In-depth review
IRCTC SBI Platinum Card
A ₹500 co-brand for train travellers: 8% value back on IRCTC AC-class tickets (SBI advertises "up to 10%"; its own terms pay 10 points per ₹125, not ₹100), 4 railway lounge visits a year, and a 500-point renewal bonus worth most of the fee. Great if you book rail often — weak at almost everything else.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹350 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — conditional on ₹500 of spend within 60 days of card set-up
8 points/₹100 on Travel (~8% value)
10 Travel Reward Points per ₹125 (8%) on AC-class IRCTC tickets booked at irctc.co.in; 1 point = ₹1 against a ticket, credited 5 days after travel. SBI markets it as "up to 10%" and its own back-of-booklet FAQ says 10 per ₹100; the Travel Reward Point Calculation clause governs.
0.8% on Other
1 Reward Point per ₹125 (~0.8%) on non-fuel retail purchases. SBI sweeps the whole point balance to your IRCTC loyalty account monthly, where 1 point is worth ₹1 against a ticket — so the ₹1 rate is the one that applies, but only if you actually book AC rail. Fuel and cash spends excluded.
Railway Lounge Access
Complimentary: 4 railway lounge visits a year (1 a quarter)
Milestone Bonus
~₹500 in bonus rewards on hitting annual spend milestones
✈️ TRAVEL BENEFITS
Lounge access, miles, forex rates and travel perks at a glance.
3.5%
Forex markup
8.0%
Travel reward rate
AIRLINE / TRAVEL PARTNERS
- Railway lounge access (4 visits/yr, worth ~₹600)
- Miles on: IRCTC
- 8.0% effective return on travel bookings
For the frequent train traveller who books AC-class tickets on IRCTC and wants a cheap dedicated rail card whose renewal bonus covers most of the fee — not a primary everyday card.
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 | reward points | 8%8 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | — |
| Other | reward points | 0.8%0.8 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | — |
Travel: 10 Travel Reward Points per ₹125 (8%) on AC-class IRCTC tickets booked at irctc.co.in; 1 point = ₹1 against a ticket, credited 5 days after travel. SBI markets it as "up to 10%" and its own back-of-booklet FAQ says 10 per ₹100; the Travel Reward Point Calculation clause governs. · IRCTC
Other: 1 Reward Point per ₹125 (~0.8%) on non-fuel retail purchases. SBI sweeps the whole point balance to your IRCTC loyalty account monthly, where 1 point is worth ₹1 against a ticket — so the ₹1 rate is the one that applies, but only if you actually book AC rail. Fuel and cash spends excluded.
Earns nothing on: Fuel · Rent · Government & Tax · Wallet Loads · Cash Advances
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 |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹2,300/yr in total.
4 complimentary railway lounge visits a year in India (max 1 per quarter), for primary cardholders only.
1% fuel surcharge waiver across petrol pumps in India on transactions of ₹500 to ₹3,000; maximum ₹100 per statement cycle.
500 Reward Points (~₹500) on payment and realisation of the renewal fee each year.
Should you get it?
- Best for: Frequent train travellers booking AC-class tickets on IRCTC, First-time cardholders wanting a low-fee travel card, Users who book rail tickets on the IRCTC website or app, Railway commuters who value station lounge access
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (0.8% back; 8% only at IRCTC).
- Frequent travellers benefit from the included airport lounge access.
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- 8% value back as Reward Points on IRCTC AC-class train tickets (10 points per ₹125)
- Low ₹500 fee with a 500-point (~₹500) renewal bonus that covers most of the ₹590 all-in fee
- 4 railway lounge visits a year plus a 1% fuel surcharge waiver
- 1% saving on transaction charges for railway tickets booked at irctc.co.in
✕ Cons
- Only 1 point per ₹125 on general non-fuel spends — about 0.8%, and realisable only against an IRCTC ticket, since SBI sweeps the balance out monthly and leaves no catalogue fallback
- Rewards are IRCTC-locked; redemption is via the IRCTC loyalty account
- Fuel and cash spends earn nothing
- No fee-waiver spend threshold — the ₹500 renewal is charged (mostly offset by the 500-point bonus)
Eligibility & documents
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / address proof
- 📄Income proof (salary slips or ITR)
- 📄Recent passport-size photograph
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Reward Points transfer to your IRCTC loyalty account and redeem for train tickets on the IRCTC website/app
- 🎁1 Reward Point = ₹1 when redeemed against IRCTC bookings
What your SBI Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Capped at 60,000 pts/month from Apr 2026
Vouchers & merchandise
General spends earn only 1 point per ₹125, and the ₹1-per-point rate that makes this card look good is realisable only against an IRCTC ticket — SBI transfers the balance out monthly, so there is no catalogue fallback if you stop travelling by train. Fuel, rent, government payments, wallet loads and cash earn nothing.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I earn on train tickets?
What do I earn on other spends?
Is there a welcome benefit?
Does it have lounge access?
How has the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card changed over time?
Has the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card been devalued recently?
When did the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card's fees last change?
How did the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card change in 2024?
The bottom line
A well-priced single-purpose card — 8% back on IRCTC AC tickets, railway lounge access and a renewal bonus worth most of the fee. Hold it as a dedicated rail-booking card alongside a proper everyday earner, since general spends earn a thin 1 point per ₹125.
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 IRCTC SBI Platinum Card are taken from SBI Card'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 SBI Card. 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 2016 · last change Apr 2026
2026
- ▼ RedemptionObserved 26 Feb 2026 · Effective 1 Apr 2026
Statement-credit redemption capped & blocked into 4,000-point multiples
Unrestricted statement-credit redemption, any point quantity→Max 60,000 RP/month; redeemable only in multiples of 4,000
Effective 1 April 2026, SBI Card capped statement-credit redemption at 60,000 Reward Points per card per calendar month and required redemptions in multiples of 4,000 points, removing partial/small redemptions. This touches only statement-credit redemption of the card's general Reward Points — the IRCTC SBI Platinum's headline value back, redeemed at 1 RP = ₹1 into the IRCTC loyalty account, is unaffected. (Only Air India SBI Signature and the two PhonePe SBI variants are exempt from the cap.)
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · Confidence: High
2025
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Nov 2025
1% fee on third-party education payments & wallet loads
No surcharge on education/wallet-load spends→1% fee on 3rd-party education fees & wallet loads over ₹1,000
In its system-wide fee revision effective 1 November 2025, SBI Card added a 1% fee on education-fee payments made via third-party apps/aggregators (Paytm, PhonePe, Razorpay, etc.; direct school/college website or campus POS payments stay free) and a 1% fee on digital-wallet loads exceeding ₹1,000. Applies to the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card.
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · Confidence: High
2024
- ▲ RewardEffective 26 Dec 2024
Value-back now credited on the complete booking
Cardholder's fare only→Complete booking
In line with the IRCTC SBI co-brand T&C update, the up-to-10% value back on AC-class IRCTC tickets is credited on the complete booking rather than only the cardholder's own fare portion, and earned reward points are valid for 2 years from the member's registration date. Reconstructed by analogy to the sibling Premier's dated T&C change; a Platinum-specific e-kit PDF was not located this pass.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: Reconstructed
- ▼ RewardEffective 15 Jul 2024
Government transactions stop earning reward points
Earned→Excluded
From 15 July 2024, government-related transactions (MCC 9399 and 9311 — tax, fines and government-service payments) on the IRCTC SBI Platinum Card no longer accrue reward points, in line with SBI Card's wider exclusion across its card portfolio.
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardObserved 1 Mar 2024 · Effective 15 Apr 2024
Reward points removed on rent payments (MCC 6513)
Base RP earned on rent payments→No RP on rent payments (MCC 6513)
SBI Card stopped awarding Reward Points on rent payments coded under MCC 6513 — effective 1 April 2024 for standard cards and 15 April 2024 for co-branded cards such as the IRCTC SBI Platinum. Combined with the ₹199 processing fee, rent became a fully unrewarded, fee-bearing spend.
Verification: SBI Card ↗ · 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/sbi-irctc-platinum#value-timeline">IRCTC SBI Platinum Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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