PhonePe, in partnership with SBI Cards, has launched 2 PhonePe SBI credit cards: the PhonePe SBI Card Select Black and the PhonePe SBI Card Purple. Let’s deep dive into the features of the PhonePe SBI Cards and see if they are worth the space in your wallet or app. NPCI’s Rupay seems to be on overdrive in launching new credit cards, just recently they had launched HSBC Rupay Cashback credit card and now these cards.
Please note that these PhonePe SBI credit cards are available in both Visa and RuPay variants. My review assumes that you apply for the PhonePe SBI Card Select Black in the Rupay variant, as only the Rupay variant works on UPI.
PhonePe SBI Credit Cards
The PhonePe SBI credit cards are launched in 2 variants. First, the PhonePe SBI Card Select Black gives 10% cashback on eligible spends on the PhonePe app and 5% cashback on online spends. Second, the PhonePe SBI Card Purple gives 3% cashback on the PhonePe app and 2% cashback on eligible online spends.
Below is a snapshot of the PhonePe SBI credit cards.
| PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK | PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| Joining Fees | 1499+GST | 499+GST |
| Annual Fees | 1499+GST | 499+GST |
| Fee Waiver | Fee waived on spending 3lks a year | Fee waived on spending 1lk a year |
| Welcome Benefits | 1500 Phonepe Giftcard | 500 Phonepe Giftcard |
| Annual Renewal Benefits | None | None |
| Milestones | 5000 Yatra voucher on spending 5lk a year | 3000 Yatra voucher on spending 3lk a year |
| Value of Reward Pts | 1RP = INR 1 | 1RP = INR 1 |
| Reward Points | - 10 RP on every 100 spent on Phonepe and Pincode app (Max 2000/month) - 5RP on every 100 spent on eligble online spends (Max 2000/month) - 1 RP on every 100 spent on all other eligible spends including UPI (Max 2000/month) - Utilities and Insurance spends outside PhonePe would accrue only 1 RP/ 100) (max 500 / month) | - 3 RP on every 100 spent on Phonepe and Pincode app (Max 1000/month) - 2RP on every 100 spent on eligble online spends (Max 1000/month) - 1 RP on every 100 spent on all other eligible spends including UPI (Max 1000/month) - Utilities and Insurance spends outside PhonePe would accrue only 1 RP/ 100) (max 250 / month) |
| Excluded Categories | Fuel, Wallet, Rent, School fees, Government spends, Digital gaming | Fuel, Wallet, Rent, School fees, Government spends, Digital gaming |
| Lounge Access | 4 complimentary domesitc lounge visits in a year (max. 1/qtr) | No lounge access |
| Fuel Surcharge | 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions of 500-4000. Capped at 250 per statement cycle | 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions of 500-3000. Capped at 100 per statement cycle |
Thoughts on the PhonePe SBI credit cards
Positives of the PhonePe SBI credit cards
10% cashback on utility bill payment
The PhonePe SBI Card Select Black gives 10% cashback on recharges, utilities, bill payments, insurance, travel on the PhonePe app and PhonePe PINCODE app.
This is the USP of the PhonePe SBI credit card. Furthermore, the capping on monthly reward points is quite generous at 2000 reward points per month. Which translates into spending 20k a month. More than enough for most users.
5% cashback on online spends
The PhonePe SBI credit card also offers 5% on most other online spends. This means that outside the PhonePe app, your online spending on popular apps/websites such as Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Myntra, Nykaa, BookMyShow, MMT, Blinkit, Zepto, etc, will give you 5% cashback. The capping here is also set at 2000/month, which means monthly spends of up to 40k are covered. Again, that’s more than enough for most users.
Monthly cap of 2000/month is separate for the 10% and 5% categories
The cashback and capping on the PhonePe SBI credit cards are quite generous. 10% for spending on the PhonePe app and 5% on other online spends is quite good. Further, the monthly cap of 2000/month is separate for both categories.
Not sure how long these features will continue on the PhonePe SBI credit cards, but make hay while the sun shines. 😊
Rupay variant gives 1% cashback on UPI spends
The Rupay variant of the PhonePe SBI credit cards gives 1% cashback on eligible UPI spends. So, this cashback credit card doubles up at the Rupay credit card too. Icing on the cake, I would say.
Annual milestone targets are quite reasonable
The PhonePe SBI Card Select Black gives a 5k Yatra voucher on spending 5lks in a year. That’s an additional 1% reward rate, over and above the 10% or 5% cashback. The annual target of 5 lakh is quite reasonable, and one should be able to achieve this without much stress, provided that the PhonePe SBI credit card is your primary credit card.
Negatives of the PhonePe SBI credit cards
Hardly any negatives
The PhonePe SBI credit cards have hardly any negatives as of now. If I have to nit-pick, I would say that they should have offered at least 2 international lounge access along with the 4 domestic lounge access.
Apart from this, I don’t think there is any drawback in the card as yet.
How to optimise the PhonePe SBI credit cards?
Bill payments on the PhonePe app
Pay all your bills and insurance payments using the PhonePe SBI credit card to get 10% cashback. Only once the monthly cap is reached, use any other credit card in your wallet for bill payments.
Amazon Pay vouchers from various websites
Use the PhonePe SBI credit card to purchase Amazon Pay vouchers from various apps/websites, including the Amazon website itself, to get 5% cashback.
Should I take the PhonePe SBI credit card?
Absolutely! This is a great credit card from SBI after a long time probably after SBI Cashback credit card. You should apply for it. The PhonePe SBI credit card is probably the best cashback credit card with generous cashback limits. If you are eligible, go for the Black variant as it gives 10%/5% cashback.
Have you applied for the PhonePe SBI credit card? How was your experience? Do share in the comments section below.
The article was published/last updated on 15th August 2025. Image courtesy: www.sbicard.com
Disclaimer
In the interest of full disclosure, Credit Cardz may earn a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the links in this post. However, opinions and views expressed here are of the author's alone and not those of the bank, credit card issuer, or anyone else and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
These cards don’t provide cashback, it gives reward points also charges for rewards redemption. Reward points do expire and most people don’t remember to redeem their rewards or have to accumulate more to mitigate the redemption fee. These reward points don’t convert to actual money like cashback.
Could you please review the Axis Horizon card? I really enjoy the Excel formulas you share on your website.
Will review it soon