Looking for the best credit card in India for 2023 to suit your needs? You’re at the right place. Whether you want cashback, lounge access, complimentary hotel stays or business class tickets, you can find everything here.
I’ve analysed 150+ credit cards in India across various banks and compiled a list of best credit cards for 2023 based on various user segments.
With about 10+ active credit cards in my wallet, the below list covers most of the cards that I personally use and even more. Here’s a quick overview before we get into the details,
Overview
Below you can have a birds eye view of all the best-of-best credit cards in India for 2023 along with it’s reward rate and joining fee.
Note that I’ve mentioned the potential max. reward rate for most cards and not just the regular reward rate which is the case with few cards though.
| No. | Credit Card | Max. Reward Rate | Joining Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amex MRCC | ~5% | FYF |
| 2 | SBI Cashback Card | 5% | FYF |
| 3 | IDFC First Wealth | ~2.5% | LTF |
| 4 | Amex Gold Charge | 1% – 4% | 1,000 INR |
| 5 | Amex Platinum Travel | ~8.5% | FYF |
| 6 | Axis Atlas | 2% – 4% | 5,000 INR |
| 7 | Axis Vistara Infinite | ~10% | 10,000 INR |
| 8 | HDFC Marriott Credit Card | ~2% | 3,000 INR |
| 9 | SBI Air India Signature | 5% – 8% | 5,000 INR |
| 10 | Axis Magnus | 2.4% – 24% | 10,000 INR |
| 11 | HDFC Infinia | 3.3% | FYF |
| 12 | Stan C Ultimate | 3.3% | 5,000 INR |
| 13 | Amex Platinum | 1.25% – 2.5% | 60,000 INR |
| 14 | Axis Reserve | 3% – 6% | 50,000 INR |
If you’re new to credit cards, don’t be surprised about the high joining fees, as they’re usually compensated with equivalent welcome gift on almost all cards.
Now that you know what you can expect from the list, if you wish to go through the detailed reviews of the cards listed, you may use the links below:
Table of Contents
Entry Level Credit Cards
- Suggested income: 5 Lakhs+
- Suggested spend: 1 Lakhs+
Entry-Level credit cards, also called as credit cards for beginners are those cards that are targeted at first-time credit card users.
Here’s a quick look at some of the best credit cards in India for beginners in 2023.
SBI Cashback Card
- Best for: Upto 5% Cashback on Online spends
- Read Review & Apply: SBI Cashback Card Review
This is the new HOT pick of the year for entry-level cardholders as 5% Cashback is quite lucrative even after the recent devaluation. With a pretty good max cap of 5,000 INR a month, it equates to 1L monthly spends.
*** Best Entry Level Credit Card ***
Amex MRCC
- Best for: Gold Collection & Points Transfers
- Read Review & Apply: American Express MRCC Review
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card (MRCC) is the best way to get into the world of Amex. If you use this card just to get the 1000 MR bonus points monthly, you can easily get a return of more than 5%.
Apart from that, you will also get access to the amazing Amex Offers (merchant offers & spend linked offers) which are quite lucrative most of the time.
Premium Credit Cards
- Suggested income range: 12 Lakhs+
- Suggested spend range: 6 Lakhs+
Premium credit cards comes into picture when your lifestyle has pinch of luxury factor to it. It comes with more travel benefits like domestic and international lounge access, better reward rate, etc.
IDFC First Wealth Card
- Best for: Spends >1L in a billing cycle & airport lounge access
- Read Review & Apply: IDFC First Wealth Credit Card Review
If your monthly spends are higher, don’t wish to go for paid super premium cards & prefer non-travel rewards like statement credit or amazon/flipkart vouchers then this is the card for you.
IDFC Wealth Credit Card also comes with domestic & international airport lounge access + domestic airport spa’s.
Apart from that, IDFC Credit Card (any variant) is also good for those who wants to take cash out of credit card as it has one of the lowest charges in that segment.
Amex Gold Charge
- Best for: Higher Credit Limit & Gold Collection rewards
- Read Review & Apply: American Express Gold Charge Card Review
If you’re looking for a higher credit limit but unable to get it via any other credit card, this is the one for you.
You also get rewards on fuel/utility spends unlike most other credit cards in the segment. This is best used along with Amex MRCC to speed up the 24K gold redemption.
HDFC Regalia Gold
- Best for: Airport Lounge access & Milestone Benefits
- Review: HDFC Regalia Gold Review
The most important benefit of this card apart from rewards & merchant offers is the ability to get Priority Pass for all family members, which shares the complimentary lounge access limit with the primary card.
It’s a huge money saver in that aspect, for those who can’t get HDFC Super Premium credit cards.
Travel Credit Cards
When your life has good amount of travel, that’s when you need to have these exclusive Travel credit cards.
Travel & airline credit cards are designed in such a way that you get travel vouchers/points/miles instead of cashback.
Amex Platinum Travel
- Best for: Taj Vouchers & access to premium airport lounges
- Read Review & Apply: Amex Platinum Travel Review
American Express Platinum Travel card is the best travel credit card in the country, hands down! It still stands good even after the recent changes in redemption options.
I personally enjoy using this card as it helps me to stay at one unique Taj property every year by using the complimentary Taj Vouchers.
Axis Atlas
- Best for: ITC & other airline transfers partners
- Read Review & Apply: Axis Atlas Credit Card Review
Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card has been recently updated with better reward rate and comes with the USP of Axis Magnus & Reserve if you can spend as high as 15L a year. Accelerated rewards on Airlines & hotels are definitely useful for some.
Axis Vistara Infinite
- Best for: Flying Vistara Business Class
- Read Review & Apply: Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Review
This best airline credit card in the country continues to give wonderful returns even after many years of it’s existence.
It’s a must have credit card for those who frequently fly Vistara because of it’s gold tier benefits and for those who love business class experience, as it gives 1 complimentary business class ticket on every ~2.5L spends.
If you’re fine with Premium Economy vouchers, you may go with the SBI Vistara Prime Credit Card.
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card
- Best for: for its lucrative joining/renewal benefits
- Review: HDFC Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card Review
HDFC Bank’s Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card is the new and noteworthy addition to the list of best cards in 2023. While the reward rate on ongoing spends are way too low, it stands good for its incredible welcome and renewal benefits which can easily fetch 2x/3x value of the fee paid.
SBI Air India Signature
- Best for: Flying Air India & select star alliance partners
- Review (to be updated): SBI Air India Signature Credit Card Review
If your travel involves flying Air India for whatever reason, you shouldn’t be skipping this credit card. It demands high spends, but rewards very well.
While you can also redeem Turkish miles for AI domestic business class, direct AI miles gives better value for many economy redemptions. I’ve redeemed it twice recently.
Also, with the change in ownership and merging of airlines, I’m hoping things with Air India to get better in 2023 and beyond.
Super Premium Credit Cards
- Suggested income range: 20 Lakhs+
- Suggested spend range: 10 Lakhs+
Super premium credit cards are those that comes with higher reward rate, higher credit limit, unlimited lounge access, better card linked benefits & many more perks that you would need to enjoy a luxury lifestyle.
Axis Magnus
- Best for: Airport meet & greet services
- Read Review & Apply: Axis Magnus Review
Axis Magnus gives you new airport experiences with their complimentary airpot meet & greet service, which is highly useful at times like this.
Further, the card is super charged with amazing rewards if you spend >1.5L a month and that makes it the best super premium credit card for high spenders, not only in India but in the world.
The newly added points transfer partners can help to yield a reward rate like never before. It continues to be the HOT pick of the year for 2023 even after it’s recent devaluation.
HDFC Infinia
- Best for: 5X & 10X Rewards
- Review (to be updated): HDFC Infinia Review
Infinia is everyone’s dream for ages without an exception. It has everything one would ever need. If you are looking for a single credit card for all your spends beyond Axis Magnus, Infinia will serve the need.
With its attractive 10X rewards program (Smartbuy) Infinia is still good in 2023. It’s a must have card for those who know the game.
If you couldn’t get Infinia, Diners Black is equally good with same reward rate, only the capping on accelerated rewards are little different.
Stan C Ultimate
- Best for: any spend, rewards as shopping vouchers
- Read Review & Apply: SC Ultimate Review
Just like HDFC Infinia/Diners Black, Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card too comes with sweet 3.3% reward rate. The USP of this card is that you get reward points on almost ANY spend.
And if you compare it with HDFC Infinia, the redemption options are huge, from Croma to MMT vouchers without any redemption limits like with HDFC.
Ultra Premium Credit Cards
- Joining fee range: > 50,000 INR
The ultra premium credit cards are entirely different from other type of cards because these cards not only gives rewards but also intend to give you returns via card benefits.
Some of the benefits include: hotel privileges, concierge, meet & greet, airport transfer, first class upgrades, premium support, etc.
Amex Platinum
- Best for: hotel benefits & concierge
- Read Review & Apply: Amex Platinum Charge Card Review
The expensive metal card makes sense if you know how to get equivalent value out of the joining fee, rest is all complimentary.
Most of the Amex Plat cardholders I know have it for the Marriott Bonvoy Gold membership benefit which is quite useful in India.
Other than the tangible benefits, their “Do Anything” platinum concierge is worth it for those who have the lifestyle to make use of it.
Axis Reserve
- Best for: luxury airport transfers, meet & greet, golf, higher rewards
- Review: Axis Reserve Review
If you love complimentary meet & greet and luxury airport transfers apart from unlimited golf & lounge access benefits, this card is a must to hold in your wallet.
While it’s not amazing anymore post the recent devaluation, it still holds good for those who know what they do.
Choosing the right Card
Choosing the best credit card in 2023 is lot simpler than how it used to be in the past, thanks to all the aggressive credit card offers around.
#1 If you’re new to the game and have relatively low annual spends (<5L) with significant online spends, get the SBI Cashback Credit Card and you’re done.
#2 If you spend >10L a year, get Axis Magnus along with one or two more cards that would suit your lifestyle.
#3 If you spend over >15L a year and don’t know where to start, you may take one-on-one credit card consultation service. Let me make it easy for you not only to choose the right cards but also get you the end-to-end CC application support just incase if you’re looking for one.
FAQ’s
Which is the best credit card in India for 2023?
Calculate your annual spend and choose the cards from the list above. The best card varies from one person to another.
How many Credit Cards can I have?
As many as you need. Start with 2 cards if you’re new to the system and increase the count gradually based on your spends. 5 cards is sufficient for most.
Which Credit Card has best customer service?
Amex is known for their premium customer support. You may also enjoy a similar treatment with any bank, as long as you take their super-premium cards.
Which Bank’s Credit Card is best in India?
HDFC Bank is the market leader and has very good merchant offers as well. So start with HDFC and add others as per your requirement. Consider having one Amex card for a mix.
Which is the best fuel credit card?
You may use Amex Gold Charge Card as mentioned above. Or just buy HPCL gift cards (or) HP Paycode (or) use HP Pay app using any of your existing cards. Works well for most. You may also use Paytm Wallet upto your free load limits.
Bottom line
It’s interesting to note that the list is shrinking every year. While we’ve so many cards, the USP is not sufficient enough to list them all and so I’ve made it compact.
Hope you like the list as much as I did in preparing it for you. The list will be updated from time to time to keep it relevant.
And not to forget, the credit card industry in India has changed rapidly in past 2 years. You may stay updated with the trend by subscribing to the FREE email alerts service.
Expect an update to this article every 3 months or so and the same will be communicated to you over email.
What’s your thoughts about the above list of best credit cards for 2023? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. We shall amend the list if required.
I am holding SBI Cashback and Axis Vistara Infinite cards from this list.
Always to the point and perfect.
My Current Wallet:
Axis Magnus – Primary
Infinia Metal – Primary 2
SBI Cashback – Online
SBI Click – Need to cancel
IDFC Select
Amex Travel – Until the milestone is reached.
Amex Reserve – Might cancel next cycle. Just holding without paying fees.
Amex Gold – Unused.
One Card – For some online offers
Amazon Pay – Might cancel as SBI CB can replace the spends.
Sid, interesting indeed that the list has shrunk, and doesn’t include the Ace/Flipkart cards from Axis, or the ICICI AmazonPay card. I assume its down to the SBI Cashback card… Yes, its a very unique, and UnSBI product from SBI. But SBI has been going bonkers with their range of restrictions and additional charges of late, that the Flipkart and Amazon offerings will remain in the top list for me.
SBI don’t give you reward points/cashback in case is their an insttant discount offer from the bank. Then they have massive restrictions on rent pay, wallet load and so on. And howsoever well-placed it is, there nevertheless is a cap on the 5 percent earning.
So while the Cashback SBI card will indeed make to any list around the top for entry level cards, the ICICI and Axis offerings should remain in their in my view. Particularly since the SBI card has an yearly membership charge of 999. In comparison, the AmazonPay card is LTF, and gives a 2 percent return on bill payments unlike the Cashback card.
Why settle for 2% while one can get 5% or even 6.5%/8% via amazon voucher (+Gyftr offers) with SBI Cashback card?
I’m thinking to add a line mentioning FK & Amazon cards. But Ace is no longer being issued, so not on list.
Are you sure about Ace not being issued? Because last week, I got an offer from Google Pay to apply for the card. And when I got a call with a loan offer from Axis CC a month or so back, they had confirmed I can apply for Ace… I hold the Flipkart card as of now. And in addition, one thing in favor of the AmazonPay card is that the Cashback SBI is not strictly an entry level card, it still seems difficult for people to get the card, particularly if you are starting out, and it has a not an exactly entry level charge of 999. The AmazonPay card is easier to get, and of course its LTF.
From what I heard Ace is not being issued on Axis Bank site but is available directly on GPay itself. I couldn’t validate this claim as I already have the Ace credit card. Maybe someone else can confirm if they see it. Also I don’t think it’s available for everyone.
Hi, Siddharth , great website you have here. I want to know which card i can use to maximize cashback on utility payments, as my utility payments are in tune of 12L/yr. Earlier i was using Axis Ace Credit Card, but now they have capped the maximum cashback on utility payments to 500₹ per bill cycle, whereas i used to easily get around 5000₹ per month.
From the list of 13, I hold only 4.
Amex MRCC & Gold, Axis Vistara Infinite & HDFC Infinia.
Sid,
Is there any way to get Platinum Travel? I’ve a pre-approved (paid) offer to upgrade from MRCC, but I’m not going for that since I’ve to lose MRCC. The other way, to get it as 3rd card (through CE link) was rejected as my city is not serviceable. It’s funny that I can upgrade but can’t get a new one!
Better to upgrade, if it doesn’t ask for KYC again. Else, its impossible for non-serviceable area, for now.
Dear Pranab,
I think u can go for upgrade as u will retain both the card. It is written in t&c that existing card will remain active. I myself saw it.
Personally, I feel INFINIA is still the best for me as I don’t have any pressure to reach any monthly target. Magnus is very good but my expenses are not 1L+ every month.
Suggestion:
Can have an updated entry level card list to help the masses.
I was expecting BOB Eterna to be on this list.
Cardholders in premium segment are getting ~5% easily on spends, why settle for less and poor customer support with new limitations?
Sad to see HDFC dropping out of the race with no regalia and DCB which makes sense given recent devaluation.
ICICI Amazon still deserves to be in entry level.
Hope HDFC rises again with their hotel/airline cards as they’ve said so. Let’s see.
The problem with HDFC is that they allow only one card per customer. So not sure how many customers having Infinia and DCB will switch to the new card!
Not anymore, they are sharing limits these days across cards.
Siddharth, recently I read somewhere that HDFC is launching 2 airline cards and on big hotel chain card (Marriott ?) in a few weeks time.
I don’t have any other info either but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the case.
The next question should be – Who is going to dump their Infinia/DCB to get one of the new cards! That too when they do not have a process to swap between cards! They always ask to cancel and apply afresh – which is a joke so much for being the best digital bank!! Logically, an existing HDFC card customer isn’t a target segment for new HDFC cards (excluding conversions).
Curious to know why DCB is not in the current list
Similar to Infinia, added a new line to it now though.
DCB is still one of best cards. Surprised to see it missing from the list. I feel, it’s better than SC Ultimate any time given it’s unlimited domestic and international lounge access for primary and add-ons apart from regular 3.3% reward rate.
USP of SC Ultimate is rewards on ANY spend, which is usually rare to find.
Another point about SC Ultimate is it actually gives 1 point for every Rs. 30 spend, although they advertise as 5 points for Rs. 150 spend.
Just a suggestion:
For fuel: SBI BPCL Octane seems like a no-brainer card for those whose monthly fuel spends are close to INR 10k. It offers 6.25% back in form of free fuel.
I have been maxing out the 10k benefit every month for the last 18 months.
I don’t know how are you getting 6.25% returns. This is possible only if you redeem points for BPCL fuel voucher which 99% of pumps don’t expect. If you redeem for amazon vouchers then reward rate comes down drastically. So I don’t think this card is worth it.
@Nikhil
I redeem for fuel at BPCL COCO petrol pumps, which if you are living in a metro city like I am, are not hard to find near you. Before filling, I let the attendant know that reward points are to be used for the payment and I don’t pay anything out of pocket.
I live in Bangalore & yet to discover a single BPCL petrol which accepts fuel e-vouchers, tried 5+ outlets already. Anybody in bangalore maybe can post an outlet name which accepts fuel e-vouchers
I stay near yeswanthpur, where there is bpcl bunk in mysore lamps road and bhashyam circle where they accept bpcl voucher
What about Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME?
Also, I have seen the Axis Bank Vistara Signature Card feature in a lot of articles here but not the above SBI Card and personally, I feel the SBI one is better because it gives international lounge access with PP. I believe the axis one doesn’t, it gives golf access though.
Intention is to cover the best of best and so skipped it. But with Taj voucher, it’s indeed a worthy one.
Will cover this card in sometime. For now added a line.
Consistent performance award winner “SC ULTIMATE” 🙂
deliver what is promised, no devaluation (for this many years ), 3.3% for everything
Completely agree. For Rent, Fuel, Wallet loads, insurance premium, NPS payments, Education fees, etc..etc.. for everything 3.3%.
It is indeed the Ultimate card 🙂
what’s the income criteria for this? my take home salary is ~1 lakh per month
It was in the past…Now it’s not!
I have been using this since 7 years. Still almost 2% is good but their catalog is useless.
So I am done with it.
Which credit card still gives reward points for Rent Payments ? HDFC credit card no longer gives reward points for rent payments. Any help on this is greatly appreciated.
SC Ultimate does. Axis Magnus/Reserve also does
Are you sure Axis Magnus works for rent payments? Have been noticing many folks state it doesn’t seem to be working for rent payments on portals like nobroker, redigiraffe etc. Has it been Fixed?
No axis magnus does not allow rent payment anymore.
Another SCB card which gives direct cashback (2%) on rent payment, insurance and even wallent reload is SCB Smart card. Has a low annual fees of just 499 and gives cashback everywhere except fuel. SCB Smart+Ace+Sbi Cashback is the holy Trinity of cashback cards.
With the latest devaluation, SBI is out of the trinity. Now we can’t earn on gold purchases, edu fee, making the card useless.
Will SCB smart reward 2% for gold ?
Hi Sid, you may consider including Yes Private for the last category.
But why?
2% rewards, 5 add on cards with lounge access, first year bonus for 10L spends in 3m, 5x insurance points occasionally, private card support, 60% redemption for cash/card repayment on rewards
Any idea if 5X/10X offer is still available on Gyftr through Axis Bank? Axis bank website mentions offer was valid till Dec’22. However, Gyftr website still projects 5X/10X edge rewards on axis bank.
Excellent & timely article as always Siddharth!
Just got approved for AmEx MRCC, and trying to upgrade my Regalia to DCB/Infinia (fingers crossed).
Question on Axis/Citibank (assuming this hasn’t been answered elsewhere on this forum)…
Is it worth hanging on to a Citibank CC to see what Axis might offer once the takeover is fully completed? Asking since the Citi CC is my oldest card (16+ years) and concerned about the impact on CIBIL score.
Hi Sid, you may consider one of RuPay select card as they are decent + can be used over UPI. Even if at entry level 🙂
Not just that, there are some offers for RuPay card only. So worth owning atleast one RuPay card I think.
I own 2, from HDFC and BOB, though they are not yet eligible for UPI.
I agree. Rupay cards on UPI, brings in a complete new segment, which requires evaluation for this specific need, as to ease of linking on UPI app, & reward structure for scan & pay tranasactions.
I had been using SBI cashback card on Bharat QR scan & pay through the card app & getting 1% cashback, but this doesn’t work for other UPI QR.
Request Sid to enrich the list with this new segment.
Amazing content as usual Sid, it is always a pleasure to read your article and all the below comments. Thanks for the list as I always look forward for your best credit card list.
Also, can you kindly make a dedicated article on how to transfer reward points to airmiles, would like to understand the game. Thanks!
Hopefully in the coming weeks.
Is Infinia still the best card out there overall with all the reward capping and restrictions for flight tickets, gold purchases, if I don’t want to take the hassle of Magnus’ monthly milestones?
Also, which low annual charge card is good for getting movie tickets? I saw RBL play which gives 2 free tickets (upto 500) for monthly spend above 5000. Didn’t see any such offering in HDFC or Axis?
idfc
RBL Insignia, LTF, any number of tickets that combined cost within Rs500 a month.
Eazydinner IndusInd card is the best for movies.
Hi Sid, Perfect List of each category.
After getting Axis Magnus, closed 5 Cards. Axis Privilege, Flipkart, Select, SBI Prime & BOB Eterna.
All spending transferred on 2 Super Credit Cards Axis Magnus & Infinia Metal.
It’s good to see that you removed the ICICI form list. They don’t have nice cards or customer service, at least.
Small correction just above SBI Cashback card description; here’s the best beginner card for 2023:)
Loved the content and liked the thumbnail: so beautifully all cards placed to create a nice visual effect!
Keep going Sid n don’t stop this beautiful blog of yours!
Thanks, cheers!
Edited, thanks.
Glad you’re enjoying the visual treat.
Thanks again for the kind words. 🙏
Hi Siddharth,
What do you think of the Bajaj Finserv DBS Bank Supercards? They have multiple ones with accelerated rewards.
Hi sid, got emeralde cc with 25L+ limit (im 20+ yrs customer with this bank), any bank here who provides cc on c2c basis ? Tried idfc, talked with top cc guy, he promised me wealth cc, got stuck with 12L in saving for 2 months, then he said sorry. Then I realised this is India, this is the way. Tried to apply with your link, automation showing wow cc, which i am not interested in. Im just confirming if c2c still exist or not. Cause starting another 20yrs journey with a new bank is a tough job. My requirement is 2+ international lounge access per yr, + if international markup % is 0, that would be swell. Thanks.
Hi Amar, Was your Emeralde paid or LTF?
Don’t fall into IDFC trap. They told me to keep 5L for 3 months and wait for wealth. I had around 19L. Moved the funds out in 10 days flat. Their service is not very reliable. I am only looking for cards with unlimited international lounge access. Not too interested in rewards, etc. Infinia and Emeralde fit the bill but I am stuck with Regalia and Sapphiro LTF for now. Was your Emeralde LTF? Thanks.
I recently paid income tax with the Standard Chartered Ultimate Card. Had to pay a 0.45% fee but also earned 3.33% in rewards. I don’t know if other cards allow you to do this and also let you earn the points. I know that some cards don’t allow you to earn points on insurance premiums but SC Ultimate does.
Sid, which card would you suggest purely for international spends? I may not be eligible for super premium card. So I am considering BOB’s Eterna. Would you differ?
RBL has a card with zero forex markup.
BOB Eterna is good till 40k per month, above that, you have to move to a different credit card
Go for IDFC WOW Credit Card. Although, it’s against an FD (equivalent to the limit you need), it offers zero forex markup fee.
Looks like HDFC has stopped giving rewards on govt transactions like NPS. Very surprising. HDFC is devaluing it’s cards at a rapid pace. Is it the same case with other cards too?
Hello Sid,
You are one of the best bloggers i ever seen now i need some guidance from you.
I’m a student studying BTech (2nd year) and i have 2 ICICI credit cards Amazon pay and hpcl super saver. Now i got upgradation call to paid variant of coral amex but not LTF. how to ask for LTF of that variant.Also I’m In thought of getting rid of hpcl super saver as it’s has very low capping and also a paid variant. Can I degrade it to platinum as ICICI rewards are worst and lack lustre.
Hello Sid,
You are one of the best bloggers i ever seen now i need some guidance from you.
I’m a student studying BTech (2nd year) and i have 2 ICICI credit cards Amazon pay and hpcl super saver. Now i got upgradation call to paid variant of coral amex but not LTF. how to ask for LTF of that variant.Also I’m In thought of getting rid of hpcl super saver as it’s has very low capping and also a paid variant. Can I degrade it to platinum as ICICI rewards are worst and lack lustre.
I currently have DCB which is LTF. Confused between upgrading to Infinia or applying for Magnus. Main use of points in the past has been for domestic travel. While Vistara is a partner for both, not sure how good are the other transfer partners under Magnus for domestic travel. Also, for travel to Europe, US and South East Asia which transfer partner under Magnus can be used? I see merit in no caps for now on Magnus on transfer and redemption but not sure which card to go for! Would appreciate your views on it
Hi
Any good recommendations for NRIs?
Is Hdfc diners black not a good deal now? Got offered an update from Regalia by HDFC.
Hi Sid
Now axis offers 3 credit cards(privilege,myxone and iocl) as life time free for limited period of time.i don’t have interest to take Indian oil as i already have hpcl co brand cc which feature is of no use to me.
I’m a student with ICICI hpcl and Amazon pay credit cards
Which one is these my zone or privilege have high chance for getting approved to me in c2c with no other documents like income or account opening. Or can I try axis fk or au swipe up for LTF.
Please guide me
Based on my personal experience I am saying Stan.C ultimate is really ultimate as the name specifies!!! Unconditional rewards which can be used for groceries from big basket, clothes from Myntra. It has been 9 months I am using this beautiful card. I have purchased apple AirPods which costs 14999INR, 10000 Myntra vouchers with 198 redemption fee!!!!! (99+99). Twenty five thousand rupees for Rs.198…. beautiful sounding isn’t it?????
Final verdict: Stan.C ultimate and DCB are industry top.
This blog of Sid sir helped me a lot to learn about credit cards. I have opened this blog first time when I don’t even have one credit card. Now I am enjoying 10 cards with the knowledge given by this blog and of course Sid sir. Big thanks.
After rent payment banks have started charges on wallet loads as well.
Received mail from yes bank and one card for application of charges of 0.5% and 1% on wallet loads.
Which are the best cards for Government payments (i.e. NPS)? Out of the ones I have, I am using SBI Air India.
This is a seriously wonderful list. Thank you for all your hardwork in bringing this list to us. It has saved me a lot of time, frustration and money in finding the right card.
I got cards outside of this list as well – for example, the Amex SmartEarn card – this is because I wanted a basic Amex without paying a lot of fees.
I recently got the SBI Cashback card, and they split up my credit limit from SimplyClick card. It took nearly 15 days to get the card, with multiple rounds of verifications. One round was VKYC, which worked rather well.
I had a VKYC experience with Amex as well and that was even better. Its wonderful to see how well technology is progressing..
Please share review of standard chartered easemytrip credit card
Can you help me with the name of the credit card/s which still gives reward points for Insurance, wallet load, fuel, govt services and rent (most have stopped)?
1. Insurance
2. Wallet Load
3. Fuel
4. Govt Services (NPS payment)
5. Rent
6. Utility
Hello Siddharth,
Lovely article once again. You have always been my inspiration and thanks to your reviews, I currently hold 22 credit cards.
However, I would like to ask you one thing:
How to apply for a second HDFC credit card? Asking for the same as I read one of your comments that HDFC is allowing on credit sharing basis. Could you please enlighten in this regard?
Hi Sid
Any reviews on DBS credit cards please ? Particularly “Bajaj Finserv DBS Bank 10X Plus Signature SuperCard” seems to have a good earn rate and less exclusions.
Thanks
Just reaching out to other users. I have had a HDFC Regalia LTF for quite some time. It started a a platinum card in 2006. Due to various other card uses, this card was kept only in the drawer. Today I found out that the card was apparently closed 3 months ago due to non-use where the card continues to show up in my Netbanking as active. Last month, it even showed the reward points of 50K+ which I had planned to redeem on the Point Fest @ 30% markup.
No email or sms was received prior to such closure. Not sure what the bank thinks, but I am tired of unpersonalised and mechanical services from banks.
Anyone else have this experience? Now losing 50K points and 11L limit 16 year credit card.
Hi Sid, Thank you so much for detailed write-up on best credit cards. It is worth reading and has all the necessary details to choose card as per the individual needs.
I am currently holding below cards from the mentioned list:
Axis Magnus
Amex MrCC
Amex Platinum Travel
Sbi cashback
I have few queries :
1. I am holding HDFc regalia and wanted to upgrade it to Diners black, is there a way to do it ?
2. If i know in advance that i am not able to spend 1 Lakh in a particular month on Magnus, then what’s the best alternate card i should use to get good rewards/cashback on online/offline spends ?
Hi Siddharth,
Thanks for the page. Excellent inputs for all the cards recommended. Based on your recommendation, applied for AMEX MRCC, however, got rejected with the message that I do not fit into their criteria.
Do you know what could be the criteria based on which AMEX issues their cards. I have a very good credit score with a salary more than what they have prescribed.
what do you think about regalia gold credit card?
Not something that’s exciting, except the design.
Applied for the Axis Bank ace credit card but got rejected due to some reason. Any recommendations for a card for utility payments? Was thinking of getting the standard chartered super value titanium
any update about Infinia Reserve?
Testing appears to be happening, so might go live anytime.
Will Infinia Reserve sit below or above Metal Infinia?
Above, obviously.
Hi Siddharth, my HDFC CL has just been increased to 5L; I am also an Imperial banking customer. Currently I’m holding a basic credit card from HDFC. I am thinking of writing to the Imperia team to upgrade my existing credit card. Which one do you suggest? I’m considering Diners Black.
Family member got airtel axis as FYF (mastercard). Good entry level card, guess I ve mentioned in a different page earlier. 25% cashback on airtel bill payments upto 300pm. 10% back on utility payments on airtel app upto 300pm. 10% back on swiggy zomato, bigbasket upto 500pm (over and above coupon codes). 1% on other spends except wallet, rent, fuel. 4 domestic lounges pa. Annual fee 590, waived at 2L spend. Simple structure and all cashbacks are literally statement credit.
How about after devaluation of reward points for Axis Reserve & HDFC Infinia . My spend on card are 30 lakhs +
What about hdfc bank swiggy credit card
Could have given 1Yr Swiggy One, otherwise it’s just an overlapping product.
Hi Sid,
I guess all of your readers are desperately waiting for the refreshed list of best credit cards in India for 2023 & beyond given the recent changes. Thanks in advance for all the hard work!!
Just updated the list.
Ideally removed Axis Myzone (as swiggy offer is no more lucrative) and added HDFC Marriott card to the list. Will alter a bit more by month end. Hope the update helps. Thank you for waiting.
Hi Siddharth,
Considering all the devaluations and new cards introduced, do you plan to update this list?
I personally don’t see a major change in my strategy because of devaluation, as I’m anyway on burgundy and the monthly milestone on Magnus was very well expected to go sometime. But yes, did some modifications otherwise.
Hdfc Marriott Bonvoy card launched on Diners platform. At 3540 annual fee and one free night worth 15K MB points, and silver status, looks like a decent entry level card, with a low-medium reward rate.
True, get the card only for joining renewal benefits. Also, it has 12 international lounge access per year.
My view – Axis Reserve and SC Ultimate don’t deserve top in top 15.
Great list! I am currently holding: BOB Eterna (for the unlimited domestic lounge access as I travel quite frequently, and for PayTM movie 1+1), Amex MRCC (for the Marriott Bonvoy conversion benefit as Marriott is my go-to property choice), IndusInd Legend (for foreign exchange and BMS movie 1+1), ICICI AmazonPay (for Amazon cashback), Axis Flipkart (for Flipkart cashback), Axis MyZone (for Swiggy offer – not great anymore) and PNB Rupay Select (for UPI). Of these, BOB Eterna (2.5K/yr) and Amex MRCC (1.5K/yr) are paid ones with spend-based waivers. This seems to cover me on most bases, in case someone is looking for a combo of cards. Was looking forward to the HDFC Marriott card but this one disappointed me quite a bit!
Tata Neu infinity Rupay card also seems worth to mention.
To be added in a week with review.
Hi Sid, what are the additional benefits of Infinia over Diners with perhaps the same reward rate, some additional limit for Smartbuy transactions, and better acceptance? Is it worth moving to the paid version of Infinia over LTF Diners Black?
Talked to my relationship manager and got Pre-approval for LTF Infinia. Went straight from Regalia First to Infinia Metal LTF. Now waiting for Reserve to popup before I make another call to my RM.
Not relevant to this topic but still wanted to post it here because I don’t where else to.
I saw that in the US the Diners Club cards are issued on Mastercard platform? I am not able to get it into my head. DC itself is a platform just like MC. And DC was taken over by Discover, who’s the 4th largest after Visa, MC, Amex. So I am wondering what this is.
It would be issued as a supplementary card to handle the cases where diners is not accepted. Citi Bank used to handle diners franchise in many countries and used to do this.
Does SBI AirIndia or any such travel paid cards (IDFC Vistara, Axis Vistara) exclude payments like rent, government services from
a) regular rewards and/or
b) milestone rewards?
I couldn’t find any such exclusion on SBI AirIndia.
Hope to see the Tata New Infinity Review soon 🙂
I have an HDFC Regalia Card with 5.5 lakhs limit. I achieve both the spending milestones for this card.
Which other card should I get along with it for the additional spending or for better reward rate for overall spending? SBI cashback or any other premium card?
Diners black Metal launched. Key difference with pvc version is no monthly milestone but there’s a quarterly milestone which is 10K pts on spend of 4L in a calendar quarter, which is like 2.5% on top of regular 3.3% reward rate. Exclusions are same i.e. wallet, rent, govt payments, etc. Also no annual milestone, only one time welcome benefits, and 10K annual fee waived at 8L spend. I for one am retaining my LTF pvc rather than switching to paid metal.
received so many follow up push notifications to avail FYF Metal from LTF PVC
Please review Diners Card Black Metal Edition. It is placed above Infinia on HDFCBANK website and has different benefits as compared to Diners Black Non-Metal.
This should not be above Infinia, comparison shows almost same in terms of redemption, earnings etc. except for cap (max)
Eagerly waiting for Infinia Reserve
Hi Sid, Happy DeepawaLi
You may want to update Magnus fees.
Also heard Burgundy bin might be different and offered LTF.
I meant from 10k to 12.5k 🙂
Hi
I have HDFC Regalia card and i generally spend about 10L annually an most of the spend are towards – food apps, offline shopping, amazon, fuel and hotel stays (about 2 x times annually)
your reviews on the cards are outstanding and very useful and that got me thinking whether to go ahead with GOLD upgrade or move to AXIS or SBI instead as i am not much of a domestic traveler by flights. May be just 1-2 flights annually I may take
Please suggest waht you recommend to get more points accumulation for above type of spends
thank you
Why are you still holding Regalia card with 10L annual spends? You should ask for upgrade to Infinia.
Hsbc has given some kind of facelift to its cards like the Hsbc Cashback card and the Hsbc Premier card. Not that they would make it to this list, just that I could find Hsbc Platinum review, maybe these variants have come of age and could also be reviewed.
Did they email regarding this facelift?
Haven’t got email from them as I dont have both those cards but the changes are reflecting in their website. For eg, Cashback card now gives 10% cashback on dining, grocery and food delivery, capped at 1K pm. Other online spends still get 1.5% cashback as earlier, no capping, while offline spends get 1%. Annual fees increased from 750+gst to 999+gst and renewal waiver requires 2L spend instead of 1L spend annually.
I have their platinum card and no changes to it.
Looks like this went officially live today but whether the updated benefits would apply or not to the existing cardholders is not something their support could answer, unfortunately.
This went live somewhere in September 2023, if am not wrong. I had been holding to this card as it was LTF for me. Post the casback revamp of 10%, my usage of this card has gone up. There was a email communication from HSBC for change in cashback structure, which came in after the change went live.
Oh, not sure about the cash back card, was referring to the premier card changes.
Want rewards points/ cash back for GOVT spends i.e advance tax/TDS payment etc.. Have HDFC Infinia but it doesn’t give any reward…Kindly suggest which card provide for govt Spends
checkout standard chartered smart credit card – 2% cashback on all online spends.
Sid, I have AXIS Magnus but it recently dropped in value (as you mentioned). It does not offer INR 10k voucher anymore.
It does offer Airport concierge which is great, but no longer works for Lounge access.
I rarely make use of reward points (I know I should start doing that). Can you suggest a good card that offers good national and international lounge access limit?
HDFC Regalia Gold is something you might want to explore.
I suppose 2024 list will be shorter due to some disappointments from Axis, SBI, etc.
Yet to work on the list. Let me know which one to add/remove from your point of view. 🙂
Just my view, but I leave it to the experts, there could be a separate category for cashback cards. Amazon ICICI, Flipkart Axis could appear there, and SBI cashback could make way for HSBC cashback card and Axis Ace. It’s been a year of devaluations, I now treat magnus more as a travel card, not super premium. It’s best for travel bookings giving 5X, and lounge, meet & greet all being travel features. SC Ultimate may not be as super premium as Diners Black anymore, and HSBC Premier might find a mention. Rest seem unchanged to me, but I really look forward to your article on this.
Thanks for your inputs, will try to get the new list live soon.
Hi sid,
Could you please write review on au bank Zenith plus card.i guess it’s better than icici Amazon pay apart from 5% cash back on Amazon.
It’s time to auto approve comments from readers. Reading and approving each comment is time consuming for you and for readers we are getting comments once in a while
Thanks but I maybe wrong in saying the list will get shorter, in case you consider adding Aurum, Indusind Tiger, Tataneu Infinity (esp UPI) or any other cards.
Would you also consider an annual list of top 5 or 10 debit cards, there may be RBL signature+, RBL Enterprise, HDFC millennia, Idfc visa signature/infinite, BoB sapphire, Deutsche bank, to name some.
Again purely my view, maybe magnus burgundy would be super premium, ordinary magnus would be a travel category card. They being issued as separate cards now 🙂
Hi
Could you suggest best credit card with 8% reward rate
Mostlry my spends are on departmental stores and utility bills and train tickets (low on movies, dining, flipkart, amazon and fuel spends)
Most transactions i do by upi (phonepe or paytm)
I had hdfc regali, makemytrip icici, axis flipkart and yes prospertiy rewards
Not using these effectively
Suggest which should i close and take a new
eagerly waiting for 2024 edition. i keep refreshing the page everyday 🙂
And looks like I’ll have to test your patience a bit more. 😉
Hi bro please reply for me (rajkumar; posted on 04/01/2024
Hi Sid,
Waiting for 2024 top cards 😉.
On cc wise 2023 was good. Coz from the above list currently I have 1 entry level card, 2 Premium cards and 1 super premium card 😀 . This year I will further optimize to focus on travel with Atlas, Amex. Received my Atlas card which will replace Magnus for obvious reasons. Eventhough my cards may not be in best cards 2024, I know I optimized it to suit my needs.
Rome was not built in a day … and so the 2024 list. 😉
P.S. Working on it.
No worries!. Worth waiting 😀 !
I am looking for something new now. Waiting for the time to be built 😂.
Siddharth dude, thanks a lot for doing this. I know many would thank you post the list. but I want to thank you for all your efforts.
Thank you Ajay! 🙏
Hi All
May I request for any recommendations of credit card for rent, utility and government transactions? I am current inclined to one of SBI cards (SBI Vistara or SBI Air India)
Hi Sid
Any suggestions/recommendations for credit card for spending majorly on rent/utility/government/tax transactions?IMO a spend milestone based card which do not explicitly exclude these categories are best as regular rewards are mostly excluded/negligible. I am current inclined to one of SBI cards (SBI Vistara or SBI Air India) and request your suggestions.
Most of us do utility spends via Amazon Pay, thanks to the Amazon vouchers. But if these spends are high, then yes, you’re doing the right thing by going for cards with milestone benefits.
Hi Sid,
How are you?
If possible – can you kindly add a section for best credit card for rent payment?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Sudip, all I know is Magnus allows upto 50K INR, beyond which I don’t have any personal experience with rent payments lately. Maybe others could share some light on it.
Hi
Could you please reply for my query
Posted on 04/01/2024
Rajkumar
Thank you
If I have an answer I would have already done that. 🙂
Interesting not a single icici card in the list
Which ICICI card is worth to have ? Apart from APAY ICICI, I don’t see any card thats noteworthy.