AU Ananta Credit Card Review: 1.25% Back and 50,000 Milestone Points

The AU Ananta Credit Card charges ₹2,000 plus GST when you activate it and again each year, unless you spent ₹3,00,000 in the previous card year. It earns 5 Reward Points per ₹100 on shopping, dining and travel, worth 1.25% at AU's ₹0.25 a point, and its 16 domestic lounge visits a year depend on booking flights through AU Rewardz.

By Abhishek Kumar · Content Writer Updated 5 November 2026 Reviewed by BankCreds Financial Experts

Key facts

Joining fee: ₹2,000 + GST
Annual fee: ₹2,000 + GST. For 2nd year onwards Fee Waiver: Rs.3,00,000 retail spends done in previous card anniversary year. No joining fee waiver.
Base reward: 2 Reward Points per Rs.100 on all other retail spends (about 0.5% value)
Best category: Shopping, dining and travel: about 1.25% value
Lounge: Domestic: 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar quarter (16 a year) International: None published
Forex markup: 3.49% of the amount
Network: Visa

Apply on AU Small Finance Bank (AU Bank)'s site

Opens the bank's own page for this card. Approval and the credit limit are the bank's decision.

In short

Good value for people who put ₹25,000 or more a month on one card, mostly on shopping, dining and travel, and who will chase the milestone points.

Best for

People spending ₹3,00,000 or more a year, who keep the fee waived and collect milestone points
Domestic flyers happy to book their tickets through AU Rewardz
Online shoppers and diners who will use the 15% monthly discounts

Skip it if

You want the first-year fee waived: the ₹2,000 joining fee is charged on activation
You want lounges abroad or a forex mark-up below 3.49%
You want UPI payments, since AU does not confirm a RuPay version of Ananta

Highlights

Joining and annual fee ₹2,000 each plus GST; annual fee waived on ₹3,00,000
5 Reward Points per ₹100 (1.25%) on shopping, dining and travel, up to 5,000 points a cycle
8,000 welcome points, worth ₹2,000 at ₹0.25 a point
Up to 50,000 milestone points a year, worth ₹12,500
4 domestic lounge visits a quarter after an AU Rewardz flight booking of ₹5,000 or more

AU Ananta at a glance

Ananta came out on 6 May 2026 as the highest-fee card in AU Small Finance Bank's new four-card set, launched together with Laksya, Tejas and Prathama, and AU's press release pitch it at affluent achievers. It is a Visa card with a ₹2,000 fee and a simple idea: 5 Reward Points per ₹100 on shopping, dining and travel, 2 on everything else, and big milestone bonuses for people who spends a lot.

Unlike the most AU cards, Ananta comes with a rupee value for its points: AU's milestone table prices 5,000 points at ₹1,250, so a point is ₹0.25, the 5-point rate is 1.25% and the base rate 0.5%.

What matters most

The fee arrives on day one. ₹2,000 plus GST is charged on activation with no joining waiver, though the 8,000 welcome points (₹2,000) cancel most of it.
Milestones carry the value. 50,000 bonus points, ₹12,500, wait at ₹10 lakh of yearly spends, and a first 5,000 at ₹2.5 lakh.
Lounges ride on AU Rewardz. 4 domestic visits a quarter follow a flight booking of ₹5,000 or more on AU's travel portal, and there is no international lounge benefit.

Status and changes

Ananta is active and open for online applications. Being launched only in May 2026, it have no card-specific changes yet, but AU's fair-usage fees for all its retail cards apply: 1% on heavy transport spends from 14 June 2026 and on large fuel spends from 1 July 2026. AU's card page gives ₹250 as fuel waiver cap in one section; its MITC of 2 November 2026 says ₹200, which we use.

AU does not say whether a RuPay version exist, so don't plan on UPI with it.

What Ananta costs to hold

AU charges a ₹2,000 joining fee plus GST on activation, which is ₹2,360 (₹2,000 plus ₹360 of GST). From then the ₹2,000 annual fee fall at each card anniversary unless you made ₹3,00,000 of retail spends in the previous anniversary year. Add-on cards are lifetime free.

Is the waiver within reach?

₹3,00,000 a year is ₹25,000 a month (₹3,00,000 divided by 12). A family running groceries, bills and shopping through one card get there; a single person putting ₹15,000 a month on it will not, and pays ₹2,360 every year. In year one the welcome points, worth ₹2,000, leave you only the ₹360 of GST out of pocket, as long as you activate and transact within 30 days of issue.

Interest and penalties

Interest of 3.75% a month, or 45% a year. Carrying ₹40,000 for 30 days costs about ₹1,479.45 (₹40,000 x 45% x 30, divided by 365), plus GST. Up to 50 days interest free on purchases, none on cash.
Late fee: 15% of the Total Amount Due, between ₹10 and ₹1,300, plus GST; a ₹4,000 due draws ₹600.
Cash: 2.5% with a ₹500 minimum, interest from day one, and the cash limit is 20% of your card limit. A ₹8,000 withdrawal pays the ₹500 minimum, not ₹200, so in effect 6.25% (₹500 divided by ₹8,000).
Over-limit 2.5% (minimum ₹500) only with consent; payment return 2% of the total due or ₹500, whichever higher.

Forex and AU's usage fees

Forex mark-up is 3.49% plus GST. A ₹60,000 holiday abroad add ₹2,094 in mark-up and ₹376.92 of GST on it, ₹2,470.92 together. The fuel surcharge waiver is 1% on fills of ₹400 to ₹5,000, up to ₹200 a statement cycle.

Rent in India (MCC 6513): 1%, at least ₹99 a payment, so any rent under ₹9,900 end up paying more than 1% (₹99 divided by 1%).
Fuel: 1% on the month's entire fuel once one fill tops ₹10,000 or the month tops ₹25,000.
Utilities: 1% past ₹50,000 in a calendar month. Education through third-party apps: 1%, minimum ₹99.
Transport (MCC 4111, 4112, 4784): 1% on the whole month once it passes half your limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower.

No wallet fee appears in AU's schedule. Flights and hotels on AU Rewardz can go on 3-month no-cost EMI, but a ₹199 plus GST conversion fee still apply.

Ananta: fees and charges

Joining fee	₹2,000 + GST
Annual or renewal fee	₹2,000 + GST
Annual fee waiver	For 2nd year onwards Fee Waiver: Rs.3,00,000 retail spends done in previous card anniversary year. No joining fee waiver.
Add-on card fee	Nil
GST	Charged on top of the fees and charges listed
In the bank’s words	Annual Card Membership fee: Rs.2,000 + applicable taxes. Joining fee Rs.2,000 + GST charged on card activation; annual fee charged at each card anniversary if the spend criterion is not met. Lifetime-free add-on cards.
Interest on unpaid balances	Up to 3.75% a month (45% a year)
Late payment fee	15% of Total Amount Due (minimum Rs.10, maximum Rs.1,300), plus 18% GST
Cash withdrawal	2.5% of amount withdrawn, minimum Rs.500; interest (charges on revolving credit) from the date of withdrawal until full payment; cash limit 20% of card limit
Over-limit fee	2.5% of over-limit amount, minimum Rs.500 (over-limit only with the cardholder's explicit consent)
Forex markup	3.49% of the amount
Other fees	Rent (MCC 6513), domestic: 1% of transaction value, minimum Rs.99 per transaction (international rent: no charge) Utility (MCC 4900): 1% on aggregate utility spends above Rs.50,000 in a calendar month Fuel (from 1 July 2026): no charge if a single transaction is below Rs.10,000 or the monthly aggregate is below Rs.25,000; otherwise 1% on the entire aggregate fuel spend Education via third-party apps (CRED, PhonePe, Paytm, MobiKwik, Freecharge etc.): 1% of transaction value, minimum Rs.99 (direct payments to the institution: no charge) Transportation (MCC 4111, 4112, 4784; from 14 June 2026): 1% on the entire aggregate if monthly spends exceed 50% of the credit limit or Rs.25,000, whichever is lower (IRCTC and some travel partners excluded) Payment return: 2% of total amount due or Rs.500, whichever is higher Reward redemption fee Rs.99 + GST; card transfer Rs.199 + GST Xpress EMI: 1% of amount (minimum Rs.99) + GST; Instant EMI at POS/payment gateway Rs.199 + GST GST at 18% on all fees, interest and charges

Ananta's points, milestones and discounts

5 points per ₹100 on shopping, dining and travel: 1.25% at ₹0.25. AU caps the 5-point rate at 5,000 points a statement cycle across all three, which only bites after ₹1,00,000 of such spends (5,000 divided by 5, times ₹100), worth ₹1,250 a cycle at most.
2 points per ₹100 on other retail: 0.5%.
1 point per ₹100 on insurance, utilities and telecom, with at most 100 points a transaction on utility and telecom.
No points on cash, rent, education and government, EMI, fuel, BBPS, transportation and quasi-cash. Because transportation is on that list, a travel spend only earn the 5 points if it is coded as travel.

Points are valid for 2 years and gets lost if the card is idle for 12 months. AU gives no value for each AU Rewardz option, only the ₹0.25 in its milestone table, and every redemption costs ₹116.82 (₹99 plus ₹17.82 of GST), so redeem in big lots.

Welcome and milestones

Activate the card and make a first transaction within 30 days of issue for 8,000 points, ₹2,000 at ₹0.25. The milestones, counted per card anniversary year without fuel and cash, are below.

Yearly spends reach	Bonus points	Value at ₹0.25
₹2.5 lakh	5,000	₹1,250
₹5 lakh	10,000 more	₹2,500
₹7.5 lakh	15,000 more	₹3,750
₹10 lakh	20,000 more	₹5,000
Total	50,000	₹12,500

There are also three 15% instant discounts a month, each capped at ₹500: Amazon Fashion (minimum ₹1,000 order), dining through District (minimum ₹1,000) and hotels on AU Rewardz (minimum ₹3,000, primary card only). The ₹500 is reached at a bill of about ₹3,334 (₹500 divided by 15%). We leave them out below, since few people uses all three every month.

Three worked examples

Only shopping, dining, travel and other retail count toward the milestones and waiver here; utility and insurance earn points but are kept out of the thresholds.

Per month	Light: ₹15,000	Typical: ₹30,000	Heavy: ₹90,000
Shopping, dining, travel at 5 per ₹100	₹6,000: 300	₹15,000: 750	₹50,000: 2,500
Other retail at 2 per ₹100	₹7,000: 140	₹12,000: 240	₹35,000: 700
Utility and insurance at 1 per ₹100	₹2,000: 20	₹3,000: 30	₹5,000: 50
Points a year	(300 + 140 + 20) x 12 = 5,520	(750 + 240 + 30) x 12 = 12,240	(2,500 + 700 + 50) x 12 = 39,000
Milestone points	0	5,000	50,000
Value at ₹0.25	₹1,380	₹4,310	₹22,250
Less one redemption	₹116.82	₹116.82	₹116.82
Annual fee from year two	₹2,360	Waived	Waived
Net a year	Minus ₹1,096.82	₹4,193.18	₹22,133.18

Light. ₹13,000 a month of qualifying spends (₹6,000 plus ₹7,000) is ₹1,56,000 a year, under both ₹2.5 lakh and ₹3 lakh. The points fetch ₹1,380 (5,520 x ₹0.25) and the fee eat all of it and more: ₹1,380 minus ₹116.82 minus ₹2,360 leaves you ₹1,096.82 down.

Typical. ₹27,000 qualifying a month is ₹3,24,000 a year (x 12), enough for the waiver and the first milestone. 17,240 points (12,240 plus 5,000) give ₹4,310, so ₹4,193.18 after one redemption, with nothing paid in fee.

Heavy. ₹85,000 qualifying a month is ₹10,20,000 a year, past the ₹10 lakh step, so all 50,000 milestone points land. 89,000 points (39,000 plus 50,000) are worth ₹22,250. Category spend of ₹50,000 a month still sit well under the ₹1,00,000 a cycle that would hit the cap.

Ananta: higher-reward categories

Category	Rate	Cap
Shopping, dining and travel	5 Reward Points per Rs.100, about 1.25% value	Maximum of 5,000 Reward Points (cumulative) on shopping, dining and travel spends in a card statement cycle, ₹5,000, statement cycle

Ananta: how rewards work

Earned as	Reward Points
Base rate	2 Reward Points per Rs.100 on all other retail spends. About 0.5% value back
Minimum spend rules	Points accrue in multiples of Rs.100
No rewards on	Cash Rent Education & Govt EMI Fuel BBPS Transportation Quasi cash
Lower rewards on	Insurance, utility and telecom: 1 Reward Point per Rs.100 (maximum 100 Reward Points per transaction on utility & telecom)
Value of a point	Value used in the issuer's milestone table: Milestone table: 5,000 bonus Reward Points = Rs.1,250 (so 1 Reward Point = Rs.0.25)
Redemption fee	Rs.99 + GST per successful redemption
Expiry	2 years from the date of accrual
Welcome benefits	8,000 bonus Reward Points on card activation and 1st successful transaction within 30 days of card issuance
Milestone benefits	5,000 bonus Reward Points at Rs.2.5 lakh annual spend 10,000 more at Rs.5 lakh 15,000 more at Rs.7.5 lakh 20,000 more at Rs.10 lakh (total 50,000 in a card anniversary year; fuel and cash not counted)
Lounge access	Domestic: 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar quarter (16 a year) International: None published Condition: Unlocked by booking flight tickets of Rs.5,000 or more through AU Rewardz (primary cardholder bookings only)
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% waiver on Rs.400 to Rs.5,000, up to Rs.200 per statement cycle (MITC)
Insurance cover	Air accident cover up to Rs.50 lakh; credit shield up to Rs.5 lakh; purchase protection up to Rs.25,000 (90 days); baggage loss/delay, flight delay, loss of passport and hijack covers; device protection plan

Applying for Ananta

The criteria AU publish are general ones, not Ananta's own. You must be a resident Indian, aged 21 to 60 if salaried or 25 to 65 if self-employed, and an add-on holder must be over 18. AU sets an income bar but don't publish it, writing only "minimum monthly income as specified by the bank", so nobody can tell you in advance whether your salary is enough.

Documents: valid proof of identity, of address and of income.
Where: the Apply Now link on AU's Ananta page, which opens the AU card onboarding portal; you can check the status online. Branches and the AU 0101 app help with queries, and the 24x7 card line is 1800 1200 1500.

Think before you activate

Because AU bills the ₹2,000 joining fee on activation, activate only when you are meaning to use the card. Under RBI rules a card not activated within 30 days needs your OTP consent to continue, and without it the bank must close it free of cost, and an unactivated card cannot be reported to credit bureaus either.

What the bank checks

The RBI's 2025 Directions ask AU to assess your independent financial means and to set the limit after looking at all the limits you hold with other lenders. Experian India rates scores above 750, on its 300 to 900 scale, as generally good. If you apply online expect a Video KYC call: RBI treats a video-based identification on par with face-to-face KYC, and a revolving card can't be opened on a OTP-only Aadhaar e-KYC. AU must also share a Key Fact Statement and give written reasons if it declines you.

Ananta: eligibility and documents

Age (salaried)	21 to 60 years
Age (self-employed)	25 to 65 years
Income (salaried)	Minimum monthly income as specified by the bank (no figure published)
Income (self-employed)	Minimum monthly income as specified by the bank (no figure published)
Other conditions	Resident Indian; add-on cardholder over 18 years. Criteria are indicative; AU decides on approval.
Documents	Valid proof of identity Valid proof of address Valid proof of income
How to apply	Online through the 'Apply Now' link on each card page (AU credit card onboarding portal, cconboarding.au.bank.in); application status can be tracked online. NOMO needs an AU fixed deposit. Support also at branches and on the AU 0101 app.
Card customer care	1800 1200 1500

These are the bank's published conditions. Meeting them does not guarantee a card: approval and the credit limit are the bank's decision.

Ananta against three mid-fee reward cards

These three costs between ₹1,499 and ₹2,500 a year plus GST, close to Ananta's ₹2,000, and reward dining, shopping or travel. The side-by-side table on this tab gives the raw numbers.

BOBCARD Eterna

The BOBCARD Eterna lists a ₹2,499 fee in its MITC; its card page runs a ₹0 joining fee as a limited-period offer from 1 September 2026. The first-year fee also goes on ₹25,000 of spends in 60 days, and the annual fee on ₹2,50,000. It earns 15 points per ₹100 on online, international, dining and travel spends, 3.75% at ₹0.25, but caps them at 5,000 a cycle, which is ₹33,333 of spends (5,000 divided by 15, times ₹100). Supermarkets and fast food earns nothing. Unlimited domestic lounges need ₹75,000 in the previous quarter, forex is 2%, and BOBCARD asks above ₹12 lakh a year of income.

HDFC Bank Regalia Gold

The Regalia Gold costs ₹2,500, waived on ₹4 lakh. It earns 5 points per ₹200, worth 1.25% when redeemed for flights and hotels at ₹0.5 a point (5 x ₹0.5, divided by ₹200), but only 15 paise as cashback. 3 domestic visits a quarter need ₹60,000 in the previous quarter, 6 Priority Pass visits abroad come each year, and forex is 2%. Salaried applicants need over ₹1.5 lakh a month.

SBI Card PULSE

The SBI Card PULSE is cheaper at ₹1,499, waived on ₹2 lakh, and pays 10 points per ₹100 (2.5%) on chemist, pharmacy, sports, dining and movies up to 7,500 points a month. It give 4 domestic lounge visits a year with no spend condition stated, a 3.5% forex mark-up and a Noise smartwatch worth ₹7,999 as welcome gift.

Who should pick which

Ananta: wide 1.25% across shopping, dining and travel plus large milestones, for people who don't mind AU Rewardz.
Eterna: higher earn rate on online and dining, but a much tighter cap and a high income bar.
Regalia Gold: higher earners who redeem for travel and want lounges abroad.
PULSE: medicine, fitness and eating out, at a lower fee.

For grocery-heavy families AU's own Vetta may suit more better. The rest of the range is on our AU Small Finance Bank cards page; how reward points work and best dining cards help you compare, and the credit cards hub starts from the basics.

Ananta against similar cards

Term	AU Ananta Credit Card This card	BOBCARD ETERNA	Regalia Gold Credit Card	SBI Card PULSE
Bank	AU Small Finance Bank (AU Bank)	BOBCARD	HDFC Bank	SBI Card
Joining fee	₹2,000 + GST	₹2,499 + GST	₹2,500 + GST	₹1,499 + GST
Annual fee and waiver	₹2,000 + GST. For 2nd year onwards Fee Waiver: Rs.3,00,000 retail spends done in previous card anniversary year. No joining fee waiver.	₹2,499 + GST. First-year fee waived on INR 25,000 spends in the first 60 days (else levied in the third statement); annual fee waived on INR 2,50,000 spends in the anniversary year	₹2,500 + GST. Retail spends of ₹4 lakh within 12 billing cycles of your anniversary year waive the next year's renewal fee	₹1,499 + GST. Renewal Fee is reversed if annual spends for last year >= Rs. 2,00,000.
Base reward	2 Reward Points per Rs.100 on all other retail spends (about 0.5% value)	3 reward points per INR 100 on other eligible categories (about 0.75% value)	5 Reward Points for every ₹200 spent on eligible retail spends	2 Reward Points per Rs. 100 on all other spends (about 0.5% value)
Best category	Shopping, dining and travel: about 1.25% value	Online, international, dining and travel: about 3.75% value	Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital, Marks & Spencer: 5X Reward Points	Chemist and pharmacy, sports, dining and movies: about 2.5% value
Lounges	Domestic: 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar quarter (16 a year) International: None published	Domestic: Unlimited complimentary domestic airport lounge access International: None listed	Domestic: 3 complimentary domestic lounge visits per calendar quarter, by swiping the card International: Up to 6 visits per calendar year outside India via Priority Pass, for primary and add-on members	Domestic: 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year (restricted to 1 per quarter) International: Complimentary Priority Pass membership (worth US$99) for first two years; no complimentary international visits stated (usage fee up to US$27 per visit per MITC)
Forex markup	3.49% of the amount	2% of the amount	2% of the amount	3.5% of the amount
Network	Visa	Not stated by the bank	Not stated by the bank	Visa, Mastercard
Published minimum income	Minimum monthly income as specified by the bank (no figure published)	₹1,00,000 a month	₹1,50,000 a month	Stable income; SBI Card says the specific minimum varies by card and does not...
Status	Taking applications	Taking applications	Taking applications	Taking applications

Frequently asked questions

Is there a joining fee waiver on AU Ananta?

No. AU charges the ₹2,000 joining fee plus GST when you activate the card, with no spend-based waiver for it. The 8,000 welcome points, worth ₹2,000 at AU's ₹0.25 a point, largely offset it. From the second year the ₹2,000 annual fee is waived if your retail spends reached ₹3,00,000 in the previous card anniversary year.

What is an AU Ananta Reward Point worth?

AU's own milestone table prices 5,000 points at ₹1,250, so one point is worth ₹0.25. That makes the 5 points per ₹100 on shopping, dining and travel worth 1.25%, and the base 2 points worth 0.5%. AU does not list a value for each AU Rewardz option. Each redemption costs ₹99 plus GST, and points expire after 2 years.

Who can apply for the AU Ananta Credit Card?

Resident Indians who are salaried and aged 21 to 60, or self-employed and aged 25 to 65, under AU's general card rules. AU publishes no minimum income for Ananta, only that it must meet the bank's own criteria. You need valid proof of identity, address and income, and AU alone decides on approval and the credit limit.

How does lounge access work on AU Ananta?

Ananta gives 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar quarter, 16 a year, when the primary cardholder books flight tickets of ₹5,000 or more through AU Rewardz. AU publishes no international lounge benefit for this card, and spends abroad carry a 3.49% forex mark-up plus GST, so it is a card for flying within India.

When was AU Ananta launched, and what has changed since?

AU launched Ananta on 6 May 2026 together with Laksya, Tejas and Prathama. Since then two fair-usage fees for all AU retail cards have started: 1% on heavy transport spends from 14 June 2026, and 1% on a whole month's fuel from 1 July 2026 when one fill passes ₹10,000 or the month passes ₹25,000.

How many milestone points can I earn on AU Ananta?

Up to 50,000 bonus points in a card anniversary year: 5,000 at ₹2.5 lakh of spends, 10,000 more at ₹5 lakh, 15,000 more at ₹7.5 lakh and 20,000 more at ₹10 lakh. At ₹0.25 a point that is ₹12,500 in all. Fuel and cash spends do not count toward these milestones.

Sources

AU Small Finance Bank: Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) with Schedule of Charges, Version 2.23; AU Ananta Credit Card page (Internet Archive copy; live page refused automated fetch with a Cloudflare check); Cardmember Agreement (AU Small Finance Bank Credit Card); Credit Cards listing page (Internet Archive copy, 23 Oct 2026; live page refused automated fetch with a Cloudflare check)

Last verified: 5 November 2026

Written by Abhishek Kumar, reviewed by BankCreds Financial Experts

BankCreds does not sell cards or take applications. Fees and rewards change; the bank's own terms on the day you apply are what count, and approval is the bank's decision.