IDFC FIRST Select vs SBI SimplyCLICK 2026: Which Earns More?

IDFC FIRST Select and SBI SimplyCLICK are both low-cost cards, but they reward different habits. Select is lifetime free and pays 4% on dining and travel, with a 0% forex markup and some lounge access. SimplyCLICK pays 2.5% on online shopping and little else. Which one wins comes down to whether your money goes to restaurants and trips or to online carts, and who loses depends on the answer.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	IDFC FIRST Select	SBI SimplyCLICK
Network	Visa	Mastercard
Joining fee	₹0	₹499
Annual fee	₹0	₹499
Fee waiver spend	Lifetime free	₹1,00,000/year
Base reward rate	0.5%	0.25%
Dining	4%	Base rate
Travel	4%	Base rate
Online shopping	Base rate	2.5%
Forex markup	0%	3.5%
Domestic lounge	1 a quarter	None
Railway lounge	4 a quarter	None
Min monthly income	₹1,00,000	₹20,000
Min credit score	700	680
APR	9% to 42%	42%

All figures are from BestCard's latest card data, checked on 24 October 2026. Both issuers change rewards and lounge terms often, so verify with IDFC FIRST Bank and SBI Card before you apply.

How the rewards work

IDFC FIRST Select

IDFC FIRST Select earns 4% on dining and travel and 0.5% on everything else, with points worth 25 paise each. Insurance, utility and FASTag spends earn at a much lower rate than the general rate, so don't expect bill payments to add much. Two recent changes matter. The forex markup fell to 0% from 9 September 2026, and from 26 October 2026 international spends stop earning reward points. Interest rates can come down with good repayment behaviour, starting at 9%. Domestic and railway lounge visits both need ₹20,000 of spend in the preceding calendar month.

SBI SimplyCLICK

SBI SimplyCLICK earns 2.5% on online shopping and 0.25% on everything else. Our editorial notes say the accelerated rate is for partner online merchants, so check which sites qualify. The accelerated points are capped at 10,000 a month, which at 25 paise a point is ₹2,500 a month. Redeeming for statement credit, vouchers or products costs ₹99 plus taxes per request. New cardholders get a ₹500 Amazon.in voucher on joining.

Worked example 1: ₹30,000 a month

Split: ₹6,000 dining, ₹4,000 travel, ₹8,000 online shopping, ₹12,000 other. Annual spend ₹3.6 lakh.

IDFC FIRST Select

• Dining: 4% × ₹6,000 = ₹240
• Travel: 4% × ₹4,000 = ₹160
• Online shopping: 0.5% × ₹8,000 = ₹40
• Other: 0.5% × ₹12,000 = ₹60
• Total: ₹500 a month, ₹6,000 a year
• Fee: ₹0

SBI SimplyCLICK

• Online shopping: 2.5% × ₹8,000 = ₹200
• Everything else: 0.25% × ₹22,000 = ₹55
• Total: ₹255 a month, ₹3,060 a year
• ₹3.6 lakh clears the ₹1 lakh waiver, so no fee

Select earns about ₹2,940 a year more.

Worked example 2: ₹50,000 a month

Split: ₹25,000 online shopping, ₹5,000 dining, ₹20,000 other. Annual spend ₹6 lakh.

IDFC FIRST Select

• Online shopping: 0.5% × ₹25,000 = ₹125
• Dining: 4% × ₹5,000 = ₹200
• Other: 0.5% × ₹20,000 = ₹100
• Total: ₹425 a month, ₹5,100 a year

SBI SimplyCLICK

• Online shopping: 2.5% × ₹25,000 = ₹625 (well under the ₹2,500 cap)
• Other: 0.25% × ₹25,000 = ₹62.50
• Total: ₹687.50 a month, ₹8,250 a year
• Fee waived

SimplyCLICK is ahead by about ₹3,150. In short, an online-heavy mix favours SimplyCLICK and a dining-and-travel mix favours Select. If you shop online heavily, a dedicated cashback card likely beats both. See our best cashback credit cards in India.

Lounge access, forex and travel

Select lists 1 complimentary domestic airport lounge visit a quarter (4 a year) and 4 railway lounge visits a quarter, once you've spent ₹20,000 in the preceding calendar month. It also covers ₹1 crore for air accidents and ₹5 lakh for personal accidents. SimplyCLICK has no lounge access or insurance listed.

Forex is a clear split. On ₹1 lakh of overseas spend, Select's 0% markup costs nothing while SimplyCLICK's 3.5% costs ₹3,500, before GST. The trade-off for Select: from 26 October 2026 it earns no reward points on international spends. Our forex markup comparison by bank shows where both sit. For lounge rules, see how spend-gated lounge access works.

Fees and waivers

Select is lifetime free, so there's nothing to protect. SimplyCLICK's ₹499 is waived at ₹1 lakh of annual spend, about ₹8,300 a month, which most active users clear. Income bars favour SimplyCLICK, at ₹20,000 a month against Select's ₹1,00,000, so SimplyCLICK is the one a first-time applicant can realistically get.

Who should pick which

Choose IDFC FIRST Select if:

• Dining and travel are a big part of your spending
• You earn ₹1,00,000 a month or more
• You want a lifetime free card with a 0% forex markup
• You'd use railway and domestic lounge visits

Choose SBI SimplyCLICK if:

• A good part of your spending is on online partner merchants
• Your income is between ₹20,000 and ₹1,00,000 a month
• You want a ₹500 Amazon voucher on joining
• You don't need lounge access, insurance or forex

Verdict

IDFC FIRST Select is the better all-rounder: free to hold, a 4% rate on two common categories, 0% forex and some lounge access. SBI SimplyCLICK is a starter card for online shoppers, and its low income bar is its strongest selling point. Neither has a high base rate, so use them for their bonus categories and put the rest of your spending elsewhere.

For the full picture, read our IDFC FIRST Select review, the IDFC FIRST Select deep dive and our SBI SimplyCLICK review. Related comparisons include IDFC FIRST Select vs HDFC Regalia Gold and IDFC FIRST Millennia vs SBI SimplyCLICK. You can also compare both on BestCard's compare tool.