Doctor’s SBI Card (IMA) Review
Updated 31 August 2026 · By Card Jaano. Fees and features are as listed on SBI Card’s own product page on this date. Check the issuer’s site before you apply.
At a Glance
| Joining Fee | ₹1,499 + GST (₹1,769 all-in) |
| Annual Fee | ₹1,499 + GST, reversed on annual spends of ₹2 lakh |
| Best Suited For | Practising doctors who want professional indemnity cover bundled with a credit card |
| Reward Type | SBI Reward Points, 4 points equal ₹1 |
Most co-branded cards give you a discount at one retailer. This one gives you ₹20 lakh of professional indemnity insurance, which is a genuinely unusual thing to find attached to a credit card.
Issued with the Indian Medical Association, the Doctor’s SBI Card is built around a single risk that every practising doctor carries and no ordinary card touches.
The rewards around it are modest and the fee is ₹1,499, but the fee reverses at ₹2 lakh of annual spend. SBI no longer offers the card for online application, so this review is written mainly for existing holders and for doctors approaching IMA or SBI Card directly.
Rewards & Benefits
Reward rate and earn structure
| Spend category | Earn rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Medical supplies, travel bookings, international spends | 5 Reward Points per ₹100 | None published |
| All spends on Doctor’s Day, 1 July | 5 Reward Points per ₹100 | None published |
| Everything else | 1 Reward Point per ₹100 | None published |
The accelerated categories are chosen with unusual care. Medical supplies is where a practising doctor’s business spending actually goes, and it is a category almost no other Indian card recognises at all.
The one day a year bonus on 1 July is a nice touch rather than a real benefit, since you would have to concentrate a year of purchases into a single date to exploit it.
Redemption and what a point is worth
Four Reward Points equal ₹1, so the base rate of 1 point per ₹100 is worth 0.25% back. The 5X categories earn 5 points per ₹100, which is 1.25%.
Points can be used to pay down your card outstanding directly, which is the cleanest option and the one where the 4 points to ₹1 rate holds firm, or redeemed against the SBI Card reward catalogue.
On ₹2 lakh of ordinary annual spend you would earn 2,000 points, worth ₹500. Put that same ₹2 lakh through medical supplies and you earn 10,000 points, worth ₹2,500.
Welcome and milestone benefits
| Benefit | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Yatra.com e-gift voucher worth ₹1,500 | On joining |
| Renewal fee reversal | ₹2,00,000 annual spend |
| E-gift voucher worth ₹5,000 from Yatra.com, Bata or Shoppers Stop | ₹5,00,000 annual spend |
The ₹1,500 welcome voucher covers most of the ₹1,769 you paid to join. The ₹2 lakh reversal threshold is about ₹16,700 a month, which a practising doctor routing clinic supplies through the card will clear without trying.
Indemnity cover and lounge access
| Cover | Amount |
|---|---|
| Professional indemnity insurance | ₹20,00,000 |
| Deductible on the sum insured | 0% |
| Legal and defence costs, out of court settlements, court awards | Reimbursed |
This is the reason the card exists. Standalone indemnity policies for doctors are a separate annual purchase, and here it comes attached to a card whose fee can be reversed entirely.
Read the policy exclusions on SBI’s linked document before you treat it as your only cover, because a bundled policy rarely matches a dedicated one clause for clause.
| Lounge type | Visits per year | Quarterly limit |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic airport lounges | 4 | 1 per quarter |
| International, Priority Pass | 4 | 2 per quarter |
Priority Pass membership is worth $99 and gives access to more than 1,000 lounges worldwide. Once your four free international visits are used, Priority Pass charges $27 plus taxes per visit.
Fees & Charges
| Joining fee | ₹1,499 + GST |
| All-in first year cost | ₹1,769 |
| Renewal fee, per annum | ₹1,499 + GST from the second year |
| Spend needed for fee reversal | ₹2,00,000 in the card year |
| Add-on card fee, per annum | Nil |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1% on transactions of ₹500 to ₹4,000, maximum ₹250 per statement cycle |
GST of 18% applies on top of the stated fee, so the real cost is ₹1,769 in any year you do not clear the reversal threshold.
Hitting ₹2 lakh means averaging ₹16,700 a month. If your clinic consumables, travel bookings and international spends run through this card, that is a low bar, and the ₹1,500 Yatra voucher already offsets most of year one.
The charge that catches people out is the fuel surcharge cap. The 1% waiver applies only between ₹500 and ₹4,000, so a ₹4,500 tank refill earns you nothing back, and the monthly waiver stops at ₹250 whatever you spend. Interest rates, forex markup and cash advance fees are set out in SBI Card’s Most Important Terms and Conditions for this product.
Eligibility & Documents Required
The card is issued in association with the Indian Medical Association and is aimed at practising doctors.
SBI does not publish an income floor, an age band or a credit score cut-off for it, and it is not open for online application, so there is no live eligibility form.
Expect to show proof of medical registration alongside the standard set: PAN, proof of identity, proof of current address, and recent income proof, which for most doctors means the last two years of income tax returns rather than salary slips.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ₹20 lakh professional indemnity cover with 0% deductible | Base earn rate of 0.25% is poor |
| Fee reverses entirely at ₹2 lakh annual spend | Not open to new online applications |
| 5X points on medical supplies, a category no rival recognises | Fuel waiver capped at ₹250 per statement cycle |
| Eight lounge visits a year plus Priority Pass membership | Useless to anyone outside the medical profession |
Doctor’s SBI Card vs Competitors
| Card | Annual fee | Standout benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor’s SBI Card (IMA) | ₹1,499, reversed at ₹2 lakh | ₹20 lakh indemnity cover |
| Apollo SBI Card SELECT | Charged annually | Healthcare spending rewards |
| SBI Card PULSE | Charged annually | Fitness and health subscriptions |
The Apollo SBI Card SELECT and SBI Card PULSE both sit in health, but they reward you as a patient.
This card treats you as a practitioner, and the indemnity cover is not something either rival attempts. If you want raw rewards rather than professional cover, the SBI Card PRIME earns far more on everyday spending.
How to Apply
SBI Card lists this product for information but does not offer it for online application, and its page shows a benefits link rather than an apply link.
Doctors interested in it should approach the Indian Medical Association or an SBI Card branch directly and ask whether it is still being issued to IMA members. Existing holders need do nothing, and the terms above continue to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Doctor’s SBI Card annual fee waived?
It is reversed, not waived up front. Spend ₹2,00,000 in a card year and SBI reverses the ₹1,499 + GST renewal fee for that year. Below that threshold you pay ₹1,769 all in.
How much indemnity cover does the card give?
₹20 lakh, with no deductible on the sum insured. It reimburses legal and defence costs, out of court settlement expenses and court awards. Check SBI’s linked policy document for the exclusions.
How many lounge visits does the Doctor’s SBI Card give?
Four domestic visits a year, capped at one per quarter, and four international Priority Pass visits a year, capped at two per quarter. Beyond those, Priority Pass charges $27 plus taxes per visit.
What are Reward Points worth on this card?
Four Reward Points equal ₹1. The base rate of 1 point per ₹100 is therefore 0.25% back, and the 5X categories return 1.25%.
Which spends earn 5X Reward Points?
Medical supplies, travel bookings and international spends, plus every category on Doctor’s Day, 1 July. SBI publishes no monthly cap on these.
Do I need to be an IMA member to get this card?
The card is issued in association with the Indian Medical Association and aimed at practising doctors. Since it is no longer available online, approach IMA or SBI Card directly to ask about current issuance.
Bottom Line
If you are a practising doctor who does not already carry professional indemnity insurance, this card is worth holding for that cover alone. Route your clinic supplies through it, clear ₹2 lakh a year, and the fee disappears while the ₹20 lakh cover and eight lounge visits stay. Very few Indian credit cards solve a professional problem rather than a shopping one.
Skip it if you are not a doctor, because every benefit that makes it interesting is tied to the profession and the leftover card earns a weak 0.25%. Skip it too if you already hold a proper standalone indemnity policy, since a bundled cover is unlikely to match it clause for clause, and at that point you are paying ₹1,769 for four domestic lounge visits and a quarter of a percent back.