Over the past 2-3 years, whenever a bank has sent an email about an “update” regarding a credit card, I’ve got used to seeing a downward revision in their benefits or upward revision in their charges :-p
This time it was from SBI. Got an email yesterday about an update on their Cashback credit card.
W.e.f April 01, 2026, SBI has capped the maximum cashback possible in a statement cycle at 4,000 points. They have further sub-capped online and offline spends at 2,000 points each. Previously, it was 5,000 points in a statement cycle without any sub-limits.
This means the sweet spot for online transactions is capped at Rs. 40,000/month now.
Cashback will also not be applicable on spends at digital gaming platforms, tolls, and government transactions, besides their already long list of excluded categories.
The SBI Cashback card charges and cashback rate remain unchanged as of now.
| Joining/Renewal Fee: | Rs. 999 + taxes |
| Fee Waiver: | Rs. 2 lakh annual spend |
| Online Cashback: | 5% (Capped at Rs. 2,000/month) |
| Offline Cashback: | 1% (Capped at Rs. 2,000/month) |
| Fuel Surcharge Waiver: | 1% on txns between Rs. 500-Rs. 3,000 (Max Rs. 100 per cycle) |
| Foreign Currency Markup: | 3.5% + GST |
Is the SBI Cashback credit card still worth keeping?
It depends on your usage. A flat 5% cashback on online spends remains a strong proposition, and can help pay off your annual fee, or even meet the annual spend criteria to waive it off entirely.
Overall, the card remains decent for moderate shoppers, heartbreaking for heavy online spenders 🙂
