SBI Card Credit Cards 2026: Caps, Fees and the Card That Fits You

The right SBI card for each kind of spending

Start from your biggest monthly category and then look at its cap, because SBI Card puts a ceiling on nearly every accelerated rate. The table gives the one figure that usually settles it, and the notes below explains why.

Online shopping

SimplyCLICK SBI Card gives 10 points per ₹100 with its exclusive partners, among them Myntra, Swiggy, Cleartrip, Tata CLiQ, BookMyShow and Netmeds, and 5 points per ₹100 on other online spends. At ₹0.25 a point that is 2.5% and 1.25%. The 5X rate is capped at 10,000 points a calendar month, which you only hit at ₹2 lakh of non-partner online spend (10,000 divided by 5, times ₹100), so for most people the cap don't matter.

Shoppers loyal to one group has better options. Reliance SBI Card PRIME gives 20 points per ₹100 on AJIO and JioMart since 1 October 2025, or 5%, but its points go only into Reliance Retail vouchers. Tata Neu Infinity SBI Card pays 5% as NeuCoins on Tata Neu and Tata brands such as BigBasket, Croma and Tata 1mg, and 1.5% on other spends.

Flat cashback

CASHBACK SBI Card is the simple one: 5% on online spends without merchant restriction and 1% offline. Since 1 April 2026 the online part is capped at ₹2,000 per statement cycle and the whole card at ₹4,000. Do the maths, ₹40,000 of online spend at 5% already gives ₹2,000, so every rupee above that in the same cycle earn nothing extra. Fuel, rent, wallet loads, utilities, insurance, education, jewellery and railways never earn, and gaming, tolls and government payments joined that list on the same date.

Flipkart SBI Card pays 7.5% on Myntra, 5% on Flipkart and Cleartrip, 4% at Netmeds, PVR, Uber and Zomato and 1% elsewhere, with a ₹4,000 quarterly cashback limit. SBI Card's terms don't say whether that ₹4,000 is shared across these categories or applies to each one, so plan as if it is shared until the bank clarify. Axis Bank issues a Flipkart card with its own caps, and our Axis Bank hub sets those out.

Groceries, dining and movies

SimplySAVE SBI Card earns 10 points per ₹150 on dining, movies, departmental stores and grocery, which is 1.67% back (10 points at ₹0.25 is ₹2.50 on ₹150). The 5,000-point monthly cap covers ₹75,000 of such spend (5,000 divided by 10, times ₹150), more than a family usually needs. Its RuPay variant work on UPI too.

SBI Card PRIME lifts the same categories to 10 points per ₹100, or 2.5%, up to 7,500 points a month, and adds 8 domestic lounge visits a year at SBI Card's Set B lounges plus 4 Priority Pass visits abroad. SBI Card PULSE is for health spenders: 10 points per ₹100 on chemist, pharmacy, sports, dining and movies, and a Noise smartwatch worth ₹7,999 when you pays the joining fee.

Fuel

BPCL SBI Card OCTANE gives 25 points per ₹100 on BPCL fuel, 6.25% at ₹0.25, plus the 1% surcharge waiver on transactions up to ₹4,000, which SBI Card call 7.25% value back. The cap is 2,500 points a statement cycle, so the rate works only on the first ₹10,000 of BPCL fuel (2,500 divided by 25, times ₹100). The ₹499 BPCL SBI Card gives 13 points per ₹100, or 3.25%, capped at 1,300 points, which is also ₹10,000 of fuel. Two cautions: fuel paid by UPI gets no surcharge waiver, and from 1 December 2026 SBI Card charges 1% if your total fuel spends in a cycle cross ₹50,000.

Travel and spending abroad

Most SBI cards add 3.5% on foreign currency spends. Miles Elite, ELITE, AURUM and Tata Neu Infinity charges 1.99%, which on ₹1 lakh spent abroad saves ₹1,510 before GST (3.5% of ₹1 lakh is ₹3,500 and 1.99% is ₹1,990). Miles Elite earns 6 Travel Credits per ₹200 on travel and 2 elsewhere, and a Travel Credit is worth ₹1 when moved 1:1 to partners such as Air India Flying Returns or British Airways Club, but only ₹0.50 on travel bookings. IRCTC SBI Card Premier is for rail users, with up to 10% back on AC tickets on the IRCTC site and 8 railway lounge visits a year. Its terms gives 4% on air tickets though the card page still says 5%, and we go by the terms.

UPI payments

PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK is built for the PhonePe app: 10 points per ₹100 on recharges, bills and travel booked there, with 1 point worth ₹1. Since 1 July 2026 that rate stop at 1,500 points a month on non-insurance spends and 500 on insurance, and online spends outside PhonePe are capped at 1,000 points. SimplySAVE, PRIME, BPCL, BPCL OCTANE, IRCTC Premier, Reliance PRIME, Miles Elite and Tata Neu Infinity also come with a RuPay option for UPI merchant payments.

Secured and premium ends

None of the SBI cards we researched is lifetime free. The closest is SBI Card Unnati: no annual fee for the first 4 years and ₹499 plus taxes from the fifth, against an SBI fixed deposit of ₹25,000 or more with a lien. Its interest rate need confirming, since the MITC lists 2.75% a month for secured cards without naming Unnati. SBI FD holders can also get Advantage versions of SimplySAVE, SimplyCLICK, PRIME and ELITE on YONO since 23 September 2026, though SBI Card publishes neither the FD amount nor the limit-to-FD ratio.

At the top, SBI Card ELITE gives a ₹5,000 welcome voucher, 10 points per ₹100 on dining, departmental stores and grocery up to 10,000 points a month, and milestone bonuses that SBI Card totals at 50,000 points worth ₹12,500 a year (50,000 divided by 4). AURUM earns 4 points per ₹100, which is 1%, gives 40,000 points worth ₹10,000 on paying the first fee and a ₹1,500 voucher in any month you spend ₹1 lakh, and its points never expires.

Charges that apply across SBI cards

SBI Card publishes one common MITC for every card, correct as on 23 October 2026, so these charges is the same whether you hold SimplySAVE or ELITE. Each fee below attracts 18% GST on top.

Interest and the interest-free period

Unsecured cards charge 3.75% a month, which is 45% a year, and secured, Shaurya and Defence cards 2.75% a month (33% a year), with a minimum finance charge of ₹25. In rupees, carrying ₹50,000 for 30 days at 45% a year costs about ₹1,849 in interest (50,000 x 0.45 x 30, divided by 365), and GST is added to that. The interest-free window are 20 to 50 days on purchases, but only when the previous bill was paid in full, and there are 3 grace days after the due date for processing.

Late payment slabs

The late fee depend on what you still owe after the due date: nil up to ₹100, ₹100 above ₹100 and up to ₹500, ₹500 up to ₹1,000, ₹750 up to ₹10,000, ₹950 up to ₹25,000, ₹1,100 up to ₹50,000 and ₹1,300 above ₹50,000. Miss the minimum due two cycles running and another ₹100 is added. So a ₹5,000 balance left unpaid costs ₹750 plus GST, while ₹40,000 costs ₹1,100. The lower slabs were revised from 1 May 2026.

Cash, over-limit and foreign currency

Cash withdrawals cost 2.5% with a ₹500 minimum, and interest runs from the day you withdraw, so taking ₹10,000 from an ATM costs ₹500 straight away (2.5% alone would be ₹250). ATM cash are limited to ₹15,000 a day. Over-limit use, only if you have opted in, cost 2.5% of the excess with a ₹600 minimum. Foreign currency spends carry 3.5% on most cards, 3% on SBI Card MILES, 2.5% on MILES PRIME and 1.99% on AURUM, ELITE, PRIME NRI Secured, Tata Neu Infinity and Miles Elite, and the same rates apply as a currency conversion fee on rupee payments of ₹1,000 or more abroad or at merchants registered overseas.

The special fees

• Rent: ₹199 plus taxes on every rent payment, which is ₹234.82 with 18% GST (199 x 1.18), whatever the rent amount.
• Utilities: 1% of your total utility payments if they cross ₹50,000 in a billing cycle, a rule which is in place since 1 December 2024.
• Wallet loads: 1% on each load above ₹1,000. Education through third-party apps: 1%. Both started on 1 November 2025, and paying the school or college directly stays free.
• Fuel: from 1 December 2026, 1% on total fuel spends if they cross ₹50,000 in a cycle.
• Transport: from 1 December 2026, 1% on each transport transaction above ₹30,000.
• Smaller items: ₹250 for paying cash at an SBI branch, ₹200 for paying by cheque, ₹99 to redeem points for products, statement credit or posted vouchers (not on AURUM), and add-on cards are free.

What changed on SBI cards, 2024 to 2026

SBI Card adjusts something nearly every quarter. Here is the list in date order, with what each one mean for you.

• April to December 2024: points stopped on rent (1 or 15 April 2024 depending on the card), on government payments (1 June or 15 July 2024) and on digital gaming (1 December 2024). If you paid rent by card to earn points, that route is closed.
• 28 September and 10 October 2024: Club Vistara and Air India SBI cards closed to new applicants.
• 1 November 2024: interest on unsecured cards went to 3.75% a month, so revolving a balance became a costlier price than before.
• 1 December 2024: 1% fee on utility payments above ₹50,000 in a cycle.
• 15 July 2025: free air accident cover withdrawn, ₹1 crore on ELITE, Miles Elite and Miles Prime and ₹50 lakh on PRIME and PULSE. IRCTC Premier lost its air and rail covers on 26 July 2025. Any card page which still showing this cover is out of date.
• 15 September 2025: ₹200 for paying the bill by cheque. UPI, BBPS and NEFT payments stay free.
• 1 November 2025: 1% on wallet loads above ₹1,000 and on education paid through third-party apps.
• December 2025: SBI Card MILES and Miles Elite replace the Etihad Guest cards.
• 10 January 2026: domestic lounge visits on the ₹1,499 and ₹2,999 cards limited to listed lounges, 16 in Set A (for example BPCL OCTANE and PhonePe SELECT) and 30 in Set B (for example PRIME and Reliance PRIME).
• 1 April 2026: CASHBACK caps of ₹2,000 online and ₹2,000 offline a cycle, and statement-credit redemption only in multiples of 4,000 points, at most 60,000 points a month.
• 1 May 2026: late fee slabs revised, and the BPCL SBI Card fee reversal moved from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh of yearly spend.
• 1 July 2026: PhonePe SELECT BLACK caps split between PhonePe and insurance spends.
• 11 to 14 July 2026: SBI Card reported a data error in its 11 July upload to credit bureaus, resolved by 14 July. If your report looked odd that week, this were probably why.
• 23 September 2026: secured Advantage cards on YONO for SBI FD holders.
• 1 December 2026: 1% on fuel above ₹50,000 a cycle and on transport transactions above ₹30,000, announced on 27 October 2026.

The pattern is easy to see. Base rates have mostly stayed, but the categories where people got easy points or free extras has been trimmed one after another, so check SBI Card's customer notices before you assume an old benefit still work.

Eligibility, documents and how to apply

SBI Card publishes one set of rules for all its cards. You must be at least 21 if salaried, above 25 if self-employed (for the online form) and above 40 if you are a retired pensioner. The maximum age is given as 60 in one place on the same page and 70 in another, so ask SBI Card if you are close to either. It ask for a stable income but publishes no minimum income for any card, prefers a credit score between 750 and 900, and does not need you to bank with SBI. You also has to live in a location SBI Card services.

The documents are few: PAN, Aadhaar with the first 8 digits masked or another government address proof for the digital KYC, and income proof such as a salary slip or ITR if SBI Card ask for it. For Unnati you also need the SBI fixed deposit of ₹25,000 or more.

Where to apply

• Online on SBI Card's website through eApply, for cards that show an Apply Now link.
• Through the chatbot ILA, or by calling 39 02 02 02 with your city's STD code in front.
• At the nearest SBI branch.
• On SBI's YONO app, if you hold an SBI fixed deposit and want a secured Advantage card.

Some co-brands, namely PhonePe, Google Pay Flex and Eternal, have no Apply button on the site. Approval and the limit is SBI Card's call alone, and the RBI's rules say a rejected applicant must be told the specific reasons in writing.

Protections you have as an applicant

As an NBFC, SBI Card follows the RBI's NBFC card Directions of 28 November 2025, a parallel text to the bank rules, and the March 2024 changes on billing cycles and closure applied to banks and NBFCs alike. A few that matters when you apply:

• A card needs your explicit written or digital consent. An unsolicited card billed without it must have the charges reversed, with a penalty of twice those charges.
• You should get a one-page Key Fact Statement with the application, showing the interest rate and charges.
• If you do not activate a new card within 30 days, the issuer must ask for OTP consent and close the account free of cost if you don't confirm.
• You can change your billing cycle at least once, picking any date as the start or close.
• Asking to close the card? It have to be done within 7 working days once dues are paid, or you are owed ₹500 for each calendar day of delay.

SBI Card customer care

SBI Card's helplines is 1860 180 1290, 1860 500 1290 and 39 02 02 02 (put your local STD code first), plus the toll-free 1800 180 1290. Executives take calls from 8 AM to 8 PM, Monday to Saturday. AURUM holders have their own line, 1860 500 2000.

When a complaint goes nowhere, the MITC gives a nodal officer helpline, 1860-180-7777, and a separate number for mis-selling or harassment, 080-39356050. If 30 days pass without an answer, or the reply don't satisfy you, the RBI's rules let you take it to the RBI Ombudsman. To block a lost card, use any channel SBI Card offers, since the RBI requires issuers to block a card as soon as they are told. Our SBI customer care page collects SBI's other helplines in one place.

Other ways in are WhatsApp on 9004022022 and SMS to 5676791, both listed on SBI Card's contact page. Keep one MITC rule in mind too: a card left unused for more than a year is closed after notice if you don't reply within 30 days, so if you keep a SBI card only for emergencies, use it now and then. Any credit balance left after a closure have to be sent to your bank account, as the RBI's rules require.