Your first card should be cheap to hold, easy to understand and good for building your CIBIL score. We ranked beginner-friendly cards for someone spending about ₹12,000 a month.
How we rank: estimated yearly value for a "first card / student" spending ₹11,000 a month, after reward caps, annual fee (with GST) and forex costs. Rank cards with your own spends →
| Fee waiver | Lounge | Best for | Compare | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HDFC Bank Millennia HDFC Bank · Visa / Mastercard |
₹1,000 | ₹1,00,000 spend | Up to 5% | 3.5% | Domestic lounge access on quarterly spend milestones | Shoppers on Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato | |
Swiggy ORNGE HDFC Bank HDFC Bank · Mastercard |
₹500 | ₹1,50,000 spend | Up to 5% | 3.5% | None | Moderate Swiggy and online spenders who want a low fee | |
IndianOil HDFC Bank HDFC Bank · Mastercard |
₹500 | ₹50,000 spend | Up to 5% | 3.5% | None | Low-cost fuel savings at IndianOil pumps | |
Axis Bank ACE Axis Bank · Visa |
₹499 | ₹2,00,000 spend | Up to 5% | 3.5% | 4 domestic visits a year (spend-linked) | Paying bills and earning flat cashback everywhere | |
Scapia Federal Bank Federal Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 4% | 0% | Domestic lounge access with ₹20,000 monthly spend | International travellers who want zero forex markup | |
Amazon Pay ICICI Bank ICICI Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 5% | 1.99% | None | Amazon Prime members who want a no-fee card | |
American Express Membership Rewards American Express · American Express |
₹4,500 | ₹1,50,000 spend | Up to 1% | 3.5% | None | Regular monthly spenders who can hit the Amex bonuses | |
HDFC Bank MoneyBack+ HDFC Bank · Visa / Mastercard |
₹500 | ₹50,000 spend | Up to 2.5% | 3.5% | None | Low-cost starter card for Amazon, Flipkart and Swiggy | |
SBI Card SimplyCLICK SBI Card · Visa |
₹499 | ₹1,00,000 spend | Up to 2.5% | 3.5% | None | First-time card users who shop online | |
Federal Bank Paisabazaar Paisaback Federal Bank · RuPay |
₹500 | ₹1,50,000 spend | Up to 7.5% | 3.5% | None | Grocery and quick commerce shoppers (Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, BigBasket, DMart) | |
BPCL SBI Card SBI Card · Visa / Mastercard |
₹499 | ₹1,00,000 spend | Up to 4.25% | 3.5% | None | Budget fuel savings at BPCL pumps for a ₹499 fee | |
Kotak 811 #DreamDifferent Kotak Mahindra Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 0.5% | 2% | None | Building credit history with a small FD, no income proof | |
IDFC FIRST Wealth IDFC FIRST Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 0.38% | 0% | Domestic and international lounge access with ₹20,000 monthly spend | High spenders who want premium perks without a fee | |
IDFC FIRST Millennia IDFC FIRST Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 0.38% | 0% | Railway lounge access | Young professionals who want a no-fee card with zero forex markup | |
IDFC FIRST Select IDFC FIRST Bank · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 0.38% | 0% | 1 domestic visit a quarter with ₹20,000 monthly spend, plus railway lounges | Salaried professionals who want a free card with zero forex | |
OneCard Metal OneCard (partner banks) · Visa |
Free | – | Up to 0.2% | 1% | None | A free metal card with a low 1% forex markup | |
ICICI Bank Coral ICICI Bank · Visa / Mastercard / RuPay |
₹500 | ₹1,50,000 spend | Up to 0.5% | 3.5% | 1 domestic visit a quarter (needs ₹75,000 spend in the previous quarter) + railway lounge | A low-fee starter card from ICICI |
Cards from banks where you already have a salary or savings account are usually easiest to get. Secured cards backed by a fixed deposit are an option if you have no credit history.
Yes. Paying on time and keeping your usage low builds a positive credit history over time.