IDFC FIRST Millennia vs SBI Cashback 2026: Free Card or 5% Online?

SBI Cashback pays far more than IDFC FIRST Millennia if a good part of your spending is online, because its flat 5% on e-commerce is a much higher rate than anything Millennia offers. Millennia is a lifetime free card that's better on forex, interest rates and railway lounge visits, but its reward rates are thin: 0.375% base and 1.25% on dining and travel. If you rarely shop online, the gap closes. If you do, Millennia is the one that loses.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	IDFC FIRST Millennia	SBI Cashback
Network	Visa	Visa
Joining fee	₹0	₹999
Annual fee	₹0	₹999
Fee waiver spend	Lifetime free	₹2,00,000/year
Base reward rate	0.375%	1% (offline)
Online shopping	Base rate	5% (capped ₹2,000/month)
Dining and travel	1.25%	Base rate
Utilities	0.125%	Base rate
Reward type	Points, 25 paise each	Cashback to statement
Forex markup	0%	3.5%
Lounge	4 railway visits a quarter	None
APR	8.52% to 46.2%	42%
Min monthly income	₹25,000	₹25,000
Min credit score	700	700

All figures are from BestCard's latest card data, checked on 24 October 2026. Rewards and benefits change often, so confirm current terms with IDFC FIRST Bank and SBI Card before applying.

How the rewards work

IDFC FIRST Millennia

IDFC FIRST Millennia earns 1.25% on dining and travel, 0.375% on everything else and just 0.125% on utilities. Points are worth 25 paise, and cashing them out through the IDFC portal costs ₹99 plus GST per request. Points stay valid for two years. Welcome perks include a voucher worth up to ₹500 on eligible spends within 30 days and 5% cashback (up to ₹1,000) on your first EMI transaction. Other extras: up to 20% off dining at 1,500+ partner restaurants, 25% off movie tickets (up to ₹100) once a month via the District app, a 1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at ₹200 a month, and ₹2 lakh personal accident cover.

SBI Cashback

SBI Cashback pays 5% on all online spending, capped at ₹2,000 of cashback a month, and 1% on offline spending. Cashback is credited automatically to your statement with no redemption fee. Fuel purchases are excluded from cashback earning. The 1% fuel surcharge waiver applies to transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle.

Worked example 1: ₹25,000 a month

Split: ₹10,000 online shopping, ₹4,000 dining, ₹3,000 utilities, ₹8,000 other offline spend. Annual spend ₹3 lakh. We treat dining as offline for SBI Cashback.

IDFC FIRST Millennia

• Online shopping: 0.375% × ₹10,000 = ₹37.50
• Dining: 1.25% × ₹4,000 = ₹50
• Utilities: 0.125% × ₹3,000 = ₹3.75
• Other: 0.375% × ₹8,000 = ₹30
• Total: ₹121.25 a month, ₹1,455 a year
• Fee: ₹0

SBI Cashback

• Online shopping: 5% × ₹10,000 = ₹500
• Dining, utilities and other offline: 1% × ₹15,000 = ₹150
• Total: ₹650 a month, ₹7,800 a year
• ₹3 lakh clears the ₹2 lakh waiver, so no fee

SBI Cashback earns about ₹6,350 a year more.

Worked example 2: ₹60,000 a month

Split: ₹45,000 online shopping, ₹5,000 dining, ₹10,000 other offline. Annual spend ₹7.2 lakh.

IDFC FIRST Millennia

• Online shopping: 0.375% × ₹45,000 = ₹168.75
• Dining: 1.25% × ₹5,000 = ₹62.50
• Other: 0.375% × ₹10,000 = ₹37.50
• Total: ₹268.75 a month, ₹3,225 a year

SBI Cashback

• Online shopping: 5% × ₹45,000 = ₹2,250, capped at ₹2,000
• If the ₹5,000 above the cap earns the 1% offline rate, add ₹50
• Dining and other offline: 1% × ₹15,000 = ₹150
• Total: ₹2,150 to ₹2,200 a month, ₹25,800 to ₹26,400 a year
• Fee waived

SBI Cashback leads by roughly ₹22,600 to ₹23,200 a year. The cap bites above ₹40,000 of online spend a month, so nobody should expect more than ₹24,000 a year from the 5% alone.

Forex, lounges and everyday perks

This is where Millennia gets its points. Its forex markup is 0% against SBI Cashback's 3.5%, so on ₹1 lakh spent abroad you save ₹3,500 before GST. The catch is that from 26 October 2026, Millennia stops earning reward points on international spends, so you save on the markup but earn nothing. Millennia also lists 4 railway lounge visits a quarter, unlocked by ₹20,000 of spend in the current calendar month, plus dining and movie discounts. SBI Cashback has no lounge access or lifestyle benefits listed. Read our forex markup guide for how the 3.5% adds up, and our explainer on how credit card cashback actually works for the mechanics behind a card like SBI Cashback.

On borrowing costs, Millennia's APR starts at 8.52% and can reach 46.2%, while SBI Cashback is flat at 42%. If you ever carry a balance, Millennia can be cheaper, though neither card is a good place to borrow.

Fees and waivers

Millennia is lifetime free. SBI Cashback's ₹999 is waived on ₹2 lakh of annual spend, about ₹16,700 a month. Below that, take ₹999 off its earnings. Even then, at ₹10,000 of online spend a month SBI Cashback earns ₹6,000 a year from the 5% alone, well above the fee. Our annual fee waiver guide explains how reversals work.

Who should pick which

Choose IDFC FIRST Millennia if:

• You rarely shop online and want a card with no fee to manage
• You travel abroad and want a 0% forex markup
• You'd use railway lounges and dining or movie discounts
• Interest cost matters to you more than rewards

Choose SBI Cashback if:

• Online shopping is a big share of your spending
• You want cashback credited automatically, with no points to track
• You can reach ₹2 lakh of annual spend, or earn enough to cover ₹999
• You don't plan to use it abroad

Verdict

For rewards, SBI Cashback is the clear winner for anyone who spends online. Millennia is the better card only if your priorities are zero fees, 0% forex and railway lounges, and even there its points stop abroad. Many people hold a free card like Millennia for dining and travel and keep SBI Cashback for online orders. Remember SBI's ₹2,000 monthly cap and fuel exclusion.

For the full details, read our IDFC FIRST Millennia review and SBI Cashback review. More matchups: SBI Cashback vs HDFC Millennia and IDFC FIRST Millennia vs SBI SimplyCLICK. You can also compare both on BestCard's compare tool.