first card for modest spenders; the ₹0.20 point value keeps the real return around 1%, so higher spenders out-earn it with a flat-cashback card.
Snapdeal BOBCARD Credit Card
The Snapdeal BOBCARD earns 20 reward points per ₹100 (~5% at ₹0.25/point) on Snapdeal with no stated cap, 10 RP per ₹100 (~2.5%) on other online shopping and departmental stores, and an unusually strong 4 RP per ₹100 (~1%) base rate — all on a ₹249 fee. The catch is that the fee has no waiver or reversal at any spend level, and fuel earns nothing.
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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 2022 · last change Apr 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Apr 2026
Processing fees added on toll/bus, high-value rail and third-party education spends
None→1% (toll/bus ≥₹5,000; rail ≥₹30,000; 3rd-party education apps — each max ₹5,000)
From 1 April 2026 BOBCARD applied a 1% processing fee across almost all its cards: on toll and bus (MCC 4784) spends of ₹5,000 or more, on railway bookings (MCC 4112) of ₹30,000 or more (capped ₹5,000), and on education-fee payments made through third-party apps such as CRED, Paytm, PhonePe and MobiKwik (capped ₹5,000). The railway-booking fee explicitly does not apply to the BOBCARD IRCTC — a genuine advantage of this card for large train bookings — but the toll/bus and education fees do.
Verification: BOBCARD ↗ · Confidence: High
2025
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jul 2025
Finance charge raised to 3.75% per month
3.25% per month (39% p.a.)→3.75% per month (45% p.a.)
Effective 1 July 2025 BOBCARD revised the monthly finance charge on carried balances and cash advances to 3.75% (45% a year) for all card variants except Eterna, Eterna FD and Tiara. This is the change behind the card's current 3.75%/month rate — it only applies if you revolve a balance or take a cash advance.
Verification: BOBCARD ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RedemptionEffective 1 Jul 2025
Minimum redemption raised to 1,000 points
Lower / no fixed minimum→1,000 points minimum
Effective 1 July 2025 redeeming reward points against the statement balance requires a minimum of 1,000 points, applied across all BOBCARD credit-card variants — a small delay to when points become usable.
Verification: BOBCARD ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▲ RewardEffective 1 Jul 2025
Utility bill payments earn reward points again
No reward points on utility bills→Core reward points restored on utility bills
From 1 July 2025 BOBCARD restored core reward points on utility bill payments (MCC 4900 — electricity, gas, water) across all variants, partly reversing the July 2024 special-category cull that had zeroed them out. Earning is at the card's core base rate, not an accelerated rate.
Verification: BOBCARD ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jan 2025
Processing fees added on wallet-load and utility spends
No processing fee on wallet loads or utility payments→1% on wallet loads; 1% (max ₹3,000) on utility payments >= ₹50,000
A BOBCARD Schedule-of-Charges revision added a 1% processing fee on wallet loads and a 1% fee (capped at ₹3,000) on utility payments of ₹50,000 or more, and stopped awarding core reward points on wallet-load MCCs. The change is portfolio-wide, so IRCTC BOBCARD holders who use the card for those categories are affected; the headline IRCTC train-booking earn is untouched.
Verification: BOBCARD ↗ · 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/bob-irctc#value-timeline">IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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