RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card Review 2026: 1.25% on Grocery Spends, 1,000-Point Cap & FAQs
RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card is lifetime free and pays 5 Reward Points per ₹100 on grocery spends — 1.25% — capped at 1,000 points a month, on a 0.25% base. Fees, caps and FAQs.
RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card earns 5 Reward Points per ₹100 on grocery spends and 1 per ₹100 on everything else.
SaveMax is lifetime free — RBL lists it at NIL — and pays 5X on groceries.
RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Entry-tier co-brand card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | People whose spending concentrates on grocery spends |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | Nil, same on renewal |
| **Network** | Mastercard |
| **Base reward rate** | **0.25%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **1.25%** — Grocery spends |
| **Reward currency** | RBL Bank Reward Points, valued at ₹0.25 each |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.5% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
RBL values a Reward Point at ₹0.25 — its own working figure rather than a published redemption table. Several RBL cards use a different value, so point counts do not compare across the range without checking.
5 Reward Points per ₹100 on grocery spends — 1.25%. 1 per ₹100 on everything else — 0.25%.
RBL stopped paying rewards on a whole category block on 13 November 2023 — Fuel & Auto, Utilities, Insurance, Quasi-Cash, Real Estate and Rental, Education, and Wallets. The same list is excluded from milestone spend and from the lounge qualification on the banking cards.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| Grocery spends (capped at 1,000 points a month) | **1.25%** |
| Everything else | 0.25% |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Monthly | 1,000 points per calendar month |
The accelerated band caps at 1,000 Reward Points a month — ₹250 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend a month.
RBL rounds down on every transaction. A ₹350 spend at 1 point per ₹100 earns 3 points and the ₹50 is lost — every time.
Category Restrictions: Where You Won't Earn
- Where you earn nothing: Earns nothing at all: Fuel & Auto, Utilities, Insurance, Quasi-Cash, Real Estate and Rental, Education, and Wallets and Service Providers — RBL's own category list, excluded from earning AND from milestone spend calculation, with effect from 13 November 2023. Railways and Government are excluded on some cards additionally. Base Reward Points are also NOT accrued on EMI conversion of retail transactions, including Split-N-Pay and EMI requests placed at the point of sale.
- Point expiry: Reward Points expire after the validity period RBL prescribes and are forfeited on card closure. Points transferred to a partner programme are governed by that programme's expiry rules, not RBL's.
- Redemption fee: ₹99 per redemption.
- Monthly cap: 1,000 Reward Points a month on the accelerated band — ₹250 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | Nil |
| Renewal fee | Nil |
| Finance charges | Up to 3.99% per month (47.88% per annum) on both revolving credit and cash advances. |
| Interest-free period | Up to 50 days from the date of purchase, only when the previous balance is paid in full. |
| Minimum amount due | 5% of the total amount due, subject to a minimum, plus any EMI, fees, charges and over-limit amount. |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the cash amount, subject to a minimum of ₹500. |
| Cash advance interest | Up to 3.99% per month (47.88% per annum), charged from the date of withdrawal with no interest-free period. |
| Forex markup | Up to 3.5% of the transaction amount. Markup also applies to transactions in Indian rupees at an international location, or at merchants located in India but registered overseas. |
| Dynamic currency conversion | Charged at the same rate as the foreign currency markup — RBL treats dynamic and static conversion transactions identically. |
| Late payment | 12.5% of the outstanding amount, subject to a minimum of ₹5 and a maximum of ₹1,300. |
| Overlimit | Nil. RBL charges no over-limit fee. |
| Payment return | ₹500 for a returned or dishonoured cheque, and ₹500 for an auto-debit reversal where the bank account is out of funds. |
| Rent payment | 1% of the transaction amount on all rental transactions (MCC 6513). |
| Utility payments | 1% of the transaction amount on utility spends above ₹50,000 per month per card (MCC 4900). |
| Education payments | 1% on education payments made through third-party apps — CRED, PhonePe, Cheqedu, Paytm, MobiKwik, NoBroker, Housing.com and others. Payments made through a school or college website or its POS machine carry no fee. |
| Fuel transactions | 1% for each transaction exceeding ₹10,000 on fuel and auto (MCC 0032, 2541, 4001, 5172, 5541, 5542), capped at ₹3,000. |
| Add-on card | ₹0 to ₹5,000 per add-on cardmember, depending on the card variant. |
| Reward redemption | ₹99 plus GST per redemption. Waived on Lumière, Nova, Insignia, Insignia Prime, World Xclusive, Apex, Aspire Banking and Signature Banking. |
| EMI processing | 1.5% of the amount or ₹150, whichever is higher, on all merchant EMI conversions done at the time of the transaction. |
| GST | 18% on all fees, interest and charges. |
Is the RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card Worth It?
The card is free, so there is no fee to recover and any earning is upside.
At 0.25% the base rate is low, so this card works only if your spending genuinely concentrates on grocery spends. Fill the cap every month and it returns about ₹3,000 a year from the accelerated band.
The monthly ceiling is the thing to plan around, not the multiplier. A higher multiplier fills the same bucket faster; it does not raise it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the RBL Bank BankBazaar SaveMax Credit Card earn rate? 5 Reward Points per ₹100 on grocery spends — 1.25% at RBL's ₹0.25 working value — and 1 per ₹100 on everything else.
What is the cap? 1,000 Reward Points a month on the accelerated band — ₹250 of value, binding at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend.
What does SaveMax cost? Nothing. RBL lists it at NIL for both joining and annual fee.
What does not earn rewards? Fuel & Auto, Utilities, Insurance, Quasi-Cash, Real Estate and Rental, Education, and Wallets — excluded since 13 November 2023, and excluded from milestone spend too.
Is there a fee waiver? Not applicable — the card is free.
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