Cashback SBI Card- The Best Cashback Credit Card in India

Author: Rupanshi Thapa

After using Axis Ace for almost a year, I came across Cashback SBI Card with 5% cashback on all online spends without any merchant restriction. Though I already have Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card and RBL Bank Zomato Edition Credit Card as well, both of these offer brand-specific benefits. As I make most of the purchases irrespective of the brand/platform, this card seemed like a good option for me. I decided to get my SBI SimplyCLICK credit card upgraded to Cashback SBI Card. The card was also free for the first year and helped me save a considerable amount in cashback. Here is my hands-on experience with Cashback SBI Card to help you decide whether you should also get it.

Cashback SBI Card Rating

Cashback                    ★★★★ Annual Fee                 ★★★  Other Benefits           ★★★

Overall Rating            ★★★★

SBI Card has recently revised some of the benefits offered by Cashback SBI Card. Earlier, I was saving up to Rs. 10,000 monthly through cashback, whereas, now I can get a monthly cashback of up to Rs. 5,000. However, I still think that even after the recent devaluation, Cashback SBI Card would be the best cashback card for me if I frequently shop online. To know the reason behind this, click here.

Cashback without Merchant Restrictions

The Cashback SBI Card offers 5% cashback across all online transactions, irrespective of the merchant or platform you shop at. But why is this promoted as a great feature?

Most cashback credit cards in the market either are co-branded or offer extra earnings only on select categories.

Let’s take Axis Ace Credit Card for example. I mostly use the card to pay electricity and internet bills via Google Pay and I order from Swiggy a few times in a month. On bill payments, I earn 5% cashback and on Swiggy, I get 4% cashback. I also put other frequent online and offline purchases on this card, as it gives me the highest value back of 2%.

On the other hand, Cashback SBI Card gives me 5% cashback across all online transactions regardless of whether I spend on dining with Zomato, Swiggy or any other online platform, shop at any online platform, book cabs, flights, hotels- the list is endless. Practically any online spend that I make will give me 5% cashback. No other card in the market is offering such a high rate of cashback across such a wide range of transactions.

Value-back Comparison: Cashback SBI Card Vs. Axis Ace

The table below shows a comparison of value-back that Axis Ace would offer for a given set of transactions compared with that offered by Cashback SBI Card on the same set of transactions.

Transaction	Amount	Cashback SBI Card	Axis Ace
Spends on Big Basket	Rs. 7,000	Rs. 350	Rs. 140
Electricity Bill Payment via Google Pay	Rs. 4,000	Rs. 0	Rs. 200
Apparel Purchase on Myntra	Rs. 3,500	Rs. 175	Rs. 70
Fuel Spends	Rs. 5,000	Rs. 0	Rs. 0
Food Ordering via Zomato	Rs. 2,000	Rs. 100	Rs. 80
Spends at Ola Cabs	Rs. 3,000	Rs. 150	Rs. 120
Spends on FirstCry	Rs. 4,000	Rs. 200	Rs. 80
Spends at Uber	Rs. 2,000	Rs. 100	Rs. 40
Flight booking via MakeMyTrip	Rs. 8,000	Rs. 400	Rs. 160
Hotel Booking via Cleartrip	Rs. 6,500	Rs. 325	Rs. 130
Misc. Offline Spends	Rs. 5,000	Rs. 50	Rs. 100
Total	Rs. 50,000	Rs. 1,850	Rs. 1,120

Axis Ace is one of the best cashback cards in the market but the extra earnings are restricted to certain merchants. Even if you spend online, there is no extra benefit for general online spends. On the other hand, Cashback SBI Card offers 5% cashback on all online transactions except some excluded categories. The total cashback earned would be higher for Cashback SBI Card as even the brands/merchants that are not covered by Axis Ace will earn 5% cashback.

Also Read: Best Cashback Credit Cards in India

The Verdict on Recent Changes

The changes made on the Cashback SBI Card are mentioned in the table below:

Particular	Older Variant	New Variant
Joining Fee	Nil	Rs. 999
Cashback Benefits	5% cashback on online shopping 1% cashback on offline transactions, including utility bill payment	5% cashback on online shopping 1% cashback only on offline transactions
Excluded Categories for Cashback	Fuel Transactions, Merchant EMI Transactions, Rent Payments, Wallet Loading, Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Flexipay or Encash Facility	Older Categories + Jewellery Purchases, Educational Transactions, Institutional Transactions, Utilities, Insurance Payments, Gifting, Railway Transactions
Monthly Capping on Cashback	Rs. 10,000 on accelerated category	Rs. 5,000, including all categories
Domestic Lounge Access	4 complimentary lounge access every year	No complimentary lounge visits are offered

From the above table, it is clear that SBI Card has devalued the overall benefits offered by Cashback SBI Card. However, this can still be my number one choice if I want to save on online transactions. This is majorly because of the below reasons:

• I can still earn 5% cashback on all online transactions irrespective of the brand as it comes with no merchant restriction, which is usually applicable on most of the cashback credit cards like Axis ACE or Flipkart Axis
• The exclusion of utility bill payments under 1% cashback is not a huge drawback as some of the premium cards like IndusInd Legend and HDFC Diners Club Black do not offer any benefits on utility bill payments
• Looking at the overall value back, considering that now I can only earn a monthly cashback of up to Rs. 5,000, this credit card still offers better value back as compared to other similar cards like Axis ACE or HSBC Cashback

But, if I want to earn benefits across multiple categories at a low annual fee, then this card might not be the right choice for me because:

• Not offering any domestic lounge access might be a drawback for this card as even cards with a lower annual fee like Axis ACE or Flipkart Axis offer domestic lounge access every year. Also, considering the annual fee of Rs. 999, I would expect at least a few lounge visits as an additional advantage.
• Earlier, this credit card was offered without a joining fee, but now I have to pay a joining fee of Rs. 999 to avail this credit card. One of the drawbacks is that Cashback SBI Card does not offer any welcome benefits even after charging a joining fee of Rs. 999, whereas, cards like Axis ACE or Flipkart Axis compensate the joining fee by providing benefits like joining fee reversal, complimentary vouchers, etc.

Annual Fee and Waiver Condition

The Cashback SBI Card charges an annual fee of Rs. 999 which is higher than other popular cashback cards. However, from second year onwards, you can get the annual fee reversed by spending Rs. 2 Lakh or more in the preceding year.

To help you get a perspective, here is a table showing the annual fee charged by other cashback credit cards.

Credit Card	Annual Fee
Axis Ace	Rs. 499
Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card	Rs. 500
HSBC Cashback Credit Card	Rs. 750
YES Prosperity Cashback Plus Credit Card	Rs. 1,499
HDFC Millennia Credit Card	Rs. 1,000

Should you get this card?

Cashback SBI Card is best suited for those who prefer online shopping for everything- whether it is apparel, footwear, accessories, travel, food, groceries, entertainment or any other need. The maximum cashback limit (for the accelerated earning category) is Rs. 5,000 in a billing cycle, which means online transactions up to Rs. 1 Lakh per month will be eligible for the extra earnings. After you reach this monthly limit, 1% cashback will be given on all transactions.

If you are still confused, ask yourself the following questions and if the answer to most of these questions is YES for you, you can consider getting this card:

1. Do you mostly shop online?
2. Do you put most of your expenses on credit cards?
3. Can you spend Rs. 2 Lakh in a year to get the annual fee waived off?
4. Are you willing to pay Rs. 999 as the annual fee if you cannot reach the spend threshold for waiver?
5. Do you already have or are planning to get another card for utility bill payments and fuel expenses?

Final Thoughts

Cashback SBI Card is a challenger for other popular cashback cards in the market such as Axis Ace and Flipkart Axis Card. Though offering great value-back, most of these cards have merchant/brand restriction which is the main reason why cardholders cannot make the most of the benefits. Cashback SBI Card takes away this drawback by offering 5% cashback on all online transactions irrespective of the merchant or brand that you choose.

The card does not offer any cashback on fuel and utility bills. If you are looking to earn cashback on these two categories, you can consider getting a fuel credit card or a card that rewards utility bill payments. Otherwise, for cashback across shopping, travel, dining etc., this credit card will provide maximum value, without the hassle of planning your purchases as per merchants.