The verdict
The absolute benchmark cashback card in India. If you spend up to ₹1,00,000 online per month across Amazon, Flipkart, food delivery, and flight tickets, this card gives you a flat 5% cashback auto-credited to your account. No points, no catalog, no conversion fees.
Savings estimate unavailable until current fee, waiver, merchant exclusions and combined cashback limits receive claim-level review.
If your major expenses are offline retail, school fees, rent, fuel, utilities, and jewelry, this card returns 0%, and missing the ₹2 Lakh threshold means paying the ₹999 fee with low rewards.
✓What works
- +5% cashback on eligible online purchases, subject to issuer MCC exclusions and the revised cap.
- +Cashback is auto-credited to your statement within 2 days of cycle generation — zero redemption friction.
- +Annual fee of ₹999 reversed on reasonable ₹2 Lakh annual spend.
- +1% flat cashback on general offline retail stores.
✕What doesn't
- −₹2,000 online and ₹2,000 offline cashback sublimits per statement cycle; ₹4,000 combined maximum from 1 April 2026.
- −No domestic or international airport lounge access.
- −Extensive exclusions: utilities, insurance, education, fuel, rent, wallet, and EMIs earn 0%.
- −Joining fee of ₹999 + GST charged in first year (no welcome bonus).
What it earns
Direct statement cashback auto-credited within 2 business days of statement date.
| Category | Rate | Monthly Cap | Per ₹1L spent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Shopping & E-Commerce | 5.0% | ₹2,000 / statement cycle | Up to ₹2,000 Cashback (online sublimit) |
| Offline Retail Transactions | 1.0% | ₹2,000 / statement cycle | ₹1,000 Cashback |
| Utilities, Insurance & Education | 0% | Excluded | ₹0 |
| Rent & Fuel | 0% | Excluded | ₹0 |
Effective 1 April 2026, online cashback is capped at ₹2,000 and offline cashback at ₹2,000 per statement cycle, with a ₹4,000 combined maximum. Exclusions apply.
Accelerated earn
CASHBACK SBI Card earns 5% directly on all online merchants without requiring specialized shopping portals.
Redemption options
No manual redemption process. Cashback is automatically posted as a statement credit balance.
| Redemption Channel | Value Per Point | Minimum | Ceiling / Limits | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Statement Credit (Cashback)BEST VALUE | ₹1.00 per ₹1.00 earned | ₹0 (Auto-credited) | ₹4,000 combined / cycle | Nil |
Reward Scope: Inclusions & Exclusions
✓Eligible Spends (Inclusions)
- +All online e-commerce transactions on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, Ajio, etc.
- +Food delivery and quick-commerce orders (Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart).
- +Flight and train ticket bookings made directly on airline/travel portals.
- +Offline physical retail purchases at POS card terminals (1% cashback).
- +1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000 (max ₹100/cycle).
✕Excluded Spends & Fee Traps
- −Rent payments via third-party apps.
- −Wallet loads and prepaid card top-ups.
- −Utility bill payments (electricity, water, piped gas).
- −Insurance premium payments and school/college education fees.
- −Jewellery merchant transactions and railway counter purchases.
- −EMI conversions and cash advance withdrawals.
Fee Schedule & Waiver Criteria
| Fee Component | Amount / Rate |
|---|---|
| Joining Fee | ₹999 + GST |
| Annual Renewal Fee | ₹999 + GST (Waived at ₹2 Lakh spend) |
| Forex Markup | 3.5% + GST |
| Finance Charges (Revolving Interest) | 3.75% / month (52.86% / year) |
| Fuel Surcharge Refund | 1% on ₹500–₹3,000 (max ₹100 / cycle) |
| Card Replacement | ₹100 + GST |
Eligibility & Approval Criteria
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Age | 21–65 years |
| Salaried Income | ₹25,000+ monthly net salary |
| Self-Employed Income | ITR above ₹3.6 Lakhs per annum |
| CIBIL Score | 730+ recommended |
Policy Changes & Devaluation History
3 RecordsIndian Credit Card Devaluation Tracker 2026 — Full Timeline with Official Sources
Every reward cut, fee hike, and lounge access change across HDFC, SBI, Axis, ICICI, IDFC, and more — January to June 2026. Sourced to official bank notices.
Learn the Mechanics: Five Terms That Decide If a Credit Card Is Worth Its Fee
Master the 5 fundamental mechanics of Indian credit cards: fee waiver thresholds, monthly reward caps, effective return ROI, excluded MCC categories, and devaluation cycles.
SBI Cashback Card Cap Restructure 2026: The ₹4,000 Split Ceiling & Net Loss
SBI Card restructured the Cashback Card's monthly ₹5,000 cap into a ₹4,000 ceiling. For online shoppers spending >₹1 Lakh/month, here is the exact annual loss and alternative playbook.
SBI Card Caps Reward-Point Statement Credit at 60,000 Points/Month + Forces 4,000-Point Redemption Multiples (All Eligible SBI Cards)
Effective 1 April 2026, SBI Card applied a 60,000 Reward Points per month cap on statement-credit redemptions and restricted redemptions to multiples of 4,000 Points. The revision applies to all eligible SBI credit cards except Air India SBI Signature Card, PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE, and PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK (per the official customer-notices page).
SBI Cashback Cap Restructured — Monthly Ceiling Cut 20% + New Exclusions
Monthly cashback cap reduced from ₹5,000 to ₹4,000. Online 5% capped at ₹2,000/month, offline 1% capped at ₹2,000/month. Gaming, tolls, and government payments newly excluded.
Lounge access removed and merchant exclusions added (utilities, insurance, education)
Lounge removed
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the cashback get credited?
Is the 5% cashback valid on flight tickets booked online?
Editorial Deep-Dive Analysis
Comprehensive Overview: CASHBACK SBI Card
The CASHBACK SBI Card is India’s premier universal cashback credit card, engineered on the Visa platform to deliver straightforward, no-nonsense financial returns on digital commerce. Priced at an annual membership fee of ₹999 + GST, the renewal fee is 100% waived upon achieving ₹2,00,000 in qualifying retail spends during the previous card anniversary year.
The card fundamentally redefined Indian cashback banking by eliminating the need to track complex reward catalogs, redemption fees, or merchant-specific shopping portals: it earns an unrestricted 5% cashback on virtually all eligible online shopping transactions and 1% cashback on offline retail swipes, with accumulated earnings credited automatically against your card statement within two working days of statement generation.
Key Privileges and Practical Everyday Benefits
- Universal 5% Online Cashback: Earn a flat 5% cashback across all major e-commerce platforms—including Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Nykaa, and direct airline booking websites—without portal routing.
- Automated Statement Credit: Zero redemption fees (saving standard ₹99 + GST catalog charges), zero point expiry, and zero manual claims; cashback is automatically calculated and credited directly against your card bill within 2 business days of statement generation.
- 1% Offline Retail Cashback: Earn 1% cashback on all eligible point-of-sale physical swipes and offline merchant transactions.
- 1% Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Save 1% fuel surcharge on all petrol pump transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000 (maximum waiver of ₹100 per statement cycle).
- Annual Spend Fee Waiver: The ₹999 annual renewal fee is completely reversed upon spending ₹2,00,000 or more in retail transactions during the previous anniversary year.
Important Terms and Spend Conditions to Keep in Mind
- April 2026 Revised Statement Caps: Online cashback is capped strictly at ₹2,000 per statement cycle (corresponding to ₹40,000 in monthly online spend), offline cashback is capped at ₹2,000 per cycle, and total combined monthly cashback is capped at ₹4,000 per statement cycle.
- Extensive Merchant Exclusions: Spends on rent payments, utilities (electricity, water, gas), school/college education fees, insurance premiums, digital wallet loads, fuel, jewelry, tolls, digital gaming, and government transactions earn zero cashback.
- Airport Lounges Discontinued: Domestic and international airport lounge access privileges have been permanently removed from this card.
- Revolving Interest Rate (APR): Unpaid statement balances attract finance charges of 3.75% per month (52.86% per annum).
- Foreign Currency Markup: Overseas purchases and foreign currency online checkouts carry a standard 3.5% + GST forex markup.
Who Benefits Most
- Heavy E-Commerce Shoppers: Cardholders spending ₹15,000 to ₹40,000 monthly across diversified online stores who want immediate, maximum cash valueback.
- Food Delivery & Quick-Commerce Regulars: Users frequently ordering meals and groceries on Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, and Zepto.
- Cashback Purists: Consumers who dislike managing reward point expiration dates, airline mile conversions, or paying catalog redemption fees.
- SBI Card — CASHBACK SBI Card official schedule of charges
- SBI Card — Cashback terms and conditions schedule
- https://www.sbicard.com/en/personal/credit-cards/cashback-sbi-card.html
- https://www.sbicard.com/sbi-card-en/assets/docs/pdf/cashback-revised.pdf
Independent Editorial & Statutory Disclaimers
Institutional Transparency & Nominative Fair Use Statement
CredSutra operates as an independent credit card discovery and consumer intelligence engine. CredSutra is NOT a bank, Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), Direct Selling Agent (DSA), or Lending Service Provider (LSP).