Best Cashback Credit Cards in India (2026 Guide)

Best Cashback Credit Cards in India

Before applying for a paid cashback credit card, check its break-even spend. This tells you how much you need to spend on eligible purchases for the cashback you earn to cover the card’s annual fee. 

For example, if the annual fee is ₹1,000 and you earn 5% cashback, you need to spend ₹20,000 on eligible purchases to earn ₹1,000 back. If you are unlikely to reach that spending level, the card may not be worth paying an annual fee for. 

SBI Cashback Credit Card

If most of your spending happens online, SBI Cashback is probably the easiest credit card to start with. The annual fee is ₹999 + GST. Based on the applicable cashback rate, you need roughly ₹23,600 of eligible annual spending to recover the fee. The renewal fee is waived when you spend ₹2 lakh in the preceding year.

It offers 5% cashback on eligible online spends and 1% on eligible offline spends. There are no reward points to calculate or redemption values to figure out. You spend, earn cashback and move on.

The maximum cashback is ₹2,000 on online spends and ₹2,000 on offline spends per statement cycle, giving you a combined maximum of ₹4,000. There are also several exclusions from cashback such as utilities, insurance, fuel, rent, wallets, education, jewellery, digital gaming, tolls and government-related transactions. 

So SBI Cashback credit card makes much more sense if you regularly shop online rather than you only make a few online purchases every month.

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The SBI Cashback Credit Card recently went through a devaluation, so its current benefits are worth checking before applying. Read our official guides: SBI Cashback Credit Card Review 2026 and SBI Cashback Credit Card Devaluation guide for the latest changes. 

Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card

The biggest advantage of the Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card is simple: it's lifetime free.

The cashback structure is simple:

• 5% on eligible Amazon.in purchases for Prime members

• 3% on eligible Amazon.in purchases for non-Prime members

• 2% on eligible Amazon Pay partner categories

• 1% on other eligible spends

For eligible Amazon purchases, the cashback is uncapped and is credited as Amazon Pay balance. The card is lifetime free, so there is no annual fee to recover. It also pairs well with SBI Cashback if Amazon makes up a large part of your spending. 

There are some important exclusions. Cashback is not available on categories such as fuel, rent, taxes, gold and silver and EMI transactions, along with certain other excluded spends. Digital products and gift cards on Amazon.in earn 2% cashback irrespective of Prime status.

Read our Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card Review 2026 for a closer look at its benefits, cashback structure and limitations.  

HSBC Live+ Credit Card

This is where HSBC Live+ gets interesting. It is not simply another credit card for general online shopping. The annual fee is ₹999 + GST and HSBC waives the renewal fee when annual spending crosses ₹2 lakh.

HSBC Live+ now offers 10% accelerated cashback on eligible dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends, with a combined cashback cap of ₹1,200 per month.

The expanded shopping category does have exclusions. Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra are excluded from the accelerated shopping cashback and continue to earn the applicable base cashback rate. You also get 1.5% unlimited cashback on most other eligible spends, subject to exclusions.

The ₹1,200 monthly cap means you can earn up to ₹14,400 a year in accelerated cashback if you consistently maximise the 10% categories. You need around ₹11,800 of eligible accelerated spending to recover the ₹999 + GST annual fee through cashback alone.

HSBC Live+ has also seen a few benefit changes in 2026. Read our official guides: HSBC Live+ Credit Card Review 2026 and HSBC Live+ Credit Card Devaluation July 2026 for a closer look at the current benefits and recent changes. 

HDFC Swiggy Black Credit Card

HDFC Swiggy is the more specialised option in this list. It offers 10% cashback on eligible Swiggy spends, 5% cashback on eligible online spends and 1% cashback on other eligible spends.

The cashback has three separate caps:

• Swiggy spends: 10% cashback, capped at ₹1,500 per billing cycle

• Online spends: 5% cashback, capped at ₹1,500 per billing cycle

• Other eligible spends: 1% cashback, capped at ₹1,000 per billing cycle

The standard joining and renewal fee is ₹1,000 + applicable taxes. Some users may receive lifetime-free offers through specific channels, so check the exact fee displayed when applying. HDFC states that the renewal fee can be waived after ₹2 lakh annual spending. Check the exact offer shown to you at the time of application. 

For a paid version, roughly ₹12,000 of annual Swiggy spending can be enough to recover the fee through the relevant accelerated cashback. If you mainly use the credit card for eligible online spending outside Swiggy, the broad break-even point is around ₹24,000 a year.

The HDFC Swiggy Black credit card can also work well with Amazon Pay ICICI if you spend regularly on both Amazon and Swiggy.

Axis Cashback Credit Card

Axis Cashback is another option for online spending, but its cashback structure works differently from SBI Cashback.

Monthly Online Spend Cashback Rate

The accelerated online cashback is capped at ₹4,000 per statement cycle.

Other eligible spends earn:

• 0.75% on eligible offline and travel spends

• 0.5% on eligible utility spends, capped at ₹100 per statement cycle

The annual fee is ₹1,000 + GST, with the renewal fee waived when annual spending reaches ₹4 lakh during the card's anniversary year. 

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But the main drawback is its overlap with SBI Cashback. So if you already have SBI Cashback, do not add Axis simply because the headline cashback rate goes up to 7%. Look at your actual monthly online spending and work out whether the additional cashback is enough to justify another credit card.

Which Cashback Credit Cards Work Well Together?

You don't necessarily need all five cards to maximise cashback. A combination of these three can cover most common spending categories:

• Amazon Pay ICICI: Use it for Amazon purchases, where Prime members earn 5% cashback.

• SBI Cashback: Use it for other eligible online spends to earn 5% cashback.

• HSBC Live+: Use it for dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends to earn 10% cashback, capped at ₹1,200 per month.

The idea is simple: use each card where it gives you the most cashback instead of using one card for everything. This also avoids adding another card that overlaps heavily with the cashback you already earn from SBI Cashback.

When Should You Skip a Cashback credit Card?

A high cashback rate does not automatically make a credit card worth getting. Before applying, ask yourself three things: where do you spend the most, how much do you spend and how much cashback will you realistically earn after caps and exclusions? 

This matters even more when you are considering two credit cards with similar benefits. A second cashback credit card is only worth adding if the additional cashback you earn justifies its fee. The goal should not be to collect five cashback credit cards. It should be to have the fewest credit cards that give you good coverage for the spending you actually do.

SaveSage can help you compare credit cards and calculate potential rewards based on your spending, so you can see which option makes sense before you pay.

FAQs

1. Which is the best cashback credit card in India in 2026? 

If you want one credit card for general cashback, SBI Cashback is the strongest starting option because of its broad 5% cashback on eligible online spending. However, the right choice depends on where you spend and how much of your spending falls into eligible categories. 

2. Which credit card gives the highest cashback?

The highest cashback rate depends on where you spend. HSBC Live+ can give 10% cashback on eligible dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends, while SBI Cashback offers 5% on eligible online spends. Instead of chasing the highest percentage, pick the credit card that gives you the highest return on the categories where you actually spend.

3. What is the cashback limit on the SBI Cashback Credit Card?

SBI Cashback offers up to ₹2,000 cashback on eligible online spends and ₹2,000 on eligible offline spends per statement cycle. The combined maximum cashback is therefore ₹4,000 per statement cycle.

4. Is a cashback credit card better than a rewards credit card?

Not necessarily. Cashback is simpler because the value is straightforward, while rewards cards can sometimes provide higher value when points are transferred to airline or hotel loyalty programmes. The better option depends on how you redeem rewards and what you spend on.

5. How do I choose the best cashback credit card?

Start with your biggest spending categories, then compare the cashback rate, eligible merchants, cashback caps and annual fee. A card with a lower headline rate can still be better if you can use its cashback categories more often.