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Independent card analysis

IRCTC SBI Card RuPay

SBI Card · RuPay · Entry card

Adds a low-fee railway-focused RuPay option for frequent IRCTC users.

Best suited to

Frequent Indian Railways travellers who want UPI capability on the same card.

Authored and reviewed by GainFair
Terms checked 23 Sept 2026
Annual fee
₹500 + GST
Joining fee
₹500 + GST
Base reward rate
0.8%
Forex markup
3.5%

Reward rates by spending category

Published catalogue rates before caps and merchant-category exclusions.

CategoryRecorded rate
Online shopping
0.8%
Groceries & essentials
0.8%
Dining & delivery
0.8%
Travel & hotels
0.8%
Bills & utilities
0.8%
Beauty & wellness
0.8%
Entertainment & movies
0.8%
Education & family
0.8%
Healthcare & pharmacy
0.8%
Subscriptions & streaming
0.8%
Offline store shopping
0.8%
International spending
0.8%
Gold & jewellery
0.8%
Insurance premiums
0.8%
Other miscellaneous
0.8%
Fuel & commute
0%
House rent
0%

Caps and fee waiver

Reward caps
No general cap recorded
Annual fee waiver
No waiver recorded
Monthly income requirement
Not listed

Airport lounge access

No complimentary airport lounge access recorded

Benefit details

Benefits & conditions

Expand a category to see recorded benefits, fees and eligibility, with conditions and links to the sources. Categories without recorded details are grouped below; missing information does not mean a benefit is unavailable.

Rewards and cashback · 4 items

  • Eligible IRCTC rail bookings

    Usage-based value

    Up to 10% value back on eligible AC First Class, AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, Executive Chair Car and Chair Car individual fare when the primary cardholder is a passenger; points post after a completed journey.

    Conditions: Up to 10% value back on eligible AC First Class, AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, Executive Chair Car and Chair Car individual fare when the primary cardholder is a passenger; points post after a completed journey.

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • Other eligible retail points

    Usage-based value

    One ₹1 reward point per ₹125 of eligible non-fuel retail spend.

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • 500 renewal reward points after annual-fee realisation

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • One point per ₹125 on other eligible retail spend, with each point worth ₹1

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Fees · 2 items

  • Annual card fee

    Cost ₹500

    ₹500 annual fee before applicable tax.

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • Joining fee

    Cost ₹500

    ₹500 one-time joining fee before applicable tax.

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Welcome benefits · 1 item

  • 350 activation reward points

    Recorded value ₹350

    Welcome points worth ₹350 for eligible IRCTC redemption.

    Conditions: Complete one eligible transaction of at least ₹500 within 60 days of issuance · Fuel and cash transactions do not qualify

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Airport lounge access · 2 items

  • Four participating railway-lounge visits each calendar year, maximum one per quarter, for the primary cardholder

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • Four railway-lounge visits yearly, capped at one per quarter

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Foreign-currency charges · 1 item

  • Foreign-currency markup

    Usage-based value

    3.5% foreign-currency markup before applicable tax.

    Conditions: Applies to eligible foreign-currency transactions

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Eligibility and availability · 1 item

  • Application eligibility

    Shown without a cash value

    Application availability: open. No universal verified numeric income threshold is used as a hard filter. SBI Card does not publish a universal numeric income threshold for this card.

    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Other benefits · 4 items

  • 1% IRCTC transaction-charge waiver

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • 1% fuel-surcharge waiver on ₹500-₹3,000 transactions, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • Up to 10% value back on eligible IRCTC AC and Chair Car bookings

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗

  • RuPay merchant-UPI support and IRCTC transaction-charge waiver

    Shown without a cash value
    Status: verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-23Official source ↗
Other categories (11)

These categories have no detailed entries. We distinguish confirmed absences from information that still needs review.

What stands out

  • ✓ Up to 10% value back on eligible IRCTC AC and Chair Car bookings
  • ✓ One point per ₹125 on other eligible retail spend, with each point worth ₹1
  • ✓ Four railway-lounge visits yearly, capped at one per quarter
  • ✓ RuPay merchant-UPI support and IRCTC transaction-charge waiver

What to watch

The lounge benefit is for participating railway lounges, not airports. The IRCTC rate requires the cardholder to travel on the eligible booking, and cancelled journeys do not qualify.

Recorded exclusions

Fuel Commute · Rent · Cash withdrawal · Fees charges

How GainFair evaluates this card

The personal card advisor applies your monthly spending to category rates, limits rewards at the applicable caps, adds eligible movie, milestone and lounge value, and subtracts annual fees plus foreign-currency markup and GST. It can recommend keeping your current cards when a new card does not create enough incremental value.

Ask the advisorApply ↗Read the methodology

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Issuer sources

Open the sources used for this card's product details, rewards, fees and eligibility.

Product, Rewards, Eligibility ↗Fees ↗

Sources checked 23 Sept 2026