Axis Bank and SBI Card both offer cashback credit cards with accelerated value-back on online transactions and a base savings rate on offline spends at an almost same annual fee of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 999 respectively. However, their seemingly similar cashback structures come with significant differences. Both Axis Bank Cashback Credit Card and Cashback SBI Card may require different spending strategies or suit consumers with different spending habits.
So, here is a detailed comparison between the features and benefits of Axis Cashback and SBI Cashback credit cards to help you understand how each of these cards can help you maximise your savings. Depending on your spending habits and requirements, you may decide which would be a more suitable choice for you.
Cashback Structure
Both cashback credit cards offer accelerated cashback on online spends. However, their cashback structure has some key differences as illustrated below:
Accelerated Cashback Rate
| Axis Cashback Credit Card | SBI Cashback Credit Card |
| • 2% on up to Rs. 5,000 online spends • 5% on > Rs. 5,000 & up to Rs. 40,000 online spends • 7% on > Rs. 40,000 online spends |
5% on online spends |
Base Cashback Rate
| Axis Cashback Credit Card | SBI Cashback Credit Card |
| • 0.75% on offline & travel spends • 0.5% on utility bill payments |
1% on offline spends |
Monthly Capping on Cashback
Axis Bank Cashback Credit Card: Monthly capping on cashback earning on each category spend is as follows –
- 2% Cashback: Rs. 100
- 5% Cashback: Rs. 1,750
- 7% Cashback: Rs. 2,150 (i.e. from > Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 70,714 monthly spends)
- 0.5% Cashback: Rs. 100 (i.e. up to Rs. 20,000 monthly spends)
Cashback SBI Card: This SBI credit card comes with a cashback capping of Rs. 5,000 on overall monthly spends. The cardholders will not get any cashback beyond this limit.
The major difference here is that SBI credit card comes with a direct categorisation of cashback rates into 2 categories, i.e. online and offline spends, while Axis credit card, though offers accelerated savings on online spends like SBI Cashback, comes with an incremental cashback rate which changes as per the amount spent in a month. So, even if you wish to match the 5% cashback rate on online spends of SBI card, you would only be able to do so on online spends made after reaching the Rs. 5,000 threshold.
Furthermore, Axis Cashback comes with a major drawback when it comes to travel-related spends as it offers only a base rate of 0.75% as opposed to the 5% on online travel and 1% on offline spends offered by SBI Cashback. However, when it comes to utility spends, SBI card falls behind as this category is excluded from its cashback program, while the Axis variant includes it instead, albeit offering a lower cashback of just 0.5%. The capping limits on both cards does not seem to have much effect on the earning capacity, apart from the utility spends made via Axis Cashback, as the limits are quite high.
Comparison of Other Features & Benefits
In addition to the cashback benefits, both the cards offer the following features and benefits to the users:
Axis Cashback Credit Card
- Welcome Benefit: 5,000 EDGE Reward Points worth Rs. 1,000 on making the 1st card spend within 30 days of card issuance
- Dining Discount: 25% off, up to Rs. 800 once per month, on dining bills worth Rs. 2,500 or more using EazyDiner
- Fee Waiver: On spending Rs. 4 lakh or more in a year
SBI Cashback Credit Card
- Fuel Benefit: 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 100 per month, on fuel spends worth Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000
- Fee Waiver: On spending Rs. 2 lakh or more in a year
Here, both the cards offer benefits targeting different categories. Axis Bank Cashback credit card first compensates for the joining fee charged by offering a welcome bonus worth the same amount – a feature missing for SBI Cashback credit cardholders. From second year onwards, both cards offer the annual fee waiver feature, but at different spending requirements. SBI cardholders can avail this benefit even if they are a low spender, but Axis Cashback requires you to spend a slightly higher amount. Marking another major difference in features are the dining and fuel benefits as Axis credit card comes with a considerable value-back in dining, while SBI card counters it with a basic fuel surcharge waiver.
Value-back Comparison: Which Card Lets You Save More?
| Categories | Amount Spent (per month) | Savings via Axis Cashback | Savings via Cashback SBI |
| Utilities | Rs. 9,000 | Rs. 45 | Nil |
| Grocery & Other Essentials | Rs. 12,000 | Rs. 100 (2%) + Rs. 350 (5%) | Rs. 600 |
| Dining | Rs. 5,000 (i.e. 2,600+900+1,500) |
Rs. 650 off + Rs. 217 | Rs. 250 |
| Entertainment | Rs. 2,000 | Rs. 100 | Rs. 100 |
| Food Delivery | Rs. 4,000 | Rs. 200 | Rs. 200 |
| Travel | Rs. 12,000 | Rs. 90 | Rs. 600 |
| Shopping | Rs. 5,000 | Rs. 250 | Rs. 250 |
| Other Online Spends | Rs. 5,000 | Rs. 250 | Rs. 250 |
| Fuel | Rs. 3,000 | Nil | Rs. 30 (1% surcharge waiver) |
| Miscellaneous Offline Spends | Rs. 10,000 | Rs. 75 | Rs. 100 |
| Total | Rs. 67,000 | Rs. 2,327 | Rs. 2,380 |
Note: All category spends other than fuel and miscellaneous offline spends are assumed to be made online.
Axis Cashback vs. Cashback SBI: Which One to Choose?
Since both the cards come at similar annual charges and broadly offer accelerated cashback on online and base cashback on offline spends, you must analyse the details to truly compare them. You must consider features like excluded spending categories, capping on cashback earnings, and other card benefits to understand which card would suit you the best and can help you maximise your savings.
Choose Axis Bank Cashback Credit Card If:
- You are a high spender and can avail higher cashback rates of 5% & 7% through frequent online purchases, along with fee waiver
- You spend considerable amount while dining out
- You wish to earn cashback on utility bill payments, even if its a small amount
- You do not travel much or have another card with decent value-back on your travel spends
Choose SBI Cashback Credit Card If:
- You are a low to moderate spender with a preference to online shopping over offline
- You are not sure if you can maximise your savings through incremental cashback structure and want a consistent savings rate on your spends instead
- You want a better cashback rate on your offline spends
