Standard Chartered Beyond vs Standard Chartered Ultimate (2026)
Standard Chartered Ultimate vs Standard Chartered Beyond: which wins?
₹1,14,880ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Standard Chartered Ultimate
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
Standard Chartered's own upgrade path, priced. Identical earn — 5 points per ₹150 at a fixed ₹1 — and Beyond adds unlimited lounges on both sides of the border and monthly golf for a ₹15,000 joining fee and ₹50 lakh parked with the bank. Neither can reach a single airline.
Standard Chartered Ultimate out-earns Standard Chartered Beyond at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 11 compared
Head to head
| Standard Chartered Beyond | Metric | Standard Chartered Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| invite-only | Our rank | #17 |
| ₹15,000 joining, then ₹25,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹5,000/yr — wins this row |
| By relationship | Fee waiver | None |
| 2% + GST (Beyond T&C §7; the 3.5% bank-wide rate does not apply) | Forex markup | 2% + GST (Ultimate-specific; 3.5% on other SC cards) |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), same rate on cash advances | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr APR), same rate on cash advances |
| 3.3% | Headline earn rate | 3.3% |
| StanC 360° Reward Points | Currency | StanC 360° Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹1.00/pt |
| Vouchers worth ₹15,000 from Taj, Luxe Gift Cards, MakeMyTrip, Fabindia, Ikea or Marks & Spencer, on realisation of the joining fee | Welcome benefit | 6,000 reward points (₹6,000) on fee payment |
| 718 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 689 of 793 |
| not published | Income — salaried | ~₹2L+/month (community) |
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.
Standard Chartered Ultimate out-earns Standard Chartered Beyond 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
Standard Chartered Ultimate leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹20,000 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹20,000 at ₹5L — the gap closes as you spend more, widest at ₹0.25L (₹20,000).
Standard Chartered Beyond charges twice — ₹15,000 to join, then ₹25,000 every year after.
Standard Chartered Beyond draws above the line, Standard Chartered Ultimate below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | Standard Chartered Beyond | Standard Chartered Ultimate | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹15,010 | ₹4,990 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹0.5L | −₹5,020 | ₹14,980 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹4,970 | ₹24,970 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹1L | ₹14,960 | ₹34,960 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹24,950 | ₹44,950 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹34,940 | ₹54,940 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹44,930 | ₹64,930 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹2L | ₹54,920 | ₹74,920 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹64,910 | ₹84,910 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹74,900 | ₹94,900 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹84,890 | ₹1,04,890 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹3L | ₹94,880 | ₹1,14,880 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,04,870 | ₹1,24,870 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,14,860 | ₹1,34,860 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,24,850 | ₹1,44,850 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,34,840 | ₹1,54,840 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,44,830 | ₹1,64,830 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,54,820 | ₹1,74,820 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,64,810 | ₹1,84,810 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,74,800 | ₹1,94,800 | Standard Chartered Ultimate by ₹20,000 |
Transfer reach — 0 shared live routes
Transfer reach
Both cards earn StanC 360° Reward Points, so the partner list is identical — 0 live transfer routes each. The fight is decided on earn and fees, not 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
Standard Chartered Beyond · 2 more →
- No transfer partners at all — a Standard Chartered point is ₹1, floor and ceiling, minus ₹99 per redemption
- ₹15,000 to join and ₹25,000 a year after that; the annual fee is waived only while you keep ₹50,00,000 of Funds Under Management with SC
- Lose the Priority/Private relationship and SC may downgrade or block the card — and the Priority Pass benefit is retracted for a minimum of one year
Standard Chartered Ultimate · 2 more →
- No transfer partners — the ceiling is exactly ₹1/point
- Utilities, supermarkets, insurance, rent, govt cut to 2% since Apr 2023
- ₹99 + GST per redemption; points lapse about 3 years after you earn them, in quarterly batches
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, Standard Chartered Ultimate nets ₹34,960 against ₹14,960 — a ₹20,000 gap. At ₹5L/month, Standard Chartered Ultimate nets ₹1,94,800 against ₹1,74,800 — a ₹20,000 gap. Lounge chasers: Standard Chartered Beyond opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to Standard Chartered Ultimate's 689.
Our standing verdicts: Standard Chartered Beyond — Keep; Standard Chartered Ultimate — Keep. Standard Chartered Ultimate takes 4 of the 5 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, Standard Chartered Beyond or Standard Chartered Ultimate?
Standard Chartered Ultimate. Standard Chartered Ultimate takes 4 of the 5 rounds we can score. Standard Chartered Ultimate out-earns Standard Chartered Beyond at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Standard Chartered Beyond or Standard Chartered Ultimate — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Standard Chartered Ultimate nets ₹1,14,880 against ₹94,880 — a ₹20,000 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, Standard Chartered Beyond or Standard Chartered Ultimate?
Standard Chartered Ultimate — ₹5,000/yr against ₹15,000 joining, then ₹25,000/yr. Standard Chartered Beyond waives its fee at no spend level — the waiver rides the banking relationship, not the swipe; Standard Chartered Ultimate at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, Standard Chartered Beyond or Standard Chartered Ultimate?
Lounge chasers: Standard Chartered Beyond opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to Standard Chartered Ultimate's 689. 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: Standard Chartered Beyond on 2026-08-15, Standard Chartered Ultimate on 2026-08-17. 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 Standard Chartered and Standard Chartered's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 9 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Beyond Credit Card T&Cs — §1 joining ₹15,000 and renewal ₹25,000 from year 2, §4 earn 5 RP/₹150 (3 on essentials), §7 2% forex, §9 unlimited Visa lounges in India, §10 unlimited Priority Pass abroad
- official Product page — "Joining Fee: INR 15,000 +GST", "Annual Fee: INR 25,000 +GST", up to 3.3% rewards, 2% on government, utilities and insurance, unlimited lounge access with 8 guest visits a year
- official Tariff table — Beyond Credit card 15,000 (Annual Fee Year 1) / 25,000 (Year 2 onwards) / Nil supplementary; 3.75% a month APR 45%; ₹99 handling and courier charge per reward redemption
- official Rewards-points expiry FAQ — points lapse about three years after they are earned, written off in quarterly batches
- official Federal Bank migration FAQ — the card relationship transfers after 31 Jul 2026; consent via I Agree, SMS ACCEPT or continued use
- official Standard Chartered domestic lounge programme — the Beyond table runs to 83 rooms, the full-fat Visa list
- official Product page (₹5,000 joining and ₹5,000 renewal fee, 6,000-pt welcome on fee payment, 5 RP/₹150 = ₹1/pt, 4/quarter domestic + 1 PP/month int'l on ₹20k prior-month spend)
- official Revision FAQ — the Apr-2023 cuts only: from 2 Apr 2023 utilities, supermarkets, insurance, property management/rent, schools and government earn 3 RP/₹150 (was 5)
- community CardInsider — Visa Infinite variant discontinued