If you are someone who loves Credit Card as I do or if you want to get a new card, then I have gone through the research and found 21 Best Credit Cards in India that you can get and enjoy benefits.
Have you ever researched about Credit Cards? Or you just take the card offered by the bank?
Let me tell you why I am talking about doing the research before taking credit cards is because there are more than 250 Credit Cards available in India and all Credit Cards come with their own benefits.
You can get benefits like Cashback, Free Lounge Access, Rewards on Shopping, Travelling, etc. But all these benefits don’t come with every card.
You don’t need to do research because I have already done this for you. You just need to pick one credit card from the list given below and apply it directly from the link which will redirect you to the bank’s official website.
Don’t ever apply for a credit card from the third party sites. Apply from the bank’s official websites for credit cards. I have already given links to apply directly. So you don’t need to worry about it.
So here is the list of the top credit cards available in India. I have categorized them into different categories like For Online Shopping, Lifetime Free Card, For Travel, Cashback Credit Card, For Longue Access, etc.
Table of Contents
Best Lifetime Free Credit Card
If you are looking for a lifetime free credit card, then I have selected a few best ones with ZERO Annual Charges or Minimal Charges which can be waived off easily.
- Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards Credit Card
- ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card
#1 Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards Credit Card
SC Platinum Credit Card is best if you are applying for the first time and looking for a Free Credit Card. Use this card for a period of 6 to 12 months and then you can apply for a higher credit card like Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card.
Application Process: It is quite easy for everyone, and if you are a salaried person with Rs 25,000 monthly salary, then chances of approval are very high.
Annual Fees: Nil (At the application, you may see joining fee of Rs 250 but it will be waived off when you use your credit card within the first 90 days.)
Benefits:
- Easy Approval
- Get an additional 1000 Reward points when you transact within 60 days.
- Bonus 500 points for registering for online banking.
- 20% cashback on Uber Rides.
- 5 Points on spending Rs 150 at dining.
- 5 points on spending Rs 150 on fuel
- 1 Reward point on spending Rs 150 on any other category
- Additional discounts & offers from Yatra, Uber, Ola & Grofers.
#2 ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card
You should consider applying for ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card if you want a basic card along with Zero Charges. Either apply for ICICI Instant Platinum or Standard Chartered Platinum, don’t apply for both.
The reason why I love ICICI Instant Platinum Card is that it helps you to get your first evert credit card in India. ICICI Bank offers Instant Platinum Credit Card against the Fixed Deposit.
ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card is best for first-time applicants. It is a good option for Students, Small Business Owners and Housewives as well.
Application Process: You don’t need to worry about Credit History or CIBIL Score, just put Fixed Deposit in ICICI Bank and apply for the credit card. Credit limit will be based on the amount you keep as a Fixed Deposit.
Annual Fees: Rs 199 (It will be waived off by spending Rs 2,000 within 60 days of approval)
Benefits:
- Easy approval against Fixed Deposit.
- 2 payback points on every Rs 100 spent.
- 1 payback point on every Rs 100 spent on Insurance & Utilities.
- Rs 100 off on Movie Tickets twice a month.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver can be availed on fuel transaction of maximum Rs 4,000 at HPCL Pumps.
Best Credit Card For Online Shopping
Most of the banks offer some kind of discounts and rewards on Online Shopping. But I have listed the best credit cards that offer huge discounts for online shopping.
- SBI SimpleClick Credit Card
- ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card
- SBI SimplySave Credit Card
- Citi Bank Cashback Credit Card
- ICICI Instant Platinum Card
- Axis Buzz Credit Card
- HDFC Moneyback Credit Card
#3 SBI SimplyClick Credit Card
This is one of the best credit cards in the list of best online shopping credit cards. SBI SimplyClick Card gives you 10x Rewards when you shop on big sites like Amazon, Flipkart, BookMyShow, Lenskart, Cleartrip, Ola, and many more sites like these.
Application Process: The only problem with this card is that it is easy to get approval for this card. SBI SimplyClick Credit Card is not for First-time Applicants.
If you are a salaried person and getting your salary in SBI Account, then it makes it easier for you to get this card.
Annual Fees: Rs 499 (It will be waived off by spending Rs 1,00,000 in one year)
Bonus: Rs 500 voucher from Amazon
Benefits:
- Earn 10x Rewards on big sites like Amazon, BookMyShow, Lenskart, Cleartrip, Foodpandam FabFurnish, Zoomcar, Ola.
- Earn 5x Rewards on Online Shopping with other sites.
- Get 1% of Fuel surcharge waiver on transactions of Rs 500 or more.
- E-Gift voucher worth Rs 500 from Amazon on joining.
- Cleartrip voucher worth Rs 2,000 on annual online spends of Rs 1,00,000 and one more e-voucher on another Rs 1,00,000 spend.
Rewards like 10x on big online shopping sites and 5x on other online spends make this credit card one of the best SBI Credit Cards available in India.
#4 ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card
The name of the card itself tells that this credit card is specially made for Amazon users. If you are an Amazon Prime User, then this credit card can give you extra benefits.
Application Process: The major drawback is that you can not directly apply for this credit card. You have to wait for the Amazon to send you an invite in your Amazon Mobile App or you will receive an invite through the mail from the Amazon itself.
To get the invite from the Amazon, you must have an ICICI Bank Account. Then add your ICICI Card in your Amazon account. That’s it. You just have to wait and you will get an invite from Amazon.
Annual Fees: Nil
Benefits:
- 5% cashback on Amazon.in for Amazon Prime Customer.
- 3% cashback on Amazon.in for Amazon Non-Prime Customer.
- 2% cashback when you pay to merchants using this card on Amazon Pay as a payment method.
- 1% cashback on all other payments
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
Even if you are not an Amazon Prime Customer, you will still get 3% cashback on Amazon and 1% cashback on all other payments. Isn’t that awesome? It is a must to have Amazon Credit Card if you are a regular customer of Amazon.
#5 Citi Bank Cashback Credit Card
If you are paying all your bills online and if you are someone who likes to go out and watch movies, then Citi Bank Credit Card is best for you.
Application Process: Citi Bank has one of the most difficult process for credit card applications. It is lengthy and complex as well. So be patient while applying.
Annual Fees: Rs 500
Benefits:
- 5% cashback on Utility Bill Payments.
- 5% cashback on telephone bill payments
- 5% cashback on movie tickets.
- 0.5% cashback on all others spends.
Drawbacks:
- You must have excellent Credit History. (80% Citi Bank Card applications decline just because of poor credit history.)
- Application Process is complex. (The rest 20% applications decline just because of it.)
Best Credit Card For Travel Benefits
So if you are someone who travels frequently, then this list of travel credit cards will be useful for you. But remember, it is not easy to get the approval of these cards if you are applying for the first time or you don’t have a good CIBIL Score.
- Citibank Premiermiles Card
- American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
- ICICI JetAirways Saphiro Credit Card
#6 Citi Bank Premiermiles Card
Traveling is something where you can save some money through credit cards. You get Miles here instead of cashback or reward points. You can use these miles for any partner airline.
Application Process: It is not easy to get the approval of Citi Bank Premiermiles Credit Card. You must have a good credit history to get this one. Apply only if you are spending annually around Rs 2,00,000 to Rs 3,00,000 only on travel.
Annual Fees: Rs 3,000
Benefits:
- Get 10,000 on activation.
- Earn 10 miles on every Rs 100 spent on airlines.
- Earn 10 miles on Rs 100 spent at online partner merchants.
- Earn 4 miles for every other online spending.
- 100 Miles = Rs 45 with preferred partners. (4.5% worth benefits)
#7 American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
This card is good for someone who travels frequently and that too with Spicejet and Taj Group. You will get certain vouchers from Spicejet and Taj group. This card is suitable for Jet Airways users.
Application Process: It is easy as compared to Citi Bank Premiermiles Credit Card. But still, you will need a good credit history. Apply for this card only if you have annual travel expenses of Rs 2,00,000 or more.
Annual Fees: Rs 5,000
Benefits:
- 12,500 JP bonus miles on joining.
- Jet Airways Economy Class base fare waived off on domestic air ticket.
- 5% discount on base fare when the ticket is booked directly from Jet Airways.
- Dedicated check-in for select domestic flights of Jet Airways.
- Complimentary Excess Baggage Allowance of 10 KGs in Premier and 5 KGs in Economy class.
- 1 % fuel surcharge waived off.
- 4 complimentary rounds of golf every month.
- Buy one ticket and get up to Rs 500 off on the second ticket, twice every month, through BookMyShow.
- 2 international airport lounge visits and 2 spa sessions at selected airports in India every year, through comple=imentary DragonPass membership.
Best Credit Card For Salaried Person
- Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card
#8 Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card
If you are someone whose mostly expenses are grocery at supermarkets, then you will love this credit card. Standard Chartered Manhattan is one of the best credit cards which offers 5% cashback on your grocery spend at supermarkets.
Application Process: If you are a salaried person, you will easily get the approval of this card.
Annual Fees: Rs 999 (It will be waived off when you spend Rs 1,20,000)
Benefits:
- 5% cashback at supermarkets & department stores.
- 3x rewards when you use your credit card anywhere.
- You can earn up to Rs 500 as cashback every month, up to Rs 150 per transaction.
Which Credit Card you should apply for?
Let’s come to the conclusion of which is the best credit card?
The answer is it depends.
No one can tell you which is a good credit card for you? It totally depends on your annual spendings, the behavior of the purchase, expenses, etc.
But here is something that I can help you with.
- If you are a first-time applicant, apply for the Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards Card.
- If you are a salaried person, apply for Standard Chartered Manhattan Card.
- If you are a frequent online shopper, apply for SBI SimplyClick Card.
- If your most expenses are bill payments, then apply for Citi Bank Cashback Card.