CheQ AU Credit Card
CheQ AU is a joint effort between the fintech CheQ and AU Small Finance Bank, and it's notable for being India's first credit card with an actual LED built in — a light that flashes every time you tap to pay. Past the gimmick, the earning structure is real but needs unpacking: the advertised rate is 24 CheQ points per ₹200 (marketed as "12%") on partner brands like Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, BigBasket and Apple, plus CheQ Travel and utility bills, all routed through the CheQ app; 10 points per ₹200 ("5%") on other online, food, grocery and travel purchases across more than 10,000 brands; 5 points per ₹200 on UPI payments made inside the CheQ app (UPI outside the app earns zero); and 2 points per ₹200 everywhere else. The twist is in how points redeem: 2 points equal ₹1 when used for flights, hotels or gift cards, but it takes 4 points to get ₹1 (25 paise each) as cashback — so the real value works out to roughly half the advertised rate, around 6% on in-app utility payments and 2.5% on online spend, and it pays off best when redeemed for travel or vouchers. The card itself carries no joining or annual fee for life. Approval gets you two physical cards — a Visa and a RuPay — and the optional LED feature, available only on the Visa card, costs a one-time ₹999 + GST.
Key features
A quick rundown of what actually makes this card worth carrying.
6% on Utility Bills
24 CheQ points per ₹200 (a 12% headline rate) on utilities, partner brands and CheQ Travel via the app; at roughly ₹0.50 per point on travel/vouchers, that's about 6% real return; a shared 12,000-point monthly cap applies across accelerated categories
2.5% on Online Shopping
10 CheQ points per ₹200 (a 5% headline rate) on online, food, grocery and travel spend across more than 10,000 brands; roughly 2.5% real at ₹0.50/point; shares the same 12,000-point monthly cap
Lifetime Free
No annual fee, ever. Hold this card indefinitely without any recurring cost.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel purchases, capped at ₹150 a month
UPI Linked
Connects to PhonePe, GPay or Paytm so UPI payments can earn credit card rewards too
️ Insurance Cover
A broad protection package — ₹50 lakh Air Accident Cover, Credit Shield up to ₹5 lakh, Purchase Protection up to ₹25,000, plus travel-related covers
Full reward structure
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Bills | reward points | 6% | ₹6,000 |
| Online Shopping | reward points | 2.5% | ₹6,000 |
| Other | reward points | 0.5% | — |
Fees & charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.49% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹150 |
Perks & benefits
Beyond the reward points, the extras here add up to roughly ₹2,300 a year.
fuel waiver ~ ₹1,800 /yr
1% fuel surcharge waived, up to ₹150 a month (on transactions between ₹500 and ₹5,000)
️ insurance ~ ₹500 /yr
A broad protection package — ₹50 lakh Air Accident Cover, Credit Shield up to ₹5 lakh, Purchase Protection up to ₹25,000, plus travel-related covers
Should you get it?
Best for: App-native users who route utilities and shopping through the CheQ app, Those who redeem points on travel or gift cards (not cashback), UPI-first users wanting rewards on scan & pay
Mid tier — works well as a steady all-round performer for regular monthly spend.
Delivers the most value if a large share of your spend is on Utility Bills ( 6% back).
✓ Pros
- A headline 12% face-value rate on utilities and partner-brand spend through the CheQ app
- India's first LED-enabled card — lights up on every NFC tap
- Genuinely lifetime free, with no joining or annual fee
- RuPay UPI-linkable through the CheQ app, so scan-and-pay transactions earn rewards too
✕ Cons
- The advertised "12%/5%" figures are face value only — points actually redeem at ₹0.50 (travel/vouchers) or ₹0.25 (cashback), so real returns are closer to half those numbers
- The best rate applies only inside the CheQ app; everything else earns just 2 points per ₹200
- No rewards at all on fuel, education, gold, gambling, insurance, rent, EMI, transactions under ₹200, or utility bills and UPI paid outside the CheQ app
- A 3.49% forex markup makes this a poor choice for spending abroad
Eligibility & documents
Age
21–65 years
Min. income
₹25,000 /mo
Employment
Salaried · Self-employed
Documents required
- PAN card
- Aadhaar (in-app KYC)
- Income proof — salary slips (salaried) or ITR (self-employed)
How to redeem rewards
A few different ways to turn your points into something usable.
🎁 Flights, hotels & gift cards: 2 CheQ points = ₹1 (the best value), redeemed via the CheQ app
🎁 Cashback / statement credit: 4 CheQ points = ₹1 (25 paise per point)
What your AU Reward Points are worth
What each point actually converts to, by redemption route — this gap is where most cardholders leave money on the table.
Statement credit BEST Standard redemption
Gift voucher catalogue BEST Brand & e-gift vouchers
The concern The advertised "12%/5%" rates are quoted as if 1 point equals ₹1, but in practice points redeem at ₹0.50 for travel and vouchers, or just ₹0.25 for cashback — so real-world returns land at roughly half the headline, and the value is largely locked inside the CheQ app ecosystem.
The bottom line
This is a genuinely interesting lifetime-free card — a 12% headline rate on utilities is unusual, and the LED gimmick is fun even if it's just a novelty — but the redemption terms need a closer look before you get excited. Points are worth 50 paise each on travel and vouchers but only 25 paise as cashback, so the actual return sits at roughly half of what's advertised. Route your spending through the CheQ app and redeem for travel, and this card performs well; use it purely for cashback and it falls flat.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the CheQ AU Credit Card come from AU Small Finance Bank's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page . Last verified 15 Aug 2026 . Reviewed by the SarvCred Editorial Team . Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. SarvCred is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for AU Small Finance Bank . All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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