BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium vs SBI Card MILES ELITE (2026)
Direct 2 miles/₹100 into Etihad vs 1% into ~25 programs at 1:1 — BOBCARD nets ₹70,000 to MILES ELITE's ₹27,001 at ₹1L a month, if you'll actually fly Etihad.
Head to head
| Metric | BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium | SBI Card MILES ELITE |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #7 | #37 |
| Annual fee | ₹5,000 + GST | ₹4,999 + GST |
| Fee waiver | ₹5,00,000 spend | ₹15,00,000 spend |
| Forex markup | Nil — 0% markup, Premium-specific (the non-premium Etihad Guest pays 1%) | 1.99% + GST (also 1.99% DCC on INR-billed international transactions ≥₹1,000) |
| APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), from transaction date; same rate on cash advances | Up to 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) |
| Effective reward rate | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| Currency | Etihad Guest | SBI Travel Credits |
| House value | ₹1.00/pt | ₹1.00/pt |
| Welcome benefit | 15,000 Guest miles — 10,000 on ₹25k in 60 days + fee payment, 5,000 more at ₹50k (doubled window till 31 Aug 2026; standard offer is 7,500) | 5,000 Travel Credits on ₹1L spend in 60 days |
| Lounge doors opened | 73 of 644 | 583 of 644 |
| Income — salaried | not published | not published |
| Income — self-employed | not published | not published |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
Net annual value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium out-earns SBI Card MILES ELITE at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Transfer reach
Only SBI Card MILES ELITE
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Air India Maharaja Club
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium nets ₹72,880 against ₹29,881 — a ₹42,999 gap. At ₹5L/month, BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium nets ₹1,80,400 against ₹94,400 — a ₹86,000 gap. Lounge chasers: SBI Card MILES ELITE opens 583 of 644 tracked doors to BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium's 73.
Our standing verdicts: BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium — Keep; SBI Card MILES ELITE — Keep. On our board, BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium sits at #7 to SBI Card MILES ELITE's #37 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →