BOBCARD TIARA Review 2026: Unlimited Lounges, Joining Fee Reversed at ₹25,000 & FAQs
BOBCARD TIARA charges ₹2,499 with the joining fee reversed on ₹25,000 of spend in 60 days. Unlimited domestic lounges, 3 RP per ₹100, 5X capped at 5,000, quarterly Lakmé discounts. FAQs.
BOBCARD TIARA is the bank's card for women: unlimited domestic lounge access, 3 Reward Points per ₹100, quarterly ₹1,500 Lakmé Salon discounts, and a joining fee reversed on just ₹25,000 of spend in the first 60 days.
BOBCARD TIARA Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Premium lifestyle and shopping card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Women who shop, dine and fly regularly |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | ₹2,499 + GST, same on renewal — renewal waived at ₹2.5 lakh of annual spend |
| **Network** | Visa, RuPay |
| **Base reward rate** | **0.75%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **3.75%** — Departmental stores, dining, entertainment and apparel |
| **Reward currency** | BOBCARD Reward Points, valued at ₹0.25 each |
| **Lounge access** | **Unlimited** complimentary domestic lounge access |
| **Forex markup** | 2.0% |
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.
3 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.75%. 15 Reward Points per ₹100 on departmental stores, dining, entertainment and apparel — 3.75%.
TIARA's page states the redemption rate inline with a cap — 'capped at ₹500 per statement cycle (1 Reward Point = ₹0.25)' — which is one of the clearest statements of the point value anywhere in BOBCARD's material.
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 |
|---|---|
| Departmental stores, dining, entertainment and apparel (capped at 5,000 points a month) | **3.75%** |
| Everything else | 0.75% |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Accel | 5,000 points per calendar month |
| Movie | 500 points per calendar month |
The 5X band caps at 5,000 Reward Points a statement cycle — ₹1,250 of value, matching ETERNA's and the largest in the range. The movie benefit carries its own ₹500 monthly ceiling.
Fuel earns nothing on any BOBCARD except HPCL Energie, alongside ATM cash withdrawals and quasi-cash.
BOBCARD disclaims responsibility for merchant category codes and asks cardholders to validate the MCC with the merchant before paying — a warning that accelerated categories may not fire.
Milestone Benefits
| Spend | Benefit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 a year | Joining fee of ₹2,499 reversed | ₹2,499 |
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.
- Accel cap: 5,000 Reward Points a statement cycle across all accelerated categories combined — ₹1,250 of value.
- Movie cap: ₹500 a statement cycle on the movie benefit — BOBCARD states the cap alongside the ₹0.25 point value on this card's page.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹2,499 + GST |
| Renewal fee | ₹2,499 + 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 | 2.0% of the transaction amount on this card. BOBCARD's MITC sets the markup by product: 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 everything else. |
| 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 BOBCARD TIARA Worth It?
The joining fee reversal is the easiest in the range. ₹25,000 of spend in the first 60 days reverses ₹2,499 — roughly ₹12,500 a month, which most holders of a premium card clear without trying. The annual fee is separately waived on milestone spends.
Unlimited domestic lounge access matches ETERNA's.
The quarterly Lakmé Salon discounts — ₹1,500 each — are worth ₹6,000 a year if used, which exceeds the fee on its own.
Against ETERNA at the same accelerated ceiling, TIARA's 5X categories lean retail (departmental stores, apparel) where ETERNA's lean travel. ETERNA's points never expire; TIARA's do, after 24 months. Choose by where you spend.
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 BOBCARD TIARA earn rate? 3 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.75% — and 15 per ₹100 on departmental stores, dining, entertainment and apparel, which is 3.75%.
How do I get the joining fee reversed? Spend ₹25,000 in the first 60 days. The annual fee is separately waived on milestone spends.
How much lounge access? Unlimited complimentary domestic airport lounge access.
TIARA or ETERNA? Both cap the 5X band at 5,000 points a cycle and both give unlimited domestic lounges. TIARA's accelerated categories lean retail, ETERNA's lean travel — and ETERNA's points never expire.
What are the Lakmé benefits? Quarterly discounts of ₹1,500 at Lakmé Salon.
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