I have been using credit cards since 2006 when there were only a few credit card options. My first credit card was ICICI Platinum which was a lifetime free card but not so great with rewards and offers.
Now you can get premium credit cards to get more than 10% cashback, rewards, hotel points, and airline miles if you can spend over 10 Lakh per year and your salary is above 25 Lakh.
Most people have an annual salary of around 4 Lakh and want to spend around 50,000 Rs. annually. I would suggest you to pick a credit card that gives you enough rewards and cashback even if you have to pay a small annual fee.
I am going to explain you everything about the latest credit cards that will give you great rewards and cashback in 2025.
Top Credit Cards For Beginners 2025
Apply for entry-level credit cards if you have a salary of 2.5 Lakhs per year and your annual expenses are 50,000.
You can shop on Amazon and Flipkart, pay your bills, eat out at restaurants, shop offline, and travel occasionally – all without having to pay any joining fees.
#1. IDFC FIRST Classic Credit Card – Lifetime Free
Best for entry-level due to no joining fee & annual fee.
IDFC FIRST Classic Credit Card is best for beginners because of life time free credit card and great rewards.
You will enjoy the 25% discount on movie tickets and access to 4 complimentary railway lounges per quarter.
#2. HDFC Millennia Credit Card
5% cashback on Amazon, BookMyShow, Cultfit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber and Zomato
HDFC Millennia Credit Card is a great choice for millennials who love online shopping. You will get 5% cashback on online transactions and 1% cashback on all other spends.
You will also get Dreamfolks airport lounge access voucher OR Rs. 1000 voucher of listed brands when you achieve Rs. 1 Lakh of quarterly spend. Upto 20% discount on partner restaurants through Swiggy Dineout.
#3. SBI Cashback Credit Card
5% Cashback on every online transaction & 1% on all offline spends and utility bill payments.
Cashback SBI credit Card is a great choice for those who want to earn cashback on their everyday spending.
You will get a maximum 5,000 Rs. cashback per billing statement. Utility/rent/wallet/insurance/fuel/jewelry/school/ railway payments won’t fall under the cash-back category.
#4. ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card – Life Time Free Credit Card
Up to 5% cashback for Prime members & up to 3% cashback for others.
ICICI Bank has collaborated with Amazon India to provide a no annual fee credit card. You can get this card even if you don’t have an ICICI Bank account or are not an Amazon Prime member.
5% cashback (for Prime Members) is an amazing deal for people who regularly shop on Amazon.
Non Prime Members earn 3% cashback.
#5. Axis Bank Ace Credit Card
5% cashback on bill payments and mobile recharges on Google Pay.
Axis Bank has partnered with Google Pay to launch a new beginner-level credit card called Axis ACE Credit Card. The credit card runs on the Visa (Signature) platform and offers cash back on all your spends.
You can get 1% fuel surcharge waiver, 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits every year, and upto 15% off on dining at 4000+ partner restaurants.
Top 10 Credit Cards For Salaried 2025
Apply for one of the cards from this list if your salary is above Rs. 10 lakhs annually. You can easily waive off the annual fees on these cards if you can spend more than 3 lakhs in one year.
#1. IndusInd Pinnacle Credit Card
Gift vouchers from some of the most premium hotel chains like Oberoi hotels and Montblanc India.
IndusInd Pinnacle credit card is a sub-premium lifestyle credit card that offers rewards points every time you swipe the card. You get two golf games and golf course lessons every month.
You will also enjoy the entertainment benefits such as Buy 1 Get 1 free on movie ticket thrice a month.
#2. IDFC FIRST Wealth Travel Credit Card – Lifetime Free
Lifetime free credit card with Spa benefits & eVoucher redemptions. Low foreign markup fee on all international transactions.
IDFC First Bank Wealth Credit Card is a lifetime free credit card that offers spa benefits & 1.5% forex markup fee on all international transactions. This card is best suited for people who have high value transactions.
With this card, you will get access to 4 complimentary domestic & international airport lounge and spa visits per quarter. You also enjoy 2 complimentary Golf rounds/ Golf lessons per month.
#3. HDFC Infinia Metal Edition Credit Card
Unlimited complimentary domestic and international airport lounges access to primary & add-on cardholders.
HDFC Infinia Metal Edition credit card is best suited for those who travel frequently.
With this card, you will enjoy unlimited access to free domestic and international airport lounges with Priority Pass membership.
Add-on cardholders can also access unlimited lounges.
#4. Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card
3 Reward Points per Rs. 150 you spend, and 5% cashback on departmental stores, groceries, and supermarkets.
Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum credit card is the best choice for people who are looking for cashback offers on daily expenses, especially supermarket spends.
With 5% cashback on all grocery, supermarkets and departmental store spends helps you save a significant amount of money on your everyday expenses. You will also enjoy the 15% dining discount at over 850 restaurants.
#5. Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card
Foreign currency exchange rate at 2% (lower than the average fee of 3.5%).
Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card is the best choice for those who have a need for international transactions because of 2% foreign currency markup fee.
You will also enjoy the 1 complimentary domestic golf game per month. The card also offers other benefits like 5% cashback on duty-free spends at airports.
#6. American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
E-Gift card worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta Hotels with 8 complimentary domestic airport lounge access annually.
If you’re a frequent traveler, consider the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card.
With this card, you will get a Taj experiences E-Gift card worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta Hotels. You have 8 free domestic airport lounge access annually (two per quarter).
Your first year annual fee will be waived off and you will get 2,000 bonus reward points if you apply through my link.
#7. Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card (MRCC)
Spend Rs.6000 every month (4 transactions of Rs. 1500 each), you get 1000 points which is equivalent to Rs. 375.
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card is one of the most rewarding credit cards available in the market.
With this card, you can earn bonus rewards every month which can be redeemed for statement credit, gift cards, hotel booking, or air ticket booking.
You will be charged zero annual fee for first year and Rs 1500 from second year onwards if you apply through my link. You will also get 2000 bonus reward points.
#8. Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card
Unlimited complimentary domestic & international airport lounge access. Plus 4 guest visits
Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card is a good choice for salaried individuals with great travel benefits.
You can avail unlimited complimentary domestic & international lounge visits with 4 additional guest visits annually with the Priority Pass card. You will also enjoy the discounts at Oberoi hotels and a 24×7 hotel concierge service.
#9. CitiBank PremierMiles Credit Card
10 Miles on every Rs. 100 spent on airline transactions (1 Mile = 0.5 AirMile for partner airlines).
Citibank PremierMiles credit card provides a premium offer in the travel segment in the form of AirMiles.
You earn AirMiles or Miles on all categories of spends which can be redeemed for 100+ domestic and international air ticket bookings or can be transferred your miles to other airline and hotel partners.
#10. SBI Prime Credit Card
10 reward points for every spend of Rs. 100 on groceries, dining, movie and departmental store.
SBI Prime Credit Card is best suited for people who spend on multiple categories such as travel, movies, dining, utility bill payments, and shopping. This card offers great reward points on all categories.
Top 20 Credit Cards Issued by Various Banks in India 2025
#1. Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card
Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card is best suited for people who love to shop online.
You will earn 5% cashback on all purchases of Flipkart and Cleartrip. This card also offers 4% cashback on preferred merchants including Swiggy, Uber, PVR, and Cultfit. 1% cash back on other spends.
#2. SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card
SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card is the best option for frequent online shoppers because of its high reward rate.
With this card, you will get 10x reward points on online shopping from merchant e-commerce partners including Apollo 24×7, Cleartrip, BookMyShow, Dominos, Myntra, Netmeds, Swiggy, and Yatra.
#3. RBL Bank’s World Safari Credit Card
RBL World Safari Credit Card is best for foreign currency transactions with zero markup fee on all foreign transactions. The card allows you to save up to 4% on all foreign currency transactions compared to other credit cards.
#4. Tata New Infinity Credit Card
Tata Neu Infinity credit card is jointly offered by Tata Neu App (developed by Tata Digital) and HDFC Bank.
Tata Neu Infinity is a great choice for users who shop online via the Tata Neu app and partner Tata Brands like – BigBasket, Croma, Air India Express, Westside, Qmin, Taj Hotels, Tata Play, Titan and Tanishq.
You can earn 5% cashback as NeuCoins on the Nue App. Additionally 5% cashback on selected categories, a total of up to 10% cashback on your shopping and purchases.
#5. IndianOil Citi Credit Card
With the Indianoil Citi credit card, you will get fuel cashback on every purchase made at IndianOil petrol pumps.
You can earn 4 turbo points (reward points) for every Rs. 150 spent on fuel transactions at authorized IndianOil outlets. (1 Turbo Point – Rs 1 of free fuel)
#6. Axis Reserve Credit Card
Axis Reserve is a super premium credit card that offers unlimited lounge access (with a complimentary priority pass), and branded hotel memberships & offers. This includes Club ITC Culinaire, Accorplus, Club Marriott Asia Pacific memberships and offers at Oberoi hotels and resorts.
You also get 50 complimentary golf rounds every year at the most premium golf courses in the country.
#7. American Express Centurion Black Card
American Express Centurion Black card is an invitation-only charge card issued by American Express to platinum card holders. This card is best for the wealthy and super-rich lifestyle people.
With this card, you get a complimentary membership of luxurious including the Hilton Hotels Diamond membership, Shangri La Inner Circle Gold membership, Accor Hotels Platinum membership, Etihad Airways Gold membership, and British Airways Gold Membership.
#8. SBI Etihad Guest Premier Credit Card
State Bank of India (SBI) has partnered with Etihad Airways to launch a co-branded credit card named SBI Etihad Guest Premier Credit Card.
This card is best for Indians who frequently travel overseas. You get instant discounts of up to 10% on select Business class and Economy class on direct Etihad Airways bookings. Applicable only on Etihad-operated flights from India.
#9. Indian Oil RBL XTRA Credit Card
Indian Oil RBL Xtra credit card is the best choice for those who travel frequently on the road.
With this card, you get:
- up to 250 liters of free petrol as fuel points on monthly spends of Rs. 45,000
- 8.5% value back as 15 fuel points per Rs. 100 spent at Indian Oil
- 2 fuel points on other spends
- 1 Fuel point = Re 0.5