SBI AURUM vs Air India SBI Signature Card (2026)
SBI Card's own upgrade question: ₹4,999/yr against ₹9,999/yr — and the dearer card earns LESS, 1.0% to 3.2%.
Head to head
| SBI AURUM | Metric | Air India SBI Signature Card |
|---|---|---|
| #104 — wins this row | Our rank | #105 |
| ₹9,999/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹4,999/yr — wins this row |
| ₹12,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | None |
| 1.99% (AURUM concession; SBI standard 3.5%) — wins this row | Forex markup | 3.5% + GST |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | not published |
| 1.0% | Headline earn rate | 3.2% — wins this row |
| AURUM Reward Points | Currency | Air India Maharaja Points |
| ₹0.25/pt | House value | ₹0.80/pt † |
| 40,000 AURUM Reward Points (₹10,000 at the 4-per-₹1 peg) + a year of Club Marriott, WSJ and Mint | Welcome benefit | 20,000 Reward Points on joining-fee payment (credited within 15 days) + complimentary Air India Maharaja Club membership. Closed to new applications, so this is history unless you already hold the card. |
| 165 of 789 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 72 of 789 |
† Air India SBI Signature Card: The 3.2% assumes you convert to Air India Maharaja Points — 1 RP = 1 Maharaja Point, our ₹0.80 mark. Leave the points inside SBI's own catalogue and they price at the legacy ₹0.25, turning this into a 1% card. The conversion is one-way and irreversible, runs in blocks of 5,000, and takes up to 7 working days — so the good number here is a decision, not a default.
Neither issuer publishes an income floor for these two. SBI AURUM is open to a direct application; Air India SBI Signature Card is closed to new applications, and only grandfathered holders still have it. How people actually get each one is on its card page.
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
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.
Air India SBI Signature Card out-earns SBI AURUM at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend
Air India SBI Signature Card leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹12,252 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹1,81,041 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹1,81,041).
Air India SBI Signature Card pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and SBI AURUM pays nothing to stay; Air India SBI Signature Card runs a 8.0% booster on Air India ticket purchases, where SBI AURUM earns one flat rate.
SBI AURUM draws above the line, Air India SBI Signature Card below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | SBI AURUM | Air India SBI Signature Card | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹2,499 | ₹9,753 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹12,252 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹10,001 | ₹36,505 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹26,504 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹17,501 | ₹47,257 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹29,756 |
| ₹1L | ₹45,000 | ₹82,009 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹37,009 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹48,000 | ₹92,761 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹44,761 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹51,000 | ₹1,03,513 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹52,513 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹74,000 | ₹1,54,265 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹80,265 |
| ₹2L | ₹77,000 | ₹1,65,017 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹88,017 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹80,000 | ₹1,75,769 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹95,769 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹83,000 | ₹1,86,521 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,03,521 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹86,000 | ₹1,97,273 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,11,273 |
| ₹3L | ₹89,000 | ₹2,08,025 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,19,025 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹92,000 | ₹2,18,777 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,26,777 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹95,000 | ₹2,29,529 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,34,529 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹98,000 | ₹2,40,281 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,42,281 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,01,000 | ₹2,51,033 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,50,033 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,04,000 | ₹2,61,785 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,57,785 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,07,000 | ₹2,72,537 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,65,537 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,10,000 | ₹2,83,289 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,73,289 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,13,000 | ₹2,94,041 | Air India SBI Signature Card by ₹1,81,041 |
Transfer reach
Only SBI AURUM
- The British Airways Club (Avios)
- Air India Maharaja Club
- AirAsia Rewards
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for
SBI AURUM · 2 more →
- The engine is 1% — 4 RP/₹100 at a flat ₹0.25/point; everything above that is milestone pacing
- The monthly ₹1,500 CLiQ voucher needs ₹1L in that calendar month — uneven spenders forfeit rungs our annualized model credits
- Transfers cost 5 points per mile (₹1.25 of catalogue value per ₹1 mile) — worse than redeeming except premium-cabin Avios/Maharaja awards; ITC's own grid prints no ratio, the 5:1 is community-reported
Air India SBI Signature Card · 5 more →
- Closed to new applications — SBI stopped issuing it in late 2024 after the Air India–Vistara merger; existing holders only
- ₹4,999 renewal fee every year with no spend-based waiver published
- Priority Pass is membership-only — SBI bills $27 per lounge visit, so there is no free international lounge here
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, Air India SBI Signature Card nets ₹82,009 against ₹45,000 — a ₹37,009 gap. At ₹5L/month, Air India SBI Signature Card nets ₹2,94,041 against ₹1,13,000 — a ₹1,81,041 gap. Lounge chasers: SBI AURUM opens 165 of 789 tracked doors to Air India SBI Signature Card's 72.
Our standing verdicts: SBI AURUM — Keep; Air India SBI Signature Card — Keep. On our board, SBI AURUM sits at #104 to Air India SBI Signature Card's #105 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Straight answers
Which is better, SBI AURUM or Air India SBI Signature Card?
SBI AURUM. It sits at #104 on our board to Air India SBI Signature Card's #105. Air India SBI Signature Card takes 5 of the 8 rounds we can score. Air India SBI Signature Card out-earns SBI AURUM at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
SBI AURUM or Air India SBI Signature Card — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Air India SBI Signature Card nets ₹2,08,025 against ₹89,000 — a ₹1,19,025 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, SBI AURUM or Air India SBI Signature Card?
Air India SBI Signature Card — ₹4,999/yr against ₹9,999/yr. SBI AURUM waives its fee at ₹12,00,000 of spend; Air India SBI Signature Card at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, SBI AURUM or Air India SBI Signature Card?
Lounge chasers: SBI AURUM opens 165 of 789 tracked doors to Air India SBI Signature Card's 72. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Both card records were last re-verified against their issuers' own documents 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.