RBL Rewards reduces its point value from 25Ps to as low as 16Ps

By | May 5, 2020

Disclaimer: Points expressed in the article are my personal opinion and also that of select readers who shared their experiences in using RBL credit card.

RBL Rewards
RBL Rewards

Just incase if you care about knowing what’s happening with the RBL bank credit card rewards program, here’s everything you need to know:

What’s happening?

Not more than a month ago RBL bank reduced its reward rate on credit cards silently by reducing the value of each reward point. 

Previously, RBL bank rewards were valued at the range of ~25ps/point considering the available redemption options by then, but now it has gone down to as bad as 16ps/point on select redemptions. Here are some of the available rewards and their point value:

  • Big Bazaar: 16ps/point (36% drop in value)
  • Amazon/Flipkart Vouchers: 18ps/point (28% drop in value)
  • LP/Peter England: 23.5ps/point (10% drop in value)

That’s about 10% to 36% drop in value compared to what it used to offer in the past. This affects most RBL credit cards as they already have a relatively low reward rate.

Note: You may still be able to redeem for 25ps/point for travel redemptions.

While correction in reward points value is normal in the industry, we wish credit card issuers intimate us few weeks prior doing the change just like how AMEX does.

That aside it seems some users are facing various problems from poor customer service, Paytm transactions being tagged as cash withdrawal, etc as reported by Hardik – a long term reader here

What can you do?

Simple, go ahead and redeem all the points and close the card if you don’t have a significant credit line with them. 

This I say not only because of this problem, but also because of various other rumours going around RBL bank for a while.

Their premium credit cards aren’t competitive enough and so their offers, except the ones that show up during festive season. So I see no future with RBL credit cards at the moment. 

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, staying away from RBL is the best thing one can do. If you’ve multiple cards it’s better to get rid of RBL as anyway our spends would be down for next 1yr or so.

Same applies to Yesbank & partly to IndusInd too. We never know if these banks will survive the pandemic period & beyond as these banks are already in pressure. (Disclaimer: Actual situation of the bank may vary, I only know the rumours)

That said, it’s still fine to hold cards from these banks as long as you have a high credit line or LTF card. Just make sure not to rely much on them, especially on RBL as you see above what’s going on with them.

What’s your thoughts on RBL bank rewards devaluation? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Author: Siddharth

Helping Indians to choose right credit cards, pick right offers and enjoy luxury vacations for less. Day & night exploring the spiritual reality of our human existence.

41 thoughts on “RBL Rewards reduces its point value from 25Ps to as low as 16Ps

  1. Naveen

    I have a RBL fun plus card, never really could accumulate a decent amount of reward points as RBL has no promotional offers but this is even worse.

    The only benefit I used to use the card for was Bookmyshow voucher of 500 on a spend of 5000.

    Not sure should I close the card now, it’s not LTF for me.

    Reply
  2. Viknesh

    The best for the RP’s will be to use it in travel Portal of RBL where the value of redemption is still 25P. I hold the RBL Icon Card.

    Reply
  3. Prashant Agrawal

    Devaluation is bad. Not informing in advance and sudden devaluation without informing cardholders is ugly.

    Makes sense to only keep bulk of points with Amex or Citi which value customer trust.

    Reply
  4. Nishit Sanghvi

    Point value in recharge is 20 paisa just devalued this month.. Last month I did recharge at value 25 paisa

    Reply
    1. Vicky Mishra

      I’m still able to recharge @25p per point. And also my credit limit hasn’t been reduced yet.

      Reply
  5. Hardik

    Good article as always and thanks for bringing RBL bank clear picture in notice!
    I would also add some more problems i faced with RBL bank so people can be cautious and close relationship with them to be on safer side!!

    I received RBL bank credit card on June 2019, as they were calling 2-3 times a week for pre approved credit card on basis of my bajaj Finserv loan account and relationship which i closed in 2018, to my surprise when I checked my CIBIL it was already hit by them 4 times before application as they already did hard inquiry when they were calling me(bajaj Finserv data) So i thought as cibil is already hitted i should take card and later tell them to remove it but i didn’t knew how foolish and pathetic customer service i would be facing!
    So on giving on call concent for card they processed my application without any kyc as they already had through bajaj i received card after 7 days at my residence!

    2 more cibil hard enquiry – total 6
    I applied a supplementary card due to grofers offer of 15% discount every Friday and Monday and 200 rs bogo bms benefit as i am holding Bajaj Finserv platinum plus card – 999rs fees charged for me with gst cost came 1180- and 4000 bonus points they said valued 1000 cash credit or Amazon voucher on call,lied to me,i got fooled!

    Main part starts now-
    Experience-
    I did a transaction of 2k around as welcome benefit on IRCTC with Paytm wallet chosed for payment and used RBL card,they charged me 118 rs like 100 plus gst for cash advance fee,for them i did cash withdrawal from card, great!
    I took this matter to customer care after 1hr talk 2-3 time this guy didn’t help and this are worse than even animals seriously,so i mailed them after 2 months no resolution and always received mail through CEO or nodal team it was cash transaction noted by merchant even after sending them all proof of transaction over email!

    So i raised a issue with RBI, banking ombudsman and after a month issue was solved as informed over call of wrong CIBIL enquiry and this cash advance as their customer care is a joke and i know every RBL user might have experienced it!

    When i checked after 1-2 months only 4 inquiry was removed and 2 still being seen so i thought Chuck now will see later and from past 5 month’s i am mailing them no response for removal of that 2 enquiry too so again have to take RBI help!

    So when i took card last year 8300-8500 points were costing for 2000 Amazon or Flipkart or such voucher,then they raised to 8900 and now bumped to 11000, seriously !

    I had already stopped using card as it was free for me for another year and kept for grofers and such benefit,but now after seeing customer service which is a bunch of idiots many of you might already have experienced!
    Secondly if any fraud happens on this card even though i have disabled international transactions ,this guy’s wouldn’t help me anyhow!

    Today a new issue has arrived to most of users as checking twitter they have reduced limits of most of users holding 3-4 lakhs range limit earlier to mere 10k, big joke here too!

    One more problem they will never cancel your card and for even cancelling you have to follow up as they will give excuses like we called you but you were unavailable and many such issues as i know one or two friends who gave cancellation request and after a year card wasn’t cancelled and they were informed it was cancelled and he came to know as he received new card through courier and so!

    So after all this personal experience i shared even if you’re card is Ltf keep it at your risk or if you aren’t getting any value from card kindly cancel specific RBL bank cards or any relationship as once you face issue with them you loose money or have to take help of higher authority which will take months to get resolved!

    Thanks!🙂

    Reply
    1. Karthikeyan

      Hi, myself also want to surrender my card but, There’s no reply for mail and unable to connect with customer care executive via phone. Do you have any suggestions for me to surrender the card.

      Reply
  6. Naresh kumar

    @Sidharth
    About the paytm transactions considered as cash withdrawals, is it just rbl or other cc providers as well. It’s like you are talking about it in general.

    Reply
  7. Krishna

    I used to hold 13 credit cards which includes RBL card but i have closed 2yrs back because of their poor customer service and not so interesting rewards program.

    One of my friend recently had very bad experience with RBL and he lost 1.2laks in fradulant transaction. The complaint is still open and RBL is forcing him to pay for it.

    I suggested him to get that complaint resolved and close the card.

    Reply
  8. Sujit Kumar Hota

    Not to mention they also reduced the limit. Mine got reduced from 2.39lac to 10k 😂. They want me to use the card with 10k limit and pay the fee.

    Reply
  9. Karthikeyan

    Guys, I am using RBL icon which had limit of 1.15L and annual fee 5000₹. last march only paid the fee now the limit 10K. When tried to contact their customer service but failed can someone please help me to contact them and surrender the card.

    Reply
    1. Sharathkumar Anbu

      You can write an email to cardservices [at] rblbank.com and principalnodalofficer [at] rblbank.com to get the card closed. Tweet them in twitter also.

      When I requested for card closure, initially they denied saying the team is not available, I have stood up on cancellation and they have cancelled it finally.

      Reply
      1. Saurabh

        How much time they took to cancel the card as i have been following up with them since 1 month , initially they gave me some or the other useless reason and they they stopped replying to my mails all together . I even tweeted but no one replies . Please let me know whom you contacted as mailing to headcardsservice, nodal office all are waste of time as no one replies .

        Reply
        1. Sharathkumar Anbu

          They cancelled my credit card after 2 weeks of follow up. Funny part is they have levied monthly fees on a closed credit card and I have to send an email again to reverse it. Such a pathetic bank and sub standard customer service. I will never bank with RBL in future.

          Reply
          1. Manjunath U

            Well Sharath, I faced similar issue when closed by RBL Titanium card in Aug 2019, they initially denied but later cancelled. After repeated calls to customer care, which is really pathetic as there are lack of options for a phone banker to answer your query. Finally as mentioned had forwarded a mail to nodal officer to have it resolved on priority, as I was charged an annual fee on my card, which was later reversed in next statement after card closure, without making payment for previous month. As the service personnel informed its a technical glitch as the card is cancelled no fee will be levied and request for cancellation is updated from our end. Its difficult to catch hold of right service personnel to address our issue. Beware of RBL credit card.

    2. Gopal Gidwani

      Rs. 5,000 annual fee for a card with a limit of Rs. 10,000? It can’t get worse than this

      Reply
  10. Dhruvin Jain

    It is really pathetic and frustrating to deal with such incompetent people. Rbl bank has hired such kind of people in bulk . They don’t deserve to be in banking industry because of there unprofessional behaviour . I wish that In near future there financial situation will be worse , in comparison to yes bank . I Request everyone to cancel there credit card , cut it into pieces and share it on social media pages of rbl bank , so that more and more people get aware of ther crap services .
    #rblbank #chorbank

    Reply
  11. Krishna

    @Siddharth
    Why you mentioned indus bank in list.
    I know there rewarding structuring is changed from Aug2019 and it is not worthy to pay huge joining fees for indus premium cards now.
    Just let us know whats going on about indus cards in the market and financial sector.

    Reply
    1. Shivi

      I strongly suggest you read the terms and conditions of IndusInd credit cards. I closed my LTF Legend card within 2 months of receiving it after the shocking tnc hit me like a truck – I did ask the customer care to clarify and they were clueless why such clauses are even there in the first place!

      Reply
      1. Sharathkumar Anbu

        Could you give more detail? What kind of T & C are there? I am not really great at going through such big T & C

        Reply
      2. Krishna

        @Shivi
        I used legend card for 8 months and felt it was good. Later i have upgraded the card to pinnacle by paying huge joining fees of 25k+GST without voucher in 2018.
        Now joining fee is reduced to 10K+GST without voucher and 25k+GST with voucher.
        In 2 years i have earned more than 4lak rupees in cash from indusind bank cards.
        But with latest changes in rewarding structure am not benefiting much.
        For merchandise transactions they are still giving 2.5% rewards and total reward point will not cross 1% of your card limit in card cycle statement.

        Reply
        1. Naresh kumar

          4 lakhs in cash? How?
          Do they allow cash redemption for reward points and offered high reward points per rs 100 transaction? Or they have a category of spends which was beneficial to you?

          Reply
          1. Krishna

            Earlier in 2018 for every online transaction they used to give 2.5% reward points that is equal to 2.5Rs.
            Example:If you do any online transaction of Rs100
            You will get 3% but if you do transaction of Rs200 you will get 5%
            Even number transaction like 100,300,500etc gives extra 1% cashback.
            I had 4 Paytm merchant accounts with 50k limit, pazapp n many other wallets.
            Now everything is restricted so it’s some what difficult to get points.
            I have closed 12credit cards except pinnacle card n thinking to take Paytm card.

        2. Jeeva

          I am also using same kind of technique using Paytm, PayZapp, TMW with Kotak 811 etc Now everythink is blocked by the RBI. Monthly I easily rotate around 5 lack. Now every thing is gone

          Reply
  12. Arnab Chaudhuri

    What about cash credit redemption. Is that also devalued from 25p/point?

    Reply
  13. Praveen Katiyar

    I’m thanking God today, a lot.
    I have more than a dozen cards from 10 banks but never liked RBL for their way of selling cards. Telling a lot that does not match website data. So never took one.
    Recently closed my Axis Sig Vistara, as they could not help me redeem 2 vouchers issued by them in Jan ( in spite of giving them many choices) and not they are expired. While I had discussions during the closing of the card, they said I should request Vistara to extend the validity, I did not buy that.
    The coming year will be a tough one, look again for the card that isn’t useful (maybe travel-related) or one with a high fee. Close it if you don’t benefit from it, but don’t bleed. Just my advice.

    Reply
  14. Saurabh

    Stay away from RBL credit cards, this is the most unethical bank and its people are most unprofessional . Since 1 month i have been following up to close my Bajaj Finserv RBL credit card but they are telling to contact after lock down is over as they are not able to travel, to which i asked what travel is required to cancel the card to which they are ignoring my mails and haven’t got any reply .
    I finally raised a complaint to RBI , lets hope they provide a resolution .

    Reply
  15. Rajesh kumar

    Hi Siddarth,
    I am using past years IndusInd Legend credit card which having 1.12 Lakh Credit Limit.
    My annual income is 11.5 Lakh. I have requested too many times to increase the limit. But not helpful.
    I have very good cibil score greater than 753. and no default any where. Please advise to get more limit.

    Reply
  16. Amex Guy

    I’ve been receiving calls to get Shoprite card (didn’t really know what it is and the dude calling me tells me it will be LTF and is “most perfect” card for me) with 2.5L credit limit (lol) pre-approved with claim that there won’t be a CIBIL hit and I’d have until first due date to cancel the offering if I don’t like it and it won’t even show up on credit reports at all.

    Very suspicious claim as the guy knows so little about card’s benefit, could not answer my question about their more premium offerings, but was somehow heck sure about the CIBIL enquiry thing. At least he told me my latest CIBIL score which was helpful as I haven’t renewed my membership this year. Card is useless for me as I fuel up at preferred HP COCO station (Amex) and buy groceries online (Citi).

    I do want to try their Bajaj Supercard line up, but I really don’t have time to deal with bad customer service. Should I take this offer up and later try and upgrade? Not sure as Bajaj could be a cobranded option and they might not product change to it?

    Reply
    1. Arnab Chaudhuri

      I’m banging my head on the wall by taking RBL card using points. I booked a hotel at Mahipalpur extension A-block. After I reached the place, the hotel was closed for renovation. I emailed them to reverse my points+cash(80%+20%). Its been 7 months. No revert. No email followup. Let the lock down get over. I’l throw the RBL card in the dustbin.

      Reply
  17. jp

    I applied for pre approved RBL card and within 3 days the status is showing as “Credit Upsell”. Does it mean card is approved or anything else?

    Reply
  18. Rajesh Kamath

    Great blog.. much needed real time insights into credit card company behaviour.. keep up the good work..

    Reply
  19. Arpita Roy

    This is not a review.
    RBL Younique credit card caught my attention recently. The card allows user to chose from a list of benefits and customize the card as needed. And based on the benefits chosen, the annual fee of the card is decided.

    Below is an example. Few benefits which i feel are good:
    1. 5000rs Amazon voucher on a spend of 5lac rs in a year — benefit cost 499+gst
    2. 5000rs Flipkart voucher on a spend of 5lac rs in a year — benefit cost 499+gst
    3. 5000rs Myntra voucher on a spend of 5lac rs in a year — benefit cost 499+gst
    4. 2000rs BigBasket voucher on a spend of 3lac rs in a year — benefit cost 399+gst

    Now if i add all these 4 benefits in my account, the annual charge would be 1896rs +gst. But on completion of 5lac spend, i will get 17000rs vouchers (5000rs Amazon+5000rs Flipkart+5000rs Myntra+2000rs BigBasket).
    This is a immediate return of approx. 2.95% return (17000 vouchers adjusted by annual fee)
    On top of it, i will get reward points on spending. 1rp on 100rs spend.

    This seems to be a good deal for me. You can add additional benefits too (e.g. 10k Taj voucher on 8lac spend–benefit cost 599rs+gst, etc.). That will increase annual charges by few hundred rupees.

    Is this really a good card? Am i missing something?

    Reply
  20. Ashish Kumar Nath

    They are counting some foreign online transactions as cash withdrawal .

    Reply
  21. Balaji

    Holy cow shocked to Read the review on RBL , May be i to got fooled by Amazon Voucher scam by RBL ,i paid 3000 plus taxes for world Supercard .

    Reply
  22. Arun Mangla

    Maybe the admin should create a list of worst credit cards and add RBL to the top

    Reply
  23. Abhi

    Owing to Mastercard ban, Rbl is issuing credit and debit card on Visa platform. Their Insignia debit card (their topmost) is a Visa Signature+ , not sure what difference the + makes. But some standout features are 1% cashback on spends above 10K pm (yet to test on credit card repayments), 2 lounge per quarter, vouchers worth 5K on spends of 5Lpa, and NIL markup fee.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      That’s a nice 2% on 5L spend. Do they have more info on this online? I couldn’t find any.

      Reply
      1. Abhi

        There’s a joining fee though, 5K+gst against which they give 5K voucher (amazon/flipk/etc). Then there’s an annual fee 1500+gst, waived if you spend over 3L in a year. 1% cashback is limited to 1000 per month but it’s in the form of voucher not cash, and 5K voucher on 5L milestone is once a year. So you can effectively get rewarded upto 17K pa apart from 2 domestic lounge per qtr and 0% markup.

        Reply

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