If you do not have a credit score, it can be tough to get an unsecured credit card. While we do get BNPL cards without a credit score nowadays, these show up as loans in your credit report. There is a better way to build a credit score by getting a secured credit card. Banks issue secured credit cards against a fixed deposit. SBI Unnati card is one such card. Here is everything you need to know about the SBI Unnati secured credit card.
Fees and Charges
Entry-level secured credit cards should ideally be lifetime free. SBI Unnati card is free of any annual fee for the first four years. From the fifth year onwards, the annual fee is Rs 499 plus taxes. This is not much of an issue, as you will have a good credit score at the end of four years. At this point, you can close this card and have any unsecured credit card that you want.
Fixed Deposit requirement
The minimum fixed deposit required for the SBI Unnati card is Rs 25000. The maximum allowed fixed deposit is Rs 5 Lakhs.
SBI marks a lien on the FD and assigns 80% of FD value as the credit limit. So, if you mark an FD of Rs 25000 for lien then the credit limit for the Unnati secured credit card will be Rs 20000.
SBI Unnati Card Rewards
The key advantage of a secured credit card is that it helps build a credit score. So, rewards need not be great. SBI Unnati credit card has got decent rewards.
- 1 RP/Rs 100 on all spending. 1 RP = 25 paise.
- Rs 500 cashback on annual spending of Rs 50000 ~ 1% Value
We get a total return of 1.25% on spending Rs 50000 in a year. This is good enough for this segment of cards.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver for transactions between Rs 500 & Rs 3000
- Maximum surcharge waiver of Rs 100 per statement cycle
My View
SBI Unnati is a decent secured credit card with good rewards. It is also easy to apply for with SBI branches available almost everywhere near us. If you are a student or have started working recently, you can look at this card to build a credit score. Once you have a 750 plus CIBIL credit score, you can start looking at unsecured credit cards.
SBI Unnati Credit Card
