Not every change in 2026 was a cut. Here are the notable new cards and upgrades this year, most recent first.

Bandhan Bank credit cards (September 2026)

Bandhan Bank launched its first credit card portfolio in partnership with Mastercard, with a fully digital application process. If you already bank with Bandhan, it may be one of the easiest cards for you to get. Wait for independent reviews of the reward structure before choosing it over established cards.

Amazon Pay Kotak Business Credit Card (September 2026)

Aimed at sole proprietors, this card reportedly offers 5% cashback for Prime members on Amazon Business purchases. For personal Amazon spending, Amazon Pay ICICI Bank remains the lifetime free benchmark.

HSBC Live+ upgrade (July 2026)

Not a new card, but a meaningful upgrade. HSBC Live+ moved to Visa Infinite. Its 10% cashback now covers dining, food delivery, groceries, shopping and utilities up to ₹1,200 a month, and the forex markup is 1.99%. For our "balanced spender" profile it is now the top-ranked card in our database, at about ₹15,840 a year.

CheQ AU LED Credit Card (April 2026)

A novelty card from CheQ and AU Small Finance Bank with an NFC-powered LED that lights up when you tap to pay. It reportedly costs ₹499 a year plus a ₹999 one-time LED fee. Fun, but choose it for the design, not the rewards.

Swiggy BLCK and ORNGE HDFC Bank cards (March 2026)

HDFC Bank and Swiggy replaced the popular Swiggy HDFC card with two variants:

  • Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank: ₹1,000 fee, 10% on Swiggy (capped at ₹1,500 a month) and 5% on online categories (capped at ₹1,500).
  • Swiggy ORNGE HDFC Bank: ₹500 fee, 5% on Swiggy and online, with a combined ₹1,500 monthly cap.

If you spend more than about ₹5,000 a month on Swiggy, BLCK usually covers its higher fee. Compare BLCK vs ORNGE →

FAQs

What happened to the Swiggy HDFC Bank credit card?

In 2026 it was replaced by two variants: Swiggy BLCK (₹1,000 fee, 10% on Swiggy) and Swiggy ORNGE (₹500 fee, 5% on Swiggy). New applications for the original card were closed.

Sources

✓ Fact-checked 26 September 2026Prices, dates and card terms in this article were checked against issuer websites, official pages and news reports listed under Sources. Card figures come from our database, which is re-verified regularly. Offers change often, so confirm on the issuer's site before you buy or apply. Spotted an error? Tell us.