Credit Cards
With so many credit cards available in the market that offer benefits across multiple categories, choosing the best card in India for you can be a difficult task. To make your search for the right card easier, we have enlisted the top 10 credit cards in India offered by leading banks and card issuers below. You must compare the best credit cards in India in terms of their annual fee, features, benefits and offers and then apply for the credit card that best suits your needs.
Top 10 Credit Cards in India for 2022
| Credit Card | Annual Fee* | Best Suited For |
| Axis Bank Ace Credit Card | Rs. 499 | Cashback |
| SBI Card ELITE | Rs. 4,999 | Shopping, Travel and Movies |
| HDFC Regalia Credit Card | Rs. 2,500 | Shopping and Travel |
| Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card | Rs. 500 | Online Shopping |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card | Nil | Online Shopping |
| Citi PremierMiles | Rs. 3,000 | Air Miles |
| HDFC Millennia Credit Card | Rs. 1,000 | Cashback |
| Standard Chartered Digismart | Rs. 49 per month | Online Shopping |
| HSBC Cashback Credit Card | Rs. 750 | Cashback |
| HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege | Rs. 2,500 | Travel and Lifestyle |
*GST extra
| SBI Card | HDFC Bank | American Express |
| ICICI Bank | Axis Bank | RBL Bank |
| Standard Chartered Bank | Citi Bank | IndusInd Bank |
| HSBC Bank | Kotak Mahindra Bank | YES Bank |
Apart from offering ease of use, it is essential to have a credit card for the following reasons:
- Helps in building a good credit score
- Interest-free credit period of up to 45 days
- Hassle-free transactions both online and offline
- Comes with excellent rewards, cashback, discounts, offers, etc.
- Handy in emergency financial situations
- To make big-ticket purchases and pay later in easy EMIs
- All transactions are secure as they need OTP & PIN authentication
Cardholders can enjoy the following benefits of credit card-
Welcome Offers: Most credit cards these days come with welcome benefits in the form of gift vouchers, discounts or bonus rewards points.
Reward Points or Cash Back: Every time you make a purchase on your card, you receive reward points, air miles or direct cashback credited to your account. The accumulated reward points can be redeemed to avail gifts and merchandise whereas cashback is directly applied to your card account. Air Miles can be used to book flight tickets at discounted rates.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Almost all the cards come with this benefit under which whenever you refill your vehicle, the surcharge will be waived off provided that you spend a certain amount.
Airport Lounge Access: Some credit cards also offer a certain number of complimentary lounge visits in a year at domestic airports and international airports. Travel-centric cards and premium cards especially offer these benefits.
Insurance: Credit cards also offer insurance and cover accidents up to a certain amount. It may be an air accident coverage, lost card liability cover or an overseas hospitalization cover.
Cash Advance: You can also withdraw cash directly from an ATM using your credit card. This is quite beneficial in times of emergency when you need some urgent cash.
Add-on Cards: A number of credit cards offer you the facility to get an add-on card (also known as a supplementary card) for your family members including your spouse, siblings, children and parents. An add-on card usually comes with similar benefits as the primary card.
EMI Conversion: EMI Conversion is the most common benefit on a credit card. You can convert your big-ticket purchases to EMIs and pay over a period of a few months.
| Shopping | Travel | Fuel |
| Rewards | Entertainment | Zero Annual Fee |
| Premium | Co-Branded Cards | Secured |
Best Shopping Credit Cards
| Credit Card | Annual Fee | Key Features* |
| Axis Bank Ace | Rs. 499 | Flat 5% cashback on bill payments, DTH, and mobile recharges via Google Pay |
| Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card | Rs. 500 | 5% cashback on purchases made via Flipkart, Myntra and 2GUD |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card | NIL | 5% cashback on shopping at Amazon for Amazon Prime members and 3% for non-prime members |
| HDFC Millennia | Rs. 1,000 | 5% cashback* on Amazon, Flipkart and HDFC SmartBuy transactions |
| SBI SimplyCLICK | Rs. 499 | 10X Reward Points on all online spends |
| Standard Chartered DigiSmart | Rs. 49 per month | 20% off* on Myntra & 10% off* on Grofers and Zomato |
| HSBC Cashback Credit Card | Rs. 750 | Cashback of 5% on transactions above Rs. 1,000 on Amazon and 1.5% on all other online spends |
*T&C Apply
Best Travel Credit Cards
| Card Name | Annual Fee | Key Features* |
| Citi Premier Miles Credit Card | Rs. 3,000 | 10,000 air miles on spending Rs. 1,000 or more in the first 60 days of card issuance |
| Air India SBI Signature Credit Card | Rs. 4,999 | Complimentary Air India Frequent Flyer Program – Flying Returns and Priority Pass membership |
| Axis Vistara Signature | Rs. 3,000 | 4 Club Vistara points on every Rs.200 spent along with 3000 Club Vistara on spending Rs. 75,000 |
| SBI Card ELITE | Rs. 4,999 | Club Vistara, Priority Pass and Trident Privilege membership and domestic lounge access |
| HDFC Regalia Credit Card | Rs. 2,500 | Complimentary Priority Pass and domestic lounge access, air accident cover and 2% foreign currency conversion fee |
| MMT ICICI Signature | Joining Fee – Rs. 2,500 Annual Fee – Nil | Complimentary MMTBLACK Exclusive membership and airport and railway lounge access |
| IndusInd Legend Credit Card | Joining Fee – Rs. 9,999 Annual Fee – Nil | Priority Pass Membership, Travel Plus Program, Foreign currency mark-up fee of 1.8% and travel insurance |
| HDFC Diners Club Privilege | Rs. 2,500 | Complimentary Annual memberships of Club Marriott, Forbes, Amazon Prime, Zomato Pro, MMT BLACK and Times Prime |
| Intermiles HDFC Signature | Rs. 2,500 | InterMiles Rewards Program, Priority Pass Membership, Discount on Etihad Airways |
| IRCTC SBI Card Premier | Rs. 1,499 | Value back on train tickets, air tickets and e-catering purchases made through IRCTC |
*T&C Apply
Credit Card Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility criteria for credit cards differ not only from one issuer to another but also for different card variants offered by the same issuers. While the basic requirements like age, city of residence, source of income, credit score, etc. are likely to remain the same across card variants, the major differentiator in case of credit cards is the minimum income requirement. Depending on the type of card, its benefits and annual fee, card providers have set the income eligibility criteria for each card they offer.
Minimum Income Requirement for Top Credit Cards in India
The minimum income requirement for top credit cards is mentioned in the table below:
| Credit Card | Minimum Income Requirement |
| Axis Bank Ace Credit Card | Communicated at the time of sourcing |
| SBI Card ELITE | Communicated at the time of sourcing |
| HDFC Regalia Credit Card | Salaried: Rs. 1 lakh p.m. Self-employed: ITR>Rs. 12 lakh p.a. |
| Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card | Salaried: Rs. 15,000 p.m. Self-employed: Rs. 30,000 p.m. |
| Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card | Communicated at the time of sourcing |
| Citi PremierMiles | Rs. 20,000 p.m. |
| HDFC Millennia Credit Card | Salaried: Rs. 25,000 p.m. Self-employed: ITR>Rs. 6 lakh p.a. |
| Standard Chartered Digismart | Rs. 50,000 p.m. |
| HSBC Cashback Credit Card | Salaried: Rs. 4 lakh p.a. |
| HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege | Salaried: Rs. 70,000 p.m. Self-employed: ITR>Rs. 8.4 lakh p.a. |
Documents Required
The documentation requirement also varies from issuer to issuer. Some of the key documents required to apply for a credit card are as follows:
- Identity and Signature Proof- Passport, PAN card, Driving License, Voter ID card, Aadhaar card, employee identity card in case of government employees.
- Address Proof- Bank statement, Rent Agreement, Voter ID card, Ration card, Passport, Driving License, telephone/ electricity/ water/ credit card bill or Property tax.
- Age Proof- Voter ID card, Secondary School Certificate (class 10), birth certificate, Passport, Aadhaar Card, pension payment order or Receipt of LIC policy.
- Income proof for Salaried Individual- Latest 3 months’ salary slips, Salary account bank statement for six months.
- Income proof for Self-employed Businessmen/Professionals- Latest IT Returns with computation of income and other certified financial documents along with business continuity proof.
Note: If you have a pre-approved credit card offer from an issuer, you may not have to submit any document, especially if you already have an existing banking relationship with the issuer.