IRCTC BOBCARD Review 2026: 10% on Rail Bookings — Capped at ₹2,500 a Cycle & FAQs
IRCTC BOBCARD charges ₹500 joining and ₹350 annual, and pays 40 Reward Points per ₹100 on IRCTC rail bookings — 10% — but the cap binds at ₹2,500 of rail spend a cycle. Caps, railway lounges and FAQs.
IRCTC BOBCARD pays 40 Reward Points per ₹100 on IRCTC rail bookings — 10% at the published ₹0.25 rate. That is the highest accelerated rate on any card in this entire collection.
It is also capped at 1,000 Reward Points a statement cycle, which binds at ₹2,500 of rail spend.
IRCTC BOBCARD Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Rail travel co-brand card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Regular train travellers booking through IRCTC |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | ₹500 + GST joining, ₹350 + GST renewal |
| **Network** | RuPay |
| **Base reward rate** | **0.5%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **10.0%** — Train ticket bookings on the IRCTC website and mobile app |
| **Reward currency** | BOBCARD Reward Points, valued at ₹0.25 each |
| **Welcome benefit** | 500 joining bonus Reward Points on spends of ₹5,000 or more within 60 days |
| **Lounge access** | 1 domestic visit per quarter (4 a year) |
| **Forex markup** | 3.5% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
BOBCARD publishes what a Reward Point is worth: 1 Reward Point = ₹0.25 as statement cashback.
There is a second, worse channel. BOBCARD's terms separately state 'Reward Redemption value using Pay with Rewards 1RP = 15 Paisa' — ₹0.15 a point, 40% less. Both are published; the card pages advertise only the better one.
40 Reward Points per ₹100 on IRCTC rail bookings — 10%. 16 Reward Points per ₹100 on other eligible categories — 4%. 2 Reward Points per ₹100 on everything else — 0.5%.
Reward Points are earned only on transactions of ₹100 or more, per transaction rather than cumulatively. A run of small purchases earns nothing at all.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| Train ticket bookings on the IRCTC website and mobile app (capped at 1,000 points a month) | **10.0%** |
| Other eligible categories (capped at 1,000 points a month) | **4.0%** |
| Everything else | 0.5% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
The caps that actually bind
Headline rates mean little until you know where they stop. These are the limits on this card:
| Cap | Limit |
|---|---|
| Cycle | 1,000 points per calendar month |
The 10% headline caps at ₹2,500 of rail spend a statement cycle. At 40 points per ₹100 the 1,000-point ceiling fills fast — the maximum accelerated benefit is ₹250 a month, ₹3,000 a year.
The cap is expressed in two currencies: 'Maximum 1000 BoB Reward Points or 250 IRCTC Travel Points per statement cycle'. Which applies depends on the redemption route, and BOBCARD does not explain the interaction.
The lounge access is a RAILWAY lounge, not an airport lounge — four visits a calendar year, one a quarter.
Credit-card-on-UPI transactions earn the core rate only, never the accelerated one. On a RuPay card that links to UPI, that is worth knowing: QR payments earn the 0.5% base, not the 10%.
Category Restrictions: Where You Won't Earn
- Where you earn nothing: Earns nothing at all: fuel on every BOBCARD except HPCL Energie; cash withdrawals at ATM; and quasi-cash transactions. BOBCARD names these three in Annexure 1 of its rewards terms as ineligible for BOTH core and accelerated Reward Points. Transactions below ₹100 earn nothing either (₹150 on HPCL Energie).
- Point expiry: Reward Points are valid for 24 months from the date they are earned on most BOBCARD products. Points on BOBCARD ETERNA do not expire.
- Cycle cap: A maximum of 1,000 BOBCARD Reward Points OR 250 IRCTC Travel Points per statement cycle. At 40 points per ₹100 the BOBCARD ceiling binds at just ₹2,500 of rail spend a cycle — ₹250 of value.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹500 + GST |
| Renewal fee | ₹350 + GST |
| Finance charges | 3.75% per month (45% per annum) on all credit cards. Micro Enterprise cards are charged 1.5% per month (18% per annum). |
| Interest-free period | 20 to 50 days, and only where there is no previous outstanding. A purchase made early in the cycle gets the longer period; one made near the statement date gets the shorter. Not available at all if the previous month's balance was not cleared in full or if cash has been withdrawn at an ATM. |
| Minimum amount due | 100% of all fees, charges, finance charges, GST and EMI amounts, PLUS 2% of retail spends and cash advances — or ₹200, whichever is higher. Revised w.e.f. 1 October 2025. Where the total amount due exceeds the credit limit and the over-limit amount is greater than the computed MAD, the MAD becomes the whole over-limit amount. Any unpaid MAD from previous statements is added to the current one. |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount withdrawn or ₹500, whichever is higher. |
| Cash advance interest | 3.75% per month (45% per annum), charged from the date of withdrawal with no interest-free period. |
| Forex markup | Varies by card: 2% on Eterna, Tiara, Varunah Premium, ICAI, ICSI and CMA One; 2.5% on Varunah Plus; 3% on Yoddha, The Sentinel, Rakshamah and Vikram; 3.5% on every other BOBCARD. Also applies to transactions in Indian rupees at an international location or at merchants registered overseas. |
| Late payment | Graduated by statement balance: nil below ₹100; ₹100 for ₹100–₹500; ₹400 for ₹501–₹1,000; ₹750 for ₹1,001–₹10,000; ₹950 for ₹10,001–₹25,000; ₹1,100 for ₹25,001–₹50,000; ₹1,300 above ₹50,000. |
| Overlimit | 2.5% of the amount over and above the sanctioned credit limit, or ₹600, whichever is higher. Charged only where the cardholder has given explicit consent to the over-limit facility. |
| Payment return | 2% of the payment amount subject to a minimum of ₹500 for a returned cheque. The same 2%/₹500 applies to an auto-debit or standing-instruction bounce, but only ONCE per statement cycle per card and only where the failure was due to insufficient balance. |
| Rent payment | 1% of the transaction amount on all rent payments (MCC 6513), with no minimum threshold. Non-reversible. |
| Wallet load | 1% of the transaction amount on all wallet loading transactions (MCC 6539, 6540, 6541, 6542), with no minimum threshold. Wallet loading is not permitted at all on the Micro Enterprise card. Non-reversible. |
| Utility payments | 1% of the transaction amount, capped at ₹3,000 per transaction, on utility payments (MCC 4900) of ₹50,000 or more. Non-reversible. |
| Education payments | 1% of the transaction amount, capped at ₹5,000 per transaction, on online education fee payments made through third-party apps — Cheq, CRED, Ease My Deal, MobiKwik, NoBroker, Paytm, PhonePe and SuperPe — w.e.f. 1 April 2026. Non-reversible. |
| Fuel transactions | 1% of the transaction amount on fuel transactions (MCC 5172, 5541, 5542, 5983) of ₹10,000 or more. NOT applicable to HPCL Energie BOBCARD. Non-reversible. |
| Card replacement | ₹100 per replacement card. |
| Add-on card | Nil. BOBCARD charges no joining or annual fee on add-on cards. |
| Reward redemption | No per-redemption handling fee is published. Minimum redemption is Reward Points worth ₹1,000, and redemption must be initiated through the BOBCARD Portal or mobile app. |
| EMI processing | Charged per the SmartEMI scheme selected. Purchases above ₹2,500 may be converted. |
| GST | 18% on all fees, interest and other charges. |
Is the IRCTC BOBCARD Worth It?
₹500 joining and ₹350 annual, against a realistic ₹3,000 a year of accelerated value if you book ₹2,500 of rail travel every month. That works.
The 10% is real but small in absolute terms. Anyone reading it as an uncapped rate will be disappointed at the second booking of the month.
Four railway lounge visits a year are a genuine benefit at major stations and rarely advertised.
The fuel surcharge waiver is ₹100 a cycle on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000 — narrower than the range standard.
Redeem as statement cashback, not Pay with Rewards.
Three charges are worth knowing before you apply. Finance charges run at 3.75% a month — 45% a year. Late payment is graduated, from ₹100 on a balance of ₹100–₹500 up to ₹1,300 above ₹50,000. And BOBCARD levies non-reversible 1% processing fees on rent, wallet loading, large utility bills and fuel above ₹10,000 — with toll and bus, railway bookings and third-party education payments added to that list on 1 April 2026.
Reward Points lapse if the card goes unused for 365 days, and are forfeited outright on closure, settlement or dues overdue beyond 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the IRCTC BOBCARD rail rate? 40 Reward Points per ₹100 on IRCTC bookings — 10% at the published ₹0.25 rate — capped at 1,000 Reward Points a statement cycle, which binds at ₹2,500 of rail spend.
What is the maximum accelerated benefit? About ₹250 a month, so ₹3,000 a year.
Why are there two cap figures? BOBCARD states the ceiling as '1,000 BoB Reward Points or 250 IRCTC Travel Points per statement cycle'. Which applies depends on the redemption route and BOBCARD does not explain the interaction.
Is the lounge access at airports? No — railway lounges, four visits per calendar year, one per quarter.
Does it work on UPI? It is a RuPay card, so it links to UPI — but credit-card-on-UPI transactions earn the core 0.5% rate only, never the accelerated one.
Cards Mentioned in This Article
