IRCTC BOBCARD RuPay Credit Card
Bank of Baroda's RuPay tie-up with IRCTC is built around one thing: rail travel. AC-class bookings — 1AC, 2AC, 3AC, CC, and EC — earn roughly 4% back at the standard rate, rising toward 10% during two seasonal windows each year, mid-January to end-March and mid-July to mid-September. The SmartDeal portal adds around 2% on flights and 5% on hotels, while departmental-store spending returns about 1% (capped monthly), and everything else, including UPI, sits at a modest 0.5%. As a RuPay card, it also works directly with UPI apps. Cardholders get up to four railway lounge visits a year, a waiver on the 1% railway surcharge, and a welcome bonus for early spending. Fees are low: ₹590 to join and ₹413 a year. Points convert to IRCTC Travel Points or can be redeemed as statement credit at ₹0.25 each. Given its narrow but useful focus, this card delivers real value mainly to frequent train travellers.
Key features
IRCTC AC-class train tickets earn roughly 4% standard, climbing toward 10% during two seasonal promo windows. The BOBCard SmartDeal portal adds about 2% on flight bookings and 5% on hotels. Departmental-store spending earns roughly 1%, capped monthly, and general spending including UPI earns about 0.5%. Cardholders also get one complimentary lounge visit per quarter and a fuel surcharge waiver capped at ₹100 a month.
Full reward structure
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | reward points | 4% | — |
| Groceries | reward points | 1% | ₹250 |
| Other | reward points | 0.5% | — |
Fees & charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹413 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹590 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹100 |
Perks & benefits
Cardholders get up to four complimentary railway lounge visits a year, one per quarter, along with a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000. This card is also exempt from a 1% railway-booking processing fee that BOBCARD applies to other cards on large rail bookings — a genuine advantage for anyone booking higher-value train tickets.
Should you get it?
This card suits frequent train travellers who regularly book AC-class tickets on IRCTC and want railway lounge access on a low annual fee. Existing Bank of Baroda customers who also want RuPay UPI compatibility will find added convenience here, but the card's value scales directly with how much you actually travel by rail.
✓ Pros
- Roughly 4% value back on IRCTC AC-class tickets year-round, rising to around 10% in two seasonal windows. Roughly 2% on flights and 5% on hotels through BOBCard SmartDeal. Railway lounge access and an exemption from the railway-booking processing fee that other BOBCARD cards pay. RuPay UPI linkage for QR-code payments.
✕ Cons
- The eye-catching roughly 10% rate only applies during two limited seasonal windows each year — the standard IRCTC rate is closer to 4%. General spending earns just 0.5%, making this a fairly niche card unless you travel by train often. The 3.5% forex markup also makes it unsuitable for international spending.
Eligibility & documents
Applicants need to be between 21 and 65 years old with a minimum monthly income of ₹20,000, open to both salaried and self-employed individuals. You'll typically need a PAN card, Aadhaar or valid address proof, the last three months of bank statements, income documentation, and a recent photograph.
How to redeem rewards
Reward points can be converted into IRCTC Travel Points at a 4:1 ratio, or redeemed directly as statement credit at ₹0.25 per point. For a frequent rail traveller, converting to Travel Points and applying them toward future bookings is generally the more natural redemption path.
What your BOB Reward Points are worth
Redemption value is straightforward and consistent here — both statement credit and the gift voucher catalogue return ₹0.25 per point, so there isn't a meaningfully better or worse route to chase. The bigger value driver on this card is simply how much of your spending happens to be IRCTC AC-class bookings, since that's where the earn rate is genuinely strong.
The bottom line
This is a focused rail co-brand card: roughly 4% back on IRCTC AC-class tickets year-round, climbing to around 10% during two seasonal promo windows, plus railway lounges, a surcharge waiver, and RuPay UPI compatibility. SmartDeal adds a reasonable return on flights and hotels too. Outside travel-related spending, the earn rate is fairly ordinary, so this card's value tracks closely with how often you actually travel by train.
Frequently asked questions
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