SBI Pulse Credit Card

The SBI Pulse credit card is SBI Card’s first product targeted at healthcare consumers. Joining and annual fees for SBI Pulse are Rs 1499 plus GST. Noise ColorFit Pulse 2 smart watch is included as a welcome gift and spending Rs 2 lakh in a membership year waives the annual fee. In addition to accelerated rewards on pharmacy and medicine purchases, SBI Pulse credit card customers can access airport lounges and join FITPASS Pro.

Fees

It is good to see a different kind of welcome benefit on a credit card. The smartwatch is also a good fit for a health-focused credit card. Though the MRP of the Noise ColorFit Pulse 2 Smartwatch is Rs 5999, it is often available at Rs 1999 to Rs 2499 on Amazon India. So, we get a welcome benefit that is almost the same as the fees we pay.

Rewards

SBI Pulse credit card offers accelerated rewards for health related spends like chemist, pharmacy and dining spends. But the reward rate is very low on other spends. Unfortunately, this makes the card unusable for all kinds of spends. In the current scenario, having less than 1% rewards on any category is a strict no unless you have some very good rewards and benefits on other spends that offset this.

Milestone Rewards

Rs 1500 Netmeds gift voucher on Rs 4 Lakhs spend in a membership year ~0.38% Return

We get a Netmeds gift voucher as a milestone benefit but it is only of Rs 1500 value and on spends of Rs 4 Lakh. This is too less. Considering that the annual spend waiver is on spends of Rs 2 Lakh, we do not see any point in offering this milestone benefit.

Complimentary Health Benefits

This is a good feature of this card. We get below memberships on joining and every year on renewal.

Complimentary 1-year FITPASS PRO membership
Complimentary 1-year Netmeds First membership. The current value of this membership is Rs 499.

FITPASS PRO is a gym membership that offers 12 complimentary visits every month to any FITPASS gym across India. More details here.

Rewards Redemption

SBI Pulse credit card offers multiple options for redemption. We can get e-vouchers or products from the catalogue over here. The best option however is to get a statement credit by calling SBI credit card customer care. For statement credit, we get a value of 25 paise per reward point.

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access

Domestic Airport Lounge Access: 2 visits per quarter to airport lounges in India. Check this list to find the eligible lounges where you can get access with Mastercard.
International Airport Lounge Access: Not Available

Other Key Benefits & Charges

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver for transactions between Rs 500 and Rs 4000. Maximum waiver capped at Rs 100 per statement cycle.
Rent Payment Charges: Rs 199+GST
Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5%+GST ~4.13%
Interest Rate: 3.5% per month or 42% annually

Final Thoughts

SBI Pulse credit card is a decent offering for the health-focused market segment. But, we not see the rewards and benefits that justify the annual fee. We get better deals on buying medicines online with other cards. SBI Cashback will get you 5% cashback on any online medicine order. Tata Neu Infinity will give you 10% on 1Mg orders and lab tests through Tata Neu app. The only good benefits are the Noise smartwatch we get as a welcome benefit along with the FitPass Pro and Netmeds First membership.

It is strange to see SBI Card introducing so many cards but not one that offers best-in-class rewards and benefits. SBI Pulse credit card joins that league for now.

Frequently Asked Questions