How Credit Card Reward Points Work in India — Complete Guide

Every time you swipe your credit card, you earn reward points based on your card's earn rate. For example, HDFC Regalia earns 4 points per ₹100 spent. On a ₹5,000 purchase, you'd earn 200 points. Some cards have accelerated rates for specific categories — the SBI Elite gives 5x on dining but only 2x on everything else. Others like the HDFC Infinia give a flat rate on all spends. Understanding your card's earn rate by category is the first step to maximizing rewards.

This is the most important concept in credit card rewards: a 'point' from one bank is NOT worth the same as a 'point' from another. 1 HDFC Reward Point ≈ ₹0.50, while 1 SBI Reward Point ≈ ₹0.25. So a card earning '5 HDFC points per ₹100' (= 2.5% return) is actually better than a card earning '10 SBI points per ₹100' (= 2.5% return — same in this case, but the math doesn't always work out equal). Always convert points to their rupee value before comparing cards. Our points valuation pages show the current value for each bank's currency.

Many cards offer bonus points on specific categories — dining, online shopping, fuel, travel. But almost all accelerated rates come with caps. The HDFC Millennia gives 5% on Amazon/Swiggy but caps it at 750 points/month. Once you hit the cap, you earn the base rate. These caps are often buried in the terms and conditions. Always check: (1) What categories get bonus rates? (2) What's the monthly/quarterly cap? (3) Are there excluded merchants? A card with uncapped 2% on everything often beats a card with capped 5% on select categories.

The same reward points can be worth ₹0.20 or ₹0.70 depending on HOW you redeem them. From worst to best: (1) Catalog items — worst value, typically ₹0.15-0.20 per point. Banks mark up catalog products by 30-50%. Never redeem for catalog items. (2) Statement credit/cashback — convenient but poor value, ₹0.20-0.25 per point. (3) Travel portal bookings — good value, ₹0.30-0.50 per point via SmartBuy/EDGE Rewards. (4) Transfer to hotel partners (Marriott) — great value, ₹0.40-0.60 per point. (5) Transfer to airline partners (KrisFlyer for business class) — best value, ₹0.50-0.70+ per point. The redemption method matters more than the earn rate.

Most Indian bank reward points expire after 2-3 years. HDFC points expire after 2 years. Axis EDGE points expire after 1 year of earning. Amex MR points have no expiry as long as your card is active. Check your card's expiry policy and set calendar reminders. If you have points expiring soon and no travel plans, redeeming for statement credit (bad value) is still better than letting them expire (zero value). Some banks let you convert points into vouchers which don't expire — check if that's an option.