Pure-play airmiles credit cards have been limited to a very selective list so far. From the erstwhile Citibank Premier Miles to the popular Axis Atlas, the airmiles game in India has been gaining traction. The latest entrant to this segment is SBI Card. SBI Card has launched its miles focused credit cards in three variants – SBI Card Miles, SBI Card Miles Prime and SBI Card Miles Elite. SBI Card Miles Prime is the middle variant with an annual fee of Rs 2999 and earns 1% to 2% travel credits(airmiles/hotel points) on spends. It also gets a milestone benefit of 10,000 bonus travel credits on meeting the target spends. The benefits of the SBI Card Miles Prime variant include complimentary domestic airport lounge access, international airport lounge access and a fuel surcharge waiver.
Fees
| Joining Fee | Rs 2999+GST ~Rs 3539 |
| Welcome Benefit | 3000 Travel Credits on Rs 60,000 spends within 60 days |
| Annual Fee | Rs 2999+GST ~Rs 3539 |
| Annual Fee Waiver | On Rs 10 Lakh spends |
| Renewal Benefit | None |
The joining fee is well compensated by the welcome benefit. But, there should be been a renewal benefit on the same lines.
Rewards
| Spends Category | Reward Rate |
|---|---|
| Travel Spends | 4 Travel Credits/Rs 200 |
| Other Spends | 2 Travel Credit/Rs 200 |
| Fuel, Wallets, Rent, Education, Utilities and Insurance | No Rewards |
This puts the airmiles/hotel points earn rate at just 1% to 2%! That too with a high annual fee of Rs 2999. Even at that earn rate, we have so many categories that are excluded from rewards. There should have been a higher earn rate on this card or may be better milestone benefits to boost the reward rate.
Milestone Benefits
- 10,000 bonus travel credits on Rs 8 Lakh annual spends
The milestone benefit adds another 1.25% bonus reward rate if you can hit that target spend. At the moment, there are no spends excluded for milestone benefits.
Points Transfer Partners
SBI Card becomes the latest credit card issuer to tie up with a huge number of airlines and hotels for points transfer. We get access to many of the existing partners that we have for Axis Bank and HDFC Bank credit cards. This will make point pooling a lot easier.
Interesting misses in this list are Marriott Bonvoy and KrisFlyer. Both are quite popular in India. The interesting addition in the list is Shangri-La group but at a rather low conversion rate of 6:1.
| Transfer Partner and Program | Conversion Rate Travel Credits: Partner Miles |
|---|---|
| Air Arabia: AA Rewards | 2:1 |
| Air India: Flying Returns | 1:1 |
| Accor: ALL | 2:1 |
| Air Asia: airasia rewards | 1:1 |
| Air Canada: Aeroplan | 1:1 |
| Air France – KLM: Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| Air Vistara: Club Vistara | 1:1 |
| Ethiopian Airlines: ShebaMiles | 2:1 |
| Etihad Airways: Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts: IHG One Rewards | 1:1 |
| ITC: Club ITC | 2:1 |
| Japan Airlines: JAL Mileage Bank | 2:1 |
| Orchid Hotels: Orchid Rewards | 1:1 |
| Qantas Airways: Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| Saudia: AlFursan | 2:1 |
| SpiceJet: SpiceClub | 1:1 |
| Shangri-La Group | 6:1 |
| Turkish Airlines: Miles&Smiles | 2:1 |
| Thai Airways: Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 |
| United Airlines: United MileagePlus | 2:1 |
| Wyndham Hotels & Resorts: Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
Other Redemption Options
Points transfer redemptions will give you the best value for the SBI Card Miles Prime credit card. But, we do have other options too:
- 1 Travel Credit = 50 paise for travel bookings
- 1 Travel Credit = 25 paise for Shop and Smile product catalogue
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
- Domestic Airport Lounge Access: 2 visits/quarter to airport lounges in India
- International Airport Lounge Access: 4 visits/year to airport lounges outside India
There is no minimum spends criteria for the complimentary airport lounge access on the SBI Card Miles Prime credit card.
Get Extra Domestic Airport Lounge Visits
We also get extra complimentary visits to domestic airport lounges based on our spends. We get one additional domestic lounge visit with every Rs 1 Lakh spend and this is capped at 12 extra visits per membership year.
These additional domestic airport lounge visits are available to both the primary cardholder and a guest. The vouchers can be redeemed on LoungeKey.
Other Key Benefits & Charges
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver for transactions from Rs 500 to Rs 4000. Maximum waiver of Rs 250 per statement cycle.
- Foreign Currency Markup: 2.5%+GST ~2.95%
Final Thoughts
While it is good to have new travel focused credit cards, SBI Card Miles Prime variant is not a great option for its annual fee. We get a low reward rate which makes it difficult to accumulate a significant amount of airmiles. There are no options to earn accelerated airmiles either.
If you are looking for an airmiles credit card, the Axis Atlas continues to be a great option with a higher earn rate along with better milestone and renewal benefits.
SBI Card Miles Prime
2 thoughts on “SBI Card Miles Prime Review”
Returns should be 2-4% right?
It is 2 to 4 travel credits per Rs 200 which makes it 1% to 2%.