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Best credit cards for phone bills in October 2026

HSBC Live+ leads 2 cards tied at the top (₹1,800, ₹/yr at ₹1,500/mo of bills) and is worth ₹12,700 a year at ₹75,000 a month after the fee.

Verified 475 sources

The top 3

HSBC Live+ credit card

HSBC Live+

HSBC

₹1,800 ₹/yr at ₹1,500/mo of bills

Keep

Most back on every ₹100 of telecom: HSBC TravelOne, 4.00% .

The full ranking

165 cards, best first. Ranked by ₹/yr at ₹1,500/mo of bills; the ₹ a year column follows the spend you pick.

₹ a year at your monthly spend
Phone and broadband: ranks 1 to 25
Card₹/yr at ₹1,500/mo of bills₹ a yearFee
1. HSBC Live+HSBC · 10.00% on a phone or broadband bill ₹1,800 ₹5,100 ₹12,700 ₹25,400 ₹50,800 ₹84,600 ₹999 fee
2. PhonePe HDFC Bank UltimoHDFC Bank · 10.00% through PhonePe ₹1,800 ₹0 ₹0 ₹0 ₹0 ₹0 ₹999 fee
3. HSBC Premier (Metal)HSBC · 6.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹1,080 ₹300 ₹30,800 ₹81,500 ₹1,83,000 ₹3,18,400 ₹12,000 joining + ₹20,000/yr
4. Axis Bank ACEAxis Bank · 5.00% through Google Pay ₹900 ₹5,100 ₹12,700 ₹25,400 ₹50,800 ₹84,600 ₹499 fee
5. Standard Chartered Super Value TitaniumStandard Chartered · 5.00% on a bill over ₹750 ₹900 ₹600 ₹1,400 ₹2,700 ₹5,500 ₹9,100 ₹750 fee
6. HSBC TravelOneHSBC · 4.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹720 ₹7,100 ₹25,200 ₹80,500 ₹1,41,000 ₹2,21,600 ₹4,999 fee
7. Standard Chartered UltimateStandard Chartered · 3.33% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹599 ₹4,400 ₹18,400 ₹41,800 ₹88,500 ₹1,50,900 ₹5,000 fee
8. HDFC Diners Club Black MetalHDFC Bank · 3.33% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹599 ₹1,300 ₹28,200 ₹96,300 ₹1,52,700 ₹2,27,800 ₹10,000 fee
9. Utkarsh Wish Credit CardUtkarsh Small Finance Bank · 3.00% through PhonePe ₹540 ₹2,400 ₹2,400 ₹2,400 ₹2,400 ₹2,400 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
10. PhonePe SBI Card PURPLESBI Card · Invite only · 3.00% through PhonePe ₹540 ₹6,400 ₹11,500 ₹15,000 ₹15,000 ₹15,000 ₹499 fee
11. RBL NovaRBL Bank · 2.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹360 −₹6,500 ₹2,600 ₹70,200 ₹1,00,500 ₹1,40,800 ₹12,500 fee
12. ICICI Times BlackICICI Bank · 2.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published; the ceiling… ₹360 −₹3,200 ₹16,900 ₹43,800 ₹1,17,700 ₹1,62,800 ₹20,000 fee
13. HDFC Regalia GoldHDFC Bank · 1.63% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹293 ₹3,000 ₹29,800 ₹43,600 ₹71,200 ₹1,07,900 ₹2,500 fee
14. Tata Neu Infinity HDFC BankHDFC Bank · 1.50% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹270 ₹5,100 ₹12,700 ₹25,400 ₹50,800 ₹81,600 ₹1,499 fee
15. IndiGo IDFC FIRST Dual Credit CardIDFC FIRST Bank · 1.50% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹270 ₹4,700 ₹16,700 ₹33,400 ₹56,800 ₹88,000 ₹4,999 fee
16. Equitas PowerMilesEquitas Small Finance Bank · 1.50% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹270 ₹100 ₹12,700 ₹25,400 ₹50,800 ₹84,600 ₹5,000 fee
17. IndusInd Avios Visa InfiniteIndusInd Bank · 1.50% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹270 ₹4,700 ₹29,800 ₹59,600 ₹83,200 ₹1,14,600 ₹10,000 joining + ₹5,000/yr
18. HSBC PlatinumHSBC · 1.33% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹240 ₹4,000 ₹10,100 ₹20,200 ₹40,300 ₹67,200 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
19. HSBC RuPay PlatinumHSBC · 1.33% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹240 ₹4,000 ₹10,100 ₹20,200 ₹40,300 ₹67,200 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
20. YES Bank MarqueeYES Bank · 1.25% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's REDUCED telecom rate — Cable/streaming (4899) earns the 10… ₹225 ₹7,300 ₹18,100 ₹36,300 ₹72,500 ₹1,20,900 ₹9,999 joining + ₹4,999/yr
21. KrisFlyer SBI CardSBI Card · 1.10% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹198 ₹3,600 ₹8,600 ₹16,900 ₹33,600 ₹55,700 ₹2,999 fee
22. IndusInd TigerIndusInd Bank · 1.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹180 ₹7,100 ₹32,000 ₹78,200 ₹1,70,700 ₹2,74,100 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
23. IDBI Bank LIC Eclat SelectIDBI Bank · 1.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹180 ₹3,800 ₹9,300 ₹17,800 ₹34,700 ₹57,300 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
24. BOBCARD Uni GoldXBOBCARD (Bank of Baroda) · 1.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published ₹180 ₹3,000 ₹7,600 ₹15,100 ₹30,200 ₹50,400 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
25. LIC IDFC FIRST SelectIDFC FIRST Bank · 1.00% on a phone or broadband bill — the card's ordinary rate, no telecom accelerator published; the ceiling… ₹180 ₹3,400 ₹8,500 ₹16,900 ₹33,800 ₹56,400 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
Ranks 26 to 165 140 cards
  1. RBL Paisabazaar Duet ₹180
  2. AU Altura Credit Card ₹180
  3. Axis Bank Freecharge Plus ₹180 · Invite only
  4. HSBC RuPay Cashback ₹180
  5. Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank ₹180
  6. Flipkart SBI Card ₹180
  7. Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card ₹180
  8. HDFC Diners Club Privilege ₹180
  9. Paytm HDFC Bank Select ₹180
  10. RBL Apex ₹180
  11. IndusInd Legend ₹144
  12. IndusInd Pinnacle World ₹144
  13. IDBI Bank Royale Signature ₹135
  14. BOBCARD Eterna ₹135
  15. Axis Bank Cashback ₹135
  16. IDBI Bank Euphoria World ₹135
  17. BOBCARD Tiara ₹135
  18. Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank ₹120
  19. IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card ₹115
  20. BOBCARD Premier ₹90
  21. IDFC FIRST HPCL Power+ ₹90
  22. IDBI Bank Winnings ₹90
  23. TVS Credit RBL Bank Gold ₹90
  24. RBL Platinum Maxima ₹90
  25. RBL Platinum Maxima Plus ₹90
  26. RBL World Safari ₹90
  27. HPCL ENERGIE BOBCARD ₹60
  28. ixigo AU ₹90 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  29. Federal Bank Celesta ₹45
  30. ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card ₹45
  31. RBL BankBazaar SaveMax ₹45
  32. YES BANK RuPay Virtual ₹45
  33. AU LIT Credit Card ₹45
  34. HDFC Bank UPI RuPay ₹45
  35. AU Bank NOMO Credit Card ₹45
  36. ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Credit Card ₹45
  37. RBL Patanjali Vishisht ₹45
  38. RBL Bank DMI Finance ₹45
  39. AU Altura Plus Credit Card ₹45
  40. RBL Platinum Choice ₹45
  41. RBL Platinum Advantage ₹45
  42. RBL Shoprite ₹45
  43. RBL Binge ₹45
  44. RBL Movies and More ₹45
  45. BPCL SBI Card OCTANE ₹45
  46. AU Bank Traverse Credit Card (NRI) ₹45
  47. CUB SalarySe Level UP Virtual ₹36
  48. RBL Bank SalarySe UP ₹36
  49. CUB SalarySe Level UP ₹36
  50. RBL Cookies ₹36
  51. IRCTC SBI Card Premier ₹144 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  52. IDFC FIRST WOW! Black ₹30
  53. IDFC FIRST Ashva ₹48 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  54. IDFC FIRST Mayura ₹60 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  55. IDFC FIRST WOW! ₹23
  56. IDFC FIRST Select ₹23
  57. IDFC FIRST Millennia ₹23
  58. IDFC FIRST Classic ₹23
  59. IDFC FIRST Wealth ₹23
  60. IRCTC RBL Bank Credit Card ₹90 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  61. PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK ₹1,800 · Invite only
  62. Paytm HDFC Bank ₹540
  63. Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card ₹360
  64. PhonePe HDFC Bank Uno ₹360
  65. SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage Black ₹270
  66. RBL Paisabazaar Duet Plus ₹180
  67. IndiGo SBI Card ELITE ₹180
  68. SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage ₹135
  69. YES Bank RESERV ₹135
  70. Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip ₹90
  71. YES Bank ACE ₹90
  72. YES Bank Wellness ₹90
  73. IRCTC BOBCARD ₹90
  74. ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver ₹90
  75. YES Bank ELITE+ ₹90
  76. RBL Platinum Max ₹90
  77. RBL Platinum Prime ₹90
  78. RBL Platinum Delight ₹90
  79. IndiGo SBI Card ₹90
  80. RBL Platinum Edge ₹90
  81. RBL Icon ₹90
  82. ICICI Bank Expressions ₹45
  83. ICICI Bank Coral ₹45
  84. ICICI Bank Coral against FD ₹45
  85. TVS Credit RBL Bank ₹45
  86. YES Bank SELECT ₹45
  87. RBL Platinum Plus ₹45
  88. RBL Bank Patanjali Swarn ₹45
  89. ICICI Bank Rubyx ₹45
  90. ICICI Bank Rubyx against FD ₹45
  91. RBL Bank Blockbuster ₹45
  92. ICICI Sapphiro ₹45
  93. ICICI Bank Emeralde ₹45
  94. IndusInd Platinum Aura Edge ₹36
  95. Adani One ICICI Bank Platinum ₹90 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  96. HDFC Bank Freedom ₹14
  97. AU Ananta ₹45
  98. AU Vetta ₹45
  99. AU Zenith+ ₹45
  100. AU Zenith ₹45
  101. RBL EasySaver ₹11
  102. RBL MyFirst ₹11
  103. HDFC Bank Idea International Silver ₹900 · Closed to new applicants
  104. Axis Bank PRIMUS ₹900 · Invite only
  105. Axis Olympus ₹720 · Invite only
  106. HDFC Infinia Metal ₹599 · Invite only
  107. ICICI Emeralde Private Metal ₹540 · Invite only
  108. Reliance Gold Credit Card ₹420 · Closed to new applicants
  109. Reliance Silver Credit Card ₹420 · Closed to new applicants
  110. DBS Altitude ₹360 · Invite only
  111. DBS Vantage ₹360 · Invite only
  112. Pine Labs HDFC Bank Pro ₹240 · Closed to new applicants
  113. Amex Platinum Charge ₹225 · Issuing paused
  114. HSBC Smart Value ₹180 · Closed to new applicants
  115. Flipkart Axis Bank Super Elite ₹180 · Issuing paused
  116. Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card ₹180 · Closed to new applicants
  117. Amex Membership Rewards Card ₹180 · Issuing paused
  118. Amex Gold Charge ₹180 · Issuing paused
  119. RBL Aspire Banking ₹180 · Invite only
  120. RBL Signature Banking ₹180 · Invite only
  121. HDFC Regalia ₹180 · Closed to new applicants
  122. Amex Platinum Travel ₹180 · Issuing paused
  123. SBI AURUM ₹180 · Invite only
  124. Amex Platinum Reserve ₹180 · Issuing paused
  125. IndusInd Pioneer Heritage ₹144 · Invite only
  126. IndusInd PIONEER Private ₹126 · Invite only
  127. Kotak Privy League Signature ₹90 · Closed to new applicants
  128. RBL World Prime ₹90 · Not confirmed on sale
  129. RBL World Max ₹90 · Not confirmed on sale
  130. RBL Bank Black ₹90 · Closed to new applicants
  131. RBL World Plus ₹90 · Not confirmed on sale
  132. HDFC Bank Regalia First ₹81 · Issuing paused
  133. Pine Labs HDFC Bank ₹60 · Closed to new applicants
  134. AU Xcite Credit Card ₹45 · Invite only
  135. Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank ₹45 · Closed to new applicants
  136. AU Xcite Ultra Credit Card ₹45 · Invite only
  137. RBL World Safari Plus ₹45 · Invite only
  138. OneCard Metal ₹36 · Issuing paused
  139. IDFC FIRST Private ₹120 · Invite only · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  140. IDFC FIRST Gaj ₹120 · Invite only · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
Pays nothing on a phone bill — or we have no telecom rule to rank it by 48 cards

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — MCC 4814 falls inside the same 4800–4999 exclusion range (4): CUB SRH Master Platinum , CUB CSK RuPay Platinum , CUB SRH RuPay Platinum , CUB SRH Master World .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — ICICI utility bucket → zero · community mapping · flag (3): Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Emeralde , Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Sapphiro , MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Axis groups telecom inside its utility category on every current card T&C (3): Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card , Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card , Axis Bank Vistara Credit Card .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Zero · Axis's revision T&C excludes "Utilities & Telecom" as one spend category (2): Axis Miles & More World Select , Axis Miles & More World .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — 4814 sits inside SBI's 'utility' exclusion row · telecom earns nothing (easy to miss) (2): SBI Card MILES PRIME , SBI Card MILES ELITE .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled in "Utility Services (Including Telecom)" on the card's published exclusion list · corrected from full · 2026-07-22 (2): IndiGo Axis Bank Premium Credit Card , IndiGo Axis Bank Credit Card .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — MCC 4814 sits inside the same 4800–4999 exclusion range and earns nothing (2): CUB CSK Master Platinum , CUB CSK Master World .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Same as Magnus (1): Axis Magnus for Burgundy .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled with utilities · zero (1): Axis Magnus .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Zero miles · Annexure 1 MCC 4814 (official MITC) (1): BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Same "Utility/Telecom" block · MCC 4812/4814 earn nothing and do not count toward the waiver (1): Kotak Air+ Prime .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled in "Utility/Telecom" on the published no-earn list (1): Kotak Air+ .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled with utilities (1): Axis Bank Reserve .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — 4814 sits inside Horizon's 'Utilities' exclusion row · telecom earns nothing (1): Axis Horizon .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — 4814 sits in the official utility MCC list · telecom earns nothing (1): Scapia (Federal Bank) .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — MCC 4814 (1): BOBCARD Etihad Guest .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled with utilities as 'Utility & Telecom' in the 20-Jun-2025 T&C exclusion list (1): Axis Bank SELECT .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — MCC 4814 is a utility MCC · so a recharge paid off-Amazon earns nothing since 11 Oct 2025 (1): Amazon Pay ICICI Bank .

A phone bill earns at a rate unpublished — the issuer states a cut and never its size — ICICI utility bucket → reduced · community mapping, unconfirmed (1): Adani One ICICI Bank Signature .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Zero Air Miles · bundled in the official Utility/Telecom MCC table (4812; 4814) · corrected from full · 2026-07-22 (1): Kotak Solitaire .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — "Utility/Telecom" in the published no-earn list (1): Kotak Air .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — No per-swipe points (unconfirmed) (1): Kotak White Reserve .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — 4814 sits inside SBI's 'utility' exclusion row · telecom earns nothing (1): SBI Card MILES .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Zero coins on "Cable · Satellite · and Other Pay Television Services" (1): YES Bank Zagg Credit Card .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Same "Utility & Telecom" spend category · no points · and excluded from the milestone count (1): Axis Bank My Zone .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Inside the T&C's "Utility and certain telecom" line · which Axis does not narrow further (1): Axis Bank REWARDS .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — "Telecom" is its own excluded MCC category on Axis's list (1): Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Named in the same breath as utilities · Axis's category is "Utility & Telecom" (1): Axis Bank NEO .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Telecom is on the excluded-category list · unusual · and worth knowing before routing a phone bill here (1): Axis Bank SuperMoney RuPay .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Named only in the 20 June 2025 revision · which folds telecom into the utility spend category · the older excluded-MCC table… (1): Axis Bank Shoppers Stop Credit Card .

The issuer's own documents disagree about this card's telecom earn — we won't rank a number we can't settle — Telecom (MCC 4814) is absent from the exclusion table · the ordinary rate (inferred — the issuer’s list doesn’t name it, unconfirmed) · Note RBL files telecom… (1): RBL Platinum ShopGain .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Telecom (MCC 4814) is absent from the product page's own dated exclusion footnote · earns the base rate… (1): RBL Platinum LifeEasy .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — No KIWIS on telecom · 4812 · 4813 · 4814 (Annexure-I) (1): PNB Kiwi .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Telecom MCC 4814 sits in the Scapia utility exclusion list (1): Scapia (BOBCARD) .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — Bundled as 'Utilities and Telecom' in T&C · zero since 20-Apr-2024 (1): Axis Atlas .

Your phone bill earns nothing on this card — MCC 4814 sits in ICICI's utility MCC list · which the 15 Jan 2026 clause zeroes (1): Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Rubyx .

Your phone bill earns only inside a tier we hold and cannot price — 5% cashback on mobile recharges and bill payments · capped at ₹150 a month · about ₹3,000 of that spend a month across every 5%… — its ceiling is stated in units nothing here converts into rupees, so the tier is refused rather than priced as uncapped; outside that tier the card publishes no rate at all, so no ₹ is claimed (1): HDFC Bank Bharat .

What changed

Changes to telecom rewards, newest first 1 events

How we rank

THE COUNT FIRST, THEN THE RATE. A card whose published telecom rule zeroes MCC 4814 is not ranked at ₹0 — a zero is a finding, not a position — so it is named below the table with its own rule, and 45 of the 210 we could price sit there. Of the rest: (1) THE RATE is first-tier earn × the card's published telecom treatment × its currency's house ₹/point — the same expression /spends, /spends/telecom and /wallet crown on — raised only where the card's own earn table publishes a telecom tier AND our own telecom rule states the same number. 12 ranked cards clear that bar; 11 of those live inside an app or behind a minimum bill, and the row says which. (2) TWO DIFFERENT CEILINGS, kept apart. A TIER ceiling stops the accelerated rate and the ordinary rate carries on past it; it is converted to ₹ of bills a month and applied, and a tier that says it is capped in units nothing here converts is refused rather than priced as uncapped — 6 cards are ranked at the category rate for that reason. 1 more card publishes a phone-bill rate we hold but cannot price — a tier whose ceiling is in units nothing here converts, and no rate outside it — and is named below the table with no ₹ claimed. 10 more cards rank at the category rate for a different reason: our own rule puts their ceiling in ONE bucket shared across categories with no published split, so no ceiling is applied to a phone bill — each row says so. A CATEGORY cap is the other shape: past it the category earns nothing at all, and 30 ranked cards carry one — HDFC's 2,000-Reward-Point monthly ceiling on Infinia, Diners Black, Regalia Gold, Regalia and Freedom, live since 1 September 2024, is this shape. 9 of them are QUOTED AND NOT CONVERTED, deliberately: these caps are written in three mutually unreadable units across the corpus — points, rupees of reward, rupees of spend — and nothing separates the last two, so converting one would turn ICICI Coral's ₹40,000 of monthly SPEND into an ₹80,00,000 ceiling. Converting a points cap through the currency's house value is the other wrong answer: it is exact on Infinia, where raw and effective earn coincide, and overstates Regalia Gold's by 1.53× because that card's catalogue haircut is baked into its earn rate. Once an issuer's cap can be read as a spend figure, this board converts it. 2 more cards cap the category per TRANSACTION, not per month: the row compares the points one bill earns at the rule's own rate with the per-bill cap in the same rule, and never restates a per-bill cap as a monthly one. At this bill, not one ceiling this board could read binds on any ranked card. WHAT IS NOT IN THE NUMBER: the bill-payment fee. Not one ranked telecom rule on this site states a charge this board can quote. The fee clauses these rules do carry name the THRESHOLD another category's charge begins at, and a line is not a bill. Where one is stated it is printed and never netted: the issuers write these against different denominators and the rupee figure beside one is as often the fee's own CAP as its trigger. Nor is a dated recharge cashback OFFER added; /news/offers carries those with their end dates. ₹1,500 a month is a postpaid plan and a home fibre line together — the two bills MCC 4814 actually carries — and it is stated because a reference spend decides which ceilings bind. 213 priced cards carry a telecom rule in our fine-print records; 438 do not and appear on no ranked row here, 0 of which publish a phone-bill rate in their own card file and are named below the table for exactly that reason.

The records behind this board — the card records this ranks and the telecom rules in our fine-print records — carry re-verification dates from 1 Jun 2026 to 26 Oct 2026; the ranking is recomputed from them on every build.

Every figure comes from each card's own published fee and earn rate. How we value cards.

Questions

Which is the best credit card for paying a mobile or broadband bill in India?

START WITH THE NEGATIVE, because it is the finding: 45 of the 210 whose telecom rule we hold earn EXACTLY NOTHING on a mobile, broadband or DTH bill — they are named under the table with the clause that zeroes them. Only 12 of the ranked cards publish a phone-bill tier that beats their OWN telecom rate; every other row on this board pays a phone bill whatever it pays a shoe shop. 2 cards tie at the top of the 165 that earn anything — HSBC Live+ and PhonePe HDFC Bank Ultimo — on ₹1,800 a year at ₹1,500 a month of bills (₹18,000 a year). HSBC Live+ gets there on 10.00% on a phone or broadband bill. Its rate is bounded — 10% accelerated cashback, hard-capped at ₹1,200 a month… — and at ₹1,500 a month that bound does not bind.

How many cards are in this telecom ranking?

165 of the 990 Indian personal cards we track are ranked here. 48 are listed unranked with the computed reason — pays nothing on a phone bill — or we have no telecom rule to rank it by — because a card we can't rank honestly gets named, not hidden. A further 339 are carried but not valued at all — 51 with no annual fee any issuer document states, 241 whose issuer has not published how the card earns, 47 with neither — because scoring an unknown as ₹0 is a claim, not a gap. Business and corporate cards are ranked apart from these: 70 priced ones sit on /cards/best/business, because pricing an MSME card against a personal wallet answers a question nobody asked.

How up to date is this list?

The records behind this board — the card records this ranks and the telecom rules in our fine-print records — carry re-verification dates from 1 Jun 2026 to 26 Oct 2026; the ranking is recomputed from them on every build. Nothing on this page is typed by hand: the podium, the table and the numbers in this answer are all recomputed from those records every time the site builds, so a devaluation moves the ranking the day we log it.

Which credit cards for mobile and broadband bills in India have no annual fee?

27 of the 165 ranked here are lifetime free. The best on ₹/yr at ₹1,500/mo of bills is Utkarsh Wish Credit Card at ₹540. This board's top is a 2-way tie at ₹1,800 — HSBC Live+ (₹999/yr) and PhonePe HDFC Bank Ultimo (₹999/yr) — and the gap to ₹540 is what the fee buys.