Cashback is the simplest form of benefit a credit card can offer. You spend money and you get real value back, instead of earning rewards and later redeeming them for cash, vouchers or other items. There are several cashback credit cards in India, most of them offering extra cashback on select spending categories. There is no single cashback card to match everyone’s needs so you should pick the right credit card based on how you spend your money.
|
Best Pick For: Co-branded Benefits
Annual Fee: Rs. 500
The card is among the best co-branded credit cards in India. When talking about value back across most popular categories, the Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card is close to perfect. You get 5% cashback on three popular shopping websites- Flipkart, Myntra and 2GUD and the other preferred merchant category offering 4% cashback covers travel (GoIbibo and MakeMyTrip), movies (PVR), dining (UberEats) and more.
Annual Fee: Nil
There are four reasons as to why Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card wins over Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card:
Best Pick for: Online Shopping
Annual Fee: Rs. 750
This card works very well for those who like to shop online but do not want to be limited to a particular website. 1.5% cashback across all online spends is a good deal. The card also offers 1% flat-rate cashback across all other purchases allowing you to get maximum benefit out of the program.
Monthly Fee: Rs. 49
The Standard Chartered DigiSmart Credit Card does not offer cashback. It helps you save in the form of direct discounts but only across specific partners. There is maximum discount on each discount category so even if you spend a lot, the value back will be limited.
Best Pick For: Overall Cashback Benefit
Annual Fee: Rs. 1,000
HDFC Millennia Credit Card perfectly match the needs of the millennials as the cashback benefit has been spread across multiple categories including online shopping, travel, wallet reloading and even on offline transactions. This is a good mix of features and is difficult to be found in any other card in its price range.
Annual Fee: Rs. 750
Though Axis Bank Buzz Credit Card offers considerable discount on Flipkart and helps you save, it does not offer the same benefits throughout. On shopping online with other websites, value back is in the form of rewards which will have to redeemed later to get the actual benefit.
Best Pick For: Movies and Utilities
Annual Fee: Rs. 500
There are very few credit cards that would give a 5% cashback on utility bill payments for an annual fee of only Rs. 500. The benefit is also easy to avail for many, as utility bills are a necessity more than a choice. Offers and discounts applicable to Citibank credit cards would also be applicable to the Citi Cashback Credit Card.
Annual Fee: Rs. 2,999
SBI Card PRIME offers extra benefits on utility bill payment and movies but it is offered in the form of rewards. Although there is the facility to convert rewards into statement cash but the rate stands very low at Re. 0.25 for each reward point.
SBI Card PRIME would find a better place in the list of best rewards credit cards in India.
Best Pick For: Supermarket Spends
Annual Fee: Rs. 999
This card is good for people who make big purchases at supermarkets, as there is no maximum cap on the amount of cashback. Other transactions are also rewarded with 3X points. Overall, the offers and discounts on Standard Chartered Credit Cards will also help the users a lot.
Annual Fee: Rs. 749
The value back on Kotak Essentia Credit Card is offered in the form of Saving Points (which are equivalent to cashback) which have to be redeemed just like reward points. Maximum cap of Rs. 500 is also there every month, which is not there in case of the Manhattan Credit Card by Standard Chartered Bank.
Best Pick For: Fuel and Utilities
Annual Fee: Rs. 250
There are only a few non-branded fuel credit cards in India which would offer such a benefit on fuel expenses. So is the case with utilities benefit. The card is best suited for those who would want to add on to their available credit limit while using the card only for the said categories.
Annual Fee: Rs. 499
First of all, the fuel benefits are offered only at BPCL Petrol Pumps. Secondly, the way these benefits are offered is very complicated and may not add up to much, unlike the direct cashback on the Standard Chartered Credit Card.
Best Pick For: Dining and Movies
Annual Fee: Rs. 299
Kotak Delight Platinum Credit Card is best-suited to the needs of frequent diners as it offers cashback at each and every restaurant and café. Though there is a cap of Rs. 600 per month on each category, the reward rate is quite competitive.
Annual Fee: Rs. 500
Unlike Kotak Delight Credit Card, the RBL Bank Edition Classic Card does not offer direct cashback but gives Edition Cash which has to be redeemed later. The rate of earning is also half of that given by the Kotak Credit Card.
The main criterion for us has been the value back that each of these cards offer. We have also covered different spending categories from supermarket spends, fuel and groceries to those with comprehensive cashback benefits across multiple categories. Most of the cards in our list are from ‘low to moderate’ fee range and thus suited to the needs of many. You can read our reviews of the listed cards to get an unbiased opinion on each of them.
The choice of right cashback credit card depends on how you plan to use the card. Since credit card benefits are usually inclined towards one or two specific categories, understanding your need is very important while choosing any type of card. For example, if you plan to use the card mainly for groceries, the Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card would be good for you. However, if you wish to be rewarded for fuel expenses, their Super Value Titanium Credit Card would be better.
Once you have narrowed down your options, you should compare the cards on the basis of annual fee, cashback rate, bonus categories, etc.
The idea behind cashback and rewards is the same- they are simply an incentive for using your card. While cashback is simple to understand and manage, reward points are a bit complicated because of the extra step of first accumulating them and then redeeming at a later stage. Some cards allow you to convert the reward points into cash but the rate may not be the same. At the same time, there are rewards credit cards that allow conversion into miles which could be better than cashback, especially if you travel often. So, you must make a choice depending on your needs.
Any credit card would be worth only if you manage to get benefits at least equivalent to the annual fee charged. Most cashback cards charge low annual fee so it is likely that you would be able to make the most of it even if you do not put every expense on the card. However, you should always pay your bills on time so that the extra charges do not eat into your benefits.
The easiest way to maximize the benefits on your cashback credit card is to use it for the bonus category of expenses. For example, if your cashback credit card offers fuel benefits, you must put your fuel expenses on this card to make the most of it.
You should consider getting a cashback credit card if your rewards card does not cover a particular spending category. Even if you are happy with your rewards credit card, getting a low or no annual fee cashback credit card does not hurt.
Yes. This is because rewards may look like a lot but their actual value back is low. Mostly, the monetary value of 1 reward point ranges from Re. 0.25 to Re. 0.50. But when you get real and direct cashback, even 2% is better.