All-Rounder Credit Cards: SBI Card ELITE vs. HDFC Regalia Gold vs. Axis Bank SELECT

While most credit cards come with features inclined towards one or more categories, some credit cards are designed to offer all-round benefits to the users. The features on these cards mostly span across shopping, travel, entertainment, dining and other important spend categories. SBI Card ELITE, HDFC Regalia Gold and Axis Bank SELECT are among the most popular all-rounder credit cards in India, covering some of the most practical everyday categories as well as giving premium benefits to some extent. To help you choose the right one from these three cards, here is a detailed comparison.

Compare the Best All-rounder Credit Cards

SBI Elite Credit Card

3.5_/5

Joining fee: ₹4999

Annual/Renewal Fee: ₹4999

5X reward points on dining, grocery and departmental store spends

Complimentary Priority Pass membership

Lounge Access

Movies

Reward Points

Check Eligibility

Product Details

• 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other categories
• Up to 50,000 bonus reward points as milestone benefits
• 6 complimentary international lounge access in a year; 1.99% forex mark-up fee
• Up to 8 complimentary domestic lounge access per year, 2 per quarter
• Free movie tickets worth Rs. 6,000 in a year

Know More

HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card

4_/5

Joining fee: ₹2500

Annual/Renewal Fee: ₹2500

5X reward points on Nykaa, Myntra, Marks & Spencer and Reliance Digital

4 reward points per Rs. 150 across all retail spends

Travel

Shopping

Reward Points

Check Eligibility

Product Details

• Complimentary Swiggy One & MMT Black Elite Memberships
• Gift voucher worth Rs. 2,500 on the payment of joining fee
• 6 complimentary international lounge visits & 12 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per year
• Marks & Spencer, Reliance Digital, Myntra or Marriott vouchers worth Rs. 1,500 on Rs. 1.5 Lakh quarterly spends
• Flight vouchers worth Rs. 5,000 on annual spends of Rs. 5 Lakh

Know More

Axis Bank SELECT Credit Card

4_/5

Joining fee: ₹3000

Annual/Renewal Fee: ₹3000

2X EDGE Reward Points acrosss all retail transactions

10,000 EDGE Reward Points worth Rs. 2,000 as welcome benefit

Travel

Shopping

Reward Points

Check Eligibility

Product Details

• 10 EDGE Reward Points on every Rs. 200 spent
• Flat Rs. 500 off per month on BigBasket on minimum spend of Rs. 3,000
• Rs. 200 off on Swiggy, twice a month, on minimum spend of Rs. 1,000
• Up to 12 complimentary international lounge visits in a year & 2 domestic lounge visits per quarter
• Up to 12 complimentary golf rounds in a year

Know More

Compare (2/3)

Welcome Benefit

While SBI Card ELITE and HDFC Regalia Gold provide benefits equal to the amount of joining fee, the value of welcome gift voucher offered by Axis SELECT is Rs. 1,000 short. As most credit cards in the market at least compensate for the joining fee charged, if not surpassing it, the joining benefit on Axis SELECT should have been better. Moreover, among the three, SBI Card ELITE not only offers good value but also gives the user 5 options to choose from, giving it an edge over the other two in terms of welcome benefit.

Suggested read: Best Super-premium Credit Cards in India

Reward Rate

In order to judge the reward rate on these cards, we should not only see the number of points that a user can earn but also consider the redemption rate to get a clear picture. A higher earning rate helps you accumulate a higher number of reward points for comparatively lower spend value. For example, if you spend on the base category for each card and want to earn 20,000 reward points, you would have to spend Rs. 10 Lakh on SBI Card ELITE, Rs. 4 Lakh on Axis SELECT and Rs. 7.5 Lakh on HDFC Regalia Gold.

Now let’s see how much value do those 20,000 reward points hold for each card.

• For SBI Card ELITE: 20,000 x Rs. 0.25 = Rs. 5,000
• For Axis SELECT: 20,000 x Rs. 0.20 = Rs. 4,000
• For HDFC Regalia Gold: 20,000 X Rs. 0.65 = Rs. 13,300 (for redemption via exclusive Gold Catalogue)

As seen from the values above, Axis SELECT Credit Card offers you the best reward-earning rate but the redemption value is lowest among the three. While SBI Card ELITE has a higher redemption value than Axis SELECT, the earning rate on it is too low. To get a perspective, consider that you would have to spend Rs. 10 Lakh on the base categories to get benefits worth Rs. 5,000. Even if you spend the same amount on the topmost category, you will earn 1 Lakh reward points, the value of which would be Rs. 25,000.

Compared to the other two cards, HDFC Regalia Gold offers a much higher value back. On spends of Rs. 7.5 Lakh, you will be able to get a value back of Rs. 13,300 if you redeem against select premium brands under the Exclusive Gold Catalogue. Even if you convert the points into air miles, you would get 10,000 air miles in exchange for 20,000 reward points, which is again a great value back.

Suggested read: Best Credit Cards for Reward Points

Milestone Benefit

Considering the fee amount, the waiver condition seems reasonable for each card. Now let’s see how the milestone benefits compare with each other. With SBI Card ELITE, you can earn up to 30,000 bonus reward points worth Rs. 12,500. HDFC Regalia Gold has kept it simple by offering vouchers instead of bonus rewards. Total benefits of up to Rs. 16,000 can be availed on the HDFC Card. Axis SELECT, however, fails to offer equivalent extent of benefits as it only provides 5,000 Axis EDGE reward points on annual spends of Rs. 3 Lakh.

Lounge Access and Other Travel Benefits

Among the three, SBI Card ELITE is the most travel-focused card as, in addition to the basic complimentary lounge access feature, it also offers Club Vistara membership, Trident Privilege membership and a low forex mark-up fee, thus covering all-round needs of a traveller. HDFC Regalia Gold is a worthy competitor in this regard as it offers a good number of free lounge visits for the annual fee charged, combined with the low forex mark-up fee. Axis SELECT, though charging a higher fee than Regalia Gold, offers only complimentary lounge visits. Consumers would expect more comprehensive travel benefits for a card that is labelled as an ‘all-rounder’.

Suggested read: Top Credit Cards for Travel

Dining, Entertainment and Grocery Benefits

The entertainment benefit on SBI Card ELITE is another major USP of this card as cardholders can get free movie tickets worth Rs. 6,000 in a year and this feature alone surpasses the annual fee charged. HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card offers benefits on Swiggy Dineout which only covers restaurant visits and not the online food orders.

Axis Bank SELECT Credit Card is a clear winner in this spend category as a cardholder who maximizes the benefits offered on all three- Swiggy, BookMyShow and BigBasket- can get a value back of up to Rs. 14,400 in a year, as shown below:

• Swiggy: Rs. 400 p.m. x 12 = Rs. 4,800
• BigBasket: Rs. 500 p.m. x 12 = Rs. 6,000
• BookMyShow: Rs. 300 p.m. x 12 = Rs. 3,600

Value Back Comparison: SBI Card ELITE vs. HDFC Regalia Gold vs. Axis SELECT

To help readers understand the actual amount they can save, here is an example including all major categories aligned with each of these cards:

*The amount is rounded off to the closest value.

The above calculation is done considering the redemption value of rewards as follows:
SBI Card ELITE: 1 Reward Point = Re. 0.25 | HDFC Regalia Gold: 1 Reward Point = Re. 0.65 | Axis SELECT: 1 Reward Point = Re. 0.20

Based on the above comparison table, HDFC Regalia Gold offers a higher value back on total monthly spends of Rs. 70,000. Despite offering lower rewards in most categories compared to the other two cards, it stands out due to its higher redemption value. Regalia Gold cardholders gain access to the Exclusive Gold Catalogue, which allows them to redeem rewards at a higher rate of Re. 0.65 per Reward Point, whereas the other two cards offer lower redemption values.

Which all-rounder credit card should you pick?

All three cards are good in more than one category. However, when you look at them from an all-rounder perspective, SBI Card ELITE clearly covers more ground. Users can save on travel via free lounge visits, free membership to Trident Hotels and Club Vistara (along with some additional advantages on each). The movie benefit itself is worth Rs. 6,000 which surpasses the annual fee of Rs. 4,999. Reward rate, though not too impressive, has the potential to provide substantial value back when combined with the bonus milestones received on reaching spend thresholds. Features like low forex markup fee, complimentary golf rounds (with Mastercard variant) and exclusive benefits across luxury hotels add to the premium quotient of this card.

HDFC Regalia Gold also lets the users earn more than they spend as annual fee. The reward rate on the card is impressive and it offers multiple redemption options assigning a significant redemption value to travel and air mile conversion. This benefit, when combined with complimentary lounge visits and a low forex mark-up fee, makes it a valuable option for travellers. Moreover, the card has an Exclusive Gold Catalogue, which includes some premium brands and users will get the highest redemption value of Rs. 0.65 per reward point. As long as the other categories like dining, fuel and entertainment are concerned, Regalia Gold does not offer much.

Axis Bank SELECT Credit Card provides benefits in two forms- a high reward rate and discount on certain brands. Unlike most cards that set the base rate for offline spends and keep online transactions in the accelerated rewards category, Axis SELECT does the opposite. You can earn double the rewards on your ‘retail spends’ which includes grocery stores, clothing and accessory stores, multi-brand departmental stores, etc. However, the card fails to offer a good redemption value. Users can earn considerable reward points but the value that they get for those rewards could have been better. Cardholders should focus on maximizing the co-branded discount feature on this card as they can get a higher value through this. Travel benefits on the card are also limited to lounge access.

Look for Top Credit Cards in India

Consider applying for SBI Card ELITE if:

• You prioritize saving on travel spends but would also want to avail benefits across dining, movies and groceries
• You would like to save on movie tickets
• You can spend up to Rs. 10 Lakh in a year in order to maximize the milestone benefit as well as the fee waiver condition

Consider applying for HDFC Regalia Gold if:

• You are a high spender
• You spend across all categories and would like to be equally rewarded for all spends
• You are a frequent traveller and wish to save on your travel spends

Consider applying for Axis Bank SELECT if:

• You frequently spend on BigBasket, Swiggy and BookMyShow and would like to save on it
• You travel often and free lounge visits would be beneficial for you
• You can spend up to Rs. 6 Lakh in a year to get the annual fee waived off and get the milestone benefit