Reward Points & Redemption

So do not compare cards on points per ₹100. Compare them on rupees back per ₹100, at the route you will actually use. The table below shows what we compute for the cards we track.

What is a reward point worth, by card?

Value back is our own computed effective reward rate, dated 15 August 2026, from issuer-published features. It is rupees returned per ₹100 spent at the best route named above. Take any other route and it falls.

Why does the same point have several values?

Because the issuer sets the exchange rate separately for each channel. The same point can buy a flight, a voucher, a product from a catalogue, or a credit on your statement. Those four prices are rarely equal, and statement credit is usually the worst of them.

Travel routes pay best because the issuer buys inventory in bulk and prices it in points. Airline transfers pay best of all when the partner has a good award chart. That is also the least reliable, because partners change award charts and issuers change transfer ratios.

The catalogue is the floor. If a card only offers a catalogue, assume the catalogue rate is what you will get. Do not plan around the travel rate on a card whose travel portal you will never open.

What quietly reduces what you get?

The practical rule follows from that list. Redeem often and redeem small. Points are a depreciating currency with no protection, so hoarding them is a bet against your own issuer.

What do the RBI rules actually protect?

Less than people assume. RBI’s Master Direction on credit and debit cards defines loyalty programmes and covers card conduct. It does not set a minimum point value, does not stop devaluation, and does not protect unredeemed points when a card is closed.

What it does protect is the closure itself. A closure request must be honoured within seven working days once dues are paid. Miss that and the issuer owes you ₹500 for every calendar day of delay. Any credit balance left on the card must be transferred to your bank account.

Read the gap carefully. Your money comes back. Your points do not. Redeem everything before you request closure, and take a screenshot of the balance.

How should I decide where to redeem?

Work out the rupee value of one point in each route, then pick the highest. Divide the cash price of the item by the points required. That gives you rupees per point directly, and it needs no issuer disclosure.

Do it on something you were going to buy anyway. Redeeming into a product you did not want at a great rate is still spending money. The reward value calculator runs the same arithmetic across routes.

Then check whether the card is still the right one. If your best route returns under 1%, you are holding a card that pays less than a plain cashback card. Our page on the best reward point credit cards lists the alternatives, and cashback cards remove the decision entirely.