<aside> <img src="/icons/forward_red.svg" alt="/icons/forward_red.svg" width="40px" /> When selecting the most suitable credit card, it is important to consider various factors such as income level, occupation, and individual needs. Here are some recommendations for different types of credit cards:
**https://www.paisabazaar.com/credit-card/25-best-credit-cards-india/**
| Card name | Annual Fee | Best Suited For | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cashback SBI Card | Rs. 999 | Cashback across all categories | 5% cashback on online transactions without any merchant restriction |
| Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card | Rs. 10,000 | Travel & Rewards | 12 Axis eDGE Reward Points on every Rs. 200; Unlimited lounge access |
| | Axis Ace Credit Card | Rs. 499 | Cashback | 2% cashback across all transactions
| | SBI Card ELITE | Rs. 4,999 | All-round Benefits | Welcome e-gift voucher worth Rs. 5,000
| | HDFC Diners Club Privilege | Rs 2,500 | Travel and Lifestyle | Complimentary Annual memberships of Amazon Prime, MMT BLACK, Times Prime and more
| | Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card | Rs 3,000 | Travel | Complimentary Premium Economy Ticket as welcome benefit and Club Vistara Silver Membership |
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/credit-card/credit-card-issuers/
| Name | Annual Fee and Annual Fee Spending Waiver | Features | Pros | Cons | Why Forbes picked/ranked it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card (4 stars by Forbes Advisor) | INR 2500 + 18% GST; No annual fee on spending INR 3 lakh in one year | Welcome Benefits: | |||
| 2,500 points | |||||
| Ongoing Benefits: | |||||
| Rewards: | |||||
| 1. 4 Reward Points on every INR 150 spent on all retail spends including insurance, utilities, education and rent pay. |
2. 10,000 Reward Points on annual spends of INR 5 lakh.
3. Additional 5,000 Reward Points on annual spends of INR 8 lakh.
APR: 41.88% 12 free airport Lounge visits. 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations in India. 25% discount at partner restaurants. 1+1 on buffet at selective restaurants. Insurance/Comprehensive Protection 1. Accidental air death cover of INR 1 crore.
2. Emergency overseas hospitalization cover of up to INR 15 lakh.
3. Lost card liability cover of INR 9 lakh.
24/7 concierge services. Lowest foreign currency mark-up fee on international transactions of 2%. | > This card has the lowest foreign currency markup, which is 2%, lower than many other cards in the market that have a foreign currency markup range of 3% to 3.5%.
Reward Points can be used to book train tickets and make purchases on websites such as Amazon, Flipkart, Redbus, etc. Features like emergency overseas hospitalization is a plus. Free airport lounge visits. Fuel surcharge waiver. | > Reward Points are given only on retail spending. > You cannot make EMIs payments on the purchase of gold or any kind of jewelry. The Dineout Passport Membership card covers only a select few cities in India making it a limited service. | This premium credit card is ideal for people who travel by air, do online shopping (preferably via foreign websites as it has the lowest foreign currency markup) and like to dine out as the Dineout membership provides a 25% discount in partner restaurants. From time to time it comes up with good offers where one can earn 5X to 10X reward points. | | INFINIA Credit Card Metal Edition (4 stars by Frobes Advisor) | INR 12,500 + 18% GST; annual fee spending waiver on spending INR 10 lakh in one year | Welcome Benefits:
Complimentary Club Marriott membership 12,500 Reward Points (for one year only). Ongoing Benefits:
Lowest foreign currency mark-up fee on international transactions of 2%. Up to 50 days of interest-free period on your HDFC Bank Infinia credit card from the date of purchase. 5 Reward Points for every INR 150 retail spend including insurance, utilities, education and rent payment. 10 times Reward Points on your travel and shopping spends on Smartbuy.
APR: 23.88% Unlimited airport lounge visits. 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between INR 400 and INR 1,00,000 1+1 weekend buffet offers at ITC Hotels. Dineout Passport membership for a year that offers: 1. 20% off at 2,000 + premium restaurants 1+1 on Buffet at 200+ restaurants
2. 1+1 on food, drinks at partner restaurants.
3. 15% discount on bill payment via Dineout Pay.
Accidental air death cover of INR 3 crore. Emergency overseas hospitalization up to INR 50 lakh. Unlimited complimentary golf games at select golf courses in India and abroad. Zero lost card liability. | > There is no cap on cash Reward Points.
No cap on airport lounge access (even for a secondary card holder). Complimentary nights and weekend buffet at participating ITC Hotels. Foreign currency markup is 2% (which is around 3.5% in general). Unlimited golf privileges. Unlimited airport lounge visits. Fuel surcharge waiver available. | > No pay points back on fuel transaction (fuel here means petrol and diesel) as this is an ultra premium credit card. Club Marriott membership is only for the first year. To get the accidental air death cover, one will have to purchase their flight tickets with the help of this credit card only. No Reward Point if the fee has not been paid. | The card is reward-point based and one can even get reward points on paying rent, for insurance and education. It provides unlimited access to golf and airport lounges for frequent travelers and golf enthusiasts. | | Platinum Times Credit Card (3 stars by Forbes Advisor) | INR 1,000 + 18% GST; annual fee spending waiver on spending INR 2 lakh 50 thousand in one year. | Welcome Benefits:
Gift vouchers across shopping, apparel, dining and many more categories Ongoing Benefits:
Utility bill payment via SmartPay. 25% off on movie tickets on BookMyShow. Discount offers are available from time to time on dining, wellness, shopping and travel. Rewards: 1. 3 Reward Points for spending INR 150 every time.
2. 10 Reward Points on every spent of INR 150 for dining during weekdays.
3. Transactions as a result of paying the insurance are also rewarded.
APR: 43.20% 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transaction between INR 400 and INR 5,000. Max waiver of INR 500 per statement cycle. Insurance/ Comprehensive Protection 1. Zero lost card liability
2. Interest-free credit period
3. Revolving credit | >Zero lost card liability.
Transactions as a result of the payment of insurance are also rewarded. | > No lounge visits available. No insurance covers available. | The card provides various offers round the year on dining, shopping, wellness etc.
One can get many online and offline offers with the help of the Times Card app specific to the location of that person at times providing 10%, 15%, 25% discounts to users. | | InterMiles HDGC Bank Platinum Credit Card (3 stars by Forbes Advisor) | INR 1,000 + 18% GST; annual fee spending waiver on spending INR 2 lakh 50 thousand in one year. | Renewal Benefits
1,500 InterMiles upon spending INR 3,000 within the first 30 days of the Anniversary date. Flight Discount voucher worth INR 500 Hotel Discount voucher worth INR 1000 All Welcome Benefits:
3,000 Bonus InterMiles. 1,500 InterMiles on spending INR 3,000 within the first 30 days of setting the card. 1,500 InterMiles on total retail spends of INR 50,000 and above, within the first 90 days. Flight Discount voucher worth INR 500 for the first year Hotel Discount vouchers worth INR 1000 for the first year Ongoing Benefits
5% discount on Etihad Airways economy class tickets. 2.5X InterMiles for Etihad Airways tickets booked. Rewards: 1. 4 InterMiles on every INR 150 spent on retail spend.
2. 8 InterMiles on every INR 150 spent on every flight ticket.
3. 8 InterMiles on every INR 150 spent in a hotel.
APR: 43.20% 2 international airport lounge visits per quarter that makes it 8 lounge visits per year. Unlimited domestic airport lounge visits. 1% fuel surcharge waiver on minimum transaction of INR 400, waiver capped at INR 250 every billing cycle. 20% discount on dining bills paid through Dineout Pay. Zero lost card liability Interest-free credit period Revolving credit | > Dineout membership available.
Value of the welcome benefits at INR 53,000 is attractive. Unlimited domestic airport visits. | > No insurances available (as the fee of the card is quite nominal). InterMiles gold membership is only available for the first year. Lounge visits could have been more for international airports. | This card facilitates travelers to book hotels and flights online. One can avail discounts of around 5% on Etihad Airlines and bonus points at the same time. It is noteworthy that subscribers get the InterMiles gold membership for the first year. One can make full use of it by taking that membership the year one has plans to travel frequently. | | Business MoneyBack (3.5 stars by Forbes Advisor) | INR 500 + 18% GST; annual fee spending waiver on spending INR 50 thousand in one year. | Ongoing Benefits:
5% Cashback on Telecom, Utility, Govt & Tax Payments. Terms for cashback: Maximum cashback of INR 250 per statement on minimum monthly spends of INR 10,000 (here it means that to avail this 5% cashback, which can go a maximum to INR 250, one will have to have a minimum spend of INR 10,000). Rewards: 1. Earn Reward Points for every spend of INR 150.
2. 4 Reward Points on online spends.
3. 2 Reward Points on all other expenses.
For Current Account Holders: 1. Double cashback on all business essentials such as telecom, utility, government and tax payments only up to INR 500 per statement. This will be the same as above from the second year onwards (maximum cashback of INR 250 per statement on minimum monthly spends of INR 10,000. Here it means that to avail this 5% cashback, which can go maximum to INR 250, one will have to have a minimum spend of INR 10,000).
2. Cashback exchange rate for cash is 100 Reward Points = INR 20
3. POS Rental Reversal: On spending INR 30,000 on your credit card and monthly volume of INR 25,000 on HDFC POS machine capped at INR 1000 per month.
APR: 43.20% Lounge Benefit (Y/N): N Fuel Benefit Description: 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transaction between INR 400 and INR 250 per statement cycle. Dining Benefit Description: Discount of 20% on making payments via Dineout Pay(Maximum discount capped at INR 1,000 per month). Insurance/ Comprehensive Protection (Y/N): N Other Benefits:
Zero lost card liability Interest-free credit period Revolving credit | > One gets Reward Points as well as cash back.
POS Rental Reversal | > No insurance (as the fee is nominal) There is a cap on the 5% cashback that one gets on paying bills. Maximum discount capped at INR 1,000 per month on making payment through Dineout Pay. No lounge benefit as the card serves a different domain altogether. | One can get cash back of 5% and Reward Points at the same time. There is a cap on cash back of INR 250 per billing cycle but no cap on Reward Points.
The annual fee is just INR 500 so if one could get a cash back of even INR 250 in a month the fee amount can be realized in just two months.
There are better facilities for the current account holders for the first year and from the second year it is the same for all. The card also provides the facility of POS reversal as well. This card is beneficial if the user has to pay bills costing more than INR 10,000. |
Annual Fee
INR 4,999 + Taxes
Key Feature
Luxury
Why We Picked It
SBI Elite is a premium credit card aimed at facilitating people travelling, staying in hotels and making purchases from foreign websites. It has the lowest foreign currency markup and there are reward points for purchasing goods from foreign websites as well.
Pros
Cons
Features:
Annual Fee
INR 2,999 + Taxes
Key Feature
Luxury
Why We Picked It
SBI Card PRIME is another premium credit card by SBI. Unlike other premium credit cards, SBI PRIME may be more accessible for some. This card also has three variants as a result of SBI’s collaboration with Visa, MasterCard and American Express. There is a slight difference in the facilities that these three companies provide. From Club Vistara membership to airport lounges, it facilitates travellers and even the system of reward points is appealing.