CASHBACK SBI Card Review
★ 3.5 / 5
At a Glance
| Joining Fee | ₹999 + GST |
| Annual Fee | ₹999 + GST (waived on ₹2,00,000 annual spend) |
| Best Suited For | Online shopping |
| Reward Type | Direct cashback into your statement |
For six years this was the simplest card in India: 5% back on almost anything you bought online, no merchant list, no points, no redemption screen. That version of the card no longer exists. From 1 April 2026, SBI Card capped the 5% online cashback at ₹2,000 per statement cycle, capped offline 1% cashback separately at ₹2,000, and added digital gaming, tolls and government transactions to an already long exclusion list. The 5% headline survives; the ceiling behind it dropped from ₹5,000 to ₹4,000 a cycle, and the online half of that ceiling now arrives after just ₹40,000 of eligible spend. This review is about the post-devaluation card: what it still earns, what it no longer earns, and the spend level at which the ₹999 fee stops making sense.
Rewards & Benefits
Reward rate & earn structure
The card runs on two separate buckets, each with its own cap, per the revision SBI Card published for 1 April 2026:
| Spend type | Cashback | Cap per statement cycle | Spend at which you hit the cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online | 5% | ₹2,000 | ₹40,000 of eligible online spend |
| Offline (POS at merchant outlets) | 1% | ₹2,000 | ₹2,00,000 of eligible offline spend |
| Total | N/A | ₹4,000 | N/A |
The two caps do not pool. If you spend ₹1,00,000 online and nothing offline, you earn ₹2,000, not ₹4,000. The unused offline allowance cannot be borrowed. Reaching the full ₹4,000 requires roughly ₹40,000 online plus ₹2,00,000 offline in the same cycle, which is why almost no one will see it.
“Online” means a card-not-present transaction at a merchant whose category code SBI classifies as online: e-commerce, food delivery, streaming, travel portals. Whether a transaction codes as online is decided by the merchant’s MCC, not by whether you typed the card number on a website, and SBI’s notice states that MCCs are set by the card networks and can change without notice to you.
Categories that earn nothing: utilities, insurance, fuel, rent, wallet loads, school and educational services, jewellery, railways, gift/novelty/souvenir shops, quasi-cash and financial institutions, and, new from April 2026, digital gaming platforms (MCCs 7993, 7994, 5816), tolls (MCC 4784) and government-related transactions (MCCs 9222, 9311, 9402). Merchant EMI and Flexipay EMI conversions earn nothing either.
That last addition matters more than it reads. Government MCC 9311 covers tax payments, and routing advance tax or GST through this card at 5% was a large part of why the card had the reputation it did. That is finished.
Redemption options & point value
There is nothing to redeem. Cashback is credited automatically to your card account within two working days of statement generation, and SBI’s T&C booklet confirms it does not expire. So if your statement is generated on the 6th, the cashback earned during that cycle appears around the 8th, netted against your outstanding balance.
The one operational irritation, widely reported by cardholders: the statement does not show the cashback earned per transaction, only the consolidated credit. If you want to audit whether a specific merchant coded as online, you have to calculate it yourself. Cashback is computed per transaction and rounded down to the nearest rupee.
Welcome benefit
None. There is no joining bonus, no first-transaction voucher, and no bonus cashback in the first 90 days.
Milestone benefits
None. No quarterly or annual spend milestones, no vouchers. The only spend-linked benefit on this card is the ₹2,00,000 annual fee waiver.
Dining benefits
None specific to this card. Dining spends earn at the standard rate: 5% if the transaction codes as online (food delivery apps typically do), 1% if you tap at the restaurant.
Travel benefits
None. No travel insurance, no hotel or airline tie-ups, no priority services. Flight and hotel bookings made through an online travel portal earn the normal 5%, subject to the ₹2,000 cap.
Airport lounge access (domestic / international)
None, domestic or international. The card carried complimentary domestic lounge visits at launch and SBI Card withdrew them years before the 2026 devaluation. A number of comparison pages still list lounge access for this card; they are out of date. If lounge access is a requirement, this is the wrong card and SBI Card PRIME is the SBI product that carries it.
Insurance & protection covers
None bundled. No air accident cover, no purchase protection, no lost-card liability cover beyond SBI’s standard reporting-based protection available on all its cards.
Fees & Charges
All fees below are exclusive of GST. 18% GST applies on top of every fee and finance charge.
Joining & annual fee, and how to get it waived
| Joining fee | ₹999 + GST (≈ ₹1,179 all-in) |
| Renewal fee | ₹999 + GST, from year two |
| Spend-based waiver | Renewal fee reversed on ₹2,00,000 or more spent in the previous membership year |
| Add-on card fee | Nil |
₹2,00,000 a year is ₹16,667 a month across all spends. The trap is that several categories which do not earn cashback may still be excluded from the waiver calculation as well, meaning a cardholder who pays rent and utilities on the card can look like a ₹2 lakh spender and still get billed. [VERIFY: SBI does not clearly publish which categories count towards the ₹2,00,000 waiver threshold on this card.]
Break-even on the fee is straightforward: ₹1,179 of cashback needs about ₹23,600 of eligible online spend across the year, or under ₹2,000 a month. On that basis the fee is easy to justify for anyone who genuinely shops online. Cardholders also frequently report getting the renewal fee reversed by calling customer care and asking for a retention offer, not guaranteed, but worth a call before you pay.
Forex markup
3.5% + GST on international transactions. That is 4.13% all-in, and no cashback is paid on foreign-currency spends of an excluded category. This is a domestic card; use something else abroad.
Interest rate & finance charges
3.75% per month, which is 45% per annum, applied from the transaction date on any balance you carry. Interest starts from day one on cash advances with no interest-free period. Minimum Amount Due is 100% of GST, EMI, fees and finance charges plus 2% of the remaining balance, or ₹200, whichever is higher.
Fuel surcharge waiver
1% surcharge waiver at all petrol pumps in India, on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle. Note that fuel itself earns zero cashback. The waiver is a refund of the pump’s 1% surcharge, not a reward.
Cash advance & other charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount withdrawn, minimum ₹500 |
| Late payment fee | ₹400 to ₹1,300 depending on the outstanding slab |
| Overlimit fee | 2.5% of the overlimit amount, minimum ₹600 |
| Payment dishonour | 2% of payment amount, minimum ₹500 |
[SBI Card has at various points announced a 1% processing fee on wallet loads, third-party education payments and rent transactions. Confirm whether this currently applies to the CASHBACK SBI Card before publishing.]
Eligibility & Documents Required
SBI Card does not publish a card-specific income floor for this product. What is commonly required:
- Age: 21 to 70 years
- Income: approximately ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 per month for salaried applicants [VERIFY: not an SBI-published figure]
- Credit score: 750+ improves approval odds; no issuer guarantees approval at any score
- Residency: Indian resident
Documents: PAN card, Aadhaar or other address proof, latest three months’ salary slips or six months’ bank statement for salaried applicants, and ITR for the self-employed.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Flat 5% across virtually all online merchants, with no partner list to memorise | Online cashback stops at ₹2,000 a cycle, i.e. ₹40,000 of spend |
| Cashback is auto-credited within two working days of the statement; nothing to redeem | Exclusion list is long: utilities, insurance, fuel, rent, wallet, education, jewellery, railways, gaming, tolls, government |
| No merchant, brand or platform restriction on the 5% | Tax and government payments were removed from earning in April 2026 |
| ₹999 fee recovers on roughly ₹23,600 of online spend a year | No lounge access, no welcome benefit, no milestones, no insurance |
| Add-on cards are free | Statement shows no transaction-wise cashback breakdown |
| Fee waiver at ₹2,00,000 annual spend is achievable | 3.5% forex markup makes it useless internationally |
CASHBACK SBI Card vs Competitors
| CASHBACK SBI Card | Axis Bank Cashback Card | Amazon Pay ICICI Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | ₹999 + GST | ₹1,000 + GST | Nil (lifetime free) |
| Fee waiver | ₹2,00,000 spend | ₹4,00,000 spend | Not applicable |
| Online earn rate | Flat 5% | Tiered, up to 7% | 5% on Amazon (Prime), 3% (non-Prime), 2% at Amazon Pay merchants |
| Monthly cashback cap | ₹2,000 online, ₹2,000 offline, ₹4,000 total | ₹4,000 on online spends | Uncapped |
| Offline / other spends | 1% | 0.75% offline and travel, 0.5% utilities (₹100 cap) | 1% |
| Forex markup | 3.5% | 3.5% | 1.99% |
| Payout | Statement credit, automatic | Statement credit | Amazon Pay balance |
Read as a decision: below roughly ₹40,000 of eligible online spend a month, the flat 5% here beats the Axis card’s tiered structure, which only reaches its headline rate at high volume. Above that, the Axis card keeps earning where this one has stopped. If your online spending is mostly Amazon and you are a Prime member, the Amazon Pay ICICI card pays the same 5% with no cap and no fee. Axis Bank also has its own revision to the Cashback Card effective 28 August 2026, so check that card’s current terms before switching.
How to Apply
- Click Apply Now → to reach SBI Card’s application page for this specific card.
- Enter your mobile number and verify the OTP.
- Fill in personal, employment and income details, and your PAN.
- Complete KYC. Aadhaar-based video KYC is supported for most applicants.
- Upload income proof if requested.
- Track the application with the reference number SBI sends by SMS. Approved cards are typically delivered in 7 to 14 working days.
Existing SBI cardholders can also request an upgrade or a card flip to this product through the SBI Card app. If you flip from a reward-points card, redeem your accumulated points before the switch, because points do not carry across to a cashback card.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum cashback on the CASHBACK SBI Card? ₹4,000 per statement cycle, made up of a maximum ₹2,000 from 5% online cashback and a maximum ₹2,000 from 1% offline cashback. The two caps are separate; you cannot earn ₹4,000 from online spending alone.
Is the CASHBACK SBI Card annual fee waived? The ₹999 + GST renewal fee is reversed if you spent ₹2,00,000 or more in the previous membership year. The joining fee in year one is not waivable through spending.
Does the card give airport lounge access? No. Domestic and international lounge access were both withdrawn some years ago and were not restored in 2026. Pages still listing lounge visits for this card have not been updated.
Do utility bills and rent earn cashback? No. Utilities, rent, insurance, fuel, education, wallet loads, jewellery, railways, gaming, tolls and government payments are all excluded. From 1 April 2026, tax payments under government MCCs earn nothing.
Does the card earn 5% on Amazon and Flipkart? Yes, both code as online e-commerce, so eligible purchases earn 5% until the ₹2,000 monthly cap. Amazon Pay gift voucher purchases have historically earned 5% as well, but gift-card merchant codes sit on the exclusion list.
When does the cashback get credited? Within two working days of your statement generation date, directly to your card account. It appears as a credit against your outstanding balance and never expires.
What is the minimum salary for this card? SBI Card publishes no card-specific figure. Applicants in the ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 per month range are commonly approved, but income is only one input and no issuer guarantees approval.
Is it still worth it after the April 2026 devaluation? For online spends up to about ₹40,000 a month, yes. That is ₹24,000 of cashback a year for a ₹1,179 fee. Beyond that, the card stops earning and you need a second card.
Bottom Line
Get this card if your eligible online spending sits somewhere between ₹2,000 and ₹40,000 a month, you want cashback credited automatically rather than points to redeem, and you value not having to remember which merchant is a partner. In that band nothing in India is simpler, and ₹24,000 a year of statement credit for a ₹1,179 fee is a real return.
Skip this card if you spend more than ₹40,000 a month online. You will hit the cap in the first three weeks and earn nothing after, so a second card is mandatory. Skip it if your spending is concentrated in utilities, rent, insurance, fuel, education or tax payments, because every one of those earns zero here. Skip it if Amazon is most of your online spend, since the Amazon Pay ICICI card pays the same rate uncapped for free. And skip it if you travel internationally, want lounge access, or want a welcome bonus. This card offers none of the three.
The honest summary: a card that used to be a default recommendation for everyone is now a good card for a specific spending band. Work out your own monthly online figure before you pay the fee.
Fees and features are as of 17 August 2026 and change frequently. Confirm current terms on sbicard.com before applying. Card Jaano does not guarantee approval for any credit card. Interest of 3.75% per month annualises to 45% per annum. All fees are exclusive of 18% GST.
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