Cashback Credit Card Comparison India (2026): Fees, Caps & Rewards
Cashback credit cards provide immediate, tangible returns by crediting cash directly to your statement balance. However, high advertised headline rates (like 5% or 10%) are always subject to monthly caps, merchant category exclusions (MCCs), and annual fee waiver milestones. Here is our direct side-by-side comparison for 2026.
Key Factors to Compare in CASHBACK Cards
- Multi-Store vs Partner Cashback: Broad-category cards like HDFC Millennia earn 5% on top e-commerce portals, whereas co-branded cards like Amazon Pay ICICI or Swiggy HDFC offer higher returns locked to specific partner apps.
- Monthly Category Caps: Always compute your realistic monthly spend against caps. A 5% rate capped at ₹1,000/month means spending beyond ₹20,000 yields only baseline rewards.
- Excluded Categories: Utilities, fuel, wallet reloads, rent, and government payments are frequently excluded from 5% accelerated cashback tiers.
Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix
| Feature | HSBC LIVE+ | PHONEPE HDFC ULTIMO | Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card | HDFC MILLENNIA | AMAZON PAY ICICI | FLIPKART AXIS | AIRTEL AXIS | TATA NEU INFINITY | SC SMART | Jupiter Edge+ CSB Bank RuPay Card | Bank of Baroda Eterna Credit Card | Kiwi RuPay Credit Card | AU Bank Xcite Ace Credit Card | Equitas Selfe Credit Card | Axis Bank Ace Credit Card | Bank of Baroda Cashback Credit Card | Axis Bank Cashback Credit Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joining/Annual Fee | ₹999.00 | ₹ 999 | ₹500 | ₹ 1000 / LTF | LTF | ₹ 500 | ₹500.00 | ₹ 1499 / LTF | ₹499.00 | LTF | ₹2,499 | Free | ₹399 | Free | ₹499 | ₹500 | ₹500 |
| Welcome Benefit | ₹1000 cashback on ₹20K spend in 30 days + ₹250 Amazon voucher | Joining fee reversal and PhonePe benefit as per active campaign | Complimentary 3-month Swiggy One membership | 1000 CashPoints (~₹1000) | Amazon Pay balance benefits as per active onboarding campaign | ₹500 Flipkart voucher on 1st transaction | ₹500 Amazon eVoucher on first transaction within 30 days | - | - | ₹1000 worth of Jupiter Edge coins | 10,000 Bonus Reward Points | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Annual Fee Waiver Spends | ₹2 Lakh | ₹2 Lakh | ₹2 Lakh | ₹1 Lakh | - | ₹3.5 Lakh | ₹2 Lakh | ₹3 Lakh | ₹1.2 Lakh | - | ₹2.5 Lakh | - | ₹1 Lakh | - | ₹2 Lakh | ₹1 Lakh | ₹2 Lakh |
| Domestic Lounge Visits | 2 visits/year (1 every 6 months) (Effective July 26, 2026) | 8 visits/year | - | 4 visits/year | - | - | Discontinued (Effective April 12, 2026) | 8 visits/year (2 per quarter) | - | - | Unlimited | - | 4 visits/year | - | 4 visits/year | - | - |
| Spends for Lounge | - | ₹75K/quarter | - | ₹ 1L/quarter | - | - | - | ₹50K in prev calendar quarter | - | - | - | - | - | - | ₹50K in calendar quarter | - | - |
| Amazon | 1.5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% / 3% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 10% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Amazon Fresh | 10% | 1% | 5% | 5% | 5% / 3% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| BigBasket | 10% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Blinkit | 10% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1%/2% | 1% | 10% value-back | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Education | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | 1.5% | 1% | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Flipkart | 1.5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 5% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 10% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Flipkart Grocery | 1.5% | 1% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 5% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fuel | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Gift Cards | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Govt. Payments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Insurance | - | - | - | 1% | 1% / 2% | - | - | 1.5% / 3.4% | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jewelry | - | - | - | 1% | 1% | - | - | 1.5% / 5% | 1% | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| JioMart | 10% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Myntra | 1.5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 7.5% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 10% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| NPS | - | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Offline Spends | 1.5% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 1% | 1% | 0.75% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 1.5% | 1% | 1% |
| Ola | 1.5% | 1% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Online Spends | 1.5% | 1% / 5% | 1% / 5% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% | 1% | 3.75% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1.5% | 1% | 2% |
| Rapido | 1.5% | 1% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rent | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Swiggy | 10% | 5% | 10% | 5% | 1% | 4% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Uber | 1.5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 4% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Utilities | 10% | 10% | 1% | 1% | 2% | - | 10% (via Airtel Thanks app) | 1.5% / 3.4% | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Wallets | - | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Zomato | 10% | 5% | 1% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 10% value-back | 1.5% | 2% (online eligible) | 1% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Notes | Effective July 26, 2026: 10% cashback is expanded to include utilities and select shopping (Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra stay 1.5%), with the monthly 10% cap increased to ₹1,200. Domestic lounge access revised to 2 visits/year (1 per 6 months). Zero cashback on international transactions. Forex markup reduced to 1.99%. | Maximum cashback capped at ₹1000 for PhonePe spends, ₹500 for online spends and ₹500 for other spends. Use Scan and Pay for 1% cashback. | 10% cashback on Swiggy (min txn ₹249, capped at ₹1,500/mo). 5% on 1,000+ top online platforms & Cleartrip flights/hotels (min txn ₹100, capped at ₹1,500/mo). 1% on other eligible spends (capped at ₹500/mo). | 5% and 1% cashback capped at ₹1000 each per calendar month | No Caps | ₹4000 per quarter cap each for Flipkart and Myntra | Effective Apr 12, 2026: lounge access discontinued. Airtel and utility cashback caps now depend on base 1% category spend; 10% partner benefit moved from Swiggy/Zomato/BigBasket cashback to Zomato/Blinkit/District value-back buckets. Base 1% applies on other eligible spends. | Fair Usage Limits: NeuCoins on UPI transactions are capped at 500 NeuCoins/month (1.5% via Tata Neu UPI, 0.5% other UPI). 8 domestic lounge visits/year (2/quarter via vouchers upon ₹50K spend in previous calendar quarter) + 4 international lounge visits via Priority Pass. 5% on Tanishq, 1.5% other jewellery. | 2% applies to eligible online spends and 1% to other eligible spends; monthly cashback caps and exclusion MCCs apply. | 10% Cashback Caps Category Capping: 10,000 Jewels Merchant Capping: 3000 Jewels Transaction level Capping: 1000 Jewels | Premium lifestyle and travel rewards. 15 Reward points per ₹100 on travel, dining, and online spends. | Earn 2 Kiwis per ₹100 spent via UPI scan and pay. 1 Kiwi = ₹0.25. | Great choice for maximizing offline spends. | Requires Fixed Deposit starting at ₹20,000. | Excellent baseline 1.5% cashback on all other eligible spends. | 5% cashback on online utility and grocery spends. | Alternative generic cashback card for everyday use. |
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which cashback credit card is best for broad online shopping?
- Cards like Amazon Pay ICICI (unlimited 5% for Prime) and HDFC Millennia (5% on top platforms up to ₹1,000/month) are among the best choices for online shopping.
- How is cashback credited to my credit card account?
- Most cashback cards automatically adjust earned rewards directly against your monthly credit card statement balance, while some (like Amazon Pay ICICI) credit to digital brand balances.
- Do cashback cards offer airport lounge access?
- Most pure cashback cards do not include airport lounge access, although hybrid cards like HDFC Millennia and Axis Ace provide spend-linked domestic lounge visits.