IDFC FIRST Mayura vs Standard Chartered Ultimate (2026)
Portal multipliers and milestones vs a flat 3.33% with a hard ceiling — upside against the best boring card in India.
Head to head
| Metric | IDFC FIRST Mayura | Standard Chartered Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #11 | #15 |
| Annual fee | ₹5,999 + GST | ₹5,000 + GST |
| Fee waiver | None | None |
| Forex markup | Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency and DCC transactions | 2% + GST (Ultimate-specific; 3.5% on other SC cards) |
| APR | Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr APR), same rate on cash advances |
| Effective reward rate | 1.7% | 3.3% |
| Currency | IDFC FIRST Reward Points | StanC 360° Reward Points |
| House value | ₹0.50/pt | ₹1.00/pt |
| Welcome benefit | 12,000 RP — 4,000 on fee payment + 4,000 each on ₹20k in cycles 2 and 3 | 6,000 reward points (₹6,000) on fee payment |
| Lounge doors opened | 128 of 644 | 583 of 644 |
| Income — salaried | ~₹25L+/yr (community) | ~₹2L+/month (community) |
| Income — self-employed | ~₹25L+/yr (community) | 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.
Standard Chartered Ultimate wins under ₹0.5L/month; IDFC FIRST Mayura takes over above it.
Transfer reach
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Mayura nets ₹44,933 against ₹34,960 — a ₹9,973 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Mayura nets ₹2,53,441 against ₹1,94,800 — a ₹58,641 gap. Lounge chasers: Standard Chartered Ultimate opens 583 of 644 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST Mayura's 128.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Mayura — Keep; Standard Chartered Ultimate — Keep. On our board, IDFC FIRST Mayura sits at #11 to Standard Chartered Ultimate's #15 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →