In-depth review
RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card
A rail-first RuPay co-brand that pays back the IRCTC booking fee and earns 2.5% on train tickets, with eight railway-lounge visits a year. Nearly all its value sits inside the IRCTC ecosystem — off-platform spends earn a token 0.5% and the ₹500 fee has no waiver — so it is a companion card for train travellers, not an everyday earner.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹500 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — conditional on ₹500 of spend within 30 days of card set-up
2.5 points/₹100 on Travel (~2.5% value)
5 RP per ₹200 on IRCTC train tickets (2.5%; 1 RP = ₹1 on IRCTC). Plus 1% reversal of the IRCTC transaction/gateway charge on tickets up to ₹5,000, capped at ₹200 per month (not per booking)
0.5% on Other
1 RP per ₹200 on other spends (~0.5%, value realised on IRCTC redemption). FASTag/NCMC reload earns 3 RP per ₹200
Railway Lounge Access
Complimentary: 8 railway lounge visits a year (2 a quarter)
Milestone Bonus
~₹2,000 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.
Insurance Cover
Train Cancellation Shield — ex-gratia protection of up to ₹5,000 if a confirmed domestic train booking is cancelled, limited to one claim every six months (local, goods, unreserved and non-AC trains are excluded)
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
3.5%
Forex markup
2.5%
Travel reward rate
AIRLINE / TRAVEL PARTNERS
- Railway lounge access (8 visits/yr, worth ~₹1,200)
- Miles on: IRCTC train ticket bookings (railway ticketing)
- 2.5% effective return on travel bookings
- Travel insurance cover included
For regular train travellers who book through IRCTC and will use the RuPay-on-UPI link for everyday payments. The reward and fee-reversal only shine on IRCTC bookings — pair it with a flat-rate card for the rest.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹1.00. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travelonly at IRCTC train ticket bookings (railway ticketing) | reward points | 2.5%2.5 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | — |
| Other | reward points | 0.5%0.5 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | — |
Travel: 5 RP per ₹200 on IRCTC train tickets (2.5%; 1 RP = ₹1 on IRCTC). Plus 1% reversal of the IRCTC transaction/gateway charge on tickets up to ₹5,000, capped at ₹200 per month (not per booking) · IRCTC train ticket bookings (railway ticketing)
Other: 1 RP per ₹200 on other spends (~0.5%, value realised on IRCTC redemption). FASTag/NCMC reload earns 3 RP per ₹200
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Utility Bills · Insurance · Rent · Education · Wallet Loads · Government & Tax · EMI Conversions · Cash Advances · Quasi-cash · Contracted services · Bills2Pay · Miscellaneous payments
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) | ₹590 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹590 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.99% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹3,700/yr in total.
8 complimentary railway-station lounge visits a year (2 per quarter) at participating IRCTC lounges
RBL credits 500 reward points on ₹75,000 of spend in a calendar quarter, and it can repeat each quarter — so this row is the annual equivalent, 2,000 points at the ₹3 lakh of yearly spend that clears the bar all four times
Train Cancellation Shield — ex-gratia protection of up to ₹5,000 if a confirmed domestic train booking is cancelled, limited to one claim every six months (local, goods, unreserved and non-AC trains are excluded)
Should you get it?
- Best for: Frequent train travellers who book through IRCTC, RuPay-on-UPI users who want rail rewards
- 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 IRCTC train ticket bookings (railway ticketing)).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- 5 RP per ₹200 on IRCTC train tickets (2.5%), each point worth ₹1 on IRCTC
- 1% reversal of the IRCTC booking/gateway charge on tickets up to ₹5,000, capped at ₹200 a month
- 8 railway-lounge visits a year (2 per quarter)
- 500 reward points for every calendar quarter with ₹75,000 of spend — up to 2,000 points a year
- Train Cancellation Shield worth up to ₹5,000 on a cancelled confirmed booking
- RuPay network links to UPI for everyday payments
- No reward-redemption fee on this card
✕ Cons
- The ₹500 fee has no spend-based waiver
- Off-IRCTC spends earn a thin 1 RP per ₹200 (~0.5%)
- No airport lounge or fuel surcharge waiver
- The booking-fee reversal is capped at ₹200 a month in total, so frequent bookers hit the ceiling
- Fuel, utilities, insurance, rent, education, wallet loads, government payments and EMI conversions earn no points at all
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.
- 🎁Redeem reward points on the IRCTC platform (1 point = ₹1) toward train tickets
- 🎁Online rewards catalogue (vouchers, merchandise) via the RBL rewards portal
What your RBL 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 ₹500 fee has no spend-based waiver and nearly all the value sits inside IRCTC — off-platform spends earn just 1 RP per ₹200 and there is no fuel or airport-lounge benefit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the IRCTC card earn on train tickets?
Does the RBL IRCTC card work on UPI?
What lounge access does it offer?
Is there a fee waiver?
Is there a spend milestone?
What is the Train Cancellation Shield?
Where do the reward points give the most value?
How has the RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card changed over time?
Has the RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card's fees last change?
The bottom line
A focused, honest rail card: 2.5% back plus a booking-fee reversal on IRCTC tickets and eight railway-lounge visits comfortably clear the flat ₹500 fee for anyone who takes a few train journeys a year. Just do not expect it to reward off-IRCTC spending, where it earns a token 0.5%.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 2 earn rules, 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 RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card are taken from RBL 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 RBL 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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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 2024 · last change Jan 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeObserved Jan 2026 · Effective 7 Jan 2026
New 1% fee on large FASTag top-ups and toll payments
No FASTag or toll transaction fee→1% fee on any FASTag-loading or toll-payment transaction above ₹10,000
From 7 January 2026 RBL Bank charges a 1% fee on any single FASTag-loading or toll-payment transaction above ₹10,000, measured per transaction per card, across merchant category codes 4784, 4111 and 4131. Because the threshold is per transaction rather than a monthly aggregate, it bites on one-off large FASTag top-ups rather than on regular commuting; splitting a top-up below ₹10,000 avoids it. The fee sits alongside RBL's existing 1% charges on rent, on utility spends above ₹50,000 a month, on fuel transactions above ₹10,000, and on education payments routed through third-party apps. It is a fee on the transaction, not a change to reward earning — these categories already earn no reward points on most RBL cards.
Verification: RBL Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2024
- ▼ FeeEffective 15 Oct 2024
New 1% fees on large fuel, utility & third-party education spends
No category transaction fees→1% on large fuel/utility/education spends
From 15 Oct 2024 RBL added portfolio-wide category fees under its Schedule of Charges: 1% on any single fuel transaction over ₹10,000 (capped ₹3,000), 1% on monthly utility spends over ₹50,000, and 1% on third-party-app education payments (Cred/PhonePe/Paytm/MobiKwik and similar). These are card-agnostic and apply to the IRCTC card even though its rewards sit inside the IRCTC ecosystem; they touch only off-IRCTC spending, so the card's core rail value is unchanged.
Verification: RBL Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ◆ LaunchEffective 28 Aug 2024
IRCTC RBL Bank Credit Card launched as a RuPay rail co-brand
RBL Bank launched the IRCTC RBL Bank Credit Card as part of a trio of new co-brands (with the IndianOil pair), announced late August 2024 on the RuPay network so it links to UPI. Core proposition: 5 reward points per ₹200 on IRCTC train-ticket bookings (2.5%, 1 RP = ₹1 on IRCTC), a 1% reversal of the IRCTC transaction/gateway charge up to ₹200 per booking, 1 RP per ₹200 on other spends, 3 RP per ₹200 on FASTag/NCMC reload, a 500-point welcome benefit on first ₹500 spend within 30 days, and 8 railway-station lounge visits a year (2 per quarter). Joining/annual fee ₹500 + GST, no spend waiver. Announcement date taken from the launch report; no pre-2024 IRCTC RBL card was found in market.
Verification: RBL 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/rbl-irctc#value-timeline">RBL Bank IRCTC Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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