YES Bank Marquee: Worthy New Entrant in the Premium Card Segment

YES Bank Marquee Credit Card comes with the following features and benefits for its users:

Welcome Benefits worth Rs. 15,000

YES Bank Marquee comes with a joining fee of Rs. 9,999 but compensates for it by offering 60,000 YES Rewardz Points as a welcome bonus on the payment of joining fee.

Redeeming these bonus rewards against flight and hotel bookings worth Rs. 15,000 (valued at 1 RP = Rs. 0.25), easily recovers the joining fee. In comparison to premium cards like HDFC Diners Club Black and Axis Magnus, which offer complimentary vouchers or memberships as welcome benefits, the Marquee card has kept it simple by offering bonus rewards that cardholders can flexibly redeem for flight and hotel bookings, vouchers, or air miles based on their requirements.

Up to 36 Reward Points on Your Spends

The card offers accelerated rewards on online and offline shopping as per below details:

• 36 YES Rewardz Points per Rs. 200 spent on online shopping
• 18 YES Rewardz Points per Rs. 200 on offline spends
• 10 YES Rewardz Points per Rs. 200 spent on select categories, such as wallet loading, recharge, rental, utility bill, insurance and other government payments

Note: Rs. 1 or 1% of transaction value, whichever is higher, will be levied on all rental and wallet transactions greater than Rs. 1. Also, You can only make up to 3 rental transactions within a period of 30 days.

Excluded Categories: Fuel transactions, instant and post purchase EMIs, cash withdrawals and cash advance fees & charges will not accrue any YES Rewardz Points.

Capping on Rewards Earning: The bank allows the cardholders to earn a maximum of 1 lakh YES Rewardz Points per statement cycle.

Redemption Value

Cardholders can redeem or convert the earned reward points at the following conversion value:

• 1 YES Rewardz Point = Up to Rs. 0.25
• 4 YES Rewardz Points = 1 Club Vistara Point/InterMile

Marquee Credit Card’s rewards program primarily focuses on online shopping, offering an impressive reward rate of up to 4.5%, surpassing premium cards like HDFC DC Black (3.33%) and ICICI Emeralde Private Metal (3%). For offline spends, the card offers a reward rate of 2.25% and a base rate of 1.25% for other categories. The card also stands out by offering rewards on categories like wallet loading, rental payments, utility bills, insurance, etc., which are generally excluded by most credit cards.

The redemption rate on YES Marquee (1 RP = Rs. 0.25) is much lower in comparison to other premium cards like HDFC DC Black and ICICI Emeralde Private, which provide 1:1 redemption ratio across most redemption categories. However, with a high earning rate, Marquee maintains a competitive reward rate, on par with other premium cards. But Marquee falls short in terms of redemption options. For point-to-mile transfer, you only have two options- Club Vistara and Intermiles. Where most premium cards extend redemption benefits with several airlines and hotels, limiting to just two options is rather restrictive for a premium credit card. For a comparative analysis, the table below shows the value-back offered by YES Marquee, ICICI Emeralde Private Metal, and HDFC Diners Club Black credit cards.

Rewards Comparison: YES Marquee Vs. ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Vs. HDFC Diners Club Black

Category	Monthly Spend (in Rs.)	Savings via Marquee (in Rs.)	Savings via Emeralde Private Metal (in Rs.)	Savings via DC Black (in Rs.)
Online Shopping	15,000	675	450	500
Travel	20,000	900	600	666
Dining	10,000	225	300	333
Departmental Store	10,000	225	300	333
Grocery	15,000	675	450	500
Utility Bills	20,000	250	600	666
Apparel	10,000	225	300	333
Total	1,00,000	3,175	3,000	3,331

The calculation for the above illustration is done considering the following rewards redemption options:

• YES Bank Marquee: 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25
• ICICI Emeralde Private Metal: 1 Reward Point = Rs. 1
• HDFC Diners Club Black: 1 Reward Point = 1 Airmile or Rs. 1 for travel related redemption options

Based on the comparison table above, it’s evident that all the three cards offer similar overall savings if you redeem your accrued points against the options that give the highest redemption value.  However, despite a lower rewards redemption value than the other two cards, YES Bank Marquee takes a lead when it comes to value-back on online transactions. So, if you are a frequent online shopper, Marquee card could yield greater savings. Conversely, if your expenses are distributed among various categories, opting for HDFC Diners Club Black might be more suitable.

Complimentary Travel Benefits

• Domestic Lounge Program: Up to 24 complimentary visits to domestic airport lounges (6 per quarter) within India in a year for primary and add-on card users
• International Lounge Program: Unlimited complimentary access to airport lounges internationally for both primary as well as add-on cardholders
• Guest Visits: 8 complimentary domestic or international lounge visits in a year for guests
• Low Forex Mark-up: 1% foreign currency exchange mark-up fee on international transactions

With unlimited international lounge visits and 24 domestic lounge visits for primary and add-on members, Marquee Credit Card stands neck and neck with HDFC Diners Club Black and ICICI Emeralde Private Metal. The card holds great value for international travellers as it offers ‘convenience’ with free lounge visits and ‘savings’ with a low foreign exchange mark-up fee of 1%.

Other Benefits

Golf Benefits: Cardholders can avail complimentary golf games or lessons are per the below details:

• Up to 12 complimentary golf lessons in a year (1 per month) at select golf courses in India
• 4 complimentary green fee waivers at select golf courses in India

Renewal Bonus: 20,000 bonus YES Rewardz Points on renewal fee payment.

Movie Offer: Buy 1 get 1 offer with up to Rs. 800 off per movie ticket on BookMyShow with maximum 3 free tickets on purchasing 3 regular tickets per month.

Dining Offer: Minimum 15% off on dining at select restaurants under the Dining Fiesta program.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver of up to Rs. 1,000 per month on your fuel transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5,000.

Insurance Cover:

• Up to 6 months purchase protection cover of Rs. 50,000 for any accidental damage of electronics purchased online
• Credit shield cover and lost card liability cover of Rs. 15 lakh each

Beyond its primary categories, the card also offers up to 36 free movie tickets worth Rs. 28,800, 12 complimentary golf lessons or games, bonus rewards worth Rs. 5,000 as renewal benefit and fuel benefits worth Rs. 12,000. The combined value of these benefits not only surpasses the card’s annual fee by a wide margin but also adds to its overall value as an all-rounder card.

Considering the reward and travel benefits offered on this card, YES Bank Marquee Credit Card stands as a suitable option for high-spenders, particularly those who prefer online shopping. Moreover, those having difficulty in getting super-premium cards like HDFC Infinia might find YES Bank Marquee Credit Card a viable alternative to avail similar benefits at a relatively lower annual fee.

Consider this credit card if:

• You are a high spender
• You are a frequent international traveller
• You prefer shopping online and can maximize the reward benefits
• You want all-rounder benefits across movies, dining, rewards, etc.
• You are looking for a card with complimentary golf benefits

Consider other options if:

• Your monthly income is below Rs. 3 Lakh per month
• You want more travel-centric redemption options like point-to-mile transfer with multiple airline or hotels, etc.
• You prefer store-visits over online spends