Best Credit Cards for People Earning Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1 Lakh per month

Annual Fee: Rs. 2,500 (Waived off on spending more than Rs. 40,000 within first 90 days)
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs. 1 lakh p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs. 12 lakh p.a.

HDFC Regalia is one of the most popular cards from HDFC Bank owing to its all-round benefits across travel, shopping, dining and more. The default reward rate of 2.67% is one of the highest in this fee range. The redemption rate, however, is only 0.5%. So, if you spend Rs. 15,000, you will get 400 reward points and when you redeem them they will be worth Rs. 200. Though Regalia has a good rewards rate, it does not offer accelerated rewards on specific categories and, in this aspect, it ranks lower than cards like SBI Card PRIME and YES Prosperity Edge as the category-specific rewards range between 4% and 10% on these cards. If you are a frequent traveller, with Regalia you will get 6 international lounge visits per year and 12 domestic lounge visits per year. Low forex markup of 2% makes international spending cheaper for you.

Regalia is a great card for high-spenders who make several purchases in a month across different categories. The card has a good reward rate, thus, can be counted amongst the best rewards credit card in India. Plus, you also get generous bonus rewards on reaching spending milestones. So, if you are a frequent shopper and also take several trips in a year, this card would suit your needs the best.

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Benefit- Complimentary Dineout Passport Membership

Lounge Access- Cardholders get the following airport lounge benefits:

• 12 complimentary domestic lounge access per year via Visa/Mastercard
• Complimentary Priority Pass Membership with 6 free visits per calendar year

Reward Points- 4 reward points per Rs. 150 spent on all retail spends except fuel

Milestone Benefits- Rewards on reaching spending milestones:

• 10,000 reward points on spending Rs. 5 Lakh in a year
• Additional 5,000 reward points on spending Rs. 8 Lakhs in a year

Annual Fee: Rs.2,500 + Taxes
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.70,000 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.8.4 lakh p.m.

Available in the same fee range as HDFC Regalia, the HDFC Diners Club Privilege Credit Card comes with travel and lifestyle privileges. While Regalia offers only Zomato Pro membership as a welcome benefit, Diners Club Privilege gives 4 more memberships- Amazon Prime, Big Basket, MMT Double Black and Times Prime; at the same spending condition of Rs. 75,000 in 3 months. Another big plus-point for this card is its fantastic perks package, including discounts at exclusive gyms, spas, salons, and 2 free golf games quarterly. Its rewards rate is also the same as Regalia but you have the option of converting those air miles and also to make travel bookings through Smartbuy. Low forex markup fee of 1.99% and lounge access for both primary and add-on members make this credit card well-suited for frequent travellers.

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Benefit- Complimentary annual memberships from Zomato Pro, Amazon Prime, MMTDoubleBlack, Times Prime, and Big Basket Star, on spending Rs.75,000 within the first 90 days or on paying the joining fee.

Also Read: Best Dining Credit Cards in India

Lounge Access- Both primary and add-on cardholders can get 12 complimentary airport lounge access to 1000+ lounges in India and worldwide.

Lifestyle Benefits- Enjoy exclusive discounts at best spas, salons, gyms, etc. Card-holders can also enjoy 2 complimentary golf games (per quarter) across the finest courses in the world.

Reward Points- One can earn 4 reward points for every retail transaction worth Rs.150.

Milestone Benefits- On spending Rs.40,000 every month, HDFC Diners Club Privilege Credit Card Holders can select any one of the following benefits-

• Ola select or Cure.fit Live 1-month membership
• BookMyShow or Tata Cliq vouchers worth Rs.500 every month

Annual Fee: Rs.4,999
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.60,000 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.60,000 p.m.

SBI Elite Credit Card is a member of the premium credit card family offering some great rewards along with benefits on travel and movies. Due to its high joining fee, SBI Elite card may not be a feasible choice for every individual. But, the welcome gift voucher worth Rs.5000 makes up for the same. The card earns a sound 2% rewards rate and 10% on dining, groceries, and at department stores. So, if you spend Rs. 10,000 on groceries, you get 1,000 reward points which you can later redeem for vouchers, merchandise or cash credit (0.25% conversion rate). With the opulent Trident Hotels, Priority Pass and Club Vistara membership, you will be able to make your travel experience better and save a considerable amount. The forex markup fee is also low at 1.99% making international expenses cheaper.

SBI Elite Credit Card is the best choice for someone who would want to put maximum expenses on the card to get high rewards and, at the same time, get premium privileges on travel. The more you spend the more you will earn in the form of bonus milestone rewards. It is up to the user to utilize the maximum benefits of the card so that it can be compensated.

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Gift- E-gift voucher worth Rs. 5,000 within 15 days of annual fee payment.

Movie Benefit- Complimentary movie tickets worth Rs. 6,000 every year.

Bonus Rewards- Up to 50,000 Bonus Reward Points worth Rs. 12,500 per year

Lounge Access- Complimentary membership to the Priority Pass Program worth $99 and 2 complimentary Domestic Airport Lounge visits every quarter

Accelerated Rewards- 5X Reward Points on Dining, Departmental stores and Grocery Spends

Travel Benefits- Complimentary Club Vistara Silver membership and Trident Privilege Red Tier membership

Annual Fee: Rs.1,199 (Renewal membership fee will be reversed on total retails spends of Rs.75,000*)
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.60,000 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.60,000 p.m.

YES Bank Prosperity is majorly a rewards-oriented credit card, with a comparatively low joining fee. On every Rs.200 spent on Grocery Stores & Supermarkets, Department Stores and Dining, you can earn 8 reward points. These are quite sensible everyday categories hence making it a great feature. For other categories, you can earn 4 reward points on every Rs.200 spent. This default rate is also quite a generous one for this fee range. Moreover, you can earn 15,000 bonus reward points on spending Rs.6 lakhs or more in every anniversary year.

The card gives 4 complimentary rounds of green fees per calendar year at select golf courses in India. With 2 complimentary domestic lounge visits per quarter across 30+ Lounges in India and a complimentary Priority Pass Membership for Primary Cardmember, its travel perks are also satisfactory. The card is best suited for those who would like to put everyday expenses on the card and get rewarded plus avail a few travel benefits in a year.

Other Features and Benefits:

Rewards– Up to 4 reward points per Rs. 100 spent. Earn 500 Reward points per YES PayNow registration. 4 Reward Point = Re. 1 / 1 Intermiles.

Lounge Access– Free Priority Pass membership along with 2 free MasterCard domestic Lounge access per quarter.

Golf Benefits– 4 free rounds of green fees per year at select Golf courses in India along with 1 free Golf Lesson every month.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver– Waiver on transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5,000.

Insurance Cover- Air Accident insurance cover of Rs.50 lakh and International Medical insurance of up to Rs.15 lakh.

Annual Fee: Rs.5,000
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.50,001 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.50,001 p.m.

If you are looking for a credit card that offers optimum travel benefits, then American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is the right choice. You will get 5,000 milestone reward points which can be redeemed against travel vouchers worth Rs.3,500. On spending Rs.1.90 lakhs in a year, you will get Travel Vouchers worth Rs.6,360 and Rs.9,440 travel vouchers on spending Rs.4 lakhs in a year. So, the more you spend, the more rewards you earn. Besides, you can also earn some luxurious benefits such as the Taj Experiences E-Gift Card worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta Hotels.

As compared to other travel cards such as HDFC Regalia and HDFC Infinia, this card offers an amazing rewards rate. For perks, you will receive 1 complimentary visit per quarter to select domestic airport lounges. You should get this card for its excellent monetary value, travel vouchers and Taj benefits.

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Gift– 5,000 bonus Milestone reward points which can be redeemed against travel vouchers worth Rs. 3,500.

Dining Discounts– Up to 20% discount on dining at premium restaurants.

Milestone Benefits–

• On spending Rs.1.90 lakhs in a year, get Travel Vouchers* worth over ₹ 6,360
• On spending Rs. 4 Lakh in a year, get Travel Vouchers worth Rs. 9,440
• Taj Experiences E-Gift Card worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta Hotels

Access to Airport Lounges- 4 complimentary visits per year limited to one visit per quarter at airport lounges across the country.

Additional Benefits– 2 free supplementary cards, Zero Lost Card Liability, pay-in-parts privilege wherein you can create EMIs for certain purchases, 24*7 platinum assist and emergency card replacement anywhere across the world.

Annual Fee: Rs.999 (waived off on spending Rs.1,20,000 annually)
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.90,000 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.10.8 lakh p.a.

Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card gives 5% cashback on grocery spends and 3 reward points per Rs. 150 on other spends. However, this benefit is subject to terms and conditions. For grocery spends, you can get 5% cashback but only up to Rs.500 every month and Rs.150 per transaction. Also, this cashback can be earned only with a minimum transaction of Rs.1000. As compared to other cards with grocery benefits such as YES Prosperity Edge and YES Prosperity Cashback Card, this benefit is not satisfactory. On the perks side, the card comes with a welcome gift of BookMyShow movie voucher worth Rs.2,000 with your first transaction which is a pretty good deal for movie lovers. You should only go for this credit card if your goal remains to earn cashback on your day-to-day expenses and perhaps some travel and movie discounts.

Also Read: Best Cashback Credit Cards in India

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Gift Vouchers– BookMyShow vouchers worth Rs. 2,000 on transacting within the first 90 days.

Cashback– 5% direct cashback at departmental stores and supermarkets.

Rewards– 3 reward points for every Rs. 150 spent across different categories.

The Good Life Programme– Discounts and offers on dining, shopping, travel and more.

EMI Facility- Convert big-ticket purchases (above Rs. 5,000) into EMIs.

Annual Fee: Rs.4,999
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.60,000 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.60,000 p.m.

For this income bracket, Air India SBI Signature Card is a good co-branded travel card. Air India covers a larger area both domestically and internationally. This is why benefits on this airline would be better than others. The card comes with 20,000 bonus reward points as Welcome Gift and complimentary membership of the Air India Frequent Flyer Program. You will earn 4 reward points on every Rs.100 spent anywhere and 20 points for every Rs.100 spent on Air India tickets. Besides that, milestone benefits provide a whopping 20,000 reward points on spending 5 Lakhs in a year, 30,000 reward points on spending 10 Lakhs in a year, and 50,000 reward points on spending 20 Lakhs in a year. These points can be redeemed directly for Air India miles; you get 1 air mile for 1 reward point. Overall, the reward program of the card is very good but you can only redeem them for travel. So, if you are only looking for travel benefits, then this is the card for you.

Suggested Read: Top Co-Branded Credit Cards in India

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Gift- 20,000 bonus reward points

Travel Privilege- Complimentary membership to Air India Frequent Flyer Program: Flying Returns

Reward Earnings- Up to 30 Reward Points on every Rs. 100 spent on Air India tickets bookings through airindia.com or AirIndia mobile app

Lounge Access- Complimentary visit to over 600 international luxury airport lounges through the Priority Pass Program and VISA Lounge Access at domestic airports

Anniversary Gift- 5,000 Bonus Reward Points every year

Annual Fee: Rs.3,500
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.9.6 lakh p.a.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.10 lakh p.a.

ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card is available in Mastercard and American Express variants. The card is mainly designed around shopping and travel rewards. You get 2 international airport lounge visits per year and 4 domestic lounge visits per quarter subject to reaching spending milestones in the previous quarter. For a card in this fee range, putting conditions on domestic lounge visits is unnecessary. The international lounge visits are granted by the DreamFolks DragonPass Lounge Access Scheme. Taking about the rewards programme, ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card provides 20,000 Payback points as a Renewal Benefit and shopping & travel vouchers worth Rs.10,000 as a Welcome Benefit, which is indeed a great deal. The reward rate is higher on American Express variant (3%) than the Mastercard variant (2%) but in both cases, you get double rewards on international spends. The monetary value of these rewards, however, stand too low at 0.25.

You can also enjoy 4 complimentary golf rounds per month upon spending Rs. 50,000 in the previous month. Besides that, entertainment offers include 1 Get 1 free ticket, up to Rs. 500 off on 2nd ticket, via BookMyShow. Such offers can be availed twice a month. Overall, ICICI Sapphiro is a mix of several benefits some of which are satisfactory while others fail to meet expectations. The card would be good for you if the set of these benefits match your spending personality.

Other Features and Benefits:

Renewal Benefit– 20,000 PAYBACK points.

Welcome Gift– Shopping & travel vouchers worth over Rs.10,000.

Golf Benefit– 4 free golf rounds per month upon spending Rs. 50,000 in the previous month.

Lounge Benefits– Get the following lounge privileges:

• 2 free international airport lounge visits per calendar year
• 2 free domestic airport spa visits per calendar year
• Membership to Dream Folks DragonPass Lounge Access Programme
• 4 free domestic airport lounge visits per quarter upon spending Rs. 5,000 in the previous quarter

Also Read: Best Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access

Movie Benefits– Buy 1 Get 1 Free ticket, up to Rs. 500 off on 2nd ticket, via BookMyShow. Offer can be availed twice a month.

Dining Discounts– Minimum 15% off on dining bill at participating restaurants.

Annual Fee: Rs.10,000
Minimum Income for Salaried: Rs.50,001 p.m.
Minimum Income for Self-Employed: Rs.50,001 p.m.

The American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card is a premium card ideal for a consumer looking for a mix of shopping, travel and lifestyle privileges. The card provides an 11,000 bonus membership as a Welcome Gift which is one of the most generous offers by American Express. Amex Platinum Reserve Credit Card offers premium hotel memberships, associated with luxury hotel booking privileges at leading resorts and hotels including the Taj, SeleQtions, and Vivanta which would suit the needs of HNIs. Users can also benefit from movies and online shopping vouchers worth Rs.6,000 per year.  Though the set of benefits is really generous, the card charges an equally high annual fee of Rs. 10,000. So, you must make sure whether you would be able to make optimum use of these privileges and only then opt for this card.

Other Features and Benefits:

Welcome Gift– 11,000 bonus Membership Reward points.

Priority Pass Membership– Complimentary Priority Pass Membership and access to American Express lounges.

Golf Privileges– Complimentary access to leading golf courses in India.

Dining Discounts– Up to 20% discount and faster rewards points accumulation at partner restaurants and merchants globally.

Hotel Benefits– Privileges at Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris: Preferred Hotel Group.

Vouchers– Movies or online shopping vouchers worth Rs. 6,000 every year.

Rewards– 1 Membership Reward Point per Rs. 50 spent (except on fuel, utilities, cash withdrawal, EMIs at POS and insurance payments).

Couldn’t find the right credit card? Explore more options based on card benefits.