Mayura Credit Card Review: ₹5,999 Metal Card That Still Earns Abroad

Mayura fees, with GST worked in

You pay ₹5,999 + GST to join and the same as annual fee from year two. GST at 18% is ₹1,079.82 (18% of ₹5,999), so the real cost is ₹7,078.82 every year (₹5,999 plus ₹1,079.82). The joining fee and GST are taken upfront before the metal card is dispatched, and it don't come back if you change your mind.

No waiver is offered. The bank gives an annual fee payment benefit instead: 7,500 points if you spent ₹8 lakh in the previous card anniversary year, or 15,000 points at ₹15 lakh, credited when you pay the next fee. ₹15,00,000 works out to ₹1,25,000 a month on average. Redeemed on app travel at ₹0.50, those 15,000 points is ₹7,500, more than the ₹7,078.82 fee; as vouchers at ₹0.25 they are ₹3,750 only (15,000 times ₹0.25).

Add-ons are ₹4,000 + GST in metal or ₹3,000 + GST in plastic, then ₹2,000 + GST a year. Replacing the metal card is ₹3,500, against ₹199 for an ordinary IDFC FIRST card, and the FIRST Digital RuPay card for UPI is ₹199 + GST joining and yearly.

Borrowing costs

Interest isn't one fixed figure. The bank places each cardholder on a rate from 0.71% to 3.85% monthly, 8.5% to 46.2% annualised, and if the minimum due slip past the due date, 3.99% a month (47.88% a year) applies. Late payment costs 15% of the last statement's total due minus payments made before the due date, at least ₹100 and at most ₹1,300; per the MITC an ₹8,000 due attract ₹1,200. ATM cash is ₹199 + GST a withdrawal, interest-free for up to 45 days, and over-limit spend, only if you opted in, is 2.5% with a ₹550 minimum.

Forex and the 1% category fees

Forex markup is nil, dynamic currency conversion included, and that with 5 points per ₹150 abroad is the main reason to pay for Mayura. The category fees are where heavy spenders get caught:

• Rent and property management: 1% of the amount, minimum ₹249 each time.
• Utilities: 1% on the entire cycle total once it pass ₹20,000.
• Fuel past ₹30,000, railway past ₹25,000, tolls past ₹10,000 in a cycle: 1% on the full amount.
• Education via third-party apps: 1%, minimum ₹249. Returned payments: 2%, minimum ₹500.

All these, and the fees and interest above, have 18% GST on top. No wallet-load fee is listed.

The Mayura points engine

Each statement cycle start at 5 points per ₹150 until you reach ₹20,000 of eligible spends, then pays 10 points per ₹150 with no published cap; the bank's FAQ adds birthday spends to the 10X list. Foreign spends earn 5 points per ₹150 and counts towards that ₹20,000. UPI on the linked FIRST Digital RuPay card gets 3 points per ₹150 above ₹2,000.

Lower rates apply to rent, education, government and wallet loads (3 points, outside the ₹20,000 count) and to insurance, utilities, railways and FASTag (1 point). Fuel, EMI, fees, loans on card, balance transfers, cash and anything under ₹150 earn nothing, though fuel transactions between ₹200 and ₹5,000 get a 1% surcharge waiver up to ₹300 a cycle.

What a point is worth

Use points on hotels or flights through FIRST Rewards Gallery in the app and each one is worth ₹0.50, with points paying up to 70% of the booking. Vouchers, products and pay with points give ₹0.25. So the 10X rate is ₹5 on ₹150, or 3.333%, if you redeem on app travel, and half of it otherwise. Redemptions are capped at 1,50,000 points a month and 3,00,000 a year, which only the biggest spenders will touch.

Booking through the app adds a bonus: 30 points per ₹150 on hotels and 15 on flights over the base, capped at 25,000 bonus points a calendar month. At ₹0.50, 30 bonus points is ₹15 on ₹150, a 10% return on that booking alone. The cap bites at ₹1,25,000 of hotel bookings in a month (25,000 divided by 30, times ₹150).

Points never expire. They are earned only on spends up to your credit limit in a billing cycle, and a cycle's points is cancelled if you miss the Minimum Amount Due. Redemption cost ₹99 + GST each time.

Joining benefit and extras

Cards generated on or after 1 September 2025 get 4,000 points when the joining fee is paid, 4,000 for ₹20,000 of net spends in the 2nd statement cycle and 4,000 for the same in the 3rd: 12,000 points, stated worth ₹6,000 (12,000 times ₹0.50), once per customer. Beside that comes Buy 1 Get 1 movie tickets with up to ₹500 off the second, twice a month; 4 golf rounds and 12 lessons a calendar year, plus up to 2 more a month (one per ₹20,000 spent the previous cycle); and cancellation cover up to ₹50,000 twice a year.

Worked examples

• Light, ₹30,000 a month: the first ₹20,000 is 133.33 lots of ₹150 at 5 points, roughly 667, and the next ₹5,000 at 10 points is about 333 (33.33 lots), so 1,000. Fuel gives no points but the waiver returns ₹50 (1% of ₹5,000). Even at ₹0.50, 12,000 points a year is ₹6,000, which leave you ₹1,078.82 short of the fee (₹7,078.82 minus ₹6,000).
• Typical, ₹78,000 a month: India spends give 667 plus 2,600 on the ₹39,000 above the line (260 lots at 10), foreign ₹9,000 gives 300 (60 lots at 5) and bills 40. That is 3,607 a month (667 + 2,600 + 300 + 40) and 43,284 a year (3,607 times 12). Annual spend of ₹9,36,000 (₹78,000 times 12) crosses ₹8 lakh, so 7,500 more arrive with the renewal: 50,784 (43,284 + 7,500).
• Heavy, ₹1,50,000 a month: 667 plus 6,000 on India spends (₹90,000 is 600 lots at 10), 1,000 on ₹30,000 abroad (200 lots at 5) and 40 on bills, so 7,707 a month (667 + 6,000 + 1,000 + 40) and 92,484 a year (7,707 times 12). ₹18,00,000 a year (₹1,50,000 times 12) beats ₹15 lakh for the 15,000 benefit, and four ₹30,000 hotel stays in the app add 6,000 bonus each (200 lots at 30), 24,000 in all (4 times 6,000), so 39,000 of extras (15,000 + 24,000). Total 1,31,484 (92,484 + 39,000).

Values are points times ₹0.50 or ₹0.25: 50,784 points is ₹25,392 or ₹12,696, and 1,31,484 is ₹65,742 or ₹32,871. To really spend ₹65,742 of points at ₹0.50 you would be needing about ₹93,917 of app bookings, since points cover only 70% of each (₹65,742 divided by 0.7). The heavy case also need a credit limit of ₹1,50,000 or more.

Applying for Mayura

There is no published age or income for Mayura. The card page and the metal card page both stay silent on it, so the bank's own credit check decide. What it does list is identity proof, income proof and KYC, done by Video KYC if you apply online; the precise document list isn't published.

You can apply on the website, through the IDFC FIRST mobile app, or at branch. The joining fee plus GST is collected before the card is sent, so be sure before you pays it.

How banks judge an application

RBI does not fix any minimum income or age for credit cards. Its 2025 Directions instead ask banks to weigh the applicant's independent financial means and all the limits already held with other lenders, from a self-declaration or bureau data. On scores, Experian treats above 750 as generally good on its 300 to 900 scale, CRIF above 700. No score settles it, the bank decides.

• A one-page Key Fact Statement with rates and charges should come with the application.
• No card can be issued without your explicit written or digital consent.
• A rejection must come with the specific reasons, in writing.
• If you don't activate within 30 days, the bank must seek OTP consent, failing which it close the account at no cost.

IDFC FIRST's care line is 1800 10 888, and from abroad +91 22 6248 5152; more on our IDFC FIRST customer care page.

Is Mayura worth ₹5,999?

Do the break-even first. At ₹0.50 a point you need 14,158 points a year to cover ₹7,078.82 (₹7,078.82 divided by ₹0.50), roughly 1,180 a month (14,158 divided by 12), and ₹28,000 of monthly eligible spend produce about 1,200: 667 on the first ₹20,000 and about 533 on the ₹8,000 above it at 10 per ₹150. Redeem for vouchers at ₹0.25 and the bar doubles to 28,316 points, about 2,360 a month (28,316 divided by 12), which takes near ₹46,000 of spend: 667 plus about 1,733 on the ₹26,000 above the line, so 2,400.

So Mayura suits a frequent international traveller who spend ₹50,000 or more a month and books hotels through the app. For them the 10% hotel bonus, 5X abroad with no markup and four global lounge visits a quarter add up quick. It is not for a person whose month often dip below ₹20,000, because lounges, golf top-ups and movies then switch off, nor for someone who mainly pays rent and bills on card.

The trade-offs

• No waiver at all; even the 15,000-point benefit needs ₹15 lakh a year.
• ₹0.50 works only on app hotels and flights, and only up to 70% of each booking.
• Only 1 of the 4 domestic lounge visits a quarter can go to a guest.
• The network is unclear on the bank's page, which matter if you want a particular network's offers.

Mayura and three alternatives

Buyers usually weigh Mayura against its cheaper sibling and two travel-led cards from other banks; numbers are in the table below.

Mayura vs Ashva

Ashva costs ₹2,999 + GST, so the gap is ₹3,540 a year with GST (₹7,078.82 minus ₹3,538.82, which is ₹2,999 plus 18%). Mayura's extra ₹0.10 a point on app travel (₹0.50 less ₹0.40) cover that only if you redeem 35,400 points a year that way (₹3,540 divided by ₹0.10). Its 5X abroad against Ashva's 2X is 3 extra points per ₹150, or ₹1.50 at ₹0.50, so 1% of foreign spend, and it has 4 global lounge visits a quarter to Ashva's 2. Most domestic spenders will do fine on Ashva.

Mayura vs AU Zenith+

AU Zenith+ charges ₹4,999 + GST, waived from the second year on ₹8 lakh of net retail spends. Its point is worth ₹1, so 1 point per ₹100 is 1% everywhere and 2 points on travel, dining and international is 2%, within a 25,000-point cap a cycle. It gives 16 domestic lounge visits a year with no spend condition and 16 international on Priority Pass, but charges 0.99% forex and wants ₹2.5 lakh monthly income. For a steady 1% to 2% without app redemptions, Zenith+ is simpler.

Mayura vs HSBC TravelOne

The HSBC TravelOne is ₹4,999 + GST, fully reversed including GST on ₹8 lakh of yearly spends. It earns 2 points per ₹100, 4 on flights, travel aggregators and foreign currency, and gives 6 domestic plus 4 international lounge visits a year, with no spend condition stated. HSBC gives no fixed rupee value per point, and its 3.5% forex is a real cost abroad, where Mayura charge nothing.

See our best travel credit cards and how reward points work, or go back to the credit cards hub.