Kotak Cashback+ Credit Card Review

At a Glance

Joining Fee	₹750 + GST (₹885 all-in)
Annual Fee	₹750 + GST, waived on ₹2 lakh of retail spends in the year
Best Suited For	Households that order food and groceries online and fill fuel every month
Reward Type	Cashback credited as points, 1 point = ₹1

The Kotak Cashback+ is a ₹750 card built for everyday spending. It pays 5% back on online food delivery, online groceries and online entertainment, 3% on fuel, and 0.5% on most other purchases, and every point is worth ₹1 against your statement.

The catch is a shared cap: the 5% and 3% categories together stop at 750 points a billing cycle. It comes on Visa and RuPay, and the RuPay version also earns 0.5% on UPI payments. Here is what the card really returns and who should take it.

Rewards & Benefits

Reward rate and earn structure

Spend	Cashback	Cap
Online food delivery and online groceries	5%	750 points a billing cycle across all three, then 0%
Online movie tickets and OTT subscriptions	5%
Fuel at fuel stations	3%
Other eligible spends	0.5%	No cap
UPI on the RuPay variant (any eligible category)	0.5%	No cap
Rent, B2B, utilities, insurance, education and government, wallet loads, online skill gaming, EMI	Nil	Not applicable

Three details matter. Categories are decided by the merchant category code (MCC), so an offline grocery store, a restaurant visit or a cinema box office earns only 0.5%.

Once you hit 750 points in a cycle, further spends in the 5% and 3% categories earn nothing at all, not even the 0.5% base.

And UPI payments on the RuPay card earn 0.5% even at a food or grocery app, so pay those orders by card, not UPI.

Redemption and point value

One point is ₹1, and points can only be redeemed as cashback against your statement on the Kotak Unbox platform. Redemption is free.

From 16 October 2026 you need at least 500 points to redeem, up from 100. Points expire one year after they are earned, so redeem at least every few months.

The arithmetic of the cap: 750 points is ₹15,000 of spending at 5%, or ₹25,000 at 3%. A household spending ₹9,000 on food and grocery orders plus ₹10,000 on fuel hits it exactly.

At the cap, the card returns ₹9,000 a year from its accelerated categories, plus 0.5% on everything else.

Welcome and milestone benefits

Kotak lists no welcome bonus and no milestone rewards for this card. The product page is currently promoting the card as first year free as a limited-time offer, but it does not publish the terms, so confirm the first-year fee with Kotak when you apply.

Fuel and other benefits

Benefit	Allowance
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% on transactions of ₹500 to ₹4,000, up to ₹3,500 in an anniversary year
Add-on cards	Up to 3, free; their spends count towards your cap
Airport lounge access	Not offered
Network offers	Visa or RuPay offers, depending on your variant

Fees & Charges

Charge	Amount
Joining fee	₹750 + GST, billed within 90 days of issue
Annual fee	₹750 + GST, waived on ₹2 lakh of retail spends a year
Interest	3.75% a month (45% a year)
Forex markup	3.5%
Cash advance	Not available on this card
Late payment	Nil up to ₹100 balance, then ₹100 to ₹1,300 by slab
Over-limit	₹500
Fuel fee	1% on fuel spends above ₹25,000 a statement cycle
Utility fee	1% on utility spends above ₹35,000 a statement cycle
Rent and third-party education payments	1% of the amount

GST at 18% applies on top of every fee and on interest. The ₹2 lakh waiver works out to about ₹16,700 a month, which is roughly what it takes to max out the cashback cap anyway. If you use the card as intended, the fee pays for itself.

The charge that catches people out is the 3.75% monthly interest. At 45% a year it is one of the highest rates in the market, and a single month of revolving a ₹20,000 balance costs more than a month of maximum cashback. Pay the full bill every time.

Eligibility & Documents Required

Kotak does not publish a minimum income, age band or credit score for the Cashback+ on its product page or in its Key Fact Statement.

Expect the standard checks for an entry-level card: a resident Indian adult with a steady salary or business income and a clean repayment record. Keep your PAN, Aadhaar or other address proof, and recent salary slips or income tax returns ready. Add-on cardholders must be 18 or older.

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
5% on food delivery, groceries and OTT	750-point cap shared by all bonus categories
3% back on fuel, plus surcharge waiver	0% on bonus categories once the cap is hit
1 point = ₹1, free statement redemption	3.75% monthly interest and 3.5% forex markup
Low ₹750 fee, waived at ₹2 lakh	No lounge access, points expire in a year

Kotak Cashback+ vs Competitors

Card	Annual fee	Fee waived at	Best rate and cap
Kotak Cashback+	₹750 + GST	₹2 lakh	5%, 750 points a cycle
HDFC MoneyBack+	₹500 + GST	₹50,000	2.5% at five merchants, ₹625 a month
IDFC FIRST Millennia	Nil	Lifetime free	10X points on dining and travel

MoneyBack+ is cheaper to keep, but its best rate is half of what Cashback+ pays on food and groceries. Millennia costs nothing and has zero forex markup, so it is the better pick for travel and foreign spends.

Cashback+ wins for the person whose biggest bills are food delivery apps, online grocery orders and fuel.

How to Apply

Apply from the Cashback+ page on Kotak’s website, pick the Visa or RuPay variant, enter your details and complete the KYC and income checks.

Choose RuPay if you want to pay by UPI with the card. Once the card arrives, activate it in the Kotak Mobile Banking app under the Credit Card tab, through Card Controls or Generate PIN, or simply by making a transaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Kotak Cashback+ annual fee waived?

Yes, the ₹750 + GST annual fee is waived if your retail spends in the card year reach ₹2 lakh. Rent, wallet loads and other excluded spends may not count, so track only regular purchases.

What is the maximum cashback on Kotak Cashback+?

750 points, or ₹750, per billing cycle from the 5% and 3% categories combined. The 0.5% base rate on other spends has no cap.

Does Kotak Cashback+ give cashback on UPI?

Only the RuPay variant, and only at 0.5%. That rate applies even when you pay a food or grocery app by UPI, so pay those merchants with the card itself to get 5%.

Does Kotak Cashback+ have lounge access?

No. Kotak lists no domestic or international airport lounge benefit for this card.

Can I withdraw cash with Kotak Cashback+?

No. Kotak does not allow cash withdrawals on the Cashback+, so there is no cash advance limit or fee.

Does Kotak Cashback+ earn cashback on fuel?

Yes, 3% at fuel stations, counted inside the 750-point cap. You also get the 1% surcharge waiver on fills of ₹500 to ₹4,000, but a 1% fee applies once fuel spends cross ₹25,000 in a statement cycle.

Bottom Line

Get the Kotak Cashback+ if you spend ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month on food delivery, online groceries, OTT and fuel, and you pay your bill in full.

At that level it returns up to ₹9,000 a year for a ₹750 fee that you will usually get waived.

Skip it if most of your spending is offline, on utility bills or rent, or abroad, if you travel and want lounge access, or if you ever carry a balance at 3.75% a month. A lifetime-free card or a travel card will serve you better.