Loading the shopping cart: Top credit cards for cashback, rewards this festival season

It's crucial to choose a credit card that matches your shopping habits to maximize benefits.

Consumers are swiping their credit cards this festival season to make the most of tie-ups between major card issuers and e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Flipkart, which are offering them cashbacks and rewards.

For online festival shopping, a credit card offering high value-back can amplify savings when combined with festive discounts, Rohit Chhibbar, chief business officer, credit cards, at Paisabazaar, said.

Those who prefer in-store shopping, a card with a high base reward or cashback rate would be more beneficial. If you're loyal to a specific brand, co-branded cards can offer extra benefits, Chhibbar said.

By choosing the right credit card, you can turn your festival spending into an opportunity to earn rewards  Paisabazaar has compiled a list of the best shopping credit cards, packed with features like cashback, reward points, and exclusive e-commerce discounts to suit various spending habits.

(Offers and rewards compiled as of October 7 from the bank websites.)

Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card

The Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card has no annual fee and offers rewards on various purchases. Cardholders can earn 5 percent cashback on Amazon purchases as a Prime member, 3 percent cashback on Amazon purchases as a non-Prime member, 2 percent cashback on payments to Amazon Pay partner merchants and 1 percent cashback on all other spends.

There's no separate reward redemption process because the cashback is automatically credited to the Amazon Pay account.

Yes Bank Paisabazaar PaisaSave Credit Card

The Yes BAnk Paisabazaar PaisaSave Credit Card comes with an annual fee of Rs 499 plus taxes. Cardholders earn cashback rewards, with 1 Cashback Point equivalent to Rs 1. The card offers 3 percent cashback on online spends at all e-commerce brands and 1.5 percent cashback on offline and UPI transactions.

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card

The Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card has an annual fee of Rs 500 plus taxes. Cardholders get cashback rewards on various purchases, including 7.5 percent cashback on Myntra, 5 percent cashback on Flipkart and Cleartrip, 4 percent cashback on preferred merchants and 1 percent cashback on all other spends.

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Cashback SBI Card

The Cashback SBI card comes with an annual fee of Rs 999 plus taxes. It offers 5 percent cashback on all online spends without any merchant restrictions and 1 percent cashback on offline transactions.

HDFC Millennia Credit Card

The HDFC Millennia Credit Card has an annual fee of Rs 1,000 plus taxes. Cardholders earn CashPoints, redeemable at Re 1 each, on various purchases, including 5 percent cashback on popular platforms such as Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber, and Zomato, as well as 1 percent cashback on all other spends.

Axis Bank Rewards Credit Card

The Axis Bank Rewards Credit Card has an annual fee of Rs 1,000 plus taxes. Cardholders earn reward points, redeemable at up to Rs 0.20 per point, on various purchases, including 20 EDGE points per Rs 125 spent at departmental and apparel stores, with varying rewards on other categories.

Cardholders can also earn 10X reward points on monthly spends up to Rs 7,000 in eligible categories. The card also offers discounts on Swiggy orders, with Rs 150 off on orders of Rs 500 or more, redeemable twice a month.

Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Card

The Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Card has an annual fee of Rs 1,499 plus taxes. Cardholders earn NeuCoins, redeemable at Rs 1 each, with rewards including 5 percent NeuCoins on spends at Tata Neu and partner brands, and 1.5 percent NeuCoins on other categories and UPI transactions. Additionally, cardholders can earn 5 percent NeuCoins on select Tata Neu spends. These NeuCoins can be redeemed directly at Tata Neu and partner brands.

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HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card

The HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card comes with an annual fee of Rs 2,500 plus taxes. Cardholders earn reward points, redeemable at up to Rs 0.65 per point, with rewards including 20 points per Rs 150 spent at Nykaa, Myntra, Marks & Spencer, and Reliance Digital, and 4 points per Rs 150 spent on other categories. Rewards can be redeemed from the exclusive Gold catalogue. Cardholders also get complimentary memberships to Swiggy One and MakeMyTrip (MMT) Black Gold.

SBI Card Prime 

The SBI Card Prime has an annual fee of Rs 2,999 plus taxes. Cardholders earn reward points, redeemable at Rs 0.25 per point, with rewards including 20 points for every Rs 100 spent on birthdays, 10 points for every Rs 100 spent on dining, groceries, departmental stores, and movies, and 2 points for every Rs 100 spent on other categories. Additionally, cardholders can earn a Yatra or Pantaloons gift voucher worth Rs 7,000 upon achieving annual spends of Rs 5 lakh.

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Axis Bank Select Credit Card

The Axis Bank Select Credit Card comes with an annual fee of Rs 3,000 plus taxes, waived for "Burgundy" clients. Cardholders earn Axis Edge reward points, redeemable at up to Rs 0.20 per point, with rewards including 2X points on retail spends up to Rs 20,000 monthly and 10 points for every Rs 200 spent. Cardholders also get discounts on BigBasket (Rs 500 off) and Swiggy (up to Rs 400 off) per month, plus a Buy 1 Get 1 offer on movie tickets booked through the District app.

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.