SBI Prime Credit Card Review: Best Rewards Card for Utility Bill Payments

You get an e-voucher worth Rs. 3,000 on the credit card as welcome benefit. The voucher can be of any of the following brands: 

• Bata/ Hush Puppies, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop: Vouchers can be redeemed by showing the code at the respective brand store
• Yatra and Shoppers Stop: Voucher can be redeemed online at the time of purchase
• Aditya Birla Retail Voucher: Redeemable at select brands including Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, Planet Fashion, and Simon Carter

Rs.  3,000 worth gift vouchers received as a welcome bonus makes up for the annual fee charged by the card. However, we can say that the brand options are limited and could have been better.

SBI Card provides a relatively better rewards program with its Prime Credit Card. You will get rewards as per the PRIME Rewards program. The details are mentioned below:

Here, 4 reward points = Rs. 1 | 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25

The card offers a rewards rate of 5% (20 points per Rs. 100 spent; 4 points = Rs. 1) on utility bill payments, the highest rewards for utility bill payments in India. Further, the card offers a solid rewards rate of 2.50% (10 points per Rs. 100 spent) on general dining, groceries, department stores and movie spends. Not to mention its 10% discount on Trident Hotel bookings and 2.25% rewards rate (9 points per Rs. 100) on Vistara Airlines flights. However, on all general spending, the card earns a lower rewards rate of 0.50% (2 points per Rs. 100). This card is best suited for customers that are seeking a card to pay off their utility bills but are also interested in a card to use on a number of categories, such as groceries and dining.

SBI Prime Credit Card users can also earn vouchers on reaching milestone spends. You will get the following benefits:

• Pizza-hut gift voucher worth Rs. 1,000 on spending Rs. 50,000 in a calendar quarter
• Renewal fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 3 lakh
• Yatra / Pantaloons gift voucher worth Rs.7,000 on achieving annual spends of Rs.5 lakh

Complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership

• 1,000 welcome points on registration
• 1,500 bonus points on your first stay
• Extra 1,000 hotel credit on an extended night stay (use promo code: SBITH)
• Get a 10% instant discount on bookings via hotel website
• 10 points on every Rs.100 spent during your stay at participating hotels

Club Vistara Membership

• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver membership
• 1 upgrade voucher
• 9 Club Vistara Points for every Rs.100 spent on Vistara flights
• Offer valid for primary cardholders only

Lounge Access

• 4 complimentary lounge visits per calendar year to international priority pass lounges, outside India. Maximum 2 visits in a quarter available
• 8 complimentary lounge visits per calendar year to domestic lounges in India. Max. 2 visits per quarter
• Offer valid for primary cardholders only

At Paisabazaar.com, we help you select a credit card that suits your requirements by helping you compare annual savings on SBI Card Prime if you spend Rs. 2 Lakh and 4 Lakh in a calendar year. You can check annual savings details for SBI Prime Credit Card here:

*Assuming discounts of 10% on dining at SBI Card’s partner restaurants.

Like every other credit card, SBI Prime Credit Card has certain limitations. Before applying for the SBI Prime Credit Card, you should have a look at some of the limitations of this card:

• Annual Fee – SBI Prime Card renewal fee is Rs. 2,999 + GST. The annual fee waiver requirement is also quite high where you have to reach spends of Rs. 3 Lakh. If you do not want to pay such a high fee, you can opt for some low annual fee credit cards with similar benefits.
• Movies and Entertainment – Most premium credit cards offer a free ticket on the purchase of one movie ticket every month. However, this is not the case with SBI Prime Credit Card. If you are a movie buff and go for movies at least once every month, this card is not for you. You can opt for a credit card with movie benefits by clicking here.

SBI Prime Credit Card is one of the best premium credit cards for customers who wish to own a card with benefits across multiple categories but do not want to pay a very high annual fee. At a fee of Rs.2,999, the benefits that this card offers are quite impressive. The card offers a 5 percent reward rate on utility bill payments i.e. 20 points per Rs. 100 spent; 4 points = Rs. 1, Also you can enjoy a reward rate of 2.5 percent (10 points per Rs. 100 spent) on dining, groceries, departmental stores, and movies. 

As for the travel category, this card gives a 10% discount on participating Trident Hotel bookings and a 2.25% booking reward rate for Vistara Airlines in terms of flights. If you are someone who is frequently indulging in flight booking and need airport lounge access, or wants to avail premium facilities like car rentals, hotel stays, airport transfer services, etc., this card can be a good option.

This card is best suited for customers who are looking for one card to cover a variety of categories, such as utility bill payments, groceries, dining, and travel for a reasonable fee.

If you want a premium credit card but do not want to pay a very high annual fee, SBI Card Prime would be the best option for you. It will provide you with better deals on flight bookings, airport lounge accesses, hotel stays, premium concierge services, etc. However, if you are looking for a card that meets your requirements for movies, online shopping, etc., you can opt for other cards as well.

If you do not want to pay the renewal fee of Rs. 2,999, you can opt for SBI Simply Click Credit Card which has an annual fee of Rs. 499 but the privileges on the card will reduce considerably. If SBI Prime does not meet your overall requirements, you can opt for SBI Elite Credit Card which has more benefits than this card.