Exploring SBI’s Lifetime Free Credit Cards: Benefits and Eligibility

If you are a new comer to the credit card segment, in that case the lifetime free credit cards are the perfect choice. There is no joining or renewal fees and the benefits can be availed without any need for the money to be paid. These are meant for all i.e. from high net-worth applicants to the new comers. These cards may not come with as many privileges as the upper variants offer, but still they present decent rewards and benefits. 

SBI Credit Card Offers 3 variants with zero joining fees, namely Unnati Credit Card, Cashback SBI Credit Card, Ola Money SBI Credit Card. Let us look into their features and benefits one after the other.

1. SBI Unnati Credit Card

Particulars	SBI Card Unnati
Joining fees	Nil
Annual fee	INR 499, waived off for first 4 years
Rewards	1 RP on every INR 100 spent
Milestone Rewards	INR 500 cashback on spending INR 50,000
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% for transactions between INR 500 – INR 3,000, Maximum INR 100 per statement cycle
Worldwide Acceptance	Accepted over 24 million outlets across the world, and 3,25,000 outlets in India.
Contactless Advantage	Fast and convenient, no-contact transactions ensure added safety
Add-on cards	Can be issued for family above the age of 18
Cash on the go	Cash withdrawal from over 1 million ATMs across the globe
Utility Bill Payment Facility	Use the Easy Bill Pay Facility
Balance transfer	Pay at a lower rate of interest
Flexipay	Convert transactions into EMIs
Easy Money	Get a draft or cheque delivered to the doorstep

2. Cashback SBI Credit Card

Particulars	Cashback SBI Credit card
Joining fees	NIL
Annual fee	INR 999 + taxes
Rewards	Cashback – 5% on any online spend, 1% on all offline spends
Milestone Rewards	Reversal of annual fee on spending INR 2 lakh
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% for transactions between INR 500 – INR 3,000, Maximum INR 100 per statement cycle
Worldwide Acceptance	Accepted over 24 million outlets across the world, and 3,25,000 outlets in India.
Contactless Advantage	Fast and convenient, no-contact transactions ensure added safety
Add-on cards	Can be issued for family above the age of 18
Cash on the go	Cash withdrawal from over 1 million ATMs across the globe
Utility Bill Payment Facility	Use the Easy Bill Pay Facility
Balance transfer	Pay at a lower rate of interest
Flexipay	Convert transactions into EMIs
Easy Money	Get a draft or cheque delivered to the doorstep

3. Ola Money Credit Card

Particulars	Ola Money SBI Credit Card
Joining fees	NIL
Annual fee	INR 499
Rewards	1 reward points on all spends, 1 reward point = Re 1.
Milestone Rewards	Reversal of annual fee on spending INR 1 lakh
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% waiver at all fuel stations, Maximum INR 100 per statement cycle
Worldwide Acceptance	Accepted over 24 million outlets across the world, and 3,25,000 outlets in India.
Contactless Advantage	Fast and convenient, no-contact transactions ensure added safety
Add-on cards	Can be issued for family above the age of 18
Cash on the go	–
Utility Bill Payment Facility	Use the Easy Bill Pay Facility
Balance transfer	Pay at a lower rate of interest
Flexipay	Convert transactions into EMIs
Easy Money	Get a draft or cheque delivered to the doorstep

Eligibility Criteria

Mentioned below are the eligibility parameters that are to be met in order to apply for a SBI Lifetime Free Credit Card: 

• The required minimum age of an applicant should be 21 years.
• The required maximum age of an applicant should be 70 years
• The applicant must be citizen of India.
• He/ she should have a decent credit score.
• An applicant should either be self-employed or salaried having a stable source of income.

Documentation Required

Below is the list of documents required to apply for SBI Lifetime free credit cards:

1. ID Proof –  
2. Aadhar Card
3. PAN Card
4. Driver’s License
5. Passport, etc.
6. Address Proof –
7. Aadhar Card
8. Rent Agreement
9. Ration Card
10. Passport
11. Latest Utility Bills, etc
12. Income Proof –

3. Salaried individuals are required to provide last 2 months salary slips
4. Bank statements
5. Self-employed individuals are required to provide the   audited ITR of the previous year.

Fees and Charges

Mentioned are the processing fees and charges to be applied in case of SBI credit cards:

Type of fee	Fee
Cash Advance Fee	2.5% or INR 500, whichever is higher
Cash Payment Fee	INR 250 + Taxes
Interest-free grace period	20-50 days
Finance charges	3.5% monthly (42% annually)
Late payment charges	NIL for outstanding between 0-500 INR 400 for outstanding between INR 500 to INR 1,000 INR 750 for outstanding between INR 1,000 to INR 10,000 INR 950 for outstanding between INR 10,000 to INR 25,000 INR 1100 for outstanding between INR 25,000 to INR 50,000 INR 1300 for outstanding greater than INR 50,000
Payment Dishonor fee	2% of payment amount subject to minimum of INR 500
Rewards Redemption Fee	INR99
Card Replacement fee	INR 100 to INR 250
Credit Limit increase fee	INR 200
Network change fee	INR 200
Cheque payment fee	INR 100
Foreign currency transaction fee	3.50%
Processing fee	INR 99

Steps to Apply for SBI Credit Cards

Mentioned below are the steps that are to be followed to apply SBI Credit Cards:

Step 1: Firstly, an applicant is required to visit the official website or web portal of SBI.

Step 2: Then go to the Credit Cards section.

Step 3: Look for the desired card and choose the same.

Step 4: Next, click the option ‘Apply Now’.

Step 5: Fill in all of the important information required.

Step 6: Upload documents and click “Continue”.

Benefits of SBI Lifetime Free Credit Cards

Mentioned are the benefits of SBI Lifetime Free Credit Cards:

1. The lifetime cards offered by SBI do not charge any joining fees from its clients.
2. It provides a simple and hassle-free method to apply for the card. But, one should consider the eligibility parameters and upload the documents required.
3. Though lifetime cards cannot compete with the premium cards, but stil offer many discounts and deals for the clients.
4. It provides benefits all across travel, shopping, entertainment, lifestyle, movie, dining, etc.
5. It helps in improving the credit score and building a decent credit history and customer profile.
6. Also, one can easily upgrade to the premium cards whenever required afterwards.
7. It provides many reward points, and one can redeem them against multiple vouchers, statement balance, get them transferred to airmiles, etc.