Best Credit Cards in India 2026: One Pick for Each Need, in Rupees
There is no single best credit card in India; the best one pays the most on your biggest spend at a fee you can get waived. On our ₹50,000 sample month HSBC Live+ returned the most, ₹1,350, while CASHBACK SBI Card, BPCL SBI Card OCTANE, Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank and Scapia Federal each win for a different kind of spender.
In short
Pick by need, not by brand: HSBC Live+ or CASHBACK SBI Card for everyday cashback, IDFC FIRST Millennia for no fee, BPCL SBI Card OCTANE for fuel, Scapia Federal for travel and IDFC FIRST WOW! for a first card.
Best for
- Anyone choosing a first or second card who wants one clear pick per need
- People who pay the full bill and can steer their biggest spend to one card
Skip it if
- You expect to carry a balance, since 3.75% a month is the usual rate on these cards
- You want rewards on rent or wallet loads, which most banks now exclude and charge fees on
Highlights
- HSBC Live+: 10% on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities, up to ₹1,200 a month
- BPCL SBI Card OCTANE: 25 points per ₹100 at BPCL pumps, capped at 2,500 points a cycle
- Scapia Federal and IDFC FIRST cards: zero forex markup
The cards on this page
| Card | Fees | Headline reward | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Live+ Credit Card HSBC India | ₹999 + GST joining and annual | 10% value on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends | Cashback, Dining and food delivery, Groceries |
| CASHBACK SBI Card SBI Card | ₹999 + GST joining and annual | 5% value on online spends | Cashback, Online shopping |
| FIRST Millennia Credit Card IDFC FIRST Bank | Nil joining and annual | 5% value on hotel bookings via 'FIRST Rewards Gallery' in the IDFC FIRST Bank app | Lifetime free, Reward points, Dining and food delivery |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card ICICI Bank | Nil joining and annual | 5% value on amazon.in purchases, Amazon Prime members | Cashback, Online shopping, Lifetime free |
| BPCL SBI Card OCTANE SBI Card | ₹1,499 + GST joining and annual | 6.25% value on BPCL fuel and lubricants at BPCL pumps | Fuel, Reward points, Dining and food delivery |
| Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card HDFC Bank | ₹1,499 + GST joining and annual | 5% value on non-EMI spends on partner Tata brands | Online shopping, Reward points, UPI payments (RuPay) |
| Scapia Federal Credit Card Federal Bank | Nil joining and annual | 4% value on travel booked on the Scapia app | Travel, Lifetime free, Reward points |
| Regalia Gold Credit Card HDFC Bank | ₹2,500 + GST joining and annual | Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital, Marks & Spencer: 5X Reward Points | Travel, Reward points, Premium |
| FIRST WOW! Credit Card IDFC FIRST Bank | Nil joining and annual | 2.5% value on hotel bookings via 'FIRST Rewards Gallery' in the IDFC FIRST Bank app | Secured (against an FD), Lifetime free, First card |
No single best card, but a best card for each need
Ask ten card users for the best credit card in India and you will get ten answers, because a card is only as good as its fit to where the money go. So this page don't crown one winner. It names one pick per need, runs all nine through one ₹50,000 month and links our narrower lists for depth.
How we picked
From every card in our database open to new applicants (American Express has paused new applications while it updates its systems), we chose for each need the best value after caps, at no fee or at a fee a normal earner can get reversed.
Each pick is checked against the bank's MITC, terms and card pages as of 5 November 2026. No bank pays to appear on this page and we earn nothing from your application; the choices is ours alone.
Two rules behind every pick
- Pay in full. Most of these cards charges 3.75% a month on a carried balance, and no reward here comes close to that.
- Count the cap, not the rate. A 10% card capped at ₹400 a month pay less than a 5% card capped at ₹2,000 once you spend over ₹8,000 in the category.
Nine picks, one for each need
Everyday cashback
Groceries, food delivery and bills: HSBC Live+. 10% on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities up to ₹1,200 a month and 1.5% on most other spends, with the ₹999 fee reversed (GST too) above ₹2 lakh a year. Deciding figure: ₹6 lakh a year of income is needed, and address in one of HSBC's 21 listed cities. More in our cashback and grocery lists.
Online shopping on any site: CASHBACK SBI Card. 5% online with no merchant list and 1% offline; ₹999 fee, reversed at ₹2 lakh. Deciding figure: ₹2,000 of online cashback a statement cycle since 1 April 2026, so ₹40,000 of online spend before it stop. See our online shopping picks.
No fee at all
A free everyday card: IDFC FIRST Millennia. Lifetime free, 10 points per ₹200 on dining and travel and 3 elsewhere at ₹0.25 a point, and zero forex since 9 September 2026, for ₹3 lakh a year of income. Deciding figure: 1.25% at best, which is low, but there is never a fee. Our lifetime-free list have eight more.
Amazon: Amazon Pay ICICI Bank. No fee, 5% on Amazon.in for Prime members with no cap stated, 1% elsewhere. Deciding figure: it is invite only, and an income rule of ₹30,000 a month apply too. Flipkart and Myntra buyers will find the Flipkart co-brands in our Amazon and Flipkart picks.
Fuel and UPI
Fuel: BPCL SBI Card OCTANE. 25 points per ₹100 at BPCL pumps (6.25% at ₹0.25 a point) up to 2,500 points a statement cycle, and 10 per ₹100 on groceries, departmental stores, dining and movies up to 7,500 a month, for ₹1,499 reversed at ₹2 lakh. Deciding figure: the BPCL cap is used up at ₹10,000 of fuel a cycle, and other pumps earns nothing. See best fuel cards.
UPI: Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank, RuPay variant. 1.5% as NeuCoins on most spends, 5% at Tata brands, and up to 1.5% on UPI (0.5% with any UPI ID plus 1% with the Tata Neu UPI ID), capped at 500 NeuCoins a month. ₹1,499 fee, waived on ₹3 lakh, for income over ₹1 lakh gross a month. Deciding figure: a NeuCoin is ₹1, but only on Tata Neu and Tata brands. Only RuPay credit cards works on UPI; more in our UPI picks.
Travel
Travel with no fee: Scapia Federal. About 2% in Scapia Coins on Visa spends and about 4% on travel booked in the Scapia app, zero forex, and unlimited domestic lounge visits after ₹20,000 of spend in a billing cycle. Deciding figure: coins can only buy travel in the Scapia app. Its fee terms comes from a November 2024 MITC, as Federal Bank's current one couldn't be read. See travel cards.
Lounges and points: HDFC Bank Regalia Gold. 5 reward points per ₹200, worth ₹0.50 each on SmartBuy flights and hotels or ₹0.65 on the Gold catalogue, 3 domestic lounge visits a quarter after ₹60,000 of spend in the quarter before, and up to 6 Priority Pass visits a year abroad. ₹2,500 fee, waived on ₹4 lakh, and it ask income over ₹1.5 lakh gross a month. Deciding figure: the ₹60,000 of quarterly spend that keeps the lounge visits coming. Our lounge picks go further.
A first card
No credit history: IDFC FIRST WOW! Issued against an FD of ₹20,000 or more with no income proof, the limit equal to the FD, 4 points per ₹200 including foreign spends, zero forex and no fee. Deciding figure: your limit are your deposit. More in our picks for beginners.
One ₹50,000 month through all nine
The month: Amazon ₹4,000, other online shopping ₹6,000, groceries in shops ₹8,000, restaurants ₹5,000, BPCL fuel ₹5,000 in fills of ₹4,000 or less, electricity, phone and broadband ₹4,000, flights and hotels booked online ₹6,000, UPI scan-and-pay at small shops ₹6,000 and other shop spends ₹6,000. That is ₹6 lakh a year (₹50,000 times 12). The ₹6,000 of UPI can only go on a RuPay card, on the others it is paid from the bank account and earn nothing.
- HSBC Live+: groceries, restaurants and bills, ₹17,000 at 10%, would be ₹1,700, capped at ₹1,200. Amazon and travel, ₹10,000 at 1.5%, add ₹150. The other online and shop spends may count as shopping inside the already full 10% bucket, so we have gave them nothing. Total ₹1,350.
- CASHBACK SBI Card: Amazon, other online and travel, ₹16,000 at 5%, is ₹800; groceries, restaurants and other shops, ₹19,000 at 1%, is ₹190; bills and fuel is excluded. Total ₹990.
- BPCL SBI Card OCTANE (RuPay): BPCL fuel ₹5,000 at 25 points per ₹100 is 1,250 points, groceries and restaurants ₹13,000 at 10 is 1,300, the other ₹26,000 of card spends at 1 is 260 and UPI ₹6,000 at 1 is 60. 2,870 points at ₹0.25 is ₹717.50, plus the 1% surcharge waiver on ₹5,000, ₹50. Total ₹767.50.
- Scapia Federal: 2% on ₹35,000 (all but fuel, bills and UPI) is ₹700. UPI on the RuPay card earns about 1% only on payments above ₹500, so at most ₹60. Up to ₹760 in coins.
- Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank: 1.5% on ₹39,000 of non-Tata card spends including bills is ₹585, and UPI ₹6,000 at 1.5% with the Tata Neu UPI ID is ₹90. Total ₹675.
- Amazon Pay ICICI Bank: Amazon ₹4,000 at 5% is ₹200, and other online, groceries, restaurants, travel and shops, ₹31,000 at 1%, is ₹310. Total ₹510.
- HDFC Bank Regalia Gold: 5 points per ₹200 on ₹39,000 (all but fuel and UPI, as its network isn't stated) is 975 points, ₹487.50 at ₹0.50.
- IDFC FIRST Millennia: ₹24,000 of shopping and groceries at 3 points per ₹200 is 360, restaurants and travel (₹11,000) at 10 is 550 and bills 20, so 930 points, ₹232.50.
- IDFC FIRST WOW!: 4 points per ₹200 on ₹35,000 is 700, bills add 20, so 720 points, ₹180.
| Card | A month | A year | Fee with 18% GST | Fee reversed at this spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Live+ | ₹1,350 | ₹16,200 | ₹1,178.82 | Yes, above ₹2 lakh |
| CASHBACK SBI Card | ₹990 | ₹11,880 | ₹1,178.82 | Yes, at ₹2 lakh |
| BPCL SBI Card OCTANE | ₹767.50 | ₹9,210 | ₹1,768.82 | Yes, at ₹2 lakh |
| Scapia Federal | Up to ₹760 | Up to ₹9,120 in coins | Nil | No fee |
| Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank | ₹675 | ₹8,100 | ₹1,768.82 | Yes, at ₹3 lakh |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Bank | ₹510 | ₹6,120 | Nil | No fee |
| HDFC Bank Regalia Gold | ₹487.50 | ₹5,850 | ₹2,950 | Yes, at ₹4 lakh |
| IDFC FIRST Millennia | ₹232.50 | ₹2,790 | Nil | No fee |
| IDFC FIRST WOW! | ₹180 | ₹2,160 | Nil | No fee; needs an FD of ₹44,000 or more for this month |
The year is the month times 12. What the table leave out matters for some picks. OCTANE adds ₹2,000 of e-gift vouchers at ₹3 lakh of yearly spend. Regalia Gold's ₹5,000 flight voucher at ₹5 lakh depends on whether HDFC counts the ₹60,000 a year of fuel, since without it this card spend comes to ₹4,68,000 (₹39,000 times 12). Lounges aren't priced either: with ₹1,32,000 to ₹1,50,000 on the card each quarter (₹44,000 or ₹50,000 times 3), this spender clears Regalia Gold's ₹60,000 and Tata Neu Infinity's ₹50,000 quarterly conditions easily.
The catches across these nine
Caps that bite. Live+ stops at ₹1,200 a month, CASHBACK SBI Card at ₹2,000 a statement cycle online, OCTANE at 2,500 points a cycle on BPCL fuel, and Tata Neu Infinity at 500 NeuCoins a month on UPI. Regalia Gold caps grocery points at 2,000 a month. Spend past a cap and the extra earn the base rate or nothing.
Cuts from 2024 to 2026.
- CASHBACK SBI Card: ₹2,000 online and ₹2,000 offline caps per cycle from 1 April 2026.
- HSBC Live+: no cashback on foreign currency spends from 26 July 2026.
- Regalia Gold: base earn moved to 5 points per ₹200 on 15 May 2026, cashback redemption fell to 15 paise a point on 1 November 2025, and domestic lounges need ₹60,000 of spend in the previous quarter from 1 July 2026.
- Tata Neu Infinity: from 25 November 2026 NeuCoins must be claimed in the Tata Neu app within 12 months.
- IDFC FIRST Millennia: points now expires after 24 months, and international spends earn none from 26 October 2026.
Fees that wipe out rewards. SBI Card charges 1% on the whole fuel spend once it cross ₹50,000 in a billing cycle from 1 December 2026, and ₹199 plus taxes on every rent payment. HDFC Bank charges 1% on rent, capped at ₹4,999 a transaction, and 1% once utilities pass ₹50,000 in a month; IDFC FIRST starts at ₹20,000 of utilities in a statement cycle.
Forex. IDFC FIRST cards and Scapia Federal charge nothing, Amazon Pay ICICI Bank and Live+ 1.99%, Regalia Gold and Tata Neu Infinity 2%, and the two SBI cards 3.5%, which on a foreign trip make big difference.
Which pick is yours
By income. With no income proof or credit history, start with FIRST WOW! and an FD. From ₹3 lakh a year (₹25,000 a month) IDFC FIRST Millennia is open to you, and SBI Card publishes no minimum income for CASHBACK or OCTANE, though the bank decides. Amazon Pay ICICI Bank need ₹30,000 a month and an invite, Live+ ₹6 lakh a year in HSBC's cities, Tata Neu Infinity over ₹1 lakh gross a month and Regalia Gold over ₹1.5 lakh.
By fee comfort. Four picks never charge a fee. For the rest, divide the waiver by 12: ₹2 lakh is about ₹16,667 a month (Live+, CASHBACK SBI Card, OCTANE), ₹3 lakh is ₹25,000 (Tata Neu Infinity) and ₹4 lakh about ₹33,333 (Regalia Gold). If your card spend falls short, the fee stay with you every year; our no annual fee and easy waiver picks help there.
By spending mix. Most people do best with two cards rather than one. On our month, Live+ for groceries and restaurants (₹13,000, which fills its ₹1,200 cap) plus CASHBACK SBI Card for Amazon, other online and travel (₹16,000 at 5%, ₹800) and other shops (₹6,000 at 1%, ₹60) comes to ₹2,060, against ₹1,350 on Live+ alone. Add OCTANE only if BPCL is where you fill up most of time. If dining out is your biggest spend, see our dining picks, and if you'd rather collect points for flights and hotels, our reward points picks.
Before you apply
Approval is the bank's decision, not ours or anyone's. Under RBI's 2025 card Directions, the bank must judge your independent financial means and the limits you already hold, give you a one-page Key Fact Statement with the application, and tell you in writing the reasons if it say no. A card can be issued only with your explicit consent, and an unsolicited card or upgrade is not allowed.
Check your credit score first: Experian India scores run from 300 to 900, above 750 is generally seen as good, and SBI Card says it prefers 750 to 900. Apply for the pick whose published income rule you clearly meet. You'll need PAN and an officially valid address proof, and app-based applications usually go through Video KYC. Our eligibility guide explain what banks look at in more detail.
Once card arrives, activate it within 30 days. If you don't, the bank must ask for your consent by OTP, and without it close the account free of cost.
Pros and cons
Pros
- On our ₹50,000 month the nine picks returned between ₹180 and ₹1,350
- Fee waivers from ₹2 lakh a year make most of the paid picks free in practice
- IDFC FIRST cards and Scapia Federal charge zero forex markup
- FD-backed IDFC FIRST WOW! gives people with no credit history a way in
Cons
- Rent, wallet loads and most utility bills earn little or nothing on these cards
- Income rules shut many out, such as over ₹1.5 lakh gross a month for HDFC Bank Regalia Gold
- Banks cut benefits often, with changes to SBI Card, HSBC and HDFC Bank cards through 2026
- Carrying a balance costs 3.75% a month on most of these cards
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best credit card in India in 2026?
Which credit card is best on a salary of ₹25,000 a month?
Which credit card has the lowest forex markup?
Can I use a credit card on UPI?
Is it better to have one credit card or two?
Which credit card is best with no credit history?
Related
- Best Cashback Credit Cards in India 2026: The Cap Decides the Winner
- Best Lifetime Free Credit Cards in India 2026: Zero Fee in the MITC
- Best Travel Credit Cards in India 2026: Eight Cards Worked Out in Rupees
- Best Fuel Credit Cards in India 2026: Matched to Your Pump Brand
- Best Beginner Credit Cards in India 2026: Low Income Floors and FD Routes
- Credit Cards in India 2026: Choose by Spend, Know the Costs and Rules
Sources
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC India): HSBC Credit Card Key Fact Statement; Important Terms and Conditions - HSBC Platinum Credit Card and HSBC Live+ Credit Card
- SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd: Most Important Terms & Conditions (PDF 'MITC- Common-30OCT26', Ver FY 27, 16); CASHBACK SBI Card T&C booklet (FAQ 12)
- IDFC FIRST Bank: Most Important Terms & Conditions - Credit Cards (MITC and Schedule of Charges)
- ICICI Bank Limited: Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card
- HDFC Bank: Part I Key Fact Statement cum Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), English, Version 4.18
- Federal Bank (document hosted by Scapia): Federal Scapia Credit Card Most Important Terms & Conditions (Nov 2024 version)
- Scapia Technology Pvt. Ltd. (co-brand partner): Scapia homepage
- Scapia Technology Pvt. Ltd.: Scapia Launches 'Scapia Pay' to Turn Everyday UPI Payments into Travel Rewards (press release)
Last verified: 5 November 2026
Written by Pankaj Pandey, 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.