18+ Best Credit Cards in India for Beginners 2023

Top Entry level Credit cards in India

Credit cards, without a doubt, provide numerous benefits such as rewards, cashback, lounge access, unique discounts, and more. Most cards with great features have a hefty membership fee and are only available to persons with strong credit. Some cards, on the other hand, are intended for individuals who have just begun their credit adventure.

A good credit card should have a high reward rate and provide complementary benefits such as airport lounge access, golf rounds/lessons, and so on for a low or no membership cost. But that seems like a far-fetched fantasy. Card issuers cannot afford to give such a lucrative credit card, let alone at such a low membership cost. As a result, they instead provide the best credit cards with benefits in many areas, allowing consumers to select a credit card based on their spending patterns.

The greatest first credit card for you will be determined by a number of criteria, including whether you are just starting out with credit or already have some credit history, as well as considerations such as your desire to pay an annual fee and your work position. Your aim, regardless of who you are or how much money you make, should be to obtain the greatest first credit card for your specific requirements and financial situation. You want a card that will assist you in establishing and rewarding excellent credit card habits from the outset.

You can apply for an entry-level credit card if you want a card that provides high value at a reasonable charge. These cards are best suited for beginners who have just begun their professional adventure and want to acquire a solid credit score while still reaping rewards.

Lets look at the List of Some of the Best Credit Cards for Complete Beginners 2023

List of Best Credit Cards in India for Beginners in

1. Best SBI Credit Cards

SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card

SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 1 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: Get an Amazon e-voucher worth Rs. 500 as welcome benefits after paying the annual fees.
  • Best Suited For: Get 10X Reward Points on online spends with exclusive partners: Apollo24X7, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, Eazydiner and Netmeds. Get 5X Reward Points on all other online spends
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: e-voucher worth Rs.2,000 on annual online spends of Rs.1 Lakh | e-voucher worth Rs.2,000 on annual online spends of Rs.2 Lakhs
  • Lounge Access: NIL

SBI SimplySAVE Credit Card

SBI SimplySAVE Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 1 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: Earn 2,000 bonus reward points by spending Rs.2,000 or more within the first 60 days of card issuance.
  • Best Suited For: Get 10 Reward Points per Rs 150 spent on Dining, Movies, Departmental Stores and Grocery Spends and 1 Reward Point all other spends
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

CASHBACK SBI Card

CASHBACK SBI Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 999 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 999 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 2 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: Earn 2,000 bonus reward points by spending Rs.2,000 or more within the first 60 days of card issuance.
  • Best Suited For: 5% Cashback on online spends and 1% cashback only on offline transactions
  • Reward Type: Cashback
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 1 per quarter

2. Best HDFC Bank Credit Cards

HDFC Millennia Credit Card

HDFC Millennia Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 1000 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 1000 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 1 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: 1000 CashPoints as a Welcome Benefit.
  • Best Suited For: Up to 5% cashback on selected categories and 1% cashback on all spends
  • Reward Type: Cashback
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 2 per quarter

HDFC MoneyBack Credit Card

HDFC MoneyBack Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 50,000 in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: 500 Cash Points (applicable only on payment of membership fee)
  • Best Suited For: 4 reward points per Rs 150 spent online. 4 reward points for all other spends
  • Reward Type: Cashback + Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: Spend Rs 50,000 in a calendar quarter to get a gift coucher worth Rs 500.
  • Lounge Access: N/A

3. Best ICICI Bank Credit Cards

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: NIL
  • Annual Fee: NIL
  • Welcome Benefits: Weclome rewards worth Rs. 2200
  • Best Suited For: 5% cashback on Amazon Shopping spends. 2% Cahback on Bill payments. 1% cashback on all other spends
  • Reward Type: Cashback
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card

ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: NIL
  • Annual Fee: NIL
  • Welcome Benefits: N/A
  • Best Suited For: 1 reward point per Rs. 100 spent on utilities and insurance. 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on retail purchases (except fuel).
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

4. Best Axis Bank Credit Cards

Axis Bank MY Zone Credit Card

Axis Bank MY Zone Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF or Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: LTF or Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes (1st Year Rs 500.Waived on spending 5,000 within 45 days)
  • Welcome Benefits: Complimentary SonyLiv Premium annual subscription worth Rs. 999
  • Best Suited For: 4 EDGE Points for every Rs 200 spent with the card (reward rate of 0.4%). 40% discount on Swiggy up to Rs. 120 per order (minimum order value of Rs. 200 required). Buy One Get One offer on movie ticket bookings via Paytm movies.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 1 per quarter

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF or Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes
  • Annual Fee: LTF or Rs. 500 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 2 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: Rs. 500 - 1000 Flipkart Voucher on Joining. Rs. 1100 worth of joining and activation benefits from Flipkart, Swiggy and Myntra
  • Best Suited For: 5% cashback on Flipkart and Myntra. 4% cashback on Swiggy, Cleartrip, Cure.fit, PVR, UBER. 1.5% cashback on other categories.
  • Reward Type: Cashback
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 1 per quarter

Axis Bank ACE Credit Card

Axis Bank ACE Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF or Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes (Waived on spends of Rs.10000 within 45 days of Card issuance)
  • Annual Fee: LTF or Rs. 499 + Applicable Taxes (Annual fee reversal on spending Rs. 2 lakh in previous year)
  • Welcome Benefits: Rs. 500 - 1000 Flipkart Voucher on Joining. Rs. 1100 worth of joining and activation benefits from Flipkart, Swiggy and Myntra
  • Best Suited For: Get a Cashback of 5% on bill payment on Google Pay. Flat Cashback of 4% on Swiggy and Zomato. Cashback of 2% on all other spendings
  • Reward Type: Cashback
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 1 per quarter

5. Best Kotak Mahindra Bank Credit Cards

Kotak Bank League Platinum Credit Card

Kotak Bank League Platinum Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: Get 5,000 Rewards points worth Rs.500/- on joining
  • Best Suited For: Enjoy 8 Reward Points on spends done against every Rs.150/- spent.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: Spend Rs. 1,25,000 every 6 months and get 4 free PVR tickets or 10000 reward points
  • Lounge Access: N/A

Kotak Mojo Platinum Credit Card

Kotak Mojo Platinum Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 1,000 (Get Joining Fees waiver for Rs. 30,000 spent in the first 90 days)
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 1,000 (Get Annual Fees waiver for Rs. 1,00,000 spent with your Credit card)
  • Welcome Benefits: N/A
  • Best Suited For: Get 1 Mojo Point on every Rs. 100 you spend. Get 2.5x Mojo Points on online spends and 5x Mojo Points on KayMall spends.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: Every quarter, customers who spend Rs. 75,000 or more will earn 2500 Bonus Reward Points.
  • Lounge Access: 2 complimentary domestic lounge access every quarter.

6. Best Bank of Baroda Credit Cards

Bank of Baroda Easy Credit Card

Bank of Baroda Easy Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: N/A
  • Best Suited For: 5 Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on Departmental stores, Movie spends. 1 reward point for every Rs. 100 spent on other categories. 0.5 reward point for every Rs. 100 spent on Select MCCs.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

7. Best AU Bank Credit Card

AU Bank LIT Credit Card

AU Bank LIT Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: N/A
  • Best Suited For: 1 Reward Point for every Rs. 100 spent on retail purchases with the card, 10X or 5X accelerated Reward Points (For Specific Feature), and Additional cashbacks (For Specific Feature).
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: 4 complimentary lounge access per quarter

AU Bank Altura Credit Card

AU Bank LIT Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: Rs. 199 + applicable taxes (Fee waiver for the first year if you spend Rs.10,000 on retail within 90 days.)
  • Annual Fee: Rs. 199 + applicable taxes (Fee waiver for the second year and beyond - Rs. 40,000 in retail spending in the preceding card anniversary year)
  • Welcome Benefits: 5% cashback on minimum retail purchases of INR 2,500 made during the first 60 days of card activation. (The maximum cashback available every statement cycle is INR 150.)
  • Best Suited For: Cashback of 2% on all retail purchases made at grocery shops, department stores, and utility bill payments. All other retail purchases get 1% cashback*.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: Get an extra INR 50 cashback after spending a minimum of INR 10,000 on retail in each statement cycle.
  • Lounge Access: 2 complimentary trips to Indian train lounges each quarter.

8. Best IndusInd Bank Credit Card

IndusInd Legend Credit Card

IndusInd Legend Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: Eexclusive welcome benefits, including gift vouchers from Oberoi hotels, Luxe, Montblanc, Post Card Hotels, and various shopping brands.
  • Best Suited For: 1 Reward Point per Rs. 100 spends on weekdays and 2 Reward Points for every Rs. 100 you spend on weekends. Buy 1 get 1 free (BOGO) with up to 3 complimentary movie tickets every month.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: 4000 bonus Reward Points under the milestone benefits
  • Lounge Access: 2 complimentary domestic lounge access every quarter

9. Best IDFC Bank Credit Card

IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Card

IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: 5% cashback on initial EMI expenditure up to Rs. 1000 and extra Rs. 500 welcome gift vouchers on spending Rs. 15,000 within 90 days of card activation
  • Best Suited For: 3 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spent offline, 6 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spent online, and 10 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spent beyond Rs. 20,000
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

10. Best HSBC Bank Credit Card

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: Amazon voucher worth Rs. 500, 3 free of charge lounge access/3 meal vouchers, 50% discount (up to Rs.100) on the first Google Pay purchase, and 10% cashback (up to Rs. 2,000).
  • Best Suited For: Cardholders will receive 2 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spend on this credit card. On Saturdays, BookMyShow offers a "Buy 1 Get 1" deal on movie tickets.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: N/A

11. Best Federal Bank Credit Card

Scapia Federal Bank Credit Card

Scapia Federal Bank Credit Card Review
  • Joining Fee: LTF
  • Annual Fee: LTF
  • Welcome Benefits: N/A
  • Best Suited For: 10% Scapia coins on every eligible online and offline spend. 20% Scapia coins on travel bookings done on the Scapia App. Zero forex markup on all international transactions.
  • Reward Type: Reward Points
  • Milestone Rewards: N/A
  • Lounge Access: Unlimited domestic lounge access on a minimum spend of ₹5k.

How do you compare and select the best credit card?

Before applying for a new credit card, you should have a list of criteria in mind. The requirements for each individual may fluctuate according on their needs, income, financial habits, and, most significantly, the purpose for applying for the card.

Welcome Benefits

Many credit cards provide extra benefits to cardholders when they join the card. These additional rewards are referred to as welcome benefits or joining benefits. These welcome benefits might take the shape of Bonus Reward Points/cashback, free of charge membership in loyalty programs and/or subscription-based services, complimentary airplane ticket(s), or anything else.

Reward Type

When applying for a new credit card, this is the first and most apparent item to check for. You must understand if a credit card offers cashback (which is then applied to your card's statement balance) or rewards you with Reward Points. Another consideration in the latter instance is the redemption of Reward Points.

  • Reward Points: Reward Points are essentially meant to encourage you to use your credit card more frequently. When you reach a particular number of points, you are offered a prize or certain privileges. These advantages are frequently in the form of products or cash.
  • Cashback: At the end of the statement cycle, the cashback earned on cashback-based credit cards is generally immediately adjusted against the card's owing balance. There may be a minimum amount of cashback required before it may be applied to the card's balance outstanding.

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