IDFC FIRST WOW! vs Scapia (Federal Bank) (2026)
Scapia (Federal Bank) vs IDFC FIRST WOW!: which wins?
₹79,200ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Scapia (Federal Bank)
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
Two zero-forex cards that cost nothing — Scapia pays 10% back in coins on travel, WOW! pays 0.5% but takes anyone with ₹20,000 for an FD and no credit file.
Scapia (Federal Bank) out-earns IDFC FIRST WOW! at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| IDFC FIRST WOW! | Metric | Scapia (Federal Bank) |
|---|---|---|
| #71 | Our rank | #33 — wins this row |
| ₹0 — lifetime free | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹0 — lifetime free |
| None | Fee waiver | None |
| Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency, DCC and static-currency-conversion transactions | Forex markup | Nil — 0% markup (official KFS) |
| Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), from date of transaction; same rate on cash advances (no interest-free period on cash) |
| 0.5% | Headline earn rate | 2.0% — wins this row |
| IDFC FIRST Reward Points | Currency | Scapia Coins |
| ₹0.25/pt † | House value | ₹0.20/pt |
| 5% cashback up to ₹1,000 on your first EMI transaction within 30 days of card generation — that's the whole welcome; there is no points bonus | Welcome benefit | None — lifetime free with no joining bonus; the 0% forex is the pitch |
| 0 of 793 | Lounge doors opened | 72 of 793 — wins this row |
| None — FD-backed, no income proof required | Income — salaried | not published |
| None — FD-backed, no income proof required | Income — self-employed | not published |
† IDFC FIRST WOW!: WOW! redeems the IDFC point at a flat ₹0.25 — the house value exactly, with no ₹0.50 app-travel rung (that one belongs to WOW! Black). Points also die at 24 months and cost ₹99 + GST to redeem.
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
The ₹ face-off at ₹1L/₹3L/₹5L a month
Ranking-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. This is the ranking model, the one that orders the board; each card page prints the earn-rate-only net annual value instead, which reads lower for any card with an accelerator (both models, side by side). Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
Scapia (Federal Bank) out-earns IDFC FIRST WOW! at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
How the gap moves with spend
Scapia (Federal Bank) leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹4,500 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹90,000 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹90,000).
IDFC FIRST WOW! draws above the line, Scapia (Federal Bank) below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | IDFC FIRST WOW! | Scapia (Federal Bank) | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹2,100 | ₹6,600 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹4,500 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹4,200 | ₹13,200 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹9,000 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹6,300 | ₹19,800 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹13,500 |
| ₹1L | ₹8,400 | ₹26,400 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹18,000 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹10,500 | ₹33,000 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹22,500 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹12,600 | ₹39,600 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹27,000 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹14,700 | ₹46,200 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹31,500 |
| ₹2L | ₹16,800 | ₹52,800 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹36,000 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹18,900 | ₹59,400 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹40,500 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹21,000 | ₹66,000 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹45,000 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹23,100 | ₹72,600 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹49,500 |
| ₹3L | ₹25,200 | ₹79,200 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹54,000 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹27,300 | ₹85,800 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹58,500 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹29,400 | ₹92,400 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹63,000 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹31,500 | ₹99,000 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹67,500 |
| ₹4L | ₹33,600 | ₹1,05,600 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹72,000 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹35,700 | ₹1,12,200 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹76,500 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹37,800 | ₹1,18,800 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹81,000 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹39,900 | ₹1,25,400 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹85,500 |
| ₹5L | ₹42,000 | ₹1,32,000 | Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹90,000 |
Transfer reach — 0 vs 0 live routes
Transfer reach
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for — 6 points
What to watch out for
IDFC FIRST WOW! · 2 more →
- 0.5% everyday earn — 4 RP per ₹200 at ₹0.25 a point; this is a forex card, not a rewards engine
- No lounge access whatsoever — the 1 visit/quarter belongs to WOW! Black (₹750 + GST)
- Points expire 24 months after they're credited, and every redemption costs ₹99 + GST
Scapia (Federal Bank) · 1 more →
- Coins spend ONLY on Scapia-app travel — no cashback, no transfers, app-dependency risk
- Feb-2026 nerf: lounge bar doubled to ₹20k/month; insurance & utility earn killed
- Zero coins on international spends — abroad it's purely a 0%-forex card
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, Scapia (Federal Bank) nets ₹26,400 against ₹8,400 — a ₹18,000 gap. At ₹5L/month, Scapia (Federal Bank) nets ₹1,32,000 against ₹42,000 — a ₹90,000 gap. Lounge chasers: Scapia (Federal Bank) opens 72 of 793 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST WOW!'s 0.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST WOW! — Keep; Scapia (Federal Bank) — Keep. Scapia (Federal Bank) takes 6 of the 6 rounds we can score — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, IDFC FIRST WOW! or Scapia (Federal Bank)?
Scapia (Federal Bank). Scapia (Federal Bank) takes 6 of the 6 rounds we can score. Scapia (Federal Bank) out-earns IDFC FIRST WOW! at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
IDFC FIRST WOW! or Scapia (Federal Bank) — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Scapia (Federal Bank) nets ₹79,200 against ₹25,200 — a ₹54,000 gap. Those are ranking-value figures: everyday spend at the card's base rate plus a realistic slice at its best accelerator, net of the fee.
Which costs less to hold, IDFC FIRST WOW! or Scapia (Federal Bank)?
They cost the same to get: ₹0 — lifetime free. IDFC FIRST WOW! waives its fee at no spend level — there is no waiver; Scapia (Federal Bank) at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, IDFC FIRST WOW! or Scapia (Federal Bank)?
Lounge chasers: Scapia (Federal Bank) opens 72 of 793 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST WOW!'s 0. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Card records last re-verified against their issuers' own documents: IDFC FIRST WOW! on 2026-08-23, Scapia (Federal Bank) on 2026-07-26. Every figure on this page — the ranking values, the fee rows, the lounge counts, the transfer ratios — is recomputed from those records each time the site builds, so a devaluation changes the call the day we log it.
Verified against IDFC FIRST Bank and Federal Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 10 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page ("Assured Card / No Credit History Required / International Credit Card, powered by Visa Infinite"; lifetime free; 0% forex)
- official Rewards T&C PDF (4 RP/₹200 online/offline/international, 1 RP/₹200 on insurance/utilities/FASTag/railways)
- official Bank-wide MITC (FIRST WOW! joining Nil / annual Nil, add-on NA; forex NIL alongside FIRST Private, WOW! Black, Diamond Reserve)
- official Product guide PDF (welcome = 5% cashback up to ₹1,000 on the first EMI transaction within 30 days; ₹2,00,000 personal accident cover; ₹25,000 lost-card liability; roadside)
- official FIRST Digital RuPay add-on (UPI) page
- official Product page — "Zero joining and annual fees", "Zero forex markup on all international transaction"
- official Key Fact Sheet PDF v11 (30-04-2026) — Nil fees, 0% forex, 3.75%/mo APR, late-fee slabs, cash advance 2.5% min ₹500, rent/wallet/fuel/utility 1% fees
- official Scapia site — redemption scope (flights/hotels/trains/buses), UPI 5%
- community CardInsider — Feb-2026 nerf (₹20k gate, insurance/utility/telecom earn killed 27-Feb-2026, 36-month expiry)
- official Scapia summer release — dual Visa + RuPay cards on one account (Jun-2025)