Credit Card Eligibility Criteria in India: Age, Income, Score (2026)
The RBI sets no minimum age or income for a credit card in India; each bank publishes its own rules, and the RBI only requires it to judge your independent financial means and the limits you already hold elsewhere. Published floors start at 18 years (Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank) and at a gross income above ₹12,000 a month (HDFC Bank Freedom), but clearing them is not approval, which is always the bank's decision.
In short
Eligibility comes down to five checks (age, income, city, credit record and KYC) that each bank sets for itself, so treat a published floor as the least a bank will consider, never as a promise of a card.
Best for
- First-time applicants checking which published floors they already clear
- Anyone comparing age, income and city rules across banks before applying
- People turned down once who want to know what banks actually look at
Skip it if
- You want cards ranked by rewards rather than by who can get them
- You are hoping for a bank that approves everyone who meets its floor
Highlights
- The RBI prescribes no minimum age or income; issuers set both
- Age floors: 18 at Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank, 21 at HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI Card
- Lowest income floor we found: gross income above ₹12,000 a month (HDFC Bank Freedom)
- Experian and CRIF scores both run from 300 to 900
- A rejected applicant must be told the specific reasons in writing
Who can apply for these cards
| Card | Fees | Age (salaried) | Published minimum income | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Credit Card HDFC Bank | ₹500 + GST joining and annual | 21 to 60 years | ₹12,000 a month | Identity proof, address proof and income proof (HDFC Bank general guidance; the card page's document list could not be read), Existing HDFC Bank customers may not need to submit them again |
| ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card ICICI Bank | ₹500 + GST joining and annual | 21 to 65 years (FAQ); Indian citizen over 21 | ₹20,000 a month | Proof of identity, Proof of address, Income proof |
| Axis Bank MY Zone Credit Card Axis Bank | ₹500 + GST joining and annual | 18 to 70 years | Not stated on the card page | PAN card photocopy, Income proof: latest payslip, Form 16 or IT return, Residence proof: passport, ration card, electricity bill or landline telephone bill |
| IndusInd Bank Tiger Credit Card IndusInd Bank | Nil joining and annual | 18 to 70 years (general criteria for Indus Easy Credit Cards; no card-specific age published) | ₹20,000 a month | Aadhaar number and PAN (100% digital application, Video KYC), Proof of residence if current address differs from the Aadhaar address |
| Platinum Rewards Credit Card Standard Chartered | Nil joining and annual | 21 to 65 years | ₹20,000 a month | Identity proof (passport, Voter ID, government ID etc.), PAN card, Address proof (Aadhaar, passport, driving licence, Voter ID, NREGA job card, NPR letter), 1 recent passport-size photograph, Salaried: latest one month salary slip, Self-employed businessmen: latest IT returns with computation of income or certified financials, business continuity proof, Self-employed professionals: latest IT returns, business continuity proof |
| FIRST Millennia Credit Card IDFC FIRST Bank | Nil joining and annual | At least 21 years | ₹25,000 a month | Identity proof, Income proof, KYC verification (Video KYC in the online journey) |
| BOBCARD Cashback Credit Card BOBCARD | ₹499 + GST joining and annual | 21 to 60 years | ₹25,000 a month | Recent passport-size photograph, PAN card, Permanent address proof: Aadhaar (both sides), Voter ID, Passport, Driving Licence, NREGA Job Card, or National Population Register letter, Income proof (salaried): bank statement showing salary credit for the last 2 months (salary slips only with the bank statement), Income proof (self-employed): bank statement (PDF) showing business transactions for the last 3 months |
| League Platinum Credit Card Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) | ₹499 + GST joining and annual | 21 to 60 years (primary cardholder); add-on 18 years and above | Rs.5 Lakhs and above per annum | Identity proof, Age proof, Address proof, Income proof or employment details, PAN Card, Online application: Name, Phone Number, PAN and Aadhaar, then Video KYC (VKYC) |
| HSBC Live+ Credit Card HSBC India | ₹999 + GST joining and annual | 18 to 65 years | ₹50,000 a month | Latest salary slip (salaried), Proof of residence, Identity proof, PAN card |
| AU LIT Credit Card AU Small Finance Bank (AU Bank) | Nil joining and annual | 21 to 60 years | Minimum monthly income as specified by the bank (no figure published) | Valid proof of identity, Valid proof of address, Valid proof of income |
| SimplyCLICK SBI Card SBI Card | ₹499 + GST joining and annual | 21 years or above (minimum). Maximum age stated as 60 years in one place and 70 years in another on SBI Card's listing page | Stable income; SBI Card says the specific minimum varies by card and does not... | PAN card (for digital KYC), Copy of Aadhaar card with first 8 digits masked, or any valid government address proof (for digital KYC), Income documents such as salary slip or income tax return may be required, depending on card eligibility and SBI Card policy |
| Regalia Gold Credit Card HDFC Bank | ₹2,500 + GST joining and annual | 21 to 60 years | ₹1,50,000 a month | Identity proof, address proof and income proof (HDFC Bank general guidance; the card page's document list could not be read), Existing HDFC Bank customers may not need to submit them again |
| FIRST WOW! Credit Card IDFC FIRST Bank | Nil joining and annual | 18 to 80 years | No income proof required | Not published by the bank |
| Axis Bank MY Zone Easy Credit Card Axis Bank | ₹500 + GST joining and annual | 18 years and above (FD page) | No income proof required; a fixed deposit with Axis Bank is needed | Aadhaar and PAN verification, Video KYC call for applicants who are not existing Axis Bank customers, Fixed deposit (lien marked) instead of income proof |
| BOBCARD PRIME BOBCARD | Nil joining and annual | 18 to 85 years | No income proof needed (card issued against FD) | Recent passport-size photograph, PAN card, Permanent address proof (Aadhaar, Voter ID, Passport, Driving Licence, NREGA Job Card), Bank declaration of FD lien (branch, EC number, employee signature) with Finacle screenshot of the lien marking |
| AU NOMO Credit Card AU Small Finance Bank (AU Bank) | ₹199 + GST joining, Nil annual | 18 to 99 years | No income proof needed (FD-backed) | No documents or income proof needed beyond the AU fixed deposit (card page FAQ) |
| One Credit Card OneCard | Nil joining and annual | 18 years and above | No income proof required (per OneCard) | PAN card details, KYC as per the issuing bank, completed in the app (Federal FD route: e-KYC followed by video KYC) |
Credit card eligibility in India: the short answer
India has no single eligibility rule for credit cards. The RBI's 2025 card Directions tell a bank how it must judge you, not who qualify. It has to assess your independent financial means, and it must set your limit after counting the limits you already hold with other lenders, either from your own declaration or from a credit bureau. Every age, income and city rule you read on a card page is the bank's own policy.
That is why "eligible" means less than it sounds. Clearing a bank's published floor only gets your application looked at, the decision to issue still sits with the bank alone. A sales agent can collect your form, but the RBI do not let agents decide anything. If the answer is no, the bank must tell you the specific reasons in writing.
The five checks every bank runs
- Age. Most banks start at 21 and a few at 18. Upper limits for regular cards sits between 60 and 70, while cards against a fixed deposit go much higher.
- Income. Floors begin above ₹12,000 a month gross on HDFC Bank's Freedom card and climb steeply for premium cards. Some banks, SBI Card among them, publish no figure at all.
- Where you live. HSBC and Standard Chartered take applicants only from their listed or sourcing cities, and Kotak's League Platinum names ten cities.
- Credit record. Your bureau score and repayment history, or the lack of them.
- KYC. PAN or Form 60 plus one officially valid document, very often checked on a video call.
The tabs below go through each check with the real numbers banks publish. For a narrower question, read our guides on cards for a low salary, for the self-employed and for people with no credit history.
What the RBI requires and what banks add on top
The RBI's part is short. Its Directions tell the bank to assess credit risk on its own, from your financial means, and they say nothing about a minimum age or salary. The bank must also weigh the limits you hold with other lenders, so the cards you already carry shape what a new bank will offer. Every other rule below comes from the banks's own pages, read on 5 November 2026.
Published age and income floors
| Bank (card or rule) | Age, salaried | Age, self-employed | Income floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank (Freedom) | 21 to 60 | 21 to 65 | Gross income above ₹12,000 a month; ITR above ₹2 lakh a year if self-employed |
| Axis Bank (general rule) | 18 to 70 | 18 to 70 | ₹15,000 a month |
| ICICI Bank (general rule) | Above 21 | Above 21 | ₹20,000 a month salaried; ₹2,40,000 a year self-employed |
| IndusInd Bank (Indus Easy cards) | 18 to 70 | 18 to 70 | Net ₹20,000 a month |
| Standard Chartered (Platinum Rewards) | 21 to 65 | 21 to 65 | Gross ₹20,000 a month |
| IDFC FIRST Bank (FIRST Millennia) | At least 21 | Not published | ₹3 lakh a year |
| BOBCARD (Cashback) | 21 to 60 | 21 to 60 | ₹3 lakh a year salaried; ₹3.6 lakh self-employed |
| Kotak (League Platinum) | 21 to 60 | 21 to 60 | ₹5 lakh a year |
| HSBC India (Live+) | 18 to 65 | 25 to 65 | ₹6 lakh a year salaried; ₹12 lakh self-employed |
| AU Small Finance Bank (general rule) | 21 to 60 | 25 to 65 | Not published |
| SBI Card (all cards) | 21 minimum; maximum shown as 60 and as 70 | Above 25 for online applications | Not published for any card |
The figures are not like for like. HDFC Bank and Standard Chartered quote gross income, IndusInd quote net, and IDFC FIRST, BOBCARD and Kotak give a yearly number. ₹3 lakh a year divided by 12 is ₹25,000 a month, so FIRST Millennia's bar sit above ICICI Bank's ₹20,000 even though it looks small. Self-employed people also meet a higher bar at some banks: HSBC wants double the salaried income from them and won't take them before 25.
Where you live
HSBC issues cards only to residents of 21 listed cities, from Chennai and Mumbai to Amritsar and Trivandrum. Kotak's League Platinum names ten cities, Standard Chartered takes applications only in its sourcing cities, and SBI Card needs you to live somewhere it services. In a smaller town check this first, because no amount of income gets around it.
Credit score
Bureaus score you from 300 to 900. Experian calls anything above 750 good, CRIF calls above 700 good, and SBI Card's stated preference is a score from 750 to 900 with a positive credit history. IndusInd asks plainly for a good CIBIL score, and IDFC FIRST wants a healthy score with credit usage inside an acceptable level. No bank publish a hard cut-off, so read these as guides. If your score is the worry, see our low CIBIL score guide.
Routes when you miss one check
Missing one condition rarely closes every door. It usually point you to a different kind of card, and the published rules show which one.
Under 21
Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank start at 18 for their regular cards. Cards against a fixed deposit also begin at 18: IDFC FIRST WOW! takes applicants aged 18 to 80 with an FD of at least ₹20,000, and Axis Bank MY Zone Easy only asks that you are 18 and above, with an FD from ₹15,000. A parent can also add you on their card, several banks set the add-on age at 18 and the RBI puts liability for an add-on card solely on the primary cardholder.
Over 60
Regular cards thins out after 60 for salaried people at HDFC Bank, BOBCARD and Kotak. HDFC Bank lets self-employed applicants apply up to 65, Axis and IndusInd go to 70, and SBI Card lets retired pensioners above 40 apply online. FD cards stretch furthest: BOBCARD PRIME runs to 85 and AU NOMO lists 18 to 99.
Income below the floor
If you're just short, look at the bottom of the range first: HDFC Bank Freedom asks above ₹12,000 a month and ICICI Bank Coral ₹20,000. Below every floor, a card against a fixed deposit is the honest answer. Axis Bank says its FD cards need no income documents and no minimum credit score, and ICICI Bank's own listing says it may ask for an FD as collateral when somebody has no salary.
New to credit
A blank bureau file is not a bad score, but it gives the bank nothing to read. FD cards fill that gap, and OneCard says new-to-credit applicants can take its FD-backed card when the metal card is not possible.
Outside the listed cities
The FD-card rules at IDFC FIRST and Axis Bank name no city list, only an Indian citizen with a permanent address in India (IDFC FIRST) or an Indian with a valid PAN (Axis). That make them the practical choice in towns HSBC or Kotak does not serve.
Documents and KYC
A bank has to know who you are before the income question even comes up. Under the RBI's KYC Directions you give PAN, or Form 60 if you have no PAN, plus one officially valid document from a short list:
- your passport or driving licence
- the voter ID card issued by the Election Commission
- proof that you possess an Aadhaar number
- an NREGA job card signed by a State Government officer
- a National Population Register letter carrying your name and address
The Aadhaar number itself isn't mandatory for KYC unless you are seeking a government benefit, though most card apps still asks for it because e-KYC is faster for them.
Why the video call
Many online applications now end with Video KYC. The RBI treats this live, consent-based video check by a bank official on par with meeting you in person. Card apps insist on it for a reason: an account opened only on Aadhaar OTP e-KYC, without that check, may carry term loans only, up to ₹60,000 a year, and a credit card is revolving credit. So in most online journey no video call means no card.
Income proof
Salaried applicants are normally asked for a recent payslip, Form 16 or bank statement. Axis Bank lists the latest payslip, Form 16 or IT return. BOBCARD wants a bank statement that show salary credit for the last two months, with salary slips only alongwith that statement. Self-employed people give ITRs or business bank statements instead. HDFC Bank says existing customers may not need to submit documents again, which saves time if you already bank there. The full checklist bank by bank is in our documents guide.
What improves your chances
No bank publishes its scoring formula, but their pages say what they weigh, and a few habits follow from that directly.
- Ask where you clear the floor with room. If one card wants more than ₹25,000 a month and you earn exactly that, a card with a ₹20,000 floor is more realistic first ask.
- Look after your score. OneCard links a score of 750 or more to better odds on its metal card, and SBI Card's preferred range is 750 to 900. A late fee and a past-due report can come only once you are more than three days late, but the days are still counted from the due date.
- Declare existing limits honestly. The bank adds up what you hold elsewhere before setting your limit, using your declaration or bureau data, so understating it do not help.
- Start with your own bank. HDFC Bank says existing customers may not have to resubmit documents, and ICICI Bank shows pre-approved card offers inside its iMobile app. SBI Card says an SBI relationship is not mandatory there.
- Read the rejection letter. The written reasons tells you what to fix. HDFC Bank's Regalia Gold FAQ says to reapply after six months if you're rejected.
Bureau updates are faster now. From 1 July 2026 lenders report as on the 9th, 16th, 23rd and the last day of each month, so a cleared dues reaches your file much sooner than with one month-end upload. Errors happen as well: SBI Card's own upload to the bureaus on 11 July 2026 carried a data error, which it put right by 14 July 2026. Check your own report before you apply, not after.
Your RBI rights while you apply
Eligibility is the bank's call, but the process around it are tightly ruled. These protections from the RBI's 2025 card Directions matter most at the application stage.
- A Key Fact Statement first. With the application you must get a one-page statement of the interest rate and charges. Read it before you sign, not after card arrive.
- Consent you actually give. No card can be issued without your explicit consent, written or digital with multi-factor checks. Implied consent don't count.
- Reasons for a no. A rejection has to come with the specific reasons in writing.
- No surprise cards or upgrades. Unsolicited cards and upgrades are prohibited. If one is activated and billed without consent, those charges must be reversed and the issuer pays a penalty worth twice them, and you can take it to the RBI Ombudsman too.
- Activation on your terms. If you don't activate a new card within 30 days, the bank must seek your OTP consent and, without it, close the account free of cost within seven working days. It cannot report the account to bureaus before you activate it.
- An easy exit. A closure request must be honoured within seven working days once dues are paid. If the bank is late and nothing is outstanding, it pays you ₹500 for each calendar day.
For any complaint, start with the grievance officer named on your statement. If there is no reply in 30 days, or the reply doesn't satisfy you, the RBI Ombudsman is the next step, and you can file with it online.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The RBI sets no minimum age or income, and HDFC Bank Freedom's floor is a gross income above ₹12,000 a month
- Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank accept applicants from 18 on their regular cards
- Axis Bank's FD cards need no income documents and no minimum credit score
- A rejected applicant must receive the specific reasons in writing
- Video KYC counts as a face-to-face check, so most applications can be finished from home
Cons
- SBI Card publishes no minimum income for any of its cards
- HSBC takes applicants only from 21 listed cities, and Standard Chartered only from its sourcing cities
- HSBC asks self-employed applicants for ₹12 lakh a year against ₹6 lakh for salaried ones
- No bank publishes a minimum credit score, so a score above 750 helps but decides nothing alone
- Clearing a published floor never means approval; the bank decides
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum age to get a credit card in India?
What is the minimum salary for a credit card in India?
Does the RBI decide who is eligible for a credit card?
What credit score do banks want for a credit card?
Can I get a credit card without income proof?
Why was I rejected when I met the published criteria?
Related
- Credit Cards for a Low Salary: Floors From ₹12,000 a Month (2026)
- Credit Cards for the Self-Employed: ITR Floors, Proofs, FD Route (2026)
- Credit Card With No Credit History: FD Cards and First Steps (2026)
- Documents Required for a Credit Card in India: KYC, Income, FD (2026)
- How to Apply for a Credit Card Online: Steps, Video KYC, Checks (2026)
- Credit Cards in India 2026: Choose by Spend, Know the Costs and Rules
Sources
- HDFC Bank: Part I Key Fact Statement cum Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), English, Version 4.18
- ICICI Bank Limited: Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), credit cards
- Axis Bank: Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), PDF dated 8 October 2026
- Business Today: New rules for Axis Bank credit cards valid from December 20
- IndusInd Bank: IndusInd Bank Credit Card Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC_Premium.pdf, PDF created 13 Oct 2026)
- Standard Chartered Bank (India): Credit Card Fees & Charges - Tariffs and Charges
- IDFC FIRST Bank: Most Important Terms & Conditions - Credit Cards (MITC and Schedule of Charges)
- BOBCARD Limited: BOBCARD Consolidated MITC
- Kotak Mahindra Bank: Most Important Terms & Conditions and Cardholder Agreement, Retail Cards (English)
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC India): HSBC Credit Card Key Fact Statement
Last verified: 5 November 2026
Written by Ramesh Kulkarni, 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.