What are the best credit cards for students in India?

Last Updated : Nov. 27, 2024, 3:30 p.m.

Student credit cards are designed to meet the needs of college students in India. They come with useful features for students like rewards earning, discounts, and interest free periods. These cards usually come in the form of secured credit cards or entry level credit cards. They help students deal with their expenses better. Let us now look into the list of some of the best credit cards for students in India 2024.

Top Student Credit Cards in India in 2024

Best Credit Cards for Students in India - Key Features

Here are some important highlights of the best credit cards for students in India listed above.

IDFC First Wow Credit Card

This credit card is one of the best credit cards for students in India because it is lifetime free and can be obtained against your fixed deposit. So, it is generally easy for students to get, since many of them will not have a credit history.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Earn an interest rate of up to 7.5% on your fixed deposit
• Earn an interest free period of up to 48 days.
• Enjoy a credit limit of at least 100% of your fixed deposit amount.
• Get an ATM cash withdrawal limit of 100% of the fixed deposit value
• The card comes with nil forex conversion fee
• Get 4x rewards on your spends.
• No credit history and income proof are required
• Get a credit shield protection from theft and fraud
• The minimum deposit value requirement is Rs. 2000.

Kotak 811 #DreamDifferent Credit Card

This card has a highly beneficial rewards program. Other benefits include cashback and PVR movie tickets on reaching annual milestone spends, fuel and railway surcharge waivers, etc. With its various perks, it can be considered as one of the best credit cards in India .

Key Features and Benefits:

• Earn 4 reward points against every Rs. 100 of online spends.
• Earn 1 reward point against every Rs. 100 of other spends.
• Enjoy interest free cash withdrawal for up to 45 days
• You will incur a processing fee of Rs. 100 for each instance of ATM withdrawal and funds transfer
• Enjoy a processing fee of Rs. 3459 per Rs. 10,000.
• Get a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% across all petrol pumps for transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3000 (With a maximum of Rs. 3500 per year).
• Get a fuel and railway surcharge waiver of 1.8% for transactions on IRCTC.Co.in and 2.5% on Indian railway booking counters (With a maximum of Rs. 500 per year).
• Get a low interest rate of 2.99% per month.
• On reaching milestone annual spends of Rs. 75,000, get a cashback of Rs. 750 or 4 PVR movie tickets.

Terms and Conditions for Reward Points

• Reward points will not be offered on fuel and railway spends as the card also provides surcharge waivers on the same.
• Reward points will not be offered on cash withdrawals.
• Rewards earned on spends made before 15th April 2024 will not get impacted .

SBI Student Plus Advantage Card

This card is issued by the State Bank of India for students who have taken an education loan from the bank. You can enjoy the benefits of this card without paying a joining or an annual fee. It is thus a privilege for every student to hold in his/her wallet and is one of the best credit cards for students in India.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Get 1 reward point per Rs. spent on the card.
• Get a fuel surcharge waiver of 2.5% on all fuel transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000.
• Get an annual fee waiver of Rs. 500 on reaching milestone spends of Rs. 35,000 in a year.
• You can withdraw cash from more than 1 million Visa and Mastercard ATMs.
• This card is globally accepted at more than 24 million outlets including 3,25,000 Indian outlets.
• For purchases more than Rs. 2,500, use the Flexipay facility to convert them into EMI.
• You can transfer the outstanding bills of your other credit cards to your SBI Student Plus Advantage Credit Card and make the payment at a lower interest rate.
• Book your rail tickets online from the IRCTC portal and get the tickets delivered to your home. You can also use the credit card to pay your utility bills.

ICICI Bank Student Forex Prepaid Card

A student forex card is a prepaid travel card curated especially for students doing their education overseas. The card can be loaded with various currencies, so students can spend in different currencies. This card with low fees, competitive exchange rates, and protective features like transacting only on entering the PIN etc. enables students studying abroad to manage their finances with ease. For all these reasons, this can be considered as one of the best credit cards for students in India.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Enjoy card protection plus insurance of Rs. 1600
• Enjoy a discount of 40% on excess baggage with this card.
• Get an international Student Identity Card (ISIC) membership worth Rs. 590 as a welcome perk.
• Get a lost card or counterfeit card liability coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakhs on joining.
• Enjoy the privilege of getting a Croma voucher when you join
• Get a discount of 20% on your courier service by DHL.

ICICI Coral Contactless Credit Card

This card is most suitable for entry level individuals or those who are new to credit. Hence it is a very good credit card for students. With various benefits like complimentary lounge access, discounts on movie tickets, and ample rewards, this is one of the best credit cards for students in India.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Earn up to 10,000 reward points from ICICI Bank every year.
• Get one complimentary domestic railway lounge visit per quarter
• Get 1 complimentary access in the next quarter to select airport lounges in India on minimum spends of Rs. 5,000 or above in the previous quarter.
• Avail a discount of 25%, up to Rs. 100, on purchasing at least 2 movie tickets per transaction on BookMyShow and Inox. The offer can be availed twice in a month.

HDFC Bank ForexPlus Card

This card is most suited for all categories of travelers starting from the individuals who travel all over the world, first time traveller, business traveller, or a student. The card provides you with special Visa offers on travel, sightseeing, hotels, and shopping thus making travel a fantastic and comfortable experience. Thus, overall this card is not only one of the best credit cards for students in India but can also be considered easily as one of the best credit cards in India.

Key Features and Benefits:

• You can load up to 22 currencies in one card
• You can use this contactless card to tap and pay
• This card comes with zero cross currency charges
• Enjoy up to two complimentary airport lounge visits every quarter
• When not traveling, you can get your card blocked through netbanking.
• The bank provides you with a back up card facility for this credit card.
• You can transact securely as the card comes with chip based technology. You can also set up a PIN to safeguard the usage of your card.
• Students will get a complimentary virtual international student identity card worth Rs. 999 which is globally recognized. Enjoy exclusive discounts in 1,50,000 plus outlets world-wide with this card. (Offer valid till 31st March 2025)
• Get an issuance fee waiver on loading a minimum of USD 1000 or equivalent currency (Offer valid till 31st March 2025)
• Enjoy special Visa offers on travel, sightseeing, hotels, and shopping using your credit card on the Visa network (Offer valid till 31st March 2025)

Axis Bank Insta Easy credit card

This card is unique in the sense that it gives the guarantee of approval from the bank. This card can be obtained against a fixed deposit with Axis Bank. With various benefits like high range of amounts for cash withdrawals, flexible credit limits, interest free period of 50 days, dining offers with fuel surcharge waiver, and eDGe loyalty rewards, this card is one of the best credit cards for students in India.

Key Features and Benefits:

• This card comes with an exciting eDGE loyalty Rewards program.
• Get 6 reward points on every domestic spend of Rs. 200 made via your credit card.
• Get 12 reward points per international spend of Rs. 200 made through your credit card.
• Earn 100 reward points on the first transaction made online.
• Spend the accumulated reward points on more than 500 reward items via the rewards catalogue.

HDFC Bank ISIC Student ForexPlus Chip Card

This card is a globally recognized Student identity card. It has been validated by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and has existed since 1968. The ISIC card has been accepted by universities, national governments, financial institutions, and education ministries all around the world.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Cardholders will get discounted access to over 150,000 relevant student products, services, and experiences across more than 130 countries.
• There are multiple offers available to ISIC cardholders, right from educational courses, magazine and public transport subscriptions, software licenses, digital communications, cafes, eateries, theme parks, world heritage sites, sporting events, and more. To know more details about the offers available, click https://www.isic.org/discounts/
• The document is available in 3 currencies
  • Single currency forex card
  • Available in USD, EUR, and GBP
  • It is accepted at all merchants or establishments associated with Visa/Mastercard across the world and for online shopping.
  • If the card is lost, then you can block it easily and immediately use prepaid card netbanking.
• The card offers comprehensive insurance covers for the following:
  • Enjoy comprehensive insurance protection up to INR 500,000 against misuse due to counterfeiting or skimming
  • Get insurance against road or rail accidents (Only for death) up to INR 200,000
  • The card offers insurance of up to INR 5,00,000 against air accidents (Death cover only).
  • Coverage of up to Rs. 20,00 for loss of checked-in baggage
  • Get coverage of up to INR 50,000 for loss of personal documents (Only passport reconstruction).
  • Enjoy a coverage of up to INR 60,000 for loss of cash in transit.
  • All ATM and point of sale transactions (POS) are authenticated using a PIN and an embedded chip. This makes the card more secure.

ICICI Bank Student Travel Card

This card equips students who are going overseas for higher education to manage their finances. It assists students to pay the expenses such as application fee, university admission fee, other course related fee, hostel fee, and day to day living expenses. The parents of such students can reload the card from India. With other benefits like free comprehensive travel insurance, lost card liability insurance, and a replacement card which can be activated easily by calling the international toll free numbers at 16 major locations if the card is lost or damaged, the card is a great one for every student to possess in their wallets. Due to its multifaceted nature, it is one of the best credit cards for students in India and also can be considered as one of the best credit cards in India.

Key Features and Benefits

• The card is available in five currencies: USD, EURO, GBP, AUD and CAD.
• It is valid for 3 years and can be applied from any foreign-exchange enabled ICICI bank branch.
• Even non customers can apply for this card.

Credit cards for Students in India - Eligibility Criteria

Student credit cards do not usually have an eligibility criteria for income since students don't usually fall under the earning category. However, there are some basic criteria that they have to fulfill and this may vary across banks. The most common criteria is that the applicant must be of 18 years of age.

Documents required for Student Credit Cards in India

Here are some documents that you have to furnish when applying for student credit cards.

• PAN or any other government approved photo ID proof
• Aadhaar or any other government approved residential address proof
• Birth certificate
• College identity card or any other proof for enrolment.
• Passport sized photographs.

Best Credit Cards for Students with No/Bad Credit History

These days, many credit card companies have started offering the best credit cards for students also. Yes, now students can also avail the credit cards by following an easy and simple procedure. In fact, those who are having bad or no credit history can also avail these cards with the help of issuers. Yes, there are many credit card providers available in the market that allow you to avail the card even if you are having low or bad credit history. In fact, they work for such types of applicants only, and ensure that they can avail the card instead of all the odds. So, if you are a student who is having no or bad credit history, nothing to worry, you can avail the credit cards of different banks with the help of these providers.

So I hope the next time someone asks you -What are the best credit cards for students in India, you will have the answer on your tips. And yes if you wish to avail the services of a credit card, talk to your parents and choose the one which suits you the best.