Checked 2 September 2026 against SBI Card's revision notice of 1 April 2026 and the Cashback SBI Card FAQ, both linked at the foot of this review.
The Cashback SBI Card is the simplest of the mainstream Indian cashback cards, and its simplicity is the argument for it. There is no merchant tie-in, no reward currency to redeem, no accelerated category to track. Eligible online spend earns 5%, eligible offline spend earns 1%, and the money arrives as a statement credit.
Since 1 April 2026 there is a ceiling on all of it, and three categories that used to earn no longer do. This review reads the card as it now stands.
The card in one table
| Feature | Position on 2 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Online cashback | 5%, capped at ₹2,000 a statement cycle |
| Offline cashback | 1% at merchant POS, capped at ₹2,000 a statement cycle |
| Total cashback | Capped at ₹4,000 a statement cycle since 1 April 2026 |
| Cashback credit | Automatic, within two working days of statement generation |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1% on transactions of ₹500 to ₹3,000, maximum ₹100 a statement |
| Cashback on fuel | None |
| Annual fee | ₹999 plus taxes, reported but not published in the sources below |
| Fee reversal | Reported at ₹2,00,000 annual spend, not published in the sources below |
Two rows in that table are deliberately hedged. SBI Card's public FAQ for this product does not state the joining fee, the annual fee or the spend threshold that reverses it. The widely reported figures are ₹999 and ₹2,00,000, and they are consistent across comparison sites, but we could not find them in a primary SBI Card document on this dateline. We would rather flag that than present an aggregator figure as a verified one. Check the Key Fact Statement you are given at application.
What changed on 1 April 2026
SBI Card's revision notice is short and does two things.
It imposed a total cap. Before April, the 5% online and 1% offline buckets each had their own limit. They still do, but a combined ceiling now sits above them:
| Spend type | Rate | Maximum a statement cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Online | 5% | ₹2,000 |
| Offline (POS at merchant outlets) | 1% | ₹2,000 |
| Total | — | ₹4,000 |
It excluded three more categories, on top of a list that was already long:
| Category | MCCs |
|---|---|
| Digital gaming platforms and merchants | 7993, 7994, 5816 |
| Tolls | 4784 |
| Government-related transactions | 9222, 9311, 9402 |
SBI Card adds a caution about those codes that applies to every card, not just this one:
The Merchant Category Codes are defined by the Networks and are subject to change basis their discretion and such changes shall be implemented basis communication from the Networks without any requirement for intimation/information to the customers.
In other words, the boundary of the exclusion can move without anyone telling you. How merchant category codes work explains why a transaction can fall outside a category that looks obviously inside it.
Where the caps actually bind
The two sub-caps are not equally reachable, and this is the most practical thing to understand about the card.
- The online cap binds at ₹40,000. ₹40,000 of eligible online spend in a cycle produces ₹2,000, and every rupee of online spend after that earns nothing.
- The offline cap binds at ₹2,00,000. At 1%, filling the ₹2,000 offline bucket takes ₹2,00,000 of card-present spend in a single cycle. Very few cardholders will ever approach it.
So the ₹4,000 total cap is, for most people, not the binding constraint. The ₹2,000 online sub-cap is. Reaching the advertised maximum requires a spending pattern — ₹40,000 online and ₹2,00,000 offline in the same cycle — that almost nobody has.
The unused offline headroom cannot absorb overflow from the online bucket. They are separate buckets earning different rates, and our explainer on what a cashback cap actually limits sets out why that distinction matters more than the headline number.
The effective rate
| Monthly online spend | Cashback | Effective rate on that spend |
|---|---|---|
| ₹10,000 | ₹500 | 5.00% |
| ₹20,000 | ₹1,000 | 5.00% |
| ₹40,000 | ₹2,000 | 5.00% |
| ₹50,000 | ₹2,000 | 4.00% |
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹2,000 | 2.00% |
The card holds a true 5% right up to the cap and then decays. That flat stretch is the card's real strength: below ₹40,000 of monthly online spend, what you are promised is what you get.
What earns nothing
The exclusions are the card's weak point, and the list is longer than most:
Utility, insurance, fuel, rent, wallet loads, school and educational services, jewellery and railways, plus the three categories added in April — digital gaming, tolls and government transactions. Merchant EMI and Flexipay EMI transactions are also excluded.
For a card whose appeal is "5% on everything online", that list removes a large share of what many households actually pay online. Utilities and rent alone can account for most of a month's online transactions. If your online spending is mainly bills, this card earns far less than the headline implies.
Fuel deserves a note of its own. There is no cashback on fuel, but there is a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000, capped at ₹100 a statement. Those are two different things, and holding the card for fuel means holding it for the waiver, not for cashback. Our guide to the fuel surcharge waiver explains the distinction.
How it compares with the Axis Bank Cashback card
Both cards cap total cashback at ₹4,000 a statement cycle. They reach that ceiling in opposite ways, and the comparison is unusually clean because the ceiling is identical.
The Axis Bank Cashback Credit Card pays a marginal, tiered rate on online spend — 2% on the first ₹5,000, 5% to ₹40,000, then 7% above that. SBI pays a flat 5% until its own cap.
| Monthly online spend | Cashback SBI Card | Axis Bank Cashback |
|---|---|---|
| ₹10,000 | ₹500 | ₹350 |
| ₹20,000 | ₹1,000 | ₹850 |
| ₹40,000 | ₹2,000 | ₹1,850 |
| ₹50,000 | ₹2,000 | ₹2,550 |
| ₹70,714 | ₹2,000 | ₹4,000 |
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹2,000 | ₹4,000 |
The crossover sits just above ₹42,000 of monthly online spend. Below it the SBI card pays more; above it the Axis card does, and by a widening margin until the Axis cap binds at about ₹70,700.
That single number does more work than any score. Below roughly ₹42,000 a month of eligible online spending, the simpler card is also the better-paying one. Above it, the tiered card pulls ahead.
Two caveats before treating that table as decisive. The exclusion lists differ, so identical spending does not produce identical eligible spending on the two cards — Axis excludes travel from its accelerated rate and pays 0.75% instead, while SBI excludes utilities and rent outright. And the annual fees differ, at a reported ₹999 against a published ₹1,000 plus GST, with very different waiver thresholds of a reported ₹2,00,000 against a published ₹4,00,000.
Neither table is a recommendation. Both depend on a spending pattern we cannot see, and choosing a card from your own spend is the method we would suggest instead.
Who the structure suits
The Cashback SBI Card suits moderate, broad online spending that is not concentrated in the excluded categories — retail shopping across many merchants, at up to about ₹40,000 a month.
It suits you less well if your online spending is mainly utilities, rent, insurance or education, which earn nothing; if you spend far more than ₹40,000 a month online, where the cap turns 5% into 3% or 2%; or if you want lounge access or travel benefits, which the core proposition does not include.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum cashback on the Cashback SBI Card?
₹4,000 a statement cycle since 1 April 2026, made up of at most ₹2,000 from online spend and at most ₹2,000 from offline spend.
How much do I need to spend to hit the online cap?
₹40,000 of eligible online spend in a statement cycle produces the ₹2,000 online maximum. Online spending beyond that earns nothing in the same cycle.
Do utility and rent payments earn 5%?
No. Utility, insurance, fuel, rent, wallet loads, school and educational services, jewellery and railways are excluded, as are digital gaming, tolls and government transactions since 1 April 2026.
When is cashback credited?
Automatically to the card account, within two working days of the statement generation date. There is nothing to redeem.
Does the card earn cashback on fuel?
No. It carries a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions of ₹500 to ₹3,000, capped at ₹100 a statement, but fuel spend itself earns no cashback.
Is the annual fee ₹999?
That is the widely reported figure, but SBI Card's public FAQ for this product does not publish the fee or the spend threshold that reverses it. Confirm both against the Key Fact Statement given to you at application.
Primary sources, checked 2 September 2026
- SBI Card, Revision in the benefits of CASHBACK SBI Card
- SBI Card, Cashback SBI Card FAQ
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