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Best Credit Card for BSNL in India (2026)

Quick answer:

Axis ACE Credit Card gives you up to 5% back on BSNL mobile and landline payments — the highest of any card we track. OneCard Credit Card is the best free alternative.

Updated April 2026·10 cards compared·No affiliate commissions

Top 10 Cards for BSNL

How We Ranked These

We ranked all 239 credit cards in our database against BSNL using three tiers of relevance:

  1. Direct match — cards specifically designed for or partnered with BSNL (co-branded cards, direct accelerated rewards)
  2. Category match — cards that earn accelerated rewards on the spending category that BSNL falls under
  3. Broad match — cards that earn elevated rewards on related or overlapping categories

Within each tier, cards are sorted by effective reward rate (highest first), then by CardTrail Score as a tiebreaker. Every number on this page comes from our database — nothing is fabricated.

Tips to Maximise Rewards on BSNL

BSNL payments may code under 'Government Services' rather than 'Telecom'

Some cards exclude government merchant payments from rewards

Portal-based payments (portal.bsnl.in) may code differently from third-party recharges

Free vs Paid: Is the Annual Fee Worth It?

Best Free Card

OneCard Credit Card

Federal Bank / BOB Cards · ₹0 annual fee

Up to 5% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

Score: 7.2/10

Best Overall

Axis ACE Credit Card

Axis · ₹499 annual fee

Up to 5% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

Score: 8.1/10

Cards to Avoid for BSNL

These are popular, well-rated cards that earn only their base reward rate on BSNL mobile and landline payments. If you carry one of these, use a different card for BSNL purchases.

IDFC FIRST Diamond Reserve Credit Card

IDFC FIRST · Score: 9/10 — but only 0.5% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

American Express Platinum Charge Card

American Express · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1.25% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

IndusInd Tiger Credit Card

IndusInd · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1.2% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

HDFC Swiggy Credit Card

HDFC · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card

IDFC FIRST · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 0.75% on BSNL mobile and landline payments

These are great cards for other spending categories — just not for BSNL mobile and landline payments. Use the top-ranked card above instead.

Related: Best Cards for Similar Spending

Frequently Asked Questions

Which credit card gives the highest cashback on BSNL?
Axis ACE Credit Card from Axis gives up to 5% back on BSNL mobile and landline payments. It has a CardTrail Score of 8.1/10 with an annual fee of ₹499.
Is there a no-annual-fee credit card good for BSNL?
Yes — OneCard Credit Card is a free card (₹0 annual fee) that earns up to 5% on BSNL mobile and landline payments. CardTrail Score: 7.2/10.
How do credit card rewards work on BSNL?
Credit cards earn rewards based on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) of the transaction. BSNL transactions are assigned an MCC by the payment network, and cards with accelerated rewards on that MCC earn higher cashback or points.
Which popular credit cards should I avoid using for BSNL?
Cards like IDFC FIRST Diamond Reserve Credit Card, American Express Platinum Charge Card, IndusInd Tiger Credit Card have high overall scores but earn only their base rate (0.5% or less) on BSNL mobile and landline payments. Use a category-matched card instead.

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