Standard Chartered credit cards compared

Standard Chartered's flagship super-premium card, the Beyond Credit Card, is offered exclusively by invitation to Priority and Private Banking clients maintaining a minimum of ₹50 lakh in Funds Under Management (FUM). The card features an uncapped, flat reward rate of 3.33% on general retail spending (5 reward points per ₹150 spent, backed by a fixed 1:1 redemption value of ₹1 per point in the 360° Rewards portal), while select categories—including utilities, insurance, supermarkets, school fees, property management, and government charges—accrue rewards at 2% (3 points per ₹150). The ₹25,000 annual fee is waived for clients who satisfy FUM eligibility across the three months preceding the billing date. Travel and lifestyle privileges comprise unlimited international lounge access via Priority Pass for both primary and supplementary cardholders, 4 domestic lounge entries per quarter, 4 complimentary golf games each month, a reduced 2% foreign currency markup, and 15% cashback on duty-free shopping (subject to a ₹1,500 monthly statement cap).

The Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card earns 5 reward points for every ₹150 spent—delivering an effective 3.33% return based on a flat ₹1 per point valuation—on general transactions, including travel bookings and foreign currency purchases processed with a competitive 2% forex markup. Following an April 2023 revision, specific categories earn at a reduced rate: utility bills, grocery supermarkets, insurance premiums, property management services, school fees, and government payments receive 3 points per ₹150 (2% return), while fuel purchases earn no points (supported instead by a 1% surcharge waiver capped at ₹1,000 per billing cycle). The card's premium features include 5% cashback at duty-free outlets (capped at ₹1,000 per cycle), 4 domestic lounge entries per quarter, 1 monthly international Priority Pass visit linked to a monthly spend criterion, complimentary monthly golf access, and 5,000 renewal reward points that offset the ₹5,000 annual fee upon payment.

Previously serving as the sole credit card in India to earn Emirates Skywards miles on general spending, the Standard Chartered Emirates World Mastercard awarded 6 miles per ₹150 spent on Emirates bookings and 3 miles per ₹150 on all other purchases, paired with a 4,000-mile welcome incentive and an annual fee waiver at ₹5 lakh spend. The co-branded partnership between Standard Chartered and Emirates formally concluded on 31 March 2022 (following an initial announcement on 23 February 2022). Effective 1 April 2022, all Skywards miles accrual ceased, accompanying lounge, golf, and Priority Pass entitlements were terminated, and existing cardholders were transitioned to alternative Standard Chartered cards, including upgrade options to the SC Ultimate. This profile is maintained strictly as an archival reference and is no longer available to applicants.

The Standard Chartered DigiSmart Credit Card employs a distinctive subscription fee structure: rather than charging a standard annual fee, it levies a ₹49 monthly charge that is automatically waived whenever cardholders spend ₹5,000 within the billing cycle. The product functions purely as a merchant discount vehicle without a points-earning rewards programme. Key merchant partner benefits include a 10% discount on Blinkit (capped at ₹1,000 monthly), 10% off Zomato orders (up to ₹150 per transaction across five monthly orders), buy-one-get-one movie tickets at INOX on weekends, 15% cashback on Ola cab rides (capped at ₹600 per month), and instant savings on Yatra airline and hotel bookings. Cardholders must apply promo code DIGISMART where required at merchant checkouts to activate these discounts.

Conferred exclusively upon Standard Chartered Priority Banking clients rather than sold openly, the Priority Visa Infinite Credit Card requires a qualifying gross monthly income of ₹3,00,000 and carries zero joining and annual fees. The card is structured primarily around premium travel and lifestyle privileges rather than accelerated reward accrual, offering 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits per quarter via the Visa lounge programme, complimentary Priority Pass membership, 2 monthly golf games alongside 1 coaching session and 1 guest round, ₹1 crore in complimentary air-accident coverage, and USD 25,000 in emergency overseas medical insurance. Its reward structure provides 2 reward points per ₹100 on standard domestic spending and 5 points per ₹100 on international and retail fashion transactions. With Standard Chartered's 360° Rewards catalogue valuing points at ₹0.25 each, the baseline return translates to approximately 0.5% on regular spending.

The Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card is a straightforward, broad-based cashback card offering 2% across all online spends without merchant limitations, alongside 1% on general offline purchases. It features practical monthly caps: up to ₹1,000 in cashback on online transactions (corresponding to ₹50,000 in monthly spend) and ₹500 on in-person spends. Priced at an annual fee of ₹499 that is waived on ₹1.2 lakh of yearly spend, it offers dependable simplicity. While the first-year fee is officially ₹0 in the MIDC—presented on promotional pages as a ₹499 charge waived under an ongoing Special Offer for new applicants—existing SCB cardholders must pay the ₹499 joining fee. The main limitation is the earning percentage itself: a 2% rate is modest compared to the 5% online return of cards like the SBI Cashback (and the historical '6% online' figure applied to Singapore and Hong Kong iterations, not the Indian market). As a result, the Smart card is best suited for unrestricted merchant coverage rather than high standalone reward rates.

The Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium Credit Card is an affordable niche card designed specifically for recurring household and commute costs, delivering 5% cashback on fuel purchases and 5% on utility bills paid through SC Billpay. Earning is subject to dedicated monthly ceilings: ₹200 on fuel (on individual swipes up to ₹2,000), ₹200 on telecom bills, and ₹100 on general utilities, resulting in an aggregate 5% cashback cap of ₹500 per month. General spending outside these categories earns a baseline of 1 reward point per ₹150. A joining promotion offering 100% cashback up to ₹1,500 on fuel spent within the first 90 days easily offsets the ₹750 annual fee, which can be waived in subsequent years with ₹90,000 in annual purchases. While unsuitable as an all-round primary card, it serves as an economical secondary card for essential monthly expenses.

Issued on the Mastercard network rather than Standard Chartered's usual Visa platform, the SC Rewards Credit Card serves as the bank's core general-spending points product. Cardholders earn a baseline of 4 reward points for every ₹150 spent on retail transactions. Under the Most Important Document Terms & Conditions (MIDC), retail spending beyond ₹20,000 in a billing cycle attracts an additional 4 bonus points per ₹150 exclusively on the incremental amount over that threshold, with bonus earning capped at 2,000 points per cycle (reached at approximately ₹95,000 in total retail spend). Point redemption values shape the real return: Standard Chartered values 1 reward point at ₹0.25 in its 360 Rewards catalogue and ₹0.20 when credited against statement balances. As a result, the standard earn rate translates to 0.67%, rising to an effective marginal rate of 1.33% on qualifying spend above ₹20,000. Insurance and government payments accumulate 1 point per ₹150, while fuel purchases yield no reward points. The card carries zero joining fee, and its ₹1,000 annual fee is waived upon reaching ₹1.5 lakh in yearly spending.

Priced at ₹350 per year, the Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip Credit Card focuses primarily on direct travel discounts rather than traditional point accrual. Entering promo code EMTSCB on EaseMyTrip unlocks a flat 20% discount on select domestic and international hotels (capped at ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 respectively), 10% off domestic and international flights (capped at ₹1,000 and ₹5,000), and a ₹125 discount on bus bookings exceeding ₹500. Each promotional category is restricted to a single redemption per calendar month per card under clause 8g of the terms, with primary and add-on cards enjoying independent monthly quotas. In terms of reward points, the accelerated 10 Reward Points per ₹100 rate applies exclusively to direct airline and hotel website or app bookings—explicitly excluding transactions on EaseMyTrip, which earn the base 2 RP per ₹100. Based on Standard Chartered's standard valuation of 1 RP = ₹0.25, this delivers an uncapped 2.5% return on standalone travel bookings and 0.5% on general spending. Cardholders also receive 2 domestic airport lounge entries per year, while international lounge privileges were removed on 15 October 2024.

Designed with a sharp focus on household spending, the Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card offers 5% cashback on supermarket, departmental store, and grocery transactions, alongside 3 reward points per ₹150 spent across other categories. The 5% cashback structure is subject to specific constraints: transactions must meet a minimum value of ₹1,000, individual transaction cashback is capped at ₹150, and total monthly grocery cashback is capped at ₹500 (delivering up to ₹6,000 annually upon spending ₹10,000 per month). On non-accelerated spending, the earn rate of 3 reward points per ₹150 translates to an effective 0.5% return based on Standard Chartered's valuation of ₹0.25 per point. The card carries an annual fee of ₹999, which is waived upon reaching ₹1.2 lakh in annual spends, while paying the joining fee awards 5,000 bonus reward points (worth approximately ₹1,250 via the rewards catalogue).

Serving as Standard Chartered's zero-cost entry card, the Platinum Rewards Credit Card is currently issued as an 'instant' digital variant with nil joining and annual fees per the bank's published terms. It provides an uncapped earn rate of 5 reward points per ₹150 spent on dining and fuel purchases, alongside 1 point per ₹150 on all other categories. Based on Standard Chartered's official valuation of 25 paise (₹0.25) per reward point, this structure translates to an effective return of roughly 0.83% on dining and fuel and 0.17% on general spends. While the return is modest, the absence of annual fees and the rare inclusion of uncapped fuel rewards make it a unique no-cost option. The card does not include airport lounge access or a welcome gift, though lifetime-free add-on cards are available for family members. A legacy variant with a ₹250 annual fee remains in bank schedules for existing grandfathered cardholders.