SBI Card MILES vs IRCTC SBI Card Premier (2026)
Two ₹1,499 SBI travel cards, opposite religions — MILES banks transferable Travel Credits into 25 airlines, IRCTC Premier banks 10% back that can only ever buy a train ticket.
Head to head
| Metric | SBI Card MILES | IRCTC SBI Card Premier |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #49 | #50 |
| Annual fee | ₹1,499 + GST | ₹1,499 + GST |
| Fee waiver | ₹6,00,000 spend | ₹2,00,000 spend |
| Forex markup | 3% + GST | 3.5% + GST |
| APR | Up to 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | Up to 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) |
| Effective reward rate | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Currency | SBI Travel Credits | IRCTC SBI Reward Points |
| House value | ₹1.00/pt | ₹1.00/pt |
| Welcome benefit | 1,500 Travel Credits on ₹30k spend in 60 days | 1,500 Reward Points on fee payment |
| Lounge doors opened | 583 of 644 | 21 of 644 |
| Income — salaried | not published | not published |
| Income — self-employed | not published | 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.
It swings with spend: IRCTC SBI Card Premier at ₹1L/month, IRCTC SBI Card Premier at ₹3L/month, IRCTC SBI Card Premier at ₹5L/month.
Transfer reach
Only SBI Card MILES
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Air India Maharaja Club
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IRCTC SBI Card Premier nets ₹12,912 against ₹11,720 — a ₹1,192 gap. At ₹5L/month, IRCTC SBI Card Premier nets ₹64,560 against ₹38,600 — a ₹25,960 gap. Lounge chasers: SBI Card MILES opens 583 of 644 tracked doors to IRCTC SBI Card Premier's 21.
Our standing verdicts: SBI Card MILES — Downgrade; IRCTC SBI Card Premier — Keep. On our board, SBI Card MILES sits at #49 to IRCTC SBI Card Premier's #50 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →