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Best Credit Card for Dining & Restaurants in India (2026)

Quick answer:

HDFC Diners Club Black gives you up to 33% back on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out — the highest of any card we track. AU LIT Credit Card is the best free alternative.

Updated April 2026·10 cards compared·No affiliate commissions

Key insight

Dining earns accelerated rewards on more cards than any other offline category — but rates vary from 1% to 10%. On ₹10,000/month dining, that's ₹1,200 vs ₹12,000 per year.

Top 10 Cards for Dining & Restaurants

1

HDFC Diners Club Black

HDFC

Up to 33% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 33%
Annual fee₹10,000
Score9.1/10
Co-branded / Direct
2

HDFC Regalia

HDFC

Up to 13% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 13%
Annual fee₹2,500
Score8.3/10
Co-branded / Direct
3

Kotak Solitaire Credit Card

Kotak

Up to 10% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 10%
Annual fee₹25,000
Score8.8/10
Co-branded / Direct
4

HDFC Diners Club Privilege

HDFC

Up to 10% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 10%
Annual fee₹1,000
Score8.5/10
Co-branded / Direct
5

EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card

IndusInd

Up to 10% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 10%
Annual fee₹2,999
Score8.2/10
Co-branded / Direct
6

SBI Card PRIME

SBI

Up to 5% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 5%
Annual fee₹2,999
Score8.6/10
Co-branded / Direct
7

AU ABC Pro Credit Card

AU Small Finance Bank

Up to 5% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 5%
Annual fee₹999
Score8.5/10
Co-branded / Direct
8

SBI Card ELITE

SBI

Up to 5% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 5%
Annual fee₹4,999
Score8.5/10
Co-branded / Direct
9

SBI Card ELITE Advantage

SBI

Up to 5% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 5%
Annual fee₹4,999
Score8.4/10
Co-branded / Direct
10

Axis Bank Select Credit Card

Axis

Up to 5% — directly optimised for dining

Reward rateUp to 5%
Annual fee₹3,000
Score7.7/10
Co-branded / Direct

How We Ranked These

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

  1. Direct match — cards specifically designed for or partnered with Dining & Restaurants (co-branded cards, direct accelerated rewards)
  2. Category match — cards that earn accelerated rewards on the spending category that Dining & Restaurants 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.

The Math: How Much Can You Actually Earn?

Monthly spendHDFC Diners Club BlackHDFC RegaliaKotak Solitaire Credit…
₹5.0K/mo₹19.8K/yr₹7.8K/yr₹6.0K/yr
₹15.0K/mo₹59.4K/yr₹23.4K/yr₹18.0K/yr
₹30.0K/mo₹1.2L/yr₹46.8K/yr₹36.0K/yr

Assumes consistent monthly spending at the card's maximum reward rate for the matching category. Actual returns may vary based on reward caps, tier structures, and point redemption value.

Common Pitfalls to Watch For

!

Many cards exclude quick-service restaurants (McDonald's, Domino's) from 'dining' — they code as 'fast food' under a different MCC

!

Wallet payments (Paytm, PhonePe) at restaurants may not trigger the dining reward rate

!

Some cards cap dining rewards at a monthly limit — check the fine print

Free vs Paid: Is the Annual Fee Worth It?

Best Free Card

AU LIT Credit Card

AU Small Finance Bank · ₹0 annual fee

Up to 2.5% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

Score: 7.2/10

Best Overall

HDFC Diners Club Black

HDFC · ₹10,000 annual fee

Up to 33% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

Score: 9.1/10

At a monthly spend of ₹10,000 on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out, the paid card earns ₹39.6K/year vs ₹3.0K/year for the free card — a difference of ₹36.6K. The paid card's extra rewards exceed its annual fee at this spend level.

Cards to Avoid for Dining & Restaurants

These are popular, well-rated cards that earn only their base reward rate on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out. If you carry one of these, use a different card for Dining & Restaurants purchases.

IDFC FIRST Diamond Reserve Credit Card

IDFC FIRST · Score: 9/10 — but only 0.5% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

American Express Platinum Charge Card

American Express · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1.25% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

IndusInd Tiger Credit Card

IndusInd · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1.2% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

HDFC Millennia

HDFC · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 1% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card

IDFC FIRST · Score: 8.7/10 — but only 0.75% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out

These are great cards for other spending categories — just not for restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out. Use the top-ranked card above instead.

Related: Best Cards for Similar Spending

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which credit card gives the highest cashback on Dining & Restaurants?
HDFC Diners Club Black from HDFC gives up to 33% back on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out. It has a CardTrail Score of 9.1/10 with an annual fee of ₹10,000.
Is there a no-annual-fee credit card good for Dining & Restaurants?
Yes — AU LIT Credit Card is a free card (₹0 annual fee) that earns up to 2.5% on restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out. CardTrail Score: 7.2/10.
How do credit card rewards work on Dining & Restaurants?
Credit cards earn rewards based on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) of the transaction. Dining & Restaurants 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 Dining & Restaurants?
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 restaurant meals, café visits, and dining out. Use a category-matched card instead.

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