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Use Utility Bill Payments on the Right Card for 5X Rewards

Harshil Vaja's profile photo Harshil Vaja
Reviewed by Jay Dodiya Last reviewed 5 September 2026 Data verified 5 September 2026

Electricity, gas, water, mobile, and broadband payments are coded under utility MCCs (5499, 4900). Most credit cards exclude these from earning reward points entirely. But a handful don’t.

The trick: Route all utility payments through one of these cards and earn rewards on spends that would otherwise earn zero.

Cards that reward utility payments:

  • HDFC Infinia: 5 reward points per ₹150 on all retail spends, including utilities. ~3.3% return at full value.
  • HDFC Diners Club Black: 5X via SmartBuy gift cards — buy utility gift cards on SmartBuy to unlock 5X.
  • ICICI Emeralde: 4 points per ₹100 with no category exclusions (capped at ₹20K monthly from April 2026).
  • Amazon Pay ICICI: 3% back on bill payments via Amazon Pay — electricity, gas, water, mobile, broadband, DTH all qualify.
  • Axis Atlas: 2 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on utility spends (5X via SmartHub travel portal).
  • Flipkart Axis: 5% cashback on select bill payment categories via Flipkart.

Step-by-step:

  • Set up autopay for electricity, gas, water, mobile, and broadband from the chosen card.
  • If your card doesn’t reward utilities directly, buy gift cards on SmartBuy or Amazon Pay and use those for bill payments.
  • Track monthly caps — some cards cap utility rewards separately.

Annual savings: ₹5,000/month in utility spends at 3% return = ₹1,800/year in rewards for zero extra effort.

Sources

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