In-depth review
IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card
An FD-backed RuPay card built for UPI-first spenders: 1% cashback on UPI via the IDFC FIRST app, 0.5% on third-party UPI and other spends, with cashback capped at ₹500 a cycle. Because it is secured against a deposit from ₹5,000, approval skips the income and CIBIL check and the FD keeps earning interest. Keep spends on the app to earn the headline rate.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹250 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — usually conditional on a first spend within 30–90 days
2.5% cashback at named travel merchants
5.5% on hotels and 2.5% on flights booked via the app's FIRST Rewards Gallery (0.5% base plus a 5%/2% bonus). The bonus is over and above the usual cashback, under its own ₹2,000 per calendar month ceiling separate from the ₹500/cycle cap, and pays the statement after you travel.
0.5% on Other
1% cashback on UPI spends via the IDFC FIRST app; 0.5% on UPI via third-party apps and on other eligible online spends (fuel included); total cashback capped at ₹500 a statement cycle
Zero Forex Markup
Use abroad without extra charge — swipe internationally like you do domestically.
Annual Fee Waiver
Fee of ₹499 + 18% GST (₹589 all-in)/yr fully waived when you spend ₹1,00,000/year
Movie Ticket Benefit
25% off up to ₹100 a month on movie tickets via District by Zomato, available when the card was spend-active in the previous 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.
🎬 ENTERTAINMENT BENEFITS
Movies, OTT subscriptions and entertainment perks.
- 25% off up to ₹100 a month on movie tickets via District by Zomato, available when the card was spend-active in the previous month
💰 CASHBACK STRUCTURE
How much you earn back on each type of spend — no points math required.
2.5%
travel cashback
0.5%
Base rate (all other spends)
₹2,000
Monthly cap (accelerated)
- 2.5% cashback on travel
- 0.5% on all other spends — no restrictions
- Accelerated cashback capped at ₹2,000/month
For UPI-first users who cannot easily get an unsecured card — new-to-credit, self-employed or credit-rebuilding — who can park ₹5,000+ in an FD and route most everyday spends through UPI on the IDFC FIRST app to earn the full 1%.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travelonly at Flight and hotel bookings made through the FIRST Rewards Gallery in the IDFC FIRST Bank app | cashback | 2.5% | ₹2,000 |
| Other | cashback | 0.5% | ₹500one cap shared with Utility Bills |
| Utility Bills | cashback | 0.5% | ₹500one cap shared with Other |
Travel: 5.5% on hotels and 2.5% on flights booked via the app's FIRST Rewards Gallery (0.5% base plus a 5%/2% bonus). The bonus is over and above the usual cashback, under its own ₹2,000 per calendar month ceiling separate from the ₹500/cycle cap, and pays the statement after you travel. · Flight and hotel bookings made through the FIRST Rewards Gallery in the IDFC FIRST Bank app
Other: 1% cashback on UPI spends via the IDFC FIRST app; 0.5% on UPI via third-party apps and on other eligible online spends (fuel included); total cashback capped at ₹500 a statement cycle
Utility Bills: 0.5% cashback on utilities, insurance and wallet loads; shares the single ₹500/cycle total cashback cap with all other categories
Earns nothing on: Cash Advances · EMI Conversions
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) | ₹589 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Forex markup | 0% |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹1,200/yr in total.
25% off up to ₹100 a month on movie tickets via District by Zomato, available when the card was spend-active in the previous month
Should you get it?
- Best for: UPI-first users who cannot qualify for an unsecured card, New-to-credit or credit-rebuilding applicants, People who route most everyday spends through the IDFC FIRST app
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (0.5% back; 2.5% only at Flight and hotel bookings made through the FIRST Rewards Gallery in the IDFC FIRST Bank app).
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- 1% cashback on UPI via the IDFC FIRST app — earns on scan-and-pay
- Fuel spends earn cashback — a rarity among Indian credit cards
- FD-backed, so no income proof or credit history needed
- RuPay-on-UPI: pay from a credit line at any UPI QR
- The collateral fixed deposit keeps earning interest
✕ Cons
- The headline 1% only applies to UPI via the IDFC FIRST app — elsewhere it is 0.5%
- Cashback capped at ₹500 a statement cycle
- ₹499 annual fee from year two (waived on ₹1 lakh spend)
- Issued virtual-only — a physical card costs ₹199+GST
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / address proof
- 📄Fixed deposit of ₹5,000 or more (no income proof required)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Cashback is auto-credited to the card statement each cycle
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
The headline 1% only applies to UPI via the IDFC FIRST app — third-party UPI and other spends earn 0.5%, and cashback is capped at ₹500 a cycle, so a light spender may not clear year two's ₹499.
Frequently asked questions
How much cashback does the EA₹N card give?
What is the welcome benefit?
Is the EA₹N card FD-backed?
Can I use the EA₹N card on UPI?
How has the IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card changed over time?
Has the IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card change in 2026?
The bottom line
EA₹N turns a fixed deposit into a UPI-earning RuPay credit card, which is a neat way for the credit-invisible to earn cashback on scan-and-pay while building history. Keep spends on the IDFC app to get the headline 1%; on third-party UPI and elsewhere it is a thinner 0.5%. Costs nothing to take out, so the question is whether year two's ₹499 is covered by your spend — ₹1 lakh waives it.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 3 earn rules, 3 of them capped, 1 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 1 recorded perk. 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 IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card are taken from IDFC FIRST 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 IDFC FIRST 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.
Similar & related cards
Other cards worth comparing before you apply.
PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE
Comparable SBI option
AU SPONT Credit Card
Lower annual fee, similar tier
Tata Neu Plus SBI Card
Comparable SBI option
AU Altura Credit Card
Lower annual fee, similar tier
AU Kosmo Credit Card
Lifetime-free alternative
AU InstaPay Credit Card
Lifetime-free alternative
Read more
Guides and reviews related to this card.
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 Sept 2026
2026
- ▲ FeeEffective 9 Sept 2026
Forex markup removed
1% to 3.5%, depending on the card→0% (nil)
IDFC FIRST Bank stopped charging a markup on foreign-currency spends on all its credit cards from 9 September 2026, the effective date its letter to cardmembers gives. Its Key Fact Statement dated 15 September 2026 lists the markup on foreign-currency and currency-conversion transactions as nil, with no card-by-card exception, where the January 2026 edition charged 3.5% on most cards and less on a few (1.99% on the FIRST Select, 1.5% on the FIRST Wealth, 1.49% on the IndiGo card and 1% on the Ashva). The same letter says international spends stop earning reward points from 26 October 2026 on most IDFC FIRST cards; that is recorded as its own change.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardEffective 18 Jun 2026
Cashback capped at your credit limit per cycle
All eligible spends earned cashback→Only spends up to the credit limit per cycle earn cashback
From 18 June 2026 cashback is earned only on spends up to the assigned credit limit in a billing cycle; spend beyond it — including spend enabled by repaying and re-using the limit within the same cycle — earns nothing. This lands squarely on EA₹N's core use case: the card is FD-backed with a limit as low as ₹5,000, and it is designed for high-frequency small UPI payments, exactly the pattern that involves paying down and re-spending the limit several times a month.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ BenefitEffective 18 Jun 2026
Movie discount gated on staying spend-active
25% off up to ₹100, once a month→Same, but only if you transacted in the previous calendar month
From 18 June 2026 the monthly 25%-off-up-to-₹100 movie discount on District by Zomato requires at least one transaction on the card in the previous calendar month. Marked reconstructed: the launch press release listed the movie offer without a condition, but IDFC's notice words it as "continue enjoying", so we cannot fully rule out that the condition predated the notice.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: Reconstructed
2025
- ▲ FeeEffective 16 Dec 2025
Joining fee dropped to zero for new cards
₹499 + GST→₹0
IDFC waived the EA₹N joining fee entirely for new cards issued on or after 16 December 2025 — the bank's own welcome kit shows the ₹499 + GST struck through and replaced with ₹0. The ₹499 + GST annual fee from year two is unchanged and is still waived on ₹1,00,000 of net annual purchases. Combined with the welcome-cashback cut made the same day, a new applicant is better off overall: ₹499 saved against up to ₹250 of forgone launch cashback.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ WelcomeEffective 16 Dec 2025
Welcome cashback cut from 100%/₹500 to 10%/₹250
100% cashback, up to ₹500→10% cashback, up to ₹250
For new cards issued on or after 16 December 2025 the launch offer was rebuilt: the first transaction within 15 days now earns 10% cashback capped at ₹250, down from 100% capped at ₹500. The cap halved and the rate collapsed — you now need ₹2,500 of spend to reach the ceiling that one small transaction used to hit. Partly offset by a new 5% cashback up to ₹1,000 on the first EMI conversion within 30 days, and by the joining fee going to zero on the same date.
Verification: IDFC FIRST 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.
</> Embed this timeline on your site
Free to use. Facts only — dates, changes and before/after values. Please keep the credit line below the frame: it's the only part search engines can see, and it's what we ask for in return.
“ Cite this timeline
Quoting a date or a before/after figure? Copy the HTML version — it credits the record with a working link.
Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/idfc-earn#value-timeline">IDFC FIRST EA₹N Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
Want to know if this beats your current card for your spending?
Applications are submitted to and decided by IDFC FIRST Bank. CardAdvisor does not issue cards or process applications.