Card Comparison: ICICI Sapphiro Vs. SBI Card Elite

Both ICICI Sapphiro and SBI Card Elite offer welcome benefits in the form of gift vouchers. SBI Card Elite offers Rs. 5,000 e-gift voucher from any of these brands- Yatra, Hush Puppies/Bata, Aditya Birla Fashion, Pantaloons or Shoppers Stop. ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card, on the other hand, gives multiple gift vouchers as welcome benefit, as shown below:

• Tata CLiQ- Rs. 3,000
• EaseMyTrip- Rs. 4,000 (4 vouchers worth Rs. 1,000 each)
• Uber- Rs. 1,000 (4 vouchers worth Rs. 250 each)
• Croma- Rs. 1,000
• Zomato Pro Membership- Rs. 800 (This offer may have expired as Zomato has discontinued it Pro and Pro Plus membership program)

Both cards have similar reward earning potential but offer extra reward points on different categories. ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card offers 2 reward points per Rs. 100 on domestic spends and 4 reward points for international spends.

SBI Card Elite offers 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent across all categories except fuel. The card lets its users earn 5-times more rewards on departmental store, groceries and dining.

Users can also earn bonus reward points as milestone benefit, as shown below:

ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card

• Get 4,000 bonus reward points on spending Rs. 4 Lakh in a year
• Get 2,000 bonus reward points on every Rs. 1 Lakh spent thereafter

SBI Card Elite

• Earn 10,000 bonus reward points on spending Rs. 3 Lakh and Rs. 4 Lakh in a year
• Earn 15,000 additional reward points on spending Rs. 5 Lakh and Rs. 8 Lakh in a year

On credit cards, travel benefits may be offered in many forms, the most common being complimentary airport lounge access and complimentary memberships to airline’s frequent flyer programs. Here is how these two cards offer travel benefits-

Lounge Access

The table below shows the details of complimentary lounge access offered on both these cards:

Other Travel Privileges

In addition to complimentary lounge access, SBI Card Elite also provides the following travel benefits:

• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver Membership with 1 free upgrade voucher
• Earn 9 Club Vistara Points per Rs. 100 spent on Vistara Flights
• Complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership with 1,000 welcome points, 1,500 points on first stay and additional 1,000 hotel credit on extended night stay
• Preferential foreign exchange mark-up fee of 1.99%

Want to save on your travel expenses? Explore the Best Travel Credit Cards in India.

With ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card, you get movie benefits with BookMyShow wherein on booking one movie ticket, you can get up to Rs. 500 off on the second ticket. This offer can be availed twice per month giving you savings of up to Rs. 1,000 per month.

With SBI Card Elite, you can save up to Rs. 6,000 per year. You can book 2 movie tickets per month on BookMyShow and get up to Rs. 250 off per ticker. However, this offer is valid only once per month and for 2 tickets only.

In addition to the above features and benefits, here are some other privileges you can enjoy with these credit cards:

SBI Card Elite

With Mastercard Variant

• 4 rounds of golf with complimentary green fees
• 50% off on golf games with 1 complimentary golf lesson per month
• 15% discount on best available room rates and up to 15% discount on F&B at Lalit Hotels

With Visa Variant

• 10% savings on Hertz Car Rental
• 35% on Avis Car Rental
• Exclusive benefits across 900 luxury hotels across the world

ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card

• Exclusive concierge service
• Air accident insurance cover of up to Rs. 3 Crore
• Credit shield cover of up to Rs. 1 Lakh
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver at any petrol pump
• Dining benefits under ICICI Bank’s Culinary Treats Program

The table below shows a summary of the above comparison:

As seen above, both cards offer good value across multiple categories. However, if you look at a single category, say reward points, both the cards would fare differently and this is where the decision stands. For example, if you are looking for a card that lets you earn generous reward points on your regular spends while offering some savings on movies every month, SBI Card Elite would clearly be a better choice.

Choose ICICI Sapphiro Credit Card if:

• You are ready to pay an annual fee of Rs. 3,500
• You mostly travel within India and would like to get free lounge access
• You would like to save a significant amount on your movie spends
• You will be able to spend Rs. 6 Lakh in order to get the annual fee waived off

Choose SBI Card Elite if:

• You are ready to bear the considerably high annual fee of Rs. 4,999
• You are looking for good features across shopping, travel and entertainment categories
• You are a high-spender putting most big-ticket purchases on credit cards
• You travel quite often and wish to save on lounge access as well as airlines and hotels
• You will be able to spend Rs. 10 Lakh in a year to get the annual fee waived off

The choice between the two cards depends on the type of purchases you wish to make. Carefully read the benefits offered on each card and decide as per your spending preferences.