SBI Cashback vs HDFC Millennia 2026: Best Online Shopping Card?

SBI Cashback is the better card if you shop online heavily or across many different websites: it pays 5% on all online merchants and lets you earn up to ₹2,000 a month. HDFC Millennia suits moderate spenders better, because it adds 2.5% on groceries, has an easier ₹1 lakh fee waiver and a small lounge perk, but its 5% rate is limited to a merchant list and capped at ₹1,000 a month.

These are two of the most popular cashback cards in India, and they look similar at first glance. The difference shows up once you put real numbers through them.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	SBI Cashback	HDFC Millennia
Joining fee	₹999	₹1,000
Annual fee	₹999	₹1,000
Fee waiver spend	₹2,00,000 a year	₹1,00,000 a year
Base reward rate	1% (offline)	1%
Online shopping	5% on all online merchants, capped at ₹2,000/month	5% on listed merchants, capped at ₹1,000/month
Groceries	1% (offline base)	2.5%, capped at ₹500/month
Utilities	Base rate; check exclusions	1%, capped at ₹200/month
Reward type	Cashback, auto-credited to statement	CashPoints worth ₹1 each
Forex markup	3.5%	3.5%
Domestic lounge	None listed	1 voucher/quarter after ₹1,00,000 quarterly spend
International lounge	None	None
Minimum monthly income	₹25,000	₹35,000

All figures come from BestCard's latest card data; banks revise terms regularly, so confirm on the issuer's site before applying.

How the 5% actually differs

Both cards advertise 5% online, but the scope is not the same.

SBI Cashback pays 5% on online transactions across merchants. Booking a train ticket, paying on a brand's own website or ordering from a small D2C store all count, subject to SBI's exclusion list (fuel is excluded).

HDFC Millennia pays 5% only on a list of about ten big platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Swiggy, Zomato and BookMyShow. Online spend elsewhere earns 1%.

The caps differ too. SBI's ₹2,000 cap means you max out at ₹40,000 of online spend a month. HDFC's ₹1,000 cap maxes out at ₹20,000.

Rewards maths with two spend levels

₹25,000 a month

Assume ₹12,000 online, ₹5,000 on groceries at a local store and ₹8,000 on other offline spends.

SBI Cashback

• Online: 5% of ₹12,000 = ₹600
• Groceries: 1% of ₹5,000 = ₹50
• Other offline: 1% of ₹8,000 = ₹80
• Total: ₹730 a month (₹8,760 a year)

HDFC Millennia, if all ₹12,000 online is on listed merchants

• Online: 5% of ₹12,000 = ₹600
• Groceries: 2.5% of ₹5,000 = ₹125
• Other: 1% of ₹8,000 = ₹80
• Total: ₹805 a month (₹9,660 a year)

But if ₹4,000 of that online spend is on sites outside HDFC's list, HDFC's online earn drops to ₹400 + ₹40 = ₹440, and the monthly total falls to ₹645, below SBI's ₹730.

At ₹3 lakh a year, both annual fees are waived.

₹60,000 a month

Now ₹40,000 online, ₹8,000 groceries and ₹12,000 other.

SBI Cashback: online 5% of ₹40,000 = ₹2,000 (exactly at the cap) + groceries ₹80 + other ₹120 = ₹2,200 a month (₹26,400 a year).

HDFC Millennia: online 5% of ₹40,000 would be ₹2,000, but the cap limits it to ₹1,000. Add groceries ₹200 and other ₹120 = ₹1,320 a month (₹15,840 a year).

At high online spend, SBI Cashback earns about ₹10,500 more a year. That's the core of this comparison. For more on how caps change real returns, see credit card reward caps explained.

Fees and waivers

The fees are near-identical (₹999 vs ₹1,000, plus GST). The waiver thresholds are not. HDFC Millennia needs ₹1 lakh a year, roughly ₹8,350 a month. SBI Cashback needs ₹2 lakh, roughly ₹16,700 a month.

If you spend less than ₹16,700 a month, SBI's fee will likely stick, and ₹999 plus 18% GST (about ₹1,179) comes out of your cashback. HDFC also credits 1,000 CashPoints on joining, worth ₹1,000, which effectively covers the first year.

Redemption is another small difference. SBI credits cashback automatically to your statement. HDFC's CashPoints need to be redeemed against the statement or for vouchers, at ₹1 per point. Neither is complicated, but SBI's is hands-off.

Lounge and travel

Neither card is meant for travel. Both charge 3.5% forex markup. HDFC Millennia offers one domestic lounge voucher a quarter after ₹1 lakh of quarterly spend, as an alternative to a ₹1,000 gift voucher. SBI Cashback has no lounge benefit in BestCard's data. If lounges matter, look at our domestic lounge access guide instead.

Exclusions to watch

SBI Cashback excludes fuel from cashback. HDFC Millennia offers a fuel surcharge waiver (₹400 to ₹1 lakh transactions, capped at ₹250 per cycle), which SBI's card doesn't list. Both issuers exclude categories such as rent and wallet loads on most cashback cards, so read the current terms. Our guide to cashback exclusions covers the common ones.

Who should pick which

Choose SBI Cashback if:

• You spend ₹20,000 or more a month online
• You shop on many sites beyond Amazon and Flipkart (travel bookings, brand stores, bill portals)
• You want cashback credited automatically
• Your annual spend comfortably clears ₹2 lakh

Choose HDFC Millennia if:

• Your online spend is under ₹20,000 a month and mostly on the big apps
• You buy groceries regularly and want the 2.5% rate
• You want an easier ₹1 lakh waiver and the joining CashPoints
• You'd use a quarterly lounge voucher

Read our full SBI Cashback deep dive and HDFC Millennia review for merchant lists and exclusions.

Verdict

For heavy online shoppers, SBI Cashback wins clearly. Its 5% applies everywhere online and its ₹2,000 cap is double HDFC's, which is worth more than ₹10,000 a year at ₹40,000 of monthly online spend. HDFC Millennia is the better pick at moderate spend levels, especially if groceries are a big part of your budget and you want the easier fee waiver.

If you're also weighing HSBC's 10% cashback card, read HSBC Live+ vs SBI Cashback. Or let the BestCard matcher suggest the right card for your monthly spending.