Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card

Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card Review

Fee

Joining Fee: Rs 5000+GST
Annual Fee: Rs 5000+GST

Type

Rewards

Return

2% to 3.3%

Rating

2.3/5

Payment Network

Visa, Mastercard

Benefits

Domestic Airport Lounge Access, International Airport Lounge Access, Golf Games/Lessons, Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Standard Chartered Ultimate credit card is the top offering from the bank in India that is targeted at HNI customers. But, is it actually comparable to the super-premium credit cards from HDFC Bank and Axis Bank? Even today, Standard Chartered India is a far smaller player among behemoths like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI Card. But it does have some ‘different’ credit card offerings targeted toward certain audiences. The Ultimate credit card is one of them – aimed at the high-spending customers who don’t mind paying an annual fee for benefits. In this article, we review the Standard Chartered Ultimate credit card and its rewards & benefits.

Eligibility

Standard Chartered (SC) Ultimate has a higher entry barrier than other credit cards. SC does not mention the exact salary entry criteria. But, it has internal rules when it comes to determining eligibility for this card.

LTF IndusInd Bank Credit Cards

If we have an existing SC credit card with a limit of more than Rs 4 Lakhs, we can get this card by applying online. Standard Chartered allows holding more than one credit card with a shared credit limit. In my case, I already had a Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium credit card with more than a 4 Lakh limit. So, I applied for the card online and received the card in 2 weeks. Simple process!

If you are self-employed, you may face issues while applying for Standard Chartered credit cards. Stan Chart India has an internal list of employers against which they approve credit cards. So, higher chances of rejection.

Fees and Charges

Joining FeeRs 5000+GST
Welcome Benefit6000 Reward Points
Annual FeeRs 5000+GST
Renewal Benefit (Every Year)5000 Reward Points
Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card Review: Fees and Charges

Rewards

CategoryReward RateReturn
Utilities and Bill Payments3 RP/Rs 1502%
Rent and Property Management3 RP/Rs 1502%
Duty-Free Spends3 RP/Rs 1502%
Fuel SpendsNIL
Other Spends5 RP/Rs 1503%
Duty Free Spends5% cashback
Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card: Rewards

The recent devaluations have tried to control the uncapped rewards in some high-spend categories like rent, insurance, and bill payments. But, the Supermarket spending reward rate of 2% is ridiculous. They could have kept it at 3.3% with some cap to prevent misuse.

LTF IDFC First Bank Credit Cards

The 3.3% rewards rate is comparable to premium credit cards like Diners Club Black and Infinia. But there is a small advantage here. We get reward points on the Ultimate card even if the transaction value is less than Rs 150. So, when we pay for a coffee for Rs 30, I get 1 reward point for this transaction. HDFC DCB and Infinia do not issue reward points for transactions below Rs 150. This is the only card to give flat 3.3% rewards making it an everyday spend card even for smaller transactions.

Other Benefits

  • Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5% but we also get a cashback of 1.5% of the transaction fee.
  • Fuel Surcharge Waiver: This is capped at Rs 1000 per calendar month.

Complimentary Airport Lounge Access

  • Airport Lounges in India: 4 complimentary visits/quarter with Visa Infinite. The list of eligible airport lounges for access through Visa is available here.
  • International Airport Lounges (outside India): 1 complimentary visit/month with Priority Pass. This is only available if spending more than Rs 20,000 in the previous month on the card.

Rewards Redemption

Each reward point earned on the Standard Chartered Ultimate credit card is worth Rs 1 for all rewards on its redemption portal. There are six categories for reward redemption:

Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card - Rewards Redemption
  • Electronics – Mobile phones, headsets, and tablets are the primary options. We can get high-end phones like Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or Galaxy S20 Ultra. Most of the items are at MRP though and we will miss out on the discounts that retail shops/websites offer.
  • Home and Family – Games and home appliances like mixer grinders.
  • Lifestyle – Limited options like personal care and grooming electronics.
  • Travel – Backpacks and other luggage options.
  • Charity – Donate points to charity organizations
  • Gift Vouchers – This is the one that gives the best benefit. We can redeem points for a wide range of gift vouchers from apparel brands like Arrow, fashion retail shops like Lifestyle/Pantaloons, and electronics shops like Croma.

Pros and Cons

Final Thoughts

The big question – is whether SC Ultimate is still a good credit card after the devaluation in April 2023. For what it’s worth – our answer now would be No. For the 5K annual fee, we can do a lot better with other credit cards. Even a combination of cashback credit cards with a fee of less than Rs 1000 can be a good option. Some of the cards you can look into are SBI Cashback, Axis Ace, and Flipkart Axis.

AU Bank Xcite Ace

The second worry for Ultimate now is limited options for reward redemption. Some popular options like gold/jeweler GVs have been removed now. No Amazon Pay GVs either. All GVs can be bought outside for a minimum of 10% off. This means the real-world reward rate would be less than 3%. We are even better off using milestone credit cards like Amex Platinum Travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card

CardMaven

Joining / Annual Fees
Rewards
Features and Benefits
2.3
Axis Bank My Zone Credit Card LTF
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64 thoughts on “Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card”

  1. How do you pay EMI transactions through Credit card. Emi are supposed to be auto debited from your bank account directly.

  2. Sai Eaaswer tej

    I am getting pre-approved sc ultimate offer from wishfin website, It is showing no documentation required? Can I apply it they will do home, office, salary verification in physical or totally online process? No physical process will be there.

    1. Card Maven

      That’s rare. SC may still do a verification or ask for documentation if this is your first SC credit card.

  3. Hey All,
    I have few queries regarding SC Ultimate, I have been using since one year and planning to apply a supplementary card now, please guide me one these points

    1. SC customer support guys say I cannot apply for a supplementary card online and that I have to visit bank branch office to apply. Has anybody applied for it online ??
    2. What is the rules applied to Supplementary card’s Priority Pass ?? Is it the same as Primary card i.e. 20k spends in previous month.
    I want to access free international lounge but not clear on the rules applied to supplementary cards

  4. Hey guys,
    HDFC is Conservative and the approval rate is just 17%
    They never take chances to keep their reputation on top, on the other side SC is dynamic but pricey.

  5. I have been using Ultimate for over 7 years now , however the recent downgrade of reward points from 3.3% to 2% makes this card useless especially when you have to pay Rs. 5000 + Rs. 900 (gst) as a yearly renewal fee. I am really disappointed with Standard Chartered and this has got me to search for the best credit card in India. What do you think about the Magnus or diners black or even amex MRCC ?

    1. Card Maven

      Magnus and MRCC are both great cards. We have reviewed them both.

      DCB is also good but at the moment Magnus is the star.

  6. Please suggest an alternate credit card to Standard Chartered ULTIMATE compared on effective reward rates.

    SCB seems determined to kill ULTIMATE(ly) since the card has lost the edge over its competition with following policy changes topped up with annual renewal cost of Rs. 5000/- + 18% GST and fewer GVs in Reward Points Redemption Options.

    Effective 2 April, 2023:

    1) Transactions on Utilities, Supermarkets, Insurance, Property Management, Schools & Government payments will now earn 3 reward points on every INR 150 spent.

    2) No reward points will be earned on Fuel transactions. However, you will now enjoy a surcharge waiver of 1% on fuel spends. Fuel surcharge waiver amount will be capped at INR 1000 per month.

    3) You will be charged a 1% processing fee (plus applicable taxes) for rental payments made using Standard Chartered credit cards.

  7. Avanish Kumar

    Ultimate Experience with Standard Chartered Ultimate card . I applied for the card on line on 29th Jan’23 and recieved the card on 2nd Feb’23. Unbelievable !!! SC is so much efficient. Within few hrs after applying on SUNDAY , I got call , document submitted , Video KYC done followed by all approvals . Too good experience with Standard Chartered credit card division . On the other side , I applied for HDFC Infinia Metal card on 23rd Jan ’23 , it is still in progress ( today is 8th Feb ). They asked to send few docs by courier to Chennai office . Very poor experience . What’s the meaning of online application ?

  8. Hi, Please help suggesting credit cards for best rewards/cashback based on my spends. I currently hold Regalia(LTF), Axis Flipkart and Icici Amazon pay. I have a preapproved offer for DCB(non LTF). My annual spend is about ~17 lakh with the below breakdown
    Rent:~3.5l, Fuel~1l, Swiggy/zomato~1l, Outside Dining~1.5l, Utilities~1.2l, Amazon/Flipkart~1l, Domestic Flights~1l, Jewelry(offline)~2l, Insurance~2l, Groceries(mostly online)~2l, Other spends~1.5l.

    I am planning to get BPCL sbi octane for fuel spends. And was wondering should I go for sc ultimate or dcb? I spent two three months shortlisting a cc going through your site and other online portals, with these frequent benefit changes from cc companies I am struggling to pick something for my need. Till date i never used cc for rent payment but want to utilize that. I thought i will go for bob eterna but rent payments are not entertained for rewards anymore. Do you have one of more suggestions? And the reason for categorizing sc ultimate as premium and not super premium?

    1. With that spend, you should for go Magnus first and then see if you need other options.

      1. I was thinking that but I can’t achieve the monthly milestone all months. isn’t rent payments are excluded from rewards and milestone considerations?

        1. Card Maven

          Yes, they are excluded from 5th March. But Magnus is still a pretty good card without that also with a 4.8% miles earn rate.

          1. Got my Axis Magnus delivered today (8th March). Applied via offline C2C application on 18th Feb. Card looks super premium in the metal form.

  9. Shabarish Balaji

    Hi. Very good review.

    Do we get reward points for paying income tax on SC Ultimate?

  10. Have an SC Smart credit card.
    Limit >2L
    Though having an other bank card with limit >5L.
    Should go for Re 1 authentication process (being an existing customer) or C2C based as a fresh application for Ultimate card ?

    Plz suggest.

  11. i applied for SC Ultimate credit card on 3rd Dec 2022. After VKYC approved on 9th dec. I still have not received card nor any communication from the team. Their support system is very poor. Infact when i log a ticket, they clearly mention that no application with your email id or application number. How to handle this case? Even if i reapply, it says application already in process.

  12. Amit Singhal

    Is the 3.3% reward eligible on rent payments? I’ve heard many banks don’t give rewards on rent payments. Is there a better card than this for earning rewards on rent payments?

  13. On redemption portal, it shows 4000RP required for a 1000Rs voucher. How is the equivalency to 1Re for 1RP defined for this card?

    Also, I have ICICI Rubyx with 11L limit, do you think I would fit the criteria just based on this?

    1. You will see 1:1 for GVs only if you log in with an Ultimate credit card account.

      Yes, you can try C2C.

  14. Does this card have cash redemptions? i.e can I redeem to reduce next month’s statement bonus (Similar to BOB Eterna with 3.75% reward rate on online spends). If yes, then considering to buy this.

  15. How do you guys leverage the rewards? (with No amazon, flipkart gift voucher, no cashback). Isn’t reward redemption a big negative for this card?

  16. Hi, is there any possibility of getting SCB Ultimate C2C in Delhi NCR ? I reached out to customer care and they said that C2C is not possible in Delhi NCR. Also I did not see any option only to apple C2C. Thanks.

  17. have an existing SV Titanium. Applied for this, and got it within a week…Planning to use it for spends <150…

      1. Received my ultimate card couple of days back, got it C2C, through regalia with 3.6L, and ICICI Amazon Pay 5L, but perplexed with 2.3L limit given by SC for ultimate. Have a excellent cibil of par 850..

        1. Card Maven

          The 2.3L limit looks a little low for Ultimate. Keep using the card and wait for LE. 🙂

  18. For an SC credit card, do we get the Different card number (or same) while applying for add-on cards ?

  19. PANKAJ HASTWALA

    Answer for lounge access described is wrong
    What is the condition for free lounge access?
    The domestic lounge program under Visa provides you 4 accesses per quarter. This is complimentary for all cardholders The domestic/international lounges under the Priority Pass program are complimentary only 1 visit per month. The qualification is customer should have spent more than INR 20,000 in the previous calendar month of the visit.

  20. I got the ultimate approved few days ago without any previous cc relationship but have priority relationship with bank.

  21. SC Manahattan Holder

    I have a SC Manhattan with only INR 3.75L limit.

    Would it be more prudent to go for Ultimate using C2C basis? Is it possible if I am already a SC card holder?

    PS. I fulfill any salaried income criteria they may have.

    1. Card Maven

      With an existing SC credit card with a 3.75L limit, chances are it will get rejected even with C2C. Maybe close the Manhattan card and apply fresh with C2C using another credit card statement.

  22. Having an existing SC cc with 4L or above limit; if we apply for an upgrade to Ultimate, would the 4L limit be sufficient to apply (even if the annual income is less than 24L as per Ultimate criteria) ?
    Plz suggest.

  23. Do we get the Renewal benefits 5000 RP on every year card renewal or is this for the 1st year only ?

      1. I applied online via filling up the details.
        Then received a call from them, saying my mentioned Company name is not registered in their record, hence they can’t process my card !
        (Despite I work at a well known Nationalized company, they didn’t approve just because it’s not there in their record).
        Is this a valid reason for rejection ?

        If so, can you plz guide wha can we do in this situation..?

        1. Card Maven

          Yes, they do reject in these cases. They always go by the list of employers they have in their database. Unfortunately, cannot do much in these cases.

          1. Ok.
            In such case, can we opt for Card-to-Card application instead of Company payslip ? If we have other bank’s card having 4-5+ Lakh limit..

  24. Sujeethkumar Ponnuswamy

    I believe Mastercard – world elite is in similar variant with Visa Infinite

    1. Card Maven

      Yes. However, Visa Infinite sometimes has more offers compared to MC World. SC Ultimate used to be issued as Visa Infinite in the beginning but is issued on the Mastercard World platform now.

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