Best Credit Cards Under ₹1,000 Fee
Updated March 2026 · 153 cards evaluated
The ₹500-1,000 fee bracket is the sweet spot — you get meaningfully better rewards than free cards without paying premium fees.
Quick Answer
The best card in this category is ixigo AU Credit Card (Score: 8.9/10) — lifetime free, up to 5% rewards. Runner-up: Scapia Federal Credit Card (8.7/10).

AU Small Finance Bank · Lifetime Free · Up to 5% rewards
Up to 10% discount on flights, buses & hotels via ixigo

Federal Bank · Lifetime Free · Up to 10% rewards
Zero forex markup on a FREE card

HDFC · ₹500/yr · Up to 10% rewards
10% cashback on Swiggy orders

IndusInd · Lifetime Free · Up to 7.2% rewards
Buy 1 Get 1 movie tickets

IDFC FIRST · Lifetime Free · Up to 6% rewards
1.5% forex markup

HDFC · ₹1,000/yr · Up to 5% rewards
5% cashback on Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy via SmartBuy

IDFC FIRST · Lifetime Free · Up to 3% rewards
Low 1.99% forex markup at entry-level pricing

HDFC · ₹999/yr · Up to 10% rewards
10% Reward Points on PhonePe spends (recharges, utilities, travel) - capped 1,000 RP/month

HDFC · ₹1,000/yr · Up to 10% rewards
Unlimited domestic + 12 international lounges/year

ICICI · ₹500/yr · Up to 10% rewards
10 Reward Points per Rs 100 on CSK match days
How We Ranked These Cards
We evaluated 153 cards matching this category criteria, scored them using the CardTrail Score methodology (net value, feature depth, bank trust, accessibility), and ranked by relevance. All data is from official bank sources, verified March 2026.