SBI Card
SBI Card PULSE
Health and lifestyle card: 10 points per ₹100 on pharmacy, dining, movies and sports (about 2.5% back), 2 points per ₹100 elsewhere, plus a smartwatch welcome gift and FITPASS PRO and Netmeds First memberships.
- ₹1,499 joining, ₹1,499 a year
- Visa / Mastercard
Pros and cons
Good
- Airport lounge visits with no published spend condition
Watch out for
- At ₹1,499 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%)
- Can't be used on UPI (not a RuPay card)
- Who it's for
- Frequent flyers who use airport lounges and can meet the fee waiver.
- Skip it if
- You mainly pay by UPI.
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
- 0.5% (base rate)
- Online shopping
- 0.5%
- Fuel
- 0%
- Groceries
- 0.5%
- Travel
- 0.5%
- Bills and utilities
- 0.5%
- Dining and food delivery
- 2.5%
Fees and charges
- Joining fee
- ₹1,499
- Annual fee
- ₹1,499
- Fee waiver
- Renewal fee reversed if annual spends in the previous year are ₹2,00,000 or more
- Forex markup
- 3.5%
- Fuel surcharge waiver
- 1% waiver on fuel transactions of ₹500 to ₹4,000; max ₹250 per statement cycle
Benefits and eligibility
- Airport lounge
- 4 domestic visits a year (1 a quarter; cut from 8 on 10 Jan 2026); Priority Pass membership for the first 2 years but every visit costs USD 27 plus tax; no spend condition is published.
- Card network
- Visa, Mastercard
- UPI payments
- No
- Minimum income (salaried)
- Not published by the bank
- Eligibility
- Not published by the bank
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 SBI Card PULSE?
Apply nowVia our referral partner. We may earn a commission.CreditParakh is not a bank or lender. Approval, limits and final terms are decided by SBI Card.
Related guides
- How to Choose a Credit Card by Your SpendingPick a credit card by what you spend: what a reward point is worth, caps, lifetime free vs paid fee maths, UPI, lounges and eligibility, with ₹ examples.
- CIBIL Score: Check Free, Improve in 90 DaysCheck your CIBIL score free with one full report a year from each bureau, dispute errors yourself, and build a better score with a 90-day checklist.
What changed recently
- 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 - RewardsWorse for you
Points can be redeemed for statement credit only in multiples of 4,000 points, up to 60,000 points a month.
After: Multiples of 4,000 points; max 60,000 points a month
Bank's notice or terms - Lounge accessWorse for you
Domestic lounge visits cut from 8 to 4 a year (from 2 to 1 a quarter), at a shorter list of 16 participating lounges.
Before: 8 a year, max 2 a quarter · After: 4 a year, max 1 a quarter
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 - FeesWorse for you
New 1% fee on every wallet load above ₹1,000.
After: 1% of the transaction
Bank's notice or terms
Questions people ask
Is the SBI Card PULSE worth it in 2026?
Only if you'll use the airport lounge visits and can meet the fee waiver; the rewards alone don't cover the fee. The catch: earns nothing on fuel, wallet loads, rent and government payments.
Is the SBI Card PULSE lifetime free?
No. It costs ₹1,499 to join and ₹1,499 a year, plus GST. Renewal fee reversed if annual spends in the previous year are ₹2,00,000 or more.
Does the SBI Card PULSE work on UPI?
No. Only RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI, and this isn't one.
Does the SBI Card PULSE give airport lounge access?
4 domestic visits a year (1 a quarter; cut from 8 on 10 Jan 2026); Priority Pass membership for the first 2 years but every visit costs USD 27 plus tax; no spend condition is published.
What earns no rewards on the SBI Card PULSE?
No points on fuel at petrol pumps, wallet loads and prepaid card purchases (MCC 6540, 6541), rent (MCC 6513, from 1 Apr 2024), government transactions (MCC 9399, 9311, from 1 Jun 2024), cash advances, ATM withdrawals, balance transfers, finance charges and fees. Points on purchases converted to EMI are forfeited.
Is there a limit on rewards with the SBI Card PULSE?
Accelerated 10X points on chemist, pharmacy, dining and movies are capped at 7,500 points per calendar month (₹1,875 at 4 points = Re 1); base 2 points per ₹100 continue after the cap.
Who can get the SBI Card PULSE?
Approval is at the bank's discretion.
How we checked this card: the CreditParakh team read SBI Card's own product page on 18 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 18 Oct 2026 on SBI Card's official page. Fees and rewards change; check the issuer's terms before you apply.