KrisFlyer SBI Card vs SBI Card PRIME (2026)
The answer flips at ₹2.5L a month: SBI Card PRIME below it, KrisFlyer SBI Card above.
Head to head
| KrisFlyer SBI Card | Metric | SBI Card PRIME |
|---|---|---|
| #64 — wins this row | Our rank | #75 |
| ₹2,999/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹2,999/yr |
| None | Fee waiver | ₹3,00,000 spend |
| 3.5% + GST | Forex markup | 3.5% + GST (the base SBI tier; only "Prime NRI Secured" gets 1.99%, and that is a different product) |
| not published | APR | up to 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) |
| 1.1% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 0.5% |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Currency | SBI Reward Points |
| ₹1.10/pt | House value | ₹0.25/pt |
| 3,000 KrisFlyer miles on annual-fee payment and first transaction within 60 days | Welcome benefit | e-Gift voucher worth ₹3,000 (Yatra, Bata/Hush Puppies, Pantaloons, Aditya Birla Fashion, Shoppers Stop) |
| 724 of 789 | Lounge doors opened | 724 of 789 |
Neither issuer publishes an income floor for these two, and the door is the same on both sides: KrisFlyer SBI Card and SBI Card PRIME are both open to a direct application. How people actually get KrisFlyer SBI Card 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.
SBI Card PRIME wins under ₹2.5L/month; KrisFlyer SBI Card takes over above it.
Where the lead changes hands
The lead changes hands at ₹2.5L a month: SBI Card PRIME is ahead by ₹2,625 at ₹0.25L, KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹10,781 at ₹5L.
KrisFlyer SBI Card draws above the line, SBI Card PRIME below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | KrisFlyer SBI Card | SBI Card PRIME | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | ₹4,195 | ₹6,820 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹2,625 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹8,089 | ₹16,640 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹8,551 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹11,983 | ₹19,460 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹7,477 |
| ₹1L | ₹15,877 | ₹22,280 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹6,403 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹19,771 | ₹25,100 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹5,329 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹23,665 | ₹27,920 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹4,255 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹27,559 | ₹30,740 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹3,181 |
| ₹2L | ₹31,453 | ₹33,560 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹2,107 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹35,347 | ₹36,380 | SBI Card PRIME by ₹1,033 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹39,241 | ₹39,200 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹41 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹43,135 | ₹42,020 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹1,115 |
| ₹3L | ₹47,029 | ₹44,840 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹2,189 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹50,923 | ₹47,660 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹3,263 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹54,817 | ₹50,480 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹4,337 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹58,711 | ₹53,300 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹5,411 |
| ₹4L | ₹62,605 | ₹56,120 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹6,485 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹66,499 | ₹58,940 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹7,559 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹70,393 | ₹61,760 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹8,633 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹74,287 | ₹64,580 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹9,707 |
| ₹5L | ₹78,181 | ₹67,400 | KrisFlyer SBI Card by ₹10,781 |
Transfer reach
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for
KrisFlyer SBI Card · 5 more →
- General earn is 1 mile/₹100 (≈1.1%) — everyday spend belongs on another card
- ₹2,999 fee has no spend-based waiver; 3.5% forex markup
- Elite Silver is NOT a general-spend milestone — SBI gates it on ₹2.5L booked with Singapore Airlines, a bar almost nobody clears on a ₹2,999 card
SBI Card PRIME · 4 more →
- 3.5% foreign-currency markup — ELITE's 1.99% does not extend down to PRIME
- Reward Points are fixed at 4 RP = ₹1 with zero airline or hotel transfer partners
- 0.5% base earn; the 10X categories still only reach 2.5%
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, SBI Card PRIME nets ₹22,280 against ₹15,877 — a ₹6,403 gap. At ₹5L/month, KrisFlyer SBI Card nets ₹78,181 against ₹67,400 — a ₹10,781 gap. Lounge chasers get no tiebreak here: both open 724 of 789 tracked doors.
Our standing verdicts: KrisFlyer SBI Card — Keep; SBI Card PRIME — Keep. On our board, KrisFlyer SBI Card sits at #64 to SBI Card PRIME's #75 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Straight answers
Which is better, KrisFlyer SBI Card or SBI Card PRIME?
KrisFlyer SBI Card. It sits at #64 on our board to SBI Card PRIME's #75. KrisFlyer SBI Card takes 4 of the 5 rounds we can score. SBI Card PRIME wins under ₹2.5L/month; KrisFlyer SBI Card takes over above it.
KrisFlyer SBI Card or SBI Card PRIME — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, KrisFlyer SBI Card nets ₹47,029 against ₹44,840 — a ₹2,189 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, KrisFlyer SBI Card or SBI Card PRIME?
They cost the same to get: ₹2,999/yr. KrisFlyer SBI Card waives its fee at no spend level — there is no waiver; SBI Card PRIME at ₹3,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, KrisFlyer SBI Card or SBI Card PRIME?
Lounge chasers get no tiebreak here: both open 724 of 789 tracked doors. 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 2026-08-02. 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.