In-depth review
Federal Bank Signet Credit Card
Federal's entry card, lifetime free since April 2023 and the only one of the three with a RuPay rail you can point at UPI. It also has the weakest rewards in the family — 1 point per ₹200 at 25 paisa is a 0.125% base, and every redemption costs ₹99. Take it as a free first card and a UPI rail, not as an earner.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹200 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — usually conditional on a first spend within 30–90 days
1.5 points/₹100 on Online Shopping (~0.38% value)
3x — 3 Reward Points per ₹200, limited to the electronics and apparel merchant categories rather than all online shopping.
0.25% on OTT & Entertainment
2x — 2 Reward Points per ₹200 on the entertainment merchant category. Federal defines this by merchant category, so it is broader than streaming subscriptions alone.
Airport Lounge Access
Spend ₹20,000+ in a qualifying cycle (21st to 20th, not the calendar quarter) to unlock 1 domestic lounge visit the next quarter — the lowest bar of the three Federal cards. Primary cardholder only; cash and ATM spend do not count; unused visits do not carry forward.
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
Movie Ticket Benefit
₹100 off the second INOX ticket, once a quarter — you must buy two tickets in one transaction and the discount is capped at ₹100. Federal markets it as buy-one-get-one; its own terms cap it at ₹100.
Milestone Bonus
~₹150 in bonus rewards on hitting annual spend milestones
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.
🎬 ENTERTAINMENT BENEFITS
Movies, OTT subscriptions and entertainment perks.
0%
OTT cashback rate
- ₹100 off the second INOX ticket, once a quarter — you must buy two tickets in one transaction and the discount is capped at ₹100. Federal markets it as buy-one-get-one; its own terms cap it at ₹100.
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS
4 visits/yr
Domestic lounges
₹2,000
Estimated annual value
3.5%
Forex markup
- Domestic airport lounge access (4 domestic visits/yr, worth ~₹2,000)
For a first-time cardholder, or anyone who wants a free RuPay card they can point at UPI. The ₹20,000 quarterly bar for a domestic lounge visit is the lowest of the three Federal cards, and the fixed-deposit route means a thin credit file need not be a barrier. Do not hold it expecting to earn.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Shoppingonly at Electronics and apparel | reward points | 0.38%1.5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| OTT & Entertainment | reward points | 0.25%1 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Other | reward points | 0.13%0.5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | — |
| Insurance | reward points | 0.13%0.5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.25 | ₹63 |
Online Shopping: 3x — 3 Reward Points per ₹200, limited to the electronics and apparel merchant categories rather than all online shopping. · Electronics and apparel
OTT & Entertainment: 2x — 2 Reward Points per ₹200 on the entertainment merchant category. Federal defines this by merchant category, so it is broader than streaming subscriptions alone.
Other: 1 Reward Point per ₹200 (1x base). Rent, fuel, government, e-wallet loading, cash, quasi-cash and financial institution spends earn nothing; insurance points are capped at 250 a month.
Insurance: Insurance premiums earn the base rate but are capped at 250 Reward Points per card per calendar month, a limit Federal introduced on 15 July 2024. This is a cap, not an exclusion — insurance does still earn.
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Government & Tax · Rent · Wallet Loads · Cash Advances · FINANCIAL_INSTITUTIONS
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) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% (min ₹500) |
| Add-on card fee | ₹100 |
| Rent payment fee | 1% |
| Reward redemption fee | ₹99 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹2,550/yr in total.
Spend ₹20,000+ in a qualifying cycle (21st to 20th, not the calendar quarter) to unlock 1 domestic lounge visit the next quarter — the lowest bar of the three Federal cards. Primary cardholder only; cash and ATM spend do not count; unused visits do not carry forward.
₹100 off the second INOX ticket, once a quarter — you must buy two tickets in one transaction and the discount is capped at ₹100. Federal markets it as buy-one-get-one; its own terms cap it at ₹100.
Swiggy voucher worth ₹150 for spending ₹20,000 in a quarter (₹80,000 a year to qualify every quarter). Federal's two T&C pages disagree on frequency — one says once a calendar quarter the other once a financial year — so we value it at one voucher a year until that is resolved.
Should you get it?
- Best for: First-time cardholder building a credit history, Someone wanting a free RuPay card linked to UPI, Applicant with no credit file, via the fixed-deposit route, A free card to pair with a stronger everyday earner
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on OTT & Entertainment (0.25% back; 0.38% only at Electronics and apparel).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Lifetime free for anyone onboarded from April 2023 — no joining fee, no annual fee, no spend condition
- The only Federal own-brand card with a RuPay rail, so it can be linked to UPI
- Lowest lounge bar of the three — ₹20,000 in a quarter unlocks a domestic visit
- Amazon Pay voucher worth ₹200 on ₹3,000 of spend in the first 30 days
- Can be issued against a fixed deposit — a viable first card with no credit history
✕ Cons
- The weakest earn rate of any Federal card — 1 point per ₹200, worth about 0.125%
- ₹99 redemption fee per request means small point balances are uneconomic to ever redeem
- Points cash out at only 10 paisa each, well below the official 25 paisa valuation
- Only 1 domestic lounge visit a quarter, and only if you spend ₹20,000 that quarter
- 3.5% forex markup — poor for foreign spends
- Federal does not publish the value of the Swiggy milestone voucher
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.
- 🎁Federal Rewards catalogue: Redeem points for merchandise, movie tickets and gift vouchers via the Federal Rewards site or the Fedmobile app. (₹0.25/point official valuation)
- 🎁Cash to card account: Redeem points as a credit against your card outstanding. (₹0.10/point — well below the official valuation)
- 🎁Partner stores: Redeem in-store at Federal Rewards partner outlets. (Variable)
What your Federal 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
Two partners, and every route loses money — which is the useful thing to know. Air India: Celesta 6:1 (⇒ ₹0.17/pt), Imperio 7:1 (⇒ ₹0.14/pt) — one of the rare cases where the more premium card gets the WORSE ratio. KrisFlyer: Celesta 7:1, Imperio 9:1, other eligible cards 13:1, i.e. roughly ₹700 / ₹1,350 / ₹2,600 of spend per single KrisFlyer mile. All of these sit below Federal's own ₹0.25 catalogue rate, so transferring destroys value rather than creating it. Points are an enterprise-wide pool across credit, debit and netbanking, which is why the ratio attaches to card tier.
✈ Transfer partners
Direct transfers from this card only, ranked by what a point is worth in the destination programme. Full calculator, every currency →
At a 0.125% base and a ₹99 fee per redemption request, you could spend for years and still not accumulate enough points to redeem economically — the rewards are effectively a rounding error.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Federal Signet really lifetime free?
Which network does the Signet come on?
Can I link the Signet to UPI?
What is a Federal Reward Point worth?
Can I get the Signet against a fixed deposit?
How has the Federal Bank Signet Credit Card changed over time?
When did the Federal Bank Signet Credit Card's fees last change?
The bottom line
Signet asks nothing of you — no fee, ever — so the only real question is whether the perks justify the space in your wallet. One domestic lounge visit a quarter for ₹20,000 of spend is a fair trade at zero cost, the RuPay rail makes it genuinely useful on UPI, and the FD-backed route makes it a sensible first card. The reward programme, though, is close to decorative: 0.125% base, a ₹99 fee on every redemption request, and a 10 paisa cash-out rate. Take it for the free lounge visit and the UPI rail; earn your rewards on a different card.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 4 earn rules, 1 of them capped, 1 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 3 recorded perks.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the Federal Bank Signet Credit Card are taken from Federal 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 Federal 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.
Federal Bank Signet Credit Card
Federal's entry card, lifetime free since April 2023 and the only one of the three with a RuPay rail you can point at UPI. It also has the weakest rewards in the family — 1 point per ₹200 at 25 paisa is a 0.125% base, and every redemption costs ₹99. Take it as a free first card and a UPI rail, not as an earner.
Federal Bank Celesta Credit Card
Federal's top own-branded card is now lifetime free — the ₹3,000 fee in the Schedule of Charges binds only pre-April-2023 holders. What you get for nothing is a 2% forex markup and two international lounge visits a year with no spend gate. What you don't get is rewards: a 0.25% base, a ₹99 fee per redemption, and a 10 paisa cash-out rate.
Federal Bank Imperio Credit Card
The middle rung of Federal's range, and lifetime free since April 2023 — the ₹1,500 fee still in the Schedule of Charges binds only older holders. It aims 3x at grocery and healthcare and 2x at utility bills, but the base is 1 point per ₹150 at 25 paisa, so the 3x headline is really 0.5%. Hold it for the spend-gated lounge visits, not the points.
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 2021 · last change Apr 2023
2023
- ▲ FeeEffective 3 Apr 2023
Signet becomes Lifetime Free for new applicants
₹750 joining + ₹750 annual membership fee→₹0 — no joining fee, no annual fee
Federal Bank waived the joining and annual membership fee on all its credit cards for customers onboarded on or after 3 April 2023, making the Signet lifetime free for anyone applying since. The legacy ₹750 joining and ₹750 annual fee, still printed in Federal's Schedule of Charges, now binds only customers onboarded before that date. # (note stripped below)
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
2021
- ◆ NetworkEffective 27 Sept 2021
RuPay rail added — Signet becomes a three-network card
Visa (and Mastercard) only→Visa, Mastercard and RuPay — the RuPay variant is UPI-linkable
Federal Bank, with NPCI, launched the RuPay Signet Contactless Credit Card a few weeks after the Visa range, making Signet the only Federal own-brand card issued across all three rails. The RuPay variant can be linked to a UPI ID for scan-and-pay, while rewards, fees and lounge access stay the same across networks.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
- ◆ LaunchEffective 3 Sept 2021
Federal Bank launches the Signet as part of its first own-brand card range
Signet launched on Visa as Federal Bank's entry-tier own-brand card
Federal Bank launched its first independent credit-card range in association with Visa — Celesta, Imperio and Signet — with the Signet positioned as the entry rung aimed at young, early-career professionals. It carried a 3-2-1 reward structure (3x on electronics and apparel, 2x on entertainment, 1x on everything else) and a quarterly domestic-lounge benefit on ₹20,000 of spend.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · 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/federal-signet#value-timeline">Federal Bank Signet Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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