Verified 6 Aug
Bhavna Tiwari
Asked 24 Apr 2026
I've owned 4 cards over the last 7 years. The biggest lesson: a card that fits your spend pattern beats the 'most rewarding' card on paper. A 5% cashback card you actually use daily will give you 10x more value than a 10% card you use once a month.
Yes the rewards sound amazing in marketing, but the redemption catalogue is full of products at inflated MRP. The statement credit redemption is almost always the best value. Skip the merchandise, skip the flight bookings, take the cash.
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The card network matters more than the bank for acceptance and forex. Here's how each one stacks up in India.
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A Mastercard premium tier card.
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A Mastercard basic card.
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