Kotak League Platinum vs IDFC FIRST Select 2026: Which Wins?

Kotak League Platinum and IDFC FIRST Select are both Visa cards that sit below the premium tier, but they are built for different people. IDFC FIRST Select is lifetime free, pays 4% on dining and travel, and charges no forex markup, but it asks for ₹1,00,000 a month in income. Kotak League Platinum is easier to get into at ₹41,700 a month and has a six-monthly spend milestone, but its everyday earn is lower and it costs ₹499 a year unless you spend ₹50,000.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	Kotak League Platinum	IDFC FIRST Select
Network	Visa	Visa
Joining fee	₹499	₹0
Annual fee	₹499	₹0
Fee waiver spend	₹50,000/year	Lifetime free
Base reward rate	1%	0.5%
Bonus categories	2.5% online shopping	4% dining, 4% travel
Point value	20 paise	25 paise
Forex markup	3.5%	0%
Domestic lounge	None listed	1 visit per quarter (4 a year)
Railway lounge	None listed	4 visits per quarter
Fuel surcharge waiver	1%, capped ₹3,500/year	1% on ₹400 to ₹4,000 transactions
Min monthly income	₹41,700 (salaried only)	₹1,00,000
Min credit score	680	700

All figures are from BestCard's latest card data, last checked on 24 Oct 2026. Check each bank's current terms before applying.

How the rewards actually work

Kotak League Platinum

Kotak League Platinum earns a flat 1% and 2.5% on online shopping. Our data also says a defined set of categories, such as airlines, travel agencies, tour operators, electronics and department stores, earn a much faster multiplier up to a spend ceiling. The exact rate and ceiling are not listed in our data, so we have not counted them in the examples below. Points are worth 20 paise each.

The standout feature is the milestone: 4 free PVR movie tickets or 10,000 reward points for every ₹1,25,000 spent, every 6 months. At 20 paise a point, 10,000 points are worth ₹2,000.

IDFC FIRST Select

IDFC FIRST Select pays 4% on dining and 4% on travel. Everything else earns just 0.5%, and insurance, utility and railway or FASTag spends earn at an even lower rate than the general one. Points are worth 25 paise each. From 26 Oct 2026, international spends no longer earn points. In return you get a 0% forex markup, which came in on 9 Sep 2026.

Worked example 1: ₹25,000 a month

Split: ₹5,000 dining, ₹3,000 travel, ₹6,000 online shopping, ₹11,000 other. Annual spend ₹3 lakh.

Kotak League Platinum

• Online shopping: 2.5% × ₹6,000 = ₹150
• Everything else at 1%: 1% × ₹19,000 = ₹190
• Total: ₹340 a month, ₹4,080 a year
• Milestone: ₹3 lakh a year clears ₹1,25,000 in each six-month window, so 2 × 10,000 points = ₹4,000 (or 8 PVR tickets)
• ₹3 lakh clears the ₹50,000 waiver, so no fee
• With milestones: about ₹8,080 a year

IDFC FIRST Select

• Dining: 4% × ₹5,000 = ₹200
• Travel: 4% × ₹3,000 = ₹120
• Online shopping: 0.5% × ₹6,000 = ₹30
• Other: 0.5% × ₹11,000 = ₹55
• Total: ₹405 a month, ₹4,860 a year, no fee

On everyday earn IDFC leads by ₹780 a year. Add the Kotak milestone and Kotak is ahead, if you actually hit ₹1,25,000 every six months and want the points. We read the milestone as once per six-month window. Treat it as a bonus and confirm the terms with Kotak.

Worked example 2: ₹50,000 a month

Split: ₹10,000 dining, ₹6,000 travel, ₹12,000 online shopping, ₹22,000 other. Annual spend ₹6 lakh.

Kotak League Platinum

• Online shopping: 2.5% × ₹12,000 = ₹300
• Everything else: 1% × ₹38,000 = ₹380
• Total: ₹680 a month, ₹8,160 a year
• Plus the two milestones: ₹4,000
• With milestones: about ₹12,160 a year

IDFC FIRST Select

• Dining: 4% × ₹10,000 = ₹400
• Travel: 4% × ₹6,000 = ₹240
• Online shopping: 0.5% × ₹12,000 = ₹60
• Other: 0.5% × ₹22,000 = ₹110
• Total: ₹810 a month, ₹9,720 a year

IDFC wins on pure earn, by ₹1,560 a year. Kotak's milestone puts it ahead by about ₹2,440 a year once you count it. If you would rather have the 4 PVR tickets than the points, the comparison depends on how often you watch films.

Lounge access and travel

IDFC FIRST Select lists 1 complimentary domestic airport lounge visit per quarter (4 a year) and 4 railway lounge visits per quarter, on ₹20,000 of spend in the preceding calendar month. It also includes ₹1 crore air accident cover and ₹5 lakh personal accident cover. Kotak League Platinum lists no lounge access or insurance cover in our data.

Abroad, IDFC's 0% markup against Kotak's 3.5% is a clear gap: on ₹1 lakh of foreign spend, that is ₹0 against ₹3,500. The catch is that IDFC stops giving points on international spends from 26 Oct 2026, so you save on the markup but earn nothing. Kotak still earns its normal rate there, but 3.5% on the markup wipes out the 1% or 2.5% reward. See our guide to forex markup fees for how that adds up.

Fees and waivers

IDFC FIRST Select has no joining or annual fee. Kotak League Platinum charges ₹499 to join and ₹499 a year, waived on ₹50,000 of annual spend, which is about ₹4,200 a month. Most people clear that easily, so the fee rarely bites.

Eligibility is where the two cards split. Kotak League Platinum needs ₹41,700 a month and is open to salaried applicants only. IDFC FIRST Select needs ₹1,00,000 a month and takes both salaried and self-employed applicants. If you are self-employed or earn between ₹41,700 and ₹1,00,000, Kotak is the realistic option here.

Who should pick which

Choose Kotak League Platinum if:

• You earn between ₹41,700 and ₹1,00,000 a month and are salaried
• You spend at least ₹1,25,000 every six months and like the milestone movie tickets or points
• Your spend is mostly online shopping
• You rarely travel abroad

Choose IDFC FIRST Select if:

• You eat out or book travel often
• You want a lifetime free card
• You travel abroad and want zero forex markup
• You want a few domestic and railway lounge visits and can spend ₹20,000 a month

Verdict

IDFC FIRST Select is the better card for most people who can qualify: it costs nothing, pays 4% on dining and travel, and removes the forex markup. Kotak League Platinum is the better fit if your income is below ₹1,00,000 a month, you are salaried, and you can use the milestone benefit. Its everyday rates are modest, so the case rests on spending ₹1,25,000 every six months.

For more detail, read our Kotak League Platinum review, our IDFC FIRST Select review and the IDFC FIRST Select deep dive. You may also like IDFC FIRST Select vs HDFC Regalia Gold, our guides to the best Kotak cards and the best IDFC FIRST cards, or compare both on BestCard's compare tool.