Low annual fee credit cards are usually basic entry-level cards, offering benefits across multiple spending categories, with some being co-branded with popular merchants. Though the benefits on low-fee cards are not on par with those on premium cards, they can still be a good option for beginners who seek good value-back without having to pay a high annual fee, explained Rohit Chhibbar, Head of Credit Cards Business, Paisabazaar
“In most cases, the overall value offered by credit cards surpasses the fee charged; hence, consumers should not make annual fee the sole deciding factor. Instead, they should look for a card that offers benefits inclined towards their spending categories and allows them to get maximum value out of the card,” said Chhibbar
Top premium credit cards with great rewards, offers
Listed below are the top banks’ low annual fee credit cards which are chosen basis the overall value-back they offer in the form of reward points, cashback, discount, etc. across different spending categories. (Source: Paisabazaar. All card information is sourced from the card provider website as of 20 th February 2024.)
Axis Bank
Axis Bank ACE Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- 5% cashback on utility bills, DTH and mobile recharges done via Google Pay
- 4% cashback on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola spends
- Unlimited 2% cashback on all other spends, except fuel
- 4 complimentary visits to select domestic airport lounges per year
- Up to 20% off on dining at 4,000+ partner restaurants
- Annual fee waived off on spending Rs. 2 lakh or above in a year
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 500 per month, on fuel spends between Rs. 400 and Rs. 4,000.
Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- Rs. 500 Flipkart voucher and 50% off, up to Rs. 100, on 1st Swiggy order as welcome benefit
- Unlimited 5% cashback on Flipkart spends
- Unlimited 4% cashback on preferred merchants
- Unlimited 1.5% cashback on other eligible spends
- 4 complimentary visits to select domestic airport lounges in a year
- 15% off, up to Rs. 500, on dining via EazyDiner
- Annual fee waived off on spending above Rs. 3.5 lakh in the previous year
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 400 per month, on fuel spends of Rs. 400 to Rs. 4,000.
HDFC BankSwiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- 3 months Swiggy One membership worth Rs. 1,199 on card activation
- 10% cashback, up to Rs. 1,500 per month, on Swiggy food delivery, Instamart, Genie & Dineout
- 5% cashback, up to Rs. 1,500 per month, on online spends
- 1% cashback, up to Rs. 500 per month, on other spends
- Redeem the earned cashback as Swiggy Money with 1 year validity
- Annual fee waived off on spending Rs. 2 lakh or more in a year
Also read: Top credit cards with best cashback dealsStandard Chartered India
Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- 20% off, up to Rs. 5,000 per month, on domestic hotel bookings via EaseMyTrip
- 20% off, up to Rs. 10,000 per month, on international hotel bookings via EaseMyTrip
- 10% off, up to Rs. 1,000 per month, on EaseMyTrip domestic flight bookings
- 10% off, up to Rs. 5,000 per month, on EaseMyTrip international flight bookings
- Rs. 125 off on bus ticket booking of Rs. 500 or more via EaseMyTrip
- 10 reward points per Rs. 100 spent at standalone hotels/airlines, except via travel aggregators
- 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other retail purchases
- 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25
- Up to 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visit per year (1 per quarter)
- 2 complimentary international airport lounge visits per year
- Annual fee waived off on spending Rs. 50,000 or more annually.
Also read: Top entry-level credit cards with low annual feesIDFC FIRST BankIDFC FIRST Power+ Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- Rs. 500 cashback on 1st HPCL spend of min. Rs. 500 within 30 days of card set-up
- 5% cashback, up to Rs. 1,000, on the 1st EMI conversion
- Rs. 150 off on Swiggy order above Rs. 500 and Rs. 500 off on ZoomCar rentals as welcome benefit
- Up to 50% off on Eco Rent A Car & Europcar as welcome bonus
- 24 reward points per Rs. 150 spent (4% savings) on HPCL fuel & LPG spends
- 30 reward points per Rs. 150 spent (5% savings) on grocery, utilities & IDFC FIRST FASTag
- 3 reward points per Rs. 150 spent on other retail spends
- 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25
- 6 Happy Coins as Payback Rewards (1.5% savings) per Rs. 100 spent on HP Pay app
- 1 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per quarter on min. monthly spends of Rs. 5,000
- 25% off, up to Rs. 100, on movie tickets once per month
- Annual fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 1.5 lakh.
American Express
American Express SmartEarn™ Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- Rs. 500 cashback on spending Rs. 10,000 within 90 days of card membership
- 10X Membership Rewards® Points on Zomato spends, up to 500 points per month
- 10X Membership Rewards® Points on Flipkart, Myntra, Blinkit, Uber, Nykaa, Ajio, PVR & BookMyShow, up to 500 points per month
- 5X Membership Rewards® Points per Rs. 50 spent on Amazon & Paytm Wallet, up to 250 points per month on both the merchants combined
- 1 Membership Rewards® Point per Rs. 50 spent on other categories, except for fuel, insurance, utilities, cash transactions & EMI conversion at POS
- Rs. 500 voucher each on reaching annual spends of Rs. 1.20 lakh, Rs. 1.80 lakh & Rs. 2.40 lakh respectively
- Annual fee waived off on spending Rs. 40,000 and above in the previous card membership year
- 0% convenience fee on fuel transactions of less than Rs. 5,000 at HPCL petrol pumps.
SBI CardYatra SBI Credit Card
Annual Fee
Key Benefits
- Yatra.com vouchers worth Rs. 8,250 on the 1st year annual fee payment
- 6 reward points per Rs. 100 spent, up to 5,000 points per month, on grocery, dining, movies, departmental stores & entertainment spends
- 6 reward points per Rs. 100 spent internationally, up to 5,000 points per month
- 1 reward point per Rs. 100 spent on all other categories
- 4 Reward Points = Rs. 1
- Rs. 1,000 off on domestic flight bookings worth Rs. 5,000 or more at Yatra
- Rs. 4,000 off on international flight bookings worth Rs. 40,000 or more at Yatra
- 20% off, up to Rs. 2,000, on domestic hotel booking value of Rs. 3,000 or more at Yatra
- Annual fee waived off on annual spends of Rs. 1 lakh or more
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to Rs. 100 per month, on fuel spends of Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000
