How credit card fee waivers work in India
What counts towards the spend that waives your annual fee, what usually does not, and how to tell in time whether you will make it.
Most paid credit cards in India waive next year's annual fee if you spend a set amount in the current card year. Saifu tracks 194 cards with a spend-based waiver. The middle of that range is ₹2,00,000 a year, and the range runs from ₹25,000 to ₹35,00,000.
The card year is not the calendar year
The waiver counts spends from the day your card year starts, which is usually the month the card was issued. The fee is charged in the statement after the year ends. If you got the card in August, your card year runs August to July, not January to December.
Some spends do not count
Banks leave some categories out of the waiver spend. Across the cards Saifu tracks, these are the most common:
- Rent payments: left out by 48 cards
- Wallet loads: 33 cards
- Education fees: 31 cards
- Fuel: 15 cards
- Utility bills: 15 cards
- Insurance premiums: 12 cards
EMI purchases, cash withdrawals and fees are also usually left out, even when the bank does not list them on the card page. The full list is in each card's most important terms and conditions (MITC) document.
Work out the monthly target early
The waiver spend is often about 200 times the annual fee. A ₹1,000 fee with a ₹1,00,000 waiver means about ₹8,400 a month. If you are three months into the card year and behind, the target for the remaining months goes up quickly.
You can check any card with the fee waiver calculator. The Saifu app does this for every card you hold and reminds you before the card year ends.
When missing the waiver is fine
Paying the fee can still be worth it if the card earns more than the fee on your spends, or if you get a welcome benefit each year. What does not make sense is spending money you did not need to spend just to reach the waiver. Compare what the card earns on your spends with the fee before you push for it.
Ask before you pay
If you miss the waiver by a small amount, call the bank before the fee posts. Banks sometimes reverse the fee for a customer who uses the card regularly. There is no rule that they must, so treat it as a request, not a right.
Cards in this post
Card terms change. Check the bank's own page before you rely on a figure here. Posts never contain referral or affiliate links from the writer.
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