IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card vs ICICI Bank Coral
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹4,500 a year at ₹75,000 a month
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card vs IRCTC SBI Platinum Card
HDFC Bank / IRCTC
SBI Card
IRCTC SBI Platinum Card vs IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card: which should you pick?
The two ₹500 IRCTC co-brands. IRCTC HDFC pays 5 points per ₹100 on train tickets booked on IRCTC's site and app, 10% on tickets booked through HDFC's SmartBuy, and 1 point per ₹100 elsewhere, with the points capped at 1,000 a month; IRCTC SBI pays 10 points per ₹100 of base fare on AC tickets in the two peak seasons and 4 the rest of the year, and 1 per ₹125 on other retail, uncapped. IRCTC HDFC wins under ₹1.75L a month; IRCTC SBI takes over from ₹1.75L, once HDFC's caps bind. HDFC's fee waives at ₹1,50,000 of spend. Both open railway lounges, and neither an airport lounge.
Below ₹1.75 lakh a month IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card is the better card; from ₹1.75 lakh up, IRCTC SBI Platinum Card takes over, and by ₹5 lakh a month it is ₹31,100 a year ahead. At ₹75,000 a month the gap is mostly what each card earns on your spend: IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card returns ₹10,500 a year in rewards to IRCTC SBI Platinum Card's ₹6,800. On the rows below, IRCTC SBI Platinum Card has no clear edge over IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card.
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card's ongoing earn stops at ₹1,00,000 of spend a month, where IRCTC SBI Platinum Card's doesn't; IRCTC SBI Platinum Card pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card pays nothing to stay.
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card review IRCTC SBI Platinum Card review
Side by side
| Fact | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card |
|---|---|---|
| Can you get it | Open to apply | Open to apply |
| Fee (joining · annual, + GST) | ₹500/yr | ₹500/yr |
| Fee waiver | Spend ₹1,50,000 a year | None |
| Reward rate on everyday spend | 1.0%✓ Better | 0.8% |
| Points | IRCTC HDFC Bank Reward Points | IRCTC Reward Points |
| Our value per point | ₹1.00 † | ₹1.00 † |
| Transfer partners | None | None |
| Lounges it gets you into | 23 of 792 | 23 of 792 |
| Forex markup | 3.5% + GST | 3.5% + GST |
| Welcome benefit | ₹500 gift voucher for one transaction of any amount inside 37 days of issuance — on a FEE-PAYING card. The only lifetime-free card HDFC ever wrote the voucher into was one issued between 1 Oct and 31 Dec 2025, a three-month window now shut; a card issued up to 30 Sep 2025 lifetime-free, first-year-free, or with its fee reversed was excluded outright | 350 activation bonus Reward Points on a single ₹500+ transaction within 60 days of issuance, credited within 45 days. From year two it is 500 Reward Points on paying the ₹500 renewal — the fee back, exactly. |
✓ Better marks the side that wins a row; rows that compare unlike things are not scored. IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card is ahead on 5 of the 8 rows we can call.
More facts 8 rows
| Fact | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #104✓ Better | #167 |
| Our verdict | Keep | Keep |
| Lounge visits in India | None — no airport lounge; every door on this card is a railway lounge | None — no airport lounge; railway only. 4 visits a year (1 per quarter), at the five stations SBI names: New Delhi (Platform 16), Jaipur Junction, Agra Cantt, Ahmedabad and Kolkata Sealdah |
| Lounge visits abroad | None | None |
| Forex, in the bank’s words | 3.5% + GST | 3.5% + GST — SBI's schedule of charges exempts only AURUM, ELITE, Prime NRI Secured, Tata Neu Infinity and the three MILES tiers |
| Interest (APR) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | up to 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) — the SBI MITC's rate for every unsecured card |
| Income needed (salaried) | ₹25,000+/month net | not published |
| Income needed (self-employed) | ITR ₹6L+/yr | not published |
† IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card: These points are worth ₹1 and buy exactly one thing: a train ticket, booked through HDFC SmartBuy, using the Points + Pay slider. No catalogue, no statement credit, no airline or hotel partner — and HDFC states in terms that they "cannot be combined with the points accrued on any other HDFC Bank card account", so this is not the currency that reaches KrisFlyer and Avios. Points cover at most 70% of the fare, all passengers and IRCTC's own service charges included, the minimum burn is 100 points, and every successful redemption costs ₹99 + GST — which is a tenth of a 1,000-point burn and the whole of a small one.
† IRCTC SBI Platinum Card: 1 Reward Point = ₹1, and only ever against another AC train fare booked on irctc.co.in — no cash, no statement credit, no partner, no transfer. That is why the ₹1 house value holds for a rail traveller and drifts toward nothing for anyone else. Three clocks run on the balance and all three are short: points expire two years from the date you registered the loyalty membership, the balance is forfeited outright if the card goes unused for 13 consecutive months, and it is forfeited 30 days after the card account closes. Points also only reach the IRCTC loyalty account on the 15th of the following month, and only if that account is active — a blocked or suspended loyalty account silently strands everything the card earns.
Our value per point is what we think a point is worth when you use it well; every currency's figure and its reasoning is on points values.
What each is worth to you
| Monthly spend | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card |
|---|---|---|
| At ₹30,000 a month | ₹5,400✓ Better | ₹2,700 |
| At ₹75,000 a month | ₹10,500✓ Better | ₹6,800 |
| At ₹1.5 lakh a month | ₹14,000✓ Better | ₹13,500 |
| At ₹3 lakh a month | ₹14,000 | ₹27,100✓ Better |
| At ₹5 lakh a month | ₹14,000 | ₹45,100✓ Better |
| Pays for itself from | ₹5,000 a month | The first rupee✓ Better |
On an everyday mix of spending (groceries, bills, travel, fuel and the rest), using each card's own rules for each kind of spend. The same figures as each card's own page.
Every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh 20 steps
| Monthly spend | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 | ₹4,800✓ Better | ₹2,300 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹2,500 |
| ₹50,000 | ₹7,600✓ Better | ₹4,500 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹3,100 |
| ₹75,000 | ₹10,500✓ Better | ₹6,800 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹3,700 |
| ₹1 lakh | ₹13,300✓ Better | ₹9,000 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹4,300 |
| ₹1.25 lakh | ₹14,000✓ Better | ₹11,300 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹2,700 |
| ₹1.5 lakh | ₹14,000✓ Better | ₹13,500 | IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹500 |
| ₹1.75 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹15,800✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹1,800 |
| ₹2 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹18,000✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹4,000 |
| ₹2.25 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹20,300✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹6,300 |
| ₹2.5 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹22,600✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹8,600 |
| ₹2.75 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹24,800✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹10,800 |
| ₹3 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹27,100✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹13,100 |
| ₹3.25 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹29,300✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹15,300 |
| ₹3.5 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹31,600✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹17,600 |
| ₹3.75 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹33,800✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹19,800 |
| ₹4 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹36,100✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹22,100 |
| ₹4.25 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹38,400✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹24,400 |
| ₹4.5 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹40,600✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹26,600 |
| ₹4.75 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹42,900✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹28,900 |
| ₹5 lakh | ₹14,000 | ₹45,100✓ Better | IRCTC SBI Platinum Card by ₹31,100 |
How we work out the yearly value
We put each card through the same everyday mix of spending, apply that card's own rules for each kind of spend (some earn nothing on fuel or bills), add its milestone and renewal bonuses at our value per point, and take off the fee unless that spend waives it. Bonus categories that need you to shop a certain way are not counted. Your own mix will differ: try your numbers in the calculator, or read how we value cards.
Before you choose
Transfer partners 0 and 0
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card's IRCTC HDFC Bank Reward Points cannot be moved to any airline or hotel; IRCTC SBI Platinum Card's IRCTC Reward Points cannot be moved to any.
Every partner and ratio is on each card's page; the best value for your points is on the transfer optimizer.
Watch out 6 points
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card
- Points redeem ONLY against train tickets on HDFC SmartBuy — no catalogue, no cashback, no transfer partner
- Every redemption costs ₹99 + GST, and points can cover at most 70% of the fare
- The 5% cashback is SmartBuy-only — book on irctc.co.in or Rail Connect and you get the points but not the cashback
IRCTC SBI Platinum Card
- "Up to 10%" is seasonal — SBI's own chart pays 10 points per ₹100 only for travel dates 15 Jan–31 Mar and 15 Jul–15 Sep, and 4 for the other 226 days of the year
- The season is set by the DATE OF TRAVEL, not the date you book — a February trip booked in November still earns 10
- Everything off the railways earns 1 point per ₹125, not per ₹100 — a 0.8% card in ordinary life
Common questions 5 answered
Which is better, IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card or IRCTC SBI Platinum Card?
Below ₹1.75 lakh a month IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card is the better card; from ₹1.75 lakh up, IRCTC SBI Platinum Card takes over, and by ₹5 lakh a month it is ₹31,100 a year ahead. At ₹75,000 a month the gap is mostly what each card earns on your spend: IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card returns ₹10,500 a year in rewards to IRCTC SBI Platinum Card's ₹6,800. On the rows below, IRCTC SBI Platinum Card has no clear edge over IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card.
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card or IRCTC SBI Platinum Card: which is worth more at ₹3 lakh a month?
IRCTC SBI Platinum Card beats IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card by ₹13,100 a year at ₹3 lakh a month. Both figures are a year's rewards and bonuses on an everyday spending mix, after the fee.
Which costs less to get, IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card or IRCTC SBI Platinum Card?
They cost the same: ₹500/yr. IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card waives its fee if you spend ₹1,50,000 a year; IRCTC SBI Platinum Card has no fee waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card or IRCTC SBI Platinum Card?
Both get you into 23 of the 792 lounges we track.
How current is this comparison?
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 24 Oct 2026. Every figure here is worked out again from those records each time the site is built, so a change to either card shows up the day we log it.
Sources
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 24 Oct 2026. Every fact above comes from these 9 documents; the banks' own are marked official. A fact a bank does not publish shows as "not published", never as zero.
The documents 9 sources
- Official IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card T&C, updated 29 May 2025 — the earn table, every monthly and annual cap, the railway-only redemption rule and the ₹99 + GST redemption fee read
- Official IRCTC Executive Lounge Programme, updated 29 May 2026 — 8 complimentary visits a year, 2 a quarter, a ₹2 validation charge and a valid train ticket at the door read
- Official IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card product page — the 5X earn, the eight lounge visits, the eligibility bands, and the FAQ that says the points are non-poolable read
- Official HDFC Bank personal-cards MITC, version 4.15 dated October 2026 — the IRCTC row at a ₹1.5 lakh annual-spend waiver, and 3.5% on foreign currency read
- Official The card's own Terms & Conditions — 1 Reward Point per ₹125, up to 10% value back on AC classes with no monthly or annual cap, and the ₹500 fee that returns 500 points on renewal read
- Official SBI's IRCTC loyalty chart — the "up to 10%" is two seasons, 10 points per ₹100 on peak travel dates and 4 on the rest, set by the date of travel read
- Official SBI's railway-lounge FAQ for this card — 4 visits a year, 1 a quarter, primary cardholder only, at five named stations, on a ₹2 card validation read
- Official SBI's own product record — ₹500 annual and renewal, 1 Reward Point per ₹125, the 350-point activation bonus, 4 railway lounge visits, the 1% IRCTC fee waiver, and isOnline "yes" read
- Official SBI's MITC — IRCTC SBI Platinum Card ₹500 annual and ₹500 renewal with no spend waiver, and a 3.5% foreign-currency transaction fee read