Low annual fees and good value: 5 cards that top the list

Credit cards with low annual fee are suitable for beginners who wish to get decent value-back without paying high charges. Users can avail benefits in the form of cashback, reward points, discount or co-branded benefits with popular merchants. Most of these cards also offer annual fee waiver on reaching certain spending milestones. To help users make the right choice, We Have compiled some of the best low annual fee credit cards offering benefits across different categories like shopping, fuel, travel and more.

Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip Credit Card offers a flat 20 percent and 10 percent instant discount on hotel and flight bookings, respectively at EaseMyTrip website and app. The cardholder gets Rs 125 off on bus ticket bookings. It also offers 10X rewards on every Rs 100 spent for booking tickets at standalone hotel and airline websites, apps or outlets. It offers one complimentary domestic lounge access per quarter and two international lounge access per year. The annual fee is Rs 350 on this card.

BPCL SBI Credit Card offers 13X reward points equivalent to 4.25 percent fuel surcharge waiver at BPCL petrol pumps. This card also offers 5X reward points on every Rs 100 spent at groceries, departmental stores, movies and dining. The annual fee is Rs 499 on this credit card

Axis Bank Ace Credit Card offers 5 percent cashback on utility bill payments done via Google Pay. It also offers 4 percent cashback on Swiggy, Zomato and Ola, 2 percent flat cashback on all other spends. Besides cashback on spending, during the year a cardholder gets 4 domestic lounge access and up to 20 percent off at 4000+ partner restaurants in India. The annual fee is Rs 499 on this credit card.

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card offers welcome benefits worth Rs 1,100. The customers get 5 percent cashback while shopping on Flipkart and Myntra and 4 percent cashback on preferred merchants. Besides cashback on spending, during the year a cardholder gets four domestic lounge access and up to 20 percent off on dining at partner restaurants in India. The annual fee is Rs 500 on this credit card.

HDFC Moneyback+ Credit Card offers 10X CashPoints on Flipkart, Amazon, BigBasket, Reliance Smart Super Store and Swiggy, 5X CashPoints on EMI spends at merchant locations and two CashPoints per Rs 150 spent across other categories. You can use CashPoints to avail statement credit or benefits across travel or rewards catalogue items. The user gets Rs 500 gift voucher on spending Rs 50,000 in a quarter. The annual fee is Rs 500 for this card.

Have a disciplined approach to your credit behaviour. It is critical that you use your credit card smartly and responsibly. Since credit cards offer a significant interest-free period, there may be a tendency to overspend in multiple categories while shopping from partnered merchants. If you spend more than you can repay and cannot pay your credit card bill timely, you will incur hefty interest charges ranging from 28 to 49 percent p.a. along with late payment fees.

We have shortlisted the credit cards based on the low annual fees and offering benefits across multiple categories. All credit card information is sourced and updated as of February 15, 2023.