Best Credit Card for You — Personalised by Spending
Drag the sliders to match your monthly spending in 8 categories. We compute annual rewards (cashback equivalent), subtract the annual fee (or waive it if you hit the threshold), and rank 9 popular India credit cards by net annual value.
Your monthly spending
Total: ₹39,000 per month · ₹4,68,000 per year
SBI Cashback Card
Full ranking by annual net rewards
| Rank | Card | Annual rewards | Fee (after waiver) | Net annual | Effective % | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ #1 | SBI Cashback Card SBI Card | ₹11,400 | ₹0 | ₹11,400 | 2.44% | Apply |
| #2 | HDFC Millennia HDFC Bank | ₹9,000 | ₹0 | ₹9,000 | 1.92% | Apply |
| #3 | HDFC Regalia Gold HDFC Bank | ₹8,944 | ₹0 | ₹8,944 | 1.91% | Apply |
| #4 | Bajaj Finserv RBL SuperCard RBL Bank | ₹8,640 | ₹0 | ₹8,640 | 1.85% | Apply |
| #5 | Amazon Pay ICICI ICICI Bank | ₹6,360 | ₹0 | ₹6,360 | 1.36% | Apply |
| #6 | IDFC FIRST Wealth IDFC FIRST Bank | ₹6,008 | ₹0 | ₹6,008 | 1.28% | Apply |
| #7 | Amex Platinum Travel American Express | ₹8,640 | ₹5,900 | ₹2,740 | 0.59% | Apply |
| #8 | Kotak 811 #DreamDifferent Kotak Mahindra Bank | ₹2,160 | ₹0 | ₹2,160 | 0.46% | Apply |
| #9 | Axis Magnus Axis Bank | ₹5,988 | ₹12,500 | ₹-6,512 | -1.39% | Apply |
Tips to maximise card rewards
- Compute on annual rewards minus annual fee — not headline rewards rate
- Fee-waiver thresholds matter: a ₹2,500 fee card waived at ₹4L spend behaves like a lifetime-free card if you hit the threshold
- Monthly caps quietly reduce your real rewards — SBI Cashback caps at ₹5,000/month online (₹60K/year)
- Point-redemption rates vary: HDFC ThankYou points are ~₹0.25 cash but up to ₹0.50 against partner brands (SmartBuy)
- Stack 2 cards strategically: one for online (e.g. Amazon Pay ICICI or SBI Cashback) + one for offline/travel (e.g. HDFC Regalia Gold or Axis Magnus)
- If you don't hit any fee waiver and your spend is under ₹3L/year, stick with lifetime-free cards only
Watch-outs
- •Carrying a balance wipes out all rewards — credit card APR is 36–42% annualised
- •Forex markup is typically 3.5% on most cards — Niyo/Fi debit cards have 0% (better for international)
- •Reward expiry: most cards expire points after 24–36 months of inactivity
- •Cashback on rent payments, fuel surcharges, and wallet loads are usually excluded from rewards
- •Cancelling a card with positive reward balance forfeits unredeemed points
FAQ
How does this recommendation work?
Enter your typical monthly spending across 8 categories. For each card we calculate the effective rewards rate per category (cashback %, or points × redemption value), apply monthly caps where they exist, sum to monthly rewards, multiply by 12, and subtract the annual fee (unless your spend meets the fee-waiver threshold). Cards are ranked by net annual rewards.
Why are point values different from face value?
Most cards earn 'reward points' instead of cashback. The value of each point depends on what you redeem it for. HDFC ThankYou points = ₹0.25 against statement credit but up to ₹0.50 against SmartBuy partner brands. Amex Membership Rewards = ₹0.50–0.75 against flights. Axis EDGE = ₹0.10–0.20. We use conservative midpoint values — the actual best-case redemption can be 1.5×–2× higher.
What's the right number of credit cards to have?
Most personal-finance experts say 2–3 cards is the sweet spot. One for online (5% cashback like Amazon Pay ICICI or SBI Cashback), one for offline/everyday (HDFC Regalia Gold or IDFC FIRST Wealth), and optionally one travel/milestone card (Axis Magnus, Amex Travel) if you spend ₹3L+/year. More than 4 cards complicates tracking; less than 2 means you miss category-optimal rewards.
Does the fee waiver always work?
Fee waivers are tied to total annual spend on that specific card, not all your cards combined. So if HDFC Millennia requires ₹1L annual spend for waiver, you need to spend ₹1L on the Millennia itself. Tracking is via card statements — most banks waive automatically once the threshold is hit. Some cards (like Axis Magnus at ₹25L) have such high thresholds that the fee is effectively unwaivable for most users.
What about milestone bonuses on Amex / Axis Magnus?
These cards offer big one-time vouchers at spend milestones (e.g. Amex gives ₹7,700 + ₹11,800 travel vouchers at ₹1.9L and ₹4L spend). The recommender's effective rate doesn't include milestones to stay conservative — actual rewards for high spenders can be 0.5–1% higher than shown. The ranking still works because milestones favour the same cards.
Disclosure:BankTalky may earn affiliate commission via apply links above — at no extra cost to you. Effective rewards rates and fee-waiver thresholds are based on issuer-published terms as of May 2026 — always verify the latest MITC on the issuer's website before applying.