SBI Cashback Credit Card

SBI Cashback Credit Card

A flat 5% on online shopping, no merchant list to memorise — still the best single online card for most people, and the ₹999 fee waives at ₹2 lakh. An April 2026 devaluation cut the cap to ₹4,000 (5% online capped at ₹2,000) and excluded gaming, toll and government payments. Moderate spenders won't notice; heavy spenders should now compare the Axis Cashback — now closed to new applicants, so an option for existing holders rather than one you can newly apply for.

SBI Credit Card Ladder 2026: SimplyCLICK → Cashback → Prime → Elite → Aurum

SBI Card offers India's widest range of credit cards, from the entry SimplyCLICK to the premium Aurum. This guide maps the full SBI ladder, explains the fee waiver paths at each tier, and tells you where to stop upgrading based on your spend pattern.

Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping in India 2026

Platform-specific cards reach 7.5–10% on Myntra, Flipkart and Swiggy, while SBI Cashback pays a flat 5% across every online merchant. This guide separates the best broad online rate from the best rate available online — they are not the same card — and covers the caps and exclusions that decide which one you should actually hold.

Best Cashback Credit Cards in India 2026: Top Picks for Straightforward Returns

The best cashback credit cards in India deliver 2–5% back on everyday categories without requiring you to manage points or transfer programmes. SBI Cashback leads for online spend; the Axis ACE — now closed to new applicants — remains the bills-and-recharges benchmark for those who hold it; HDFC Millennia bridges the gap.

PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK

A PhonePe × SBI co-brand that pays 10% reward points (1 RP = ₹1) on bill payments, recharges and utilities routed through the PhonePe app — a category most cards exclude. A 1 July 2026 devaluation cut the PhonePe cap to 1,500 RP/month (500 on insurance) and halved the online cap, so it now rewards routine household bills, not large one-off payments. A ₹1,500 PhonePe gift card covers most of the ₹1,769 all-in first-year fee, and the fee is waived at ₹3 lakh.

Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card

A clean, low-fuss flat-cashback card — 2% on every online purchase with no merchant list, 1% offline, and an unusually generous cap (₹1,000 of online cashback a month, i.e. ₹50,000 of online spend). At a ₹499 fee that waives at ₹1.2 lakh, it's a fair no-thinking online card. The honest catch isn't the cap, it's the rate: 2% is middling next to the SBI Cashback's 5% online, so hold the Smart for unrestricted breadth, not headline rate.

Axis Bank ACE Credit Card

Axis has closed the ACE to new applicants, so this review is for the readers who already hold one, and for them it is still one of the best cashback cards in India: 5% back on Google Pay utility bills, 4% on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola, and an uncapped 1.5% on everything else, for a ₹499 annual fee that waives at ₹2 lakh of spend. It came through 2026's Axis devaluations untouched. Two catches for holders: the 5% and 4% share a ₹500 monthly cap, and you need an Android phone to unlock the 5%.

Titan SBI Card

A lifestyle co-brand built around the Titan group — up to 7.5% cashback at World of Titan and the watch/eyewear brands, 5% at Mia/CaratLane/Zoya, 3% vouchers at Tanishq, plus 8 domestic and 4 international lounge visits. Superb if you buy jewellery, watches and eyewear from Titan; a modest 1.5% base if you don't.

Best Credit Cards by Salary Range in India 2026: ₹3L to ₹20L+

Your annual income is the single biggest factor in which credit cards you qualify for. This guide maps the best available card at each salary segment — from first-time applicants at ₹3–5L to premium cardholders at ₹20L+ — with specific recommendations at each tier.

American Express SmartEarn Credit Card

The cheapest way into the Amex ecosystem — ₹495 for 10X Membership Rewards on the online platforms young spenders use. For someone who wants the Amex badge and a taste of Membership Rewards without a real fee, a reasonable on-ramp. But the 500-point monthly caps throttle the headline benefit within days, and for pure online cashback the simpler SBI Cashback card often delivers more.

Best Credit Cards for Grocery Shopping in India 2026

Grocery is one of the largest spend categories for Indian households — yet most cards earn only 1%. The best grocery cards earn 5–10%: HSBC Live+ (10% on quick-commerce), RBL ShopRite (5% at offline supermarkets) and SBI Cashback (5% on all online grocery). This guide ranks the 2026 picks by where you actually shop.

SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card

The entry-level online shopping card done right — 10X on a set of online partner brands (Apollo 24x7, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, Gyftr, Myntra, Tata CLiQ and more), 5X on all other online spend, plus twice-yearly Cleartrip/Yatra vouchers worth ₹2,000 each at ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh of online spend that return several times the ₹499 fee. Note Amazon was dropped from the 10X partner list — it now earns the ordinary 5X online rate (a ₹500 Amazon welcome voucher remains). Still one of the better budget online cards; upgrade to SBI Cashback once your online spend grows.

Paytm SBI Card SELECT

A mid-fee card that pays 5% back on Paytm Travel, Movies and Mall, 2% on other Paytm App spends and 1% everywhere else, now credited as Reward Points worth Re. 1 each. Lounge access and a 2-year Priority Pass sweeten a Rs. 1,499 fee that waives at Rs. 2 lakh. Worth it only if Paytm is genuinely your default app.

RBL Bank Apex Credit Card

A low-fee cashback card built around RBL's rewards portal: unlimited 2% back on flights, hotels, shopping and vouchers booked through the portal, a flat 1% (capped ₹500/month) everywhere else, and two milestone cashbacks worth ₹3,000 that can cover the ₹1,000 fee. The value is real only if you route bookings through RBL's portal.

BOBCARD Cashback Credit Card

BOBCARD Cashback is Bank of Baroda's flat-cashback card — 5% back on eligible domestic online spends capped at ₹1,500 a month (minimum 4 transactions in the cycle), unlimited 1% on everything else, auto-credited to the statement every month. The fee is ₹49/month or ₹499/year with no spend-based waiver, and fuel, wallet loads, ATM cash and sub-₹100 transactions earn nothing.

Best Credit Cards for Swiggy and Zomato in India (2026): The Real Earn Rates

Swiggy and Zomato spend adds up fast. Here's which cards actually earn well on food delivery in 2026 — including the UPI earn trap most guides miss, and when the dedicated co-branded card beats a general cashback card.

SBI Card Unnati

An FD-backed starter card that is free for its first 4 years, aimed at people building a credit history. Rewards are bare-minimum — 1 point per Rs.100 (~0.25%) plus Rs.500 cashback at Rs.50,000 spend — so hold it to establish credit, not to earn. Remember it is not lifetime free; the fee starts in year 5.

Best Credit Cards for Utility Bills in India (2026): Electricity, Mobile, Gas, and More

Paying utility bills on a credit card sounds simple — but the exclusion list is longer than the benefits list on most cards. Here's which cards actually earn on utility payments in 2026, and the BBPS vs direct payment distinction that most people get wrong.

How Credit Card Reward Points Work in India 2026: The Complete Guide

Reward points, cashback, and miles are all just different packaging for the same thing — a percentage of your spend returned to you. This guide explains how each type works, what points are actually worth, how transfer ratios affect value, and the most common mistakes Indian cardholders make.

Credit Card Devaluation Tracker India 2025–2026: What Changed and When

Indian credit cards have seen significant benefit cuts since 2023. This tracker documents the confirmed devaluations on Magnus, Infinia, SBI Cashback, Axis Atlas, and HDFC Diners — what the benefit was, what it became, and when — so you can reassess your card stack against the current reality.

HDFC Millennia Credit Card

The Millennia solves the Amazon-or-Flipkart dilemma by paying 5% on both — and on Swiggy and Zomato, Myntra and Tata CLiQ — ten brands at once, for a ₹1,000 fee that waives at a trivial ₹1 lakh. It came through 2026's HDFC devaluation untouched. The catch is a ~₹1,000 monthly cap that makes it superb for the moderate online spender and inefficient once your partner spending runs past ~₹20,000 a month.

Flipkart SBI Card

SBI's new Flipkart co-brand (₹500, launched August 2025) pays a headline 7.5% on Myntra and 5% on Flipkart, with 4% at four select merchants and 1% elsewhere — all as automatic cashback. It sits alongside the older Axis Flipkart card, which is still open. Excellent if you live inside the Flipkart-Myntra-Cleartrip ecosystem; ordinary if you don't.

SBI SimplySAVE Credit Card

The offline counterpart to the SimplyCLICK — 10X reward points on dining, movies, groceries and departmental stores, a welcome bonus worth most of the fee, and a ₹499 charge that waives at ₹1 lakh. It pays you for spending you were doing anyway. The standing SBI caveat: a modest point value (~₹0.25, portal redemption) pulls the real return to ~1.7% on the bonus categories.

PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE

The cheaper Rs. 499 sibling of the PhonePe SBI Card SELECT Black: a RuPay-on-UPI card paying 3 Reward Points per Rs. 100 on PhonePe spends, 2 on online and 1 elsewhere (1 point = Re. 1). The fee reverses at Rs. 1 lakh spend. A tidy low-fee card if PhonePe is your default payments app — but no lounge at this tier.

Tata Neu Infinity SBI Card

A NeuCoins co-brand that pays a genuine 5% across the Tata group and — unusually — earns 1.5% on RuPay UPI spends, all wrapped around a low 1.99% forex markup. If your shopping runs through Tata Neu, BigBasket, Croma and Westside it is a strong pick; outside the ecosystem it is only average.

How to Read a Credit Card MITC Document in India: What to Look For

The Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) document is the legal contract between you and the card issuer — but most cardholders never read it. This guide shows you exactly what to look for, the clauses that hide gotchas, and the specific sections that determine what your card is actually worth.

SBI Card PRIME

Still SBI's solid mid-premium all-rounder — 10X on dining, groceries, departmental stores and movies, plus 8 domestic and 4 international lounge visits, around ₹11,000 a year of real milestone vouchers for a ₹5 lakh spender and a fuel waiver, all at a ₹2,999 fee that waives at ₹3 lakh. But the Vistara-Air India merger stripped out the Club Vistara Silver and Trident Privilege Red memberships that once made it distinctive, so judge the 2026 PRIME on its rewards, not the status perks.

HSBC Cashback Credit Card (now HSBC Live+)

Built for the person who refuses to run a rewards programme — no portal, no points, no category to activate. Just flat 10% on dining, groceries and food delivery (capped ₹1,000/month), wrapped around a genuinely useful 1.5% unlimited base, auto-credited. Never optimal on any one transaction, always fine for all of them. The catches: the monthly cap and HSBC's lean ecosystem. (Now rebranded as HSBC Live+.)

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card

Still the most frictionless cashback card in the country and the top pick for beginners — lifetime-free, 5% on Amazon for Prime members, paid instantly as spendable Amazon Pay balance with nothing to manage. But the last two years dimmed the halo: an exclusion list that now reaches utility bills paid outside Amazon, plus a wave of new transaction fees, widened the gap between the "unlimited cashback" marketing and the fine print. Still excellent — just no longer untouchable.

YES Prosperity Cashback Plus Credit Card

Does one thing well and doesn't pretend otherwise — 5% cashback on utility bills paid by auto-pay standing instruction (capped ₹100 a cycle), a useful rate for a category most cards exclude or cap harshly. A focused bill-payment tool for the household with regular electricity, water, gas and broadband bills. Everything else is minor; pair it with a stronger card for general spend and accept the usual YES Bank trade-offs.

Best RuPay (UPI) Credit Cards in India (2026): What Actually Earns on UPI

RuPay credit cards let you pay by UPI and earn rewards — but the earn rate on a UPI-QR scan is rarely the headline rate. Here's an honest map of the best RuPay/UPI cards in 2026, the UPI earn trap to avoid, and when the RuPay version of a card beats its Visa twin.

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.

Tata Card

A discontinued entry-level Tata co-brand from 2019 — a ₹499 card with 3X points on grocery, up to 5% value back at Tata outlets and a 1% fuel-surcharge waiver. Closed to new applicants and superseded by the Tata Neu Plus SBI Card; documented here for reference only.

Tata Card SELECT

A discontinued premium Tata co-brand from 2019 — 3X points on grocery, dining and international spends, up to 5X at Tata outlets, and spend-linked vouchers worth up to ₹6,000. Closed to new applicants and superseded by the Tata Neu SBI cards; documented here for reference only.

Landmark Rewards SBI Card

The ₹499 entry rung of SBI's Landmark ladder: 10 Reward Points per ₹100 (~2.5%) at Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max and Spar, a ₹500 welcome that covers most of the ₹589 all-in fee, and up to ₹2,000 in milestone points. A cheap, honest loyalty card if you shop the Landmark Group — but points are worth ₹0.25 and only really redeem in those stores.

Tata Neu Plus SBI Card

The low-fee entry into the Tata Neu ecosystem — ₹499, reversed at just ₹1 lakh of spend, 2% NeuCoins across Tata brands and 1% on everything else including RuPay UPI. A sensible starter for light Tata shoppers, but committed ecosystem users will earn far more on the Infinity variant.

Doctor's SBI Card (in Association with IMA)

A niche card for registered doctors: its standout is a Rs.20 lakh professional indemnity cover and IMA association, not its rewards. The 5X on medical, travel and international spend is decent, but base earning is a thin ~0.25%. Worth it mainly for the indemnity protection, not as an everyday rewards card.

Paytm SBI Card

A low-fee entry card for Paytm regulars: 3% on Paytm Mall/Movies/Travel, 2% on other Paytm App spends and 1% everywhere else, now paid as Reward Points worth Re. 1 each. No lounge, no fee waiver — but at Rs. 499 it's an easy first card if Paytm is your default app.

Reliance SBI Card

A ₹499 entry co-brand for Reliance shoppers: 10 Reward Points per ₹100 (~2.5%) on AJIO and JioMart, up to ₹2,250 in annual Reliance vouchers, and a fee that reverses at ₹1 lakh. A sensible low-cost pick if you already shop at Reliance — but points are worth just ₹0.25 and redeem only into Reliance vouchers.

Shaurya Select SBI Card

The step-up defence card: a first-year-free Rs.1,499 card for armed-forces members that adds 4 domestic lounge visits, concierge and milestone vouchers up to Rs.7,000 on top of 2.5% on CSD canteen, dining, movies, grocery and departmental stores (0.5% elsewhere). Good if you spend enough to waive the fee at Rs.1.5 lakh. Its 5X is twice the entry Shaurya's, whatever the shared marketing suggests.

Shaurya SBI Card

A defence-personnel card with an unusually low Rs.250 fee, 5X points on everyday categories including CSD canteen spends, and a 1,000-point welcome worth most of the fee. It is a genuinely good-value entry card for armed-forces members — provided you know points are worth only Re.0.25 each.

BPCL SBI Card

A ₹499 fuel card: 4.25% value back at BPCL pumps, 5X points on dining, groceries and movies, and a ₹500 welcome gift that covers most of the ₹589 all-in first-year fee. Solid if you fuel up at BPCL — but the reward points are worth only ₹0.25 each and the fuel value is BPCL-only.

Doctor's SBI Card

A profession-specific card for registered doctors whose real draw is a Rs.20 lakh professional indemnity cover, not its rewards. You get 5X points on medical, travel and international spend but only ~0.25% on everything else. Worth it for the indemnity protection; weak as a general rewards card.

RBL Bank Cookies Credit Card

A monthly-fee lifestyle card built around three merchants: 10% cashback at Zomato, Myntra and Uber (capped ₹900/month), 5X points on online spends, and a ₹1,000 welcome voucher. Instead of an annual fee it charges ₹100 a month, waived whenever you spent ₹5,000 the previous month. Value lives almost entirely in those three partners.

Axis Bank Flipkart Credit Card

Still one of India's best low-fee shopping cards for Flipkart-and-Myntra loyalists — now with a welcome 7.5% on Myntra — but the June 2025 devaluation ended the uncapped 5%, adding ₹4,000-per-quarter caps and removing lounge access. For the normal shopper who stays within the caps, it's excellent value for its ₹500 fee (waived at ₹3.5 lakh spend); for the heavy spender who loved the unlimited era, it's a real step down.

slice UPI Credit Card

slice is a lifetime-free, UPI-first RuPay credit card — and after slice's merger with North East Small Finance Bank it is now a proper unsecured credit card issued by a licensed small finance bank, reporting cleanly to CIBIL. That makes it one of the better first cards for building a score. It earns cashback ('Monies') on everyday QR scans, carries zero forex on international online spends, and includes a built-in pay-in-3. The realistic earn is ~1%; the advertised 'up to 3%' needs balances most people won't hold.