YES BANK BYOC Review 2026: A Subscription Card — ₹99 a Month, Plus a Card Fee, Plus a Plan
YES BYOC charges ₹99 a month on the Cashback variant and pays 10% at merchants you choose. There are three separate fee layers and no published cap on the 10%. Full review.
YES BANK's BYOC — Build Your Own Card — lets the cardholder choose the merchants that earn 10% cashback.
It is also the only card in YES BANK's range priced as a subscription, with three separate fee layers.
YES BANK BYOC Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Entry subscription cashback card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Someone with concentrated spending at a few known merchants |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | Nil joining, ₹1,188 + GST renewal |
| **Network** | Visa |
| **Base reward rate** | **1.0%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **10.0%** — shopping |
| **Reward currency** | Cashback, valued at ₹1 each |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.5% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
10% cashback at merchants the cardholder chooses.
1% cashback on the BYOC Cashback variant generally.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| shopping | **10.0%** |
| Everything else | 1.0% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
Three fee layers, not one
| Layer | BYOC Cashback | BYOC Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| **Monthly fee** | ₹99 | ₹49 |
| One-time card fee — regular | Nil | Nil |
| One-time card fee — eco-friendly | ₹249 | ₹249 |
| One-time card fee — metal | ₹3,499 | ₹3,499 |
| Optional monthly subscription | Silver / Gold / Platinum plans | same |
The ₹99 is monthly, not annual — ₹1,188 a year if never waived, and YES records 'NA' in both waiver columns, so there is no spend threshold that removes it.
The underlying data records ₹1,188 as the renewal fee because the schema has no monthly fee field. Read this table rather than that number.
And no ceiling on the 10%
The 10% chosen-merchant band is the product, and YES publishes no cap for it in the material reviewed here. On a 10% rate that is the figure that decides whether the card is worth ₹1,188 a year. Unknown, not uncapped — confirm before applying.
Two things changed on 15 June 2026
Reward points stopped being awarded on rental, wallet, fuel, government and marketing or advertising transactions, on cash withdrawals, and on Post Purchase EMI and Instant EMI.
The foreign currency markup rose on most of the range. Reserv and the YES First family went from 1.75% to 2.00%; Elite+, YES Essence and YES Prosperity Business to 3.00%; and Select, ACE, the Virtual RuPay card and Klick from 2.75% to 3.50% — a 0.75-point jump, the largest in the range.
Only YES Private, Marquee, FREO and the BYOC/EMI/Wellness/Zagg group were unchanged. Anyone reading a YES BANK review written before June 2026 is looking at both a wider earning base and a cheaper foreign markup than exist now.
A separate 1% dynamic currency conversion charge catches people out. If an international transaction is billed to you in rupees — at a foreign point of sale, or at an overseas merchant selling in INR — YES levies 1% plus GST on top of the markup above. Choosing to be charged in rupees abroad costs more, not less.
Category Restrictions: Where You Won't Earn
- Where you earn nothing: FROM 15 JUNE 2026 YES BANK AWARDS NO REWARD POINTS on rental, wallet load, fuel, government, and marketing or advertising transactions, nor on cash withdrawals, Post Purchase EMI or Instant EMI. Separately, YES publishes a 'Select categories' MCC list — utilities (4899, 4900), insurance (6300, 6381) and education (8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299) — which earn the card's LOWEST band rather than nothing.
- Point expiry: 36 months from the date of earning, per YES BANK's Credit Card Redemption Rules. A minimum of 2,000 Reward Points is required before anything can be redeemed.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | Nil |
| Renewal fee | ₹1,188 + GST |
| Finance charges | 3.99% per month (47.88% per annum) on revolving credit, cash advances and overdue amounts. |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount withdrawn. Not applicable to any Virtual Credit Card. |
| Cash advance interest | 3.99% per month, charged from the date of withdrawal with no interest-free period. |
| Forex markup | Set per card variant and RAISED ON MOST OF THE RANGE ON 15 JUNE 2026: YES Private 0.50%; Marquee 1.00%; Reserv and the YES First family 2.00% (from 1.75%); YES Prosperity Business, Elite+ and YES Essence 3.00%; Select, ACE, Virtual RuPay and Klick 3.50% (from 2.75%); FREO 3.40%; BYOC, EMI Card, Wellness, Wellness Plus, Zagg and Novio 3.50%. NOT APPLICABLE AT ALL to Uni, Uni RuPay Virtual, AI Inside and NIYO. |
| Dynamic currency conversion | 1% plus GST, charged IN ADDITION where an international transaction is billed in INR — at an overseas point of sale or at a merchant registered abroad selling in rupees. Not applicable to Uni, Uni RuPay Virtual, AI Inside or NIYO. |
| Fuel transactions | A fuel surcharge of 1% to 2.5% plus GST may be levied by the acquirer and is payable by the cardholder. Most YES cards carry a 1% surcharge waiver; note separately that fuel has earned NO reward points since 15 June 2026. |
| Reward redemption | NIL on YES Private. ₹100 + GST per redemption request on Marquee, Reserv and every other variant. A convenience fee of ₹99 + GST applies to flight bookings on top. |
| GST | 18% on all fees, interest and charges. |
Is the YES BANK BYOC Credit Card Worth It?
The maths only works with concentrated spending at merchants you can name in advance. ₹1,188 a year needs ₹11,880 of 10% spending just to break even, assuming the band is uncapped — and it almost certainly is not.
Do not take the metal card unless the ₹3,499 one-time fee is worth it to you aesthetically; it buys nothing functional.
The foreign currency markup is 3.5%, YES BANK's top band.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does YES BYOC cost? ₹99 a month on the BYOC Cashback variant and ₹49 on BYOC Rewards — ₹1,188 or ₹588 a year. There is also a one-time card fee of nil for the regular card, ₹249 for eco-friendly or ₹3,499 for metal, plus optional Silver, Gold and Platinum monthly plans. No fee waiver is published.
Is there a cap on BYOC's 10% cashback? YES BANK publishes no ceiling for the chosen-merchant band in the material reviewed here. On a 10% rate that is the most important missing figure on the card.
What is a YES Rewardz Point worth? Between ₹0.10 and ₹0.25 depending on how you redeem. Flight and hotel bookings pay ₹0.25 — the maximum on every variant — while statement credit pays ₹0.10. E-gift vouchers pay ₹0.15 on YES Private and Marquee, ₹0.10 elsewhere.
Is there a fee to redeem YES BANK reward points? ₹100 plus GST per redemption request on every card except YES Private, where it is nil. A further ₹99 plus GST convenience fee applies to flight bookings. A minimum of 2,000 points is required for any redemption, and points expire after 36 months.
What does not earn reward points on YES BANK cards? Since 15 June 2026: rental, wallet, fuel, government and marketing or advertising transactions, cash withdrawals, and Post Purchase EMI and Instant EMI. Utilities, insurance and education fall into YES's 'Select categories' and earn the card's lowest band rather than nothing.
Cards Mentioned in This Article
