SBI Card
PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE
Reward points worth ₹1 each: 3% back on recharges, bill payments, insurance and travel paid in the PhonePe app, 2% on other online spends and 1% on everything else, each with a monthly cap. UPI payments earn 1% only when made in the PhonePe app (other UPI apps earn nothing since July 2026). SBI Card's card terms say redemption is free, but its general fee schedule lists ₹99 for statement-credit redemptions.
- ₹499 joining, ₹499 a year
- Works on UPI (RuPay)
- Visa / RuPay
Pros and cons
Good
- Annual fee waived at ₹1,00,000 of spend a year
- Works on UPI and earns 1% there
Watch out for
- At ₹499 a year, it doesn't beat a free card's rate on any spend
- Earns nothing on fuel, wallet loads, rent and government payments
- High forex markup (3.5%)
- Who it's for
- People whose spending matches its best category: bills and utilities.
- Skip it if
- You want rewards to cover the fee: a free card pays as much.
Worked out from the bank's published terms with the same rules for every card, never from what we earn. How we judge cards.
Rewards (value back as % of spend)
- Everyday spends
- 1% (base rate)
- Online shopping
- 2%
- Fuel
- 0%
- Groceries
- 1%
- UPI
- 1%
- Travel
- 2%
- Bills and utilities
- 3%
- Dining and food delivery
- 2%
Fees and charges
- Joining fee
- ₹499
- Annual fee
- ₹499
- Fee waiver
- Renewal fee reversed if you spend ₹1 lakh or more in the previous membership year. After paying the first-year fee of ₹499 you get a ₹500 PhonePe e-gift voucher (valid 12 months). PhonePe's own page advertised a limited-time zero joining fee in September 2026; SBI Card's fee schedule still lists ₹499, so check the fee shown when you apply.
- Forex markup
- 3.5%
- Fuel surcharge waiver
- 1% waiver on fuel transactions of ₹500 to ₹3,000, up to ₹100 per statement cycle.
Benefits and eligibility
- Airport lounge
- No airport lounge access.
- Card network
- Visa, RuPay
- UPI payments
- Yes, as a RuPay credit card
- Minimum income (salaried)
- Not published by the bank
- Eligibility
- SBI Card doesn't publish an income requirement for this card. Its card issuance policy sets an age range of 21-65 for salaried and 25-70 for self-employed applicants. You apply in the PhonePe app and complete KYC with SBI Card; approval is at SBI Card's discretion.
Fees exclude GST. Reward rates are the value back you get at the bank's published redemption value; where a bank doesn't publish what a point is worth, we leave the rate blank rather than guess. See how we compare cards.
Compare it with other cards
Ready to apply for the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE?
View on PhonePe siteIssuer's site. We don't earn from this card.CreditParakh is not a bank or lender. Approval, limits and final terms are decided by SBI Card.
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What changed recently
- RewardsWorse for you
UPI payments made outside the PhonePe app (scan-and-pay or online UPI) no longer earn reward points; scan-and-pay in the PhonePe app still earns 1%.
After: No points on UPI outside the PhonePe app
SBI Card's notice doesn't state the earlier UPI earn rate.
Bank's notice or terms - Reward capsWorse for you
Monthly cap on 3% PhonePe-app spends split into 750 points (non-insurance) and 250 points (insurance), and the cap on 2% online spends cut to 750 points.
Before: PhonePe spends 1,000 points; online 1,000 points a month · After: PhonePe spends 750 + 250 (insurance) points; online 750 points a month
Bank's notice or terms - Excluded spendsWorse for you
No points on tolls, gift shops, jewellery and college fees, or on utilities and insurance paid outside the PhonePe app.
After: Excluded: MCC 4784, 5947, 5094, 5944, 8220, and 4900, 4814, 4899, 5960, 6300, 6380 outside PhonePe
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
Late payment fee now starts at ₹100 on dues above ₹100 (was nil up to ₹500) and rose from ₹400 to ₹500 on dues of ₹500–1,000.
Before: Nil up to ₹500; ₹400 for ₹500–1,000 · After: Nil up to ₹100; ₹100 for ₹100–500; ₹500 for ₹500–1,000
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
New 1% fee on education payments made through third-party apps; paying the school or college directly stays free.
After: 1% of the transaction
Bank's notice or terms
Questions people ask
Is the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE worth it in 2026?
Only if most of your spending is on bills and utilities. The catch: earns nothing on fuel, wallet loads, rent and government payments.
Is the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE lifetime free?
No. It costs ₹499 to join and ₹499 a year, plus GST. Renewal fee reversed if you spend ₹1 lakh or more in the previous membership year. After paying the first-year fee of ₹499 you get a ₹500 PhonePe e-gift voucher (valid 12 months). PhonePe's own page advertised a limited-time zero joining fee in September 2026; SBI Card's fee schedule still lists ₹499, so check the fee shown when you apply.
Does the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE work on UPI?
Yes, it's a RuPay card, so you can link it to UPI apps for merchant payments; it earns 1% on UPI spends.
Does the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE give airport lounge access?
No airport lounge access.
What earns no rewards on the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE?
No points on fuel, wallet loads, rent, school and college fees, government payments, online gaming, tolls, jewellery, gift shops, Flexipay and in-store or online EMI purchases, cash withdrawals and card fees. Utility bills and insurance earn nothing unless you pay them in the PhonePe app, and since 1 July 2026 UPI payments made from any app other than PhonePe earn nothing. Transactions under ₹100 earn no points.
Is there a limit on rewards with the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE?
3% on recharges, bills and travel in the PhonePe app is capped at 750 points (₹750) a calendar month, reached at ₹25,000 of spend; insurance in the app has its own cap of 250 points. 2% on online spends is capped at 750 points (₹750) a calendar month, reached at ₹37,500 of spend. 1% on other spends is capped at 1,000 points (₹1,000) a calendar month, reached at ₹1 lakh of spend.
Who can get the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE?
SBI Card doesn't publish an income requirement for this card. Its card issuance policy sets an age range of 21-65 for salaried and 25-70 for self-employed applicants. You apply in the PhonePe app and complete KYC with SBI Card; approval is at SBI Card's discretion. Approval is at the bank's discretion.
How we checked this card: the CreditParakh team read SBI Card's own terms and product page on 19 Oct 2026. Every fee, rate and rule above comes from those pages; where they disagree, we say so. We re-check every card monthly and log changes on card changes. See our editorial standards.
Last verified 19 Oct 2026 on SBI Card's official page. Fees and rewards change; check the issuer's terms before you apply.