Apollo SBI Card Review

Co-branded credit cards are quite popular in the market these days but you will find most of these cards co-branded with an airline, loyalty program, retail brand or hypermarket. The Indian credit card market is still developing and not many cards focus on helping you with your medical needs. It was in 2018 that SBI Card launched a one-of-its-kind credit card in association with Apollo Hospitals Group- the Apollo SBI Card.

The card aims at offering benefits on healthcare services and some other spending categories. You can also enjoy privileges on using Apollo Healthcare Services. Here is Apollo SBI Credit Card Review to help you decide whether you should get this card.

Complimentary OneApollo Silver Tier Membership

The Apollo SBI Card offers a complimentary Silver Tier Membership to the cardholders. Under this, you will be enjoying the following benefits:

• 1% of the bill amount as Health Credits (HC) at Apollo Centers
• 5% off on non-pharmaceutical products
• 10% off on pharmaceutical products
• 10% off on Apollo Branded products
• Redeem Health Credits at Apollo Healthcare Centers in 1:1 ratio

Now, this is not really a privilege as you can get it easily without the credit card. Silver Tier is the basic membership which you can get while registering through OneApollo Websites, AskApollo App or by walking into any Apollo Pharmacy Store. Even if you make a transaction above Rs. 500 at any Apollo Healthcare Center, you will get this membership for no added cost.

Rewards Program on Apollo SBI Card

Apart from being a card focused on medical services, this card can also be categorized as a Rewards Card. This is because it lets you earn rewards across multiple categories in the manner given below:

• 500 bonus reward points as joining benefit
• 3 reward points per Rs. 100 on Apollo Services
• 2 reward points per Rs. 100 on movies, entertainment and dining
• 1 reward point per Rs. 100 on beauty and wellness services

Please note that the reward points earned on Apollo SBI Card can only be redeemed to avail services at Apollo Healthcare Centers and other Apollo Stores. There are a few good things about the rewards program making it a great choice for users of Apollo Services.

• Rewards can be instantly redeemed at Apollo Healthcare Centers directly through POS. Click here to see the list of Apollo Centers where this facility can be availed
• Rewards can also be converted into Apollo Heath Credits (HC)
• There is no minimum rewards threshold for instant rewards redemption
• Rewards can also be used to get Apollo Vouchers

Get the Annual Fee Waived Off

Apollo SBI Card charges an annual fee of Rs. 499. The fee gets waived off on reaching annual spending threshold of Rs. 90,000 in the preceding year. The spend limit is set quite high as the average spending limit to waive off the fee of Rs. 499 is usually Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 60,000.

Click here to read more about Apollo SBI Card Fees and Charges

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

The Apollo SBI Card offers 1% fuel surcharge waiver across all fuel stations in the country. Nowadays, this is a common feature across all credit cards with the maximum waiver amount varying from one card to another. The maximum monthly waiver amount is Rs. 100.

Common SBI Card Features

Along with the benefits specific to medical facilities, Apollo SBI Card will also be eligible for the common privileges that all other SBI cards enjoy. These include:

• Acceptance at over 24 million outlets across the world
• Transfer overdue balances from other bank’s credit cards to enjoy a lower rate of interest in pay back in EMIs
• Convert transactions of over Rs. 2,500 into EMIs within 30 days of purchase using the FlexiPay feature
• Set standing instructions for utility bill payment under the Easy Bill Pay Facility
• Enjoy the Easy Money feature and get a cheque or draft against the cash limit on your credit card

Drawbacks of Apollo SBI Card

Honestly, the card is only good for medical services with Apollo Healthcare. Even then, there are a few things where it could have been better.

The complimentary OneApollo Silver Tier Membership is not much of a benefit as you could avail it by simply enrolling for the program free of cost. If they had to give this benefit, they should have at least offered a Gold Tier Membership to the program which otherwise requires the user to spend at least Rs. 75,000 in a year.

The reward points cannot be redeemed for items against SBI Card’s rewards catalogue. They can only be redeemed to avail services at Apollo Healthcare Centers and related stores.

The annual fee waiver condition is set too high at Rs. 90,000 for a card that does not offer benefits across other categories. To be able to get the waiver, you will need to put more expenses on the card.

Should you get this card?

The answer to this question is quite simple. If you have regular medical expenses, this card could be a good choice. It is possibly targeted at the young adults who have children or elderly parents at home as their medical needs would be higher.

However, if you think that you only need to go to the doctor once in a while, you could definitely get better options as per your spending habits.

Bottom Line

Apollo SBI Card was the first-ever card launched in India which was targeted at medical benefits. Even today, there is only one more card in this category- RBL Practo Plus Credit Card. Though it was a good initiative by SBI Card to bring such a credit card in the market, it seems a lot of people are still not aware of it. Also, because of the co-branding, the targeted customer segment becomes more limited.