Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD Review 2026: 0.5% Base, 2.5% Accelerated, 2,000-Point Cap & FAQs
Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD earns 2 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.5% — with a 5X band capped at 2,000 points a cycle. ₹1,499 waived on ₹14,990 of spend in 180 days. Caps, the shared-page caveat and FAQs.
Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD earns 2 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.5% at BOBCARD's published ₹0.25 rate, rising to 2.5% on dining, entertainment, travel and international spends.
Varunah Plus doubles the core rate and nearly triples the accelerated ceiling for a ₹1,499 fee that is waived on ₹15,000 of spend in the first 180 days.
Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Mid-tier defence card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Indian Navy personnel |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | ₹1,499 + GST, same on renewal — renewal waived at ₹1.5 lakh of annual spend |
| **Network** | Visa, RuPay |
| **Base reward rate** | **0.5%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **2.5%** — Dining, entertainment, travel and international spends |
| **Reward currency** | BOBCARD Reward Points, valued at ₹0.25 each |
| **Welcome benefit** | 500 bonus Reward Points on spends of ₹5,000 or more within 60 days of card issuance |
| **Lounge access** | 2 domestic visits per quarter (8 a year) |
| **Forex markup** | 2.5% |
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.
2 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.5%. 10 Reward Points per ₹100 on the accelerated categories — 2.5%.
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 |
|---|---|
| Dining, entertainment, travel and international spends (capped at 2,000 points a month) | **2.5%** |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Accel | 2,000 points per calendar month |
The 5X band caps at 2,000 Reward Points a statement cycle — ₹500 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend a month.
The three Varunah variants share one product page. BOBCARD documents Varunah, Varunah Plus and Varunah Premium together, and its rewards terms place them in three different core-rate tiers — 1, 2 and 3 Reward Points per ₹100. The rates and caps here are separated by variant from that shared page, so figures the page does not attribute to a specific variant carry more risk on this card than most.
Fuel earns nothing on any BOBCARD except HPCL Energie, alongside ATM cash withdrawals and quasi-cash.
Milestone Benefits
| Spend | Benefit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ₹1 lakh a year | 12-month Amazon Prime membership | ₹1,499 |
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: 2,000 Reward Points a statement cycle across all accelerated categories combined — ₹500 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹1,499 + GST |
| Renewal fee | ₹1,499 + 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 | 2.5% 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 Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD Worth It?
The ₹1,499 joining fee is reversed on ₹14,990 of spend in the first 180 days — a six-month window and a low threshold, so the first year is effectively free for most holders. The ₹1,499 annual fee from year two is waived on ₹1.5 lakh of annual spend, and the forex markup is 2.5% rather than BOBCARD's usual 3.5%.
2 domestic lounge visits a quarter, subject to a minimum spend BOBCARD does not quantify.
The welcome package is 500 bonus Reward Points on ₹5,000 of spend in 60 days, plus a 12-month FITPASS PRO membership.
Against the base Varunah, this variant earns materially more on both the core and accelerated rates at no extra cost.
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 Indian Navy Varunah Plus BOBCARD earn rate? 2 Reward Points per ₹100 — 0.5% — and 10 per ₹100 on dining, entertainment, travel and international spends, which is 2.5%.
What is the accelerated cap? 2,000 Reward Points a statement cycle — ₹500 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend.
What does it cost? ₹1,499 joining and ₹1,499 annual. The joining fee is waived on ₹14,990 of spend in the first 180 days and the annual fee on ₹1.5 lakh of spend in the year.
How do the three Varunah variants differ? By core rate, accelerated ceiling, fee and forex markup: Varunah 1 point per ₹100 with a 750-point cap and no fee; Varunah Plus 2 points with 2,000, ₹1,499 and a 2.5% markup; Varunah Premium 3 points with 2,500, ₹2,499 and a 2% markup.
Who can apply? Indian Navy personnel.