All cards / SBI Card
SBI Card Unnati
SBI Card Unnati is a zero-fee-by-design entry card meant to onboard first-time cardholders, especially in small-town and semi-urban markets, with a low income bar and a modest ₹20,000 spend threshold to reverse the annual fee. It earns an accelerated 5% on online shopping and groceries within a small quarterly cap, and a standard 1% elsewhere, making it a practical no-cost way to build a credit history rather than a card for serious reward-earning.
Annual fee
₹499
Joining fee
₹0
Reward type
points
Base reward rate
1%
Card network
RuPay
Card tier
Entry
Who this card fits
Best suited to applicants with a credit score of roughly 650+ whose spend is concentrated in online shopping, groceries. It's worth the annual fee mainly if your points value clears it.
Rewards & benefits
- Rewards rate: 1% base rate
Benefits by category
- 🛒 Groceries
5% reward rate (capped ₹300/quarterly)
- 🛍️ Shopping
5% reward rate (capped ₹300/quarterly)
- ⛽ Fuel
1% fuel surcharge waived on transactions between ₹500 and ₹4,000, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle
- 🌍 Forex / international spend
3.5% forex markup on international transactions
Eligibility
- Minimum credit score: 650
- Minimum monthly income: ₹10,000
- Employment: salaried, self-employed
- Age: 18–60
Fees & charges
- Rewards redemption fee: ₹99 + applicable taxes per redemption request when reward points are redeemed for statement credit, gift vouchers or physical products, charged once per batch regardless of how many items are redeemed in it.
- Foreign currency markup: 3.5%
- Interest rate: 42% p.a.
- Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waived on transactions between ₹500 and ₹4,000, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle
- Cash advance charges: 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or ₹300 (whichever is higher) at domestic ATMs, and 3% or ₹300 (whichever is higher) internationally; cash advances earn no reward points and carry no interest-free grace period.
Benefits
- 1% fuel surcharge waived on transactions between ₹500 and ₹4,000, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle
Pros
- + Zero joining fee, and annual fee reversed on a low ₹20,000 spend threshold
- + Low eligibility bar suited to first-time and semi-urban applicants
- + 5% accelerated rewards on online shopping and groceries
- + RuPay network compatible with UPI-linked credit card payments
- + 1% fuel surcharge waiver on everyday fuel purchases
Cons
- − Quarterly reward caps are small, limiting value beyond modest spend
- − No lounge access or premium lifestyle benefits
- − Base reward rate outside bonus categories is minimal