13 Best Credit Card in India 2021 Review & Comparison

My first credit card was ICICI Platinum that I got just after getting my first job in 2006. I fall in love with credit cards. At that time, Indians banks did not provide great offers on credit cards. Still saving some money as cashback and rewards was good.
I decided to make an exclusive portal, just for the discussions of credit cards. Last year I earned more than 10,000 rupees just from the credit cards rewards and cashback.
I reviewed and compared all credit cards in India before making the fresh and updated list.
Let’s help each other in finding the top credit cards in India.

1. Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card
2. Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards Card
3. ICICI instant platinum card
4. SBI simply click credit card
5. Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium Credit Card
6. Citibank Cashback Card
7. Indian Oil Citi (IOC) Platinum Credit Card
8. Citi Premiermiles Credit Card
9. HDFC AllMiles Credit Card
10. American Express® MakeMyTrip Credit Card
11. SBI ELITE  Credit Card
12. RBL Platinum Maxima Card
13. American Express® Gold Credit Card

If you don’t have time to read the entire article then pick one of following based on your requirements.

1. If you are salaried and appying for the first time, then simply click here to apply for Standard Chartered Platinum Credit card which is lifetime free and easy to get approved.
2. If you want 5% cashback on groceries and 3x reward points on shopping then go for Manhattan Card
3. For Travel related benefits apply for Amex Platinum or Citibank Miles.

Now read the detailed review of each card…

Best credit card in india for salaried person

#1. Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card

Standard chartered manhattan platinum card was my preferred card last year and I want to continue using this card in 2017 as well.
Primary purpose of using standard chartered manhattan card is 5% cashback on grocery in supermarkets. I spend around 6000 rupees every month on groceries. I usually make bills around 3000 and get straight 150 rupees into my account as cashback. It’s real cash without any hidden clause.
You can earn maximum of 6000 rupees per year and use to pay the bill of your credit card.

• Joining Fee – Rs.499 (This can be waived off)
• First Year Annual Fee – Nil
• Annual Fee onwards from Second Year – Rs.999
• Annual Fee Waiver – (I get waiver of annual fees every year by calling their customer care).

Click Here to APPLY for Manhattan Credit Card

Key Benefits of Manhattan Credit Card

• 5% cashback on purchase at supermarkets and departmental stores like More, Reliance fresh, Big bazar and Food bazar.
• 5x rewards when you use your credit card to pay for Hotels, Dining, Airline ticket reservation and Fuel.
• 20% cashback on Uber rides

Important Points regarding Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card 

• • You can earn upto Rs. 500 as cashback every month.
  • Can earn Maximum cashback per transaction is Rs.150
  • Minimum transaction amount for cashback eligibility is Rs.750

Best credit card in india with no annual fee

#2. Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards Card

No annual fees or joining fees for Standard Chartered Platinum Rewards credit card.
You have high chance of approval of Platinum card if you are a salaried employee. You can request for upgrade to Manhattan card whenever you need in the future (approval based on your salary & credit card usage)
Who Should Apply?  Salaried people who want to own all rounder credit card without paying annual fees.
Here is the link to quickly APPLY for Platinum Rewards Card
Benefits

• Get additional 1000 rewards points if you transact within 60 days
• Bonus 500 points for registering for online banking
• 20% cashback on Uber rides
• 5 points on spending 150 rupees on dining
• 5 points on spending 150 on fuel

#3. ICICI Instant Platinum Card

ICICI offers a simple credit card without any annual fees. If your application got rejected for Standard Chartered Platinum Credit Card then you can consider applying for ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card.
Who should apply?
ICICI credit card is a good option for Students, Housewives and Non-Salary people if they want to apply for credit card against a Fixed Deposit.
Key Benefits:

• 3 payback points for every Rs.100 spent.
• Get ₹ 100 off on movie tickets twice a month.
• 2.5% fuel surcharge waiver can be availed on fuel transaction of maximum ₹ 4,000 at HPCL pumps.

Note: If you got rejected for ICICI card then don’t apply for any other card. Your CIBIL report will get impacted negatively. You must get a credit card against Fixed Deposit by visiting your bank branch. 

Best Credit Card For Online Shopping

#4. SBI Simply Click Credit Card

Simply Click Credit Card is third best credit card in India with a small annual fees that will be waived off if you spend 1L amount per year from the date of approval.
If you love to shop online then you will find a lot of offers from Amazon, Flipkart, Makemytrip, Cleartrip and many more vendors. The details have been provided in key benefits.
Annual fee: 499 (waived off by spending 100,000 in one year)
Bonus: Rs 500 voucher from Amazon
Key Benefits:

• 10X rewards on online spends – Amazon / BookMyShow / Cleartrip / Foodpanda / FabFurnish / Lenskart / OLA / Zoomcar
• Earn 5X rewards on all other online shopping
• A welcome e-gift voucher worth Rs 500 from Amazon
• 2.5% fuel surcharge waiver (on 500+ trasaction amount)
• Cleartrip e-voucher worth Rs.2,000 on annual online spends of Rs. 1 Lakh (one more 2000 e-voucher on another 1Lakh milestone)

Best Credit Card For Utility Bill Payments

#5. Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium Credit Card

Standard chartered super value titanium credit card is the best credit card that gives 5% cashback at spending money on fuel in India. It also gives 5% cashback on utility and telephone bill payments.
No other card offers such types of benefits.

• Joining Fee Rs.499
• First Year Annual Fee Nil
• Annual Fee Onwards From Second Year Rs.750.
• Fee Waived Off- Call customer care to check if they waive the annual fee.

Click Here and APPLY for Titanium Credit Card

Benefits of Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium Credit Card

• Get 5% cashback on fuel at all petrol pumps in India. You will receive a 2.5% surcharge reversal and 2.5% cash back on the transaction amount at any petrol pump, be it BPCL, IOC, HPCL or Reliance.
• 5% cashback on all telecom payments including phone bills
• 5% cashback on all utility bill payments, allowing you to save more on electricity, gas and water.
• Get 1 reward point per Rs.100 on all other spends.

Important Points

• Minimum transaction amount for cashback eligibility is Rs.750.
• Maximum cashback per transaction is Rs.100.
• Maximum cashback per month is Rs.500.
• Every reward point is worth 30 paisa.

#6. Citibank Cashback Card

Citibank cash credit card gives you 5% cashback on utility payments and movie tickets. But there is no benefit for fuel spends, you have to apply for IOC card separately to get benefits on fuel.

• First Year Annual Fee Rs. 500
• Annual Fee Onwards From Second Year  Rs. 500
• Fee waiver– Call customer care to check if they waive the annual fee

Key Benefits of Citibank Cashback Card

• 5% cashback on movie tickets payments.
• 5% cashback on all your telephone bills.
• 5% cashback on all utility bill payments made online through citibank online bill pay.
• 0.5% cashback on all other spends.

Important Point regarding Citibank Cashback Card

• Cash back in the Telephone / Movies / Utility category is capped at Rs.100 per month for each category.
• Hassle free redemption of cashback  in multiples of Rs.500.

Who should apply?
If your monthly expense of telephone/ movies/ bill payment is around Rs 2000 each then it best for you. You can save around Rs.300 per month with additional 0.5% cashback on all other spends.

Best credit card for waiver on fuel

#7. Indian Oil Citi (IOC) Platinum Credit Card

IndianOil citi platinum credit card is one of the famous card for maximum benefits on fuel.
It gives 4 turbo points per Rs. 150 on fuel, one turbo point is equal to Rs.1 fuel. That means benefit of 2.67% + you will get waiver on 2.5% of surcharge on fuel.

• Annual Fee 1000
• Fee Waiver- On spending atleast Rs 30,000 per annum.

Key Benefits of Indian Oil Citi Platinum Credit Card

• Get benefits of worth Rs 250 on the activation of card.
• 4 Turbo Points on Rs.150 of fuel purchases at authorized IndianOil Retail Outlets across the country.
• 2.5% of fuel surcharge waiver.
• 2 Turbo Points on Rs.150 at grocery and supermarkets.
• 1 Turbo Point on Rs.150 spent elsewhere like Shopping, Dining and more.

Important Point

• You get 4 turbo points on fuel only when you purchase fuel at Indian Oil retail outlets.
• One turbo point is equal to Rs 1 of free fuel that you can redeem at any Indian Oil retail outlets.

Who should buy it ?
The fuel benefit is applicable on indian oil’s outlets so you should apply only if you fill fuel at the indian oil outlets.

Best Credit Card for Travel

#8. Citi Premiermiles Credit Card

If you are regular traveler along with doing transactions online then citi premiermiles credit card is one of the best card for you. This card gives rewards in the form of miles that you can redeem a over a 100 domestic and international airlines.

• Annual fee Rs 3000
• Fee Waiver Annual fees will not waived off. But if you spend Rs.1000 with your card within the 60 days you will get 10,000 miles. You can redeem that miles at citibank’s preferred partner. The value of these miles is 10,000= Rs. 4500, Rs.1500 more than annual fee.
• Interest Rate- Range in between 37.20% to 42.00%

Key Benefits of Citi Premiermiles Credit Card

• Get 10,000 miles with your first spend of Rs 1,000 or more on your citi PremierMiles card within 60 days of card issuance.
• Get 3,000 miles on card renewal.
• Earn 10 miles for every Rs. 100 spent on exclusive website www.premiermiles.co.in.
• Earn 10 miles for every Rs.100 spent on all airlines transactions.
• Earn 10 miles for every Rs. 100 spent on flipkart and makemytrip.
• Earn 4 miles for every Rs 100 spent on all other transactions.
• Provides air accident insurance cover upto Rs.1 crore.
• It also provides complimentary language accessed to participating airport lounges in india.

Important Points

• Redeem miles across over a 100 domestic and international airlines.
• You can also redeem mile, the value is 100 miles= Rs. 45 at citibank’s preferred partners.
• Redeem your miles up to 3 hours before take off.

Who should buy it ?
This card is best for whom, who is regular traveler. Because you can get 10% rewards miles for your spend.  it is more useful if you spend on  flipkart for shopping and makemytrip for booking, . This card offers  10 miles per Rs.100 you spend with this. if you redeem miles at preferred partners you get Rs.4.5 per Rs 100. Is short, 4.5% of reward points, such a big discount.

#9. HDFC AllMiles Credit Card

HDFC AllMiles credit card is premium traveler credit card of HDFC that offers 2 times more reward points on spending exclusively allmiles website.
Along with regular reward points, it also provides bonus reward points on joining and on renewal also.

• First Year Annual Fee Rs.1000
• Annual Fee Onwards From Second Year Rs.1000
• Fee Waiver
  • Spend Rs.15,000 within the 90 days of the card setup date and get waiver of first annual fees.
  • Spend Rs. 1,00,000 in a year and get waiver of next year’s annual fees.

Key benefits HDFC AllMiles Credit Card

• Get welcome gift of 1,000 reward points.
• Get 1,000 renewal reward points.
• Get 3 reward points per Rs.150 you spent on anything.
• Enjoy double reward points on your spends on allmiles website.
• Fuel surcharge waiver capped at Rs.500 every billing cycle (ST applicable)
• Provide lounge access at airports in india or overseas.

Important point

• Redeem your reward points for air miles, 100 points= 50 Air miles or Rs.50 Air voucher.

Who should buy it?
This card is best for those who are regular air traveler. Because in that case you can get benefit by redeeming your rewards points for air miles. It will more worthy for you if you spend more than Rs. 1 lakh through this.

#10. American Express® MakeMyTrip Credit Card

American express associated with online travel company MakeMyTrip to take the advantage of the rising popularity of online travel reservation. To take the full benefit of this american express makemytrip credit card offers multiple rewards and privileges.
This card is best for spending on makemytrip. You can earn 5 points per Rs.100 on your spends on makemytrip.

• First Year Annual Fee Rs.750
• Annual Fee Onwards Rs.1500
• Fee Waived Off There is no way to waive off the annual fee but you will get 2 gift voucher total worth of Rs.2,000

Key benefits of American Express® MakeMyTrip Credit Card

• You will get welcome gift of 2 MakeMyTrip voucher,each worth Rs.1000.
• Earn 2 points per Rs.100 you spent.
• Earn up to a total of 5 points per Rs.100 spent on MakeMyTrip.
• Get a MakeMyTrip voucher worth Rs. 2,000 on spending Rs. 1.25 lacs and an additional MakeMyTrip voucher worth Rs. 5,000 on spending Rs. 2.5 lakh , every year.
• Get up to 30% discount and additional 5% cashback at over 1200 restaurants that are linked with the american express.
• Provide Discounted access to 31 domestic airport lounges at 14 cities in india.

Important Points

• The worth of reward points is 100 points = Rs.25.
• 1200 restaurants are located only in the big cities of the country.

Who should buy it?
This card is best for usage on the makemytrip. If you are regular traveller and will make your bookings on makemytrip, then this card gives you maximum benefits.

#11. SBI ELITE  Credit Card

SBI is one of the leading public bank in india and giving tough competition to its competitors in the credit card service also.
SBI elite card comes with a number of offers for spending on departmental stores, grocery and dining.

• Annual Fee – Rs. 4,999
• Renewal Fee- Rs. 4,999
• Fee Waived Off There is no way to waived off annual fee or renewal fee. But on the issuance of card you get a gift voucher of worth Rs. 5000 same as the amount of annual fee.
• Interest rate- 3.35% per month
• Cash advance fee- 2.5% or minimum of Rs. 300

Key Benefits of SBI Elite Credit Card

• Welcome e-gift voucher worth Rs 5000 from popular brands.
• Free movie tickets worth Rs. 6,000 every year. It is valid for at least 2 tickets per booking per month. Maximum discount is Rs.250/ ticket for 2 tickets only.
• Earn 10,000 bonus reward points on achieving annual spends of Rs 3 lakhs and 4 lakhs.
• Earn 15,000 bonus reward points on achieving annual spends of Rs 5 lakhs and 8 lakhs.
• 2.5% fuel surcharge waiver across all petrol pumps maximum up to Rs. 250 subjective to transaction from Rs.500 to Rs.4000.
• Earn 2 reward points per Rs.100 on all spends.
• Earn 5X reward points on dining, departmental stores, grocery and international spends.
• Enjoy complimentary domestic lounge access twice every quarter at airport lounges in india.

Important points

• Worth of 4 reward points = Rs.1.
• You can pay your card outstanding with reward points.

Who should buy it?
As you notice the annual fee of SBI elite is Rs.5000 that is preety much higher than the credit cards. Due to that reason this card is best for those, whose annual spend is more than 5 lakh.
Because on spending more than Rs.5 lakh you get 25,000 bonus reward points ( 10,000 on spending Rs.3 lakh and additional 15,000 on spending total of Rs.5 lakh) that become on redemption 25000 points= Rs. 6250, more than your annual fee. This is only bonus reward points, with that you also get regular rewards points.

New Cards Getting Popular

#12. RBL Platinum Maxima Card

RBL platinum maxima card is one of best card in terms of rewards points. Its annual is higher as compared to the other cards but it offers good deals against this annual fees.

• First Year Annual Fee- Rs. 4,000
• Annual Fee Onwards Second Year- Rs.4,000
• Fee Waiver There is No way of waiving annual fee but you can get 8,000 reward points on swiping your card within the first 60 days.
• Interest Rate- 3.45% per month
• Cash Advance Fee- 2.5% or minimum of Rs.300

Key Benefits of RBL Platinum Maxima Card

• Swipe your card within the 60 days of issuance and get 8,000 reward points.
• Earn 2 points per Rs.100 spend on all purchases.
• Earn 10 reward points when you use your card for Dining, Entertainment, Utility Bill Payments and even Fuel.
• Earn 10 rewards points on all your international purchases.
• Get 10,000 reward points on purchasing of Rs. 2,00,000.
• Get additional 10,000 reward points on further achieving Rs.3.5 lakh spends in the years.
• Get a complimentary movie ticket or discount of Rs.200 whichever is lower by booking at BookMyShow.
• Simply show your credit card and get 2 free visits every quarter at domestic lounges at all major airports in India.

Important points

• The worth of reward points is 100 points = Rs.25
• You can get only one ticket or discount of Rs.200 whichever is lower, once in a month.

Who should buy it?
RBL platinum maxima card is best for those whose annual expenditure is more than Rs. 3.5 lakhs. Because on spending such amount through your card you get 20,000 reward points (10,000 on achieving Rs. 2 lakh and 10,000 more on achieving Rs. 3.5lakh spends) whose worth will be Rs.5,000. Rs.1,000 more than your annual fees.
Along with that you can get regular rewards points on your spends as mention in key benefits.

#13. American Express® Gold Credit Card

American express gold card is the most popular credit card of the amex. Gold card offers 1000 bonus points every month on making 4 transactions of Rs.1000 or above. This bonus points is the main reason of its popularity among the amex cards.

• First Year Annual Fee- Rs.1000
• Annual Fee Onwards From Second Years Rs. 4500.
• Fee Waived off You get 4,000 bonus reward points whose worth is Rs.1000 equal to the first year annual fee.

Key benefits of American Express® Gold Credit Card

• 4,000 Bonus  Rewards Points, to be awarded on using the Card 3 times within the first 60 days of issuance of card.
• Earn 1,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points for simply using your Card 4 times on transactions of Rs. 1,000 and above every month.
• Earn 5,000 reward points on the renewal of card.
• Earn 1 Rewards Point per Rs.50 spent except for spend at Fuel, Insurance, Utilities and Cash Transactions.
• Get up to 30% discount and additional 5% cashback at over 1200 restaurants that are linked with the american express.

Important Points

• The worth of reward points is 100 points = Rs.25.
• 1200 restaurants are located in the big cities of the country.
• No predefined limit.

Final Review and Comparison of credit cards

There are so many credit cards provided by various banks. I also got confused in the initial days. But now I use credit cards according to my spending pattern.
If your salary is above 6 lakh per year, Standard Chartered Manhattan would be most valuable for you.
For people who already have any credit card (means they have a credit history) and salary above 6 lakh, apply for SBI Simply Click for online shopping, SBI Elite for premium benefits.
If you are looking for all-rounder card without annual fees, then apply for Standard Chartered Platinum Credit Card.
You can ask me questions in the comments.. I will answer as soon as possible.