RBL Bank Novio RuPay Credit Card: Minimal Rewards, Maximum Fees—A Disappointing Deal?
- Harsh Lodha
- Mar 25, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 12
The RBL Bank Novio Rupay Credit Card aims at offering users the facilities of budget management, accrual of rewards and convenient transactional facilities. It is a co-branded credit card that is founded on the revenue-sharing contract between RBL Bank and Credilio.com.
This summary will analyse the major characteristics and benefits of the RBL Bank Novio RuPay Credit Card, its shortcomings and charges. The facts given are meant to give a factual foundation for the appropriateness of the card to the personal financial situation.
Welcome Reward of RBL Bank Novio RuPay Credit Card
The welcome reward for new users to the RBL Bank Novio RuPay Credit Card is one of the most attractive characteristics of the card. When the cardholder activates, he or she can get an amount of bonus benefit in the form of cashback or reward points, which will be based on the available promotions. In the meantime, the users receive 2000 reward points by spending 5000 or more in 30 days of card issuance.
Reward System
The rewards system of the RBL Bank Novio RuPay Credit Card will suit a broad range of consumer behaviour. Cardholders can earn reward points on each transaction, and the rate of earning will depend on the types of spending.
Card members will receive 2 reward points with each R100 spent online. One reward point is equivalent to 0.25 rupees, hence the actual cashback rate is 0.50%. All other spends will earn a cardholder 1 point that is equivalent to a 0.25 cash back rate.
The points collected could be redeemed for many types of options: travelling, shopping vouchers, or even gift cards of famous brands. This flexibility is what makes sure that the users can customise their rewards to their spending preferences and lifestyle habits.
Milestone Benefits
The other significant advantage of the RBL Bank Novio Rupay credit card is the milestone benefits, which encourage its users to use their cards more often. The cardholders also gain access to extra rewards when they spend a certain amount within a year.
As an example, after spending INR 1,50, 000, users will receive an extra 1000 reward points, and after spending INR 3, 000,000, users will receive 2000 reward points.
Finally, milestone benefits do not only raise earnings potential but responsible spending will also be promoted, which will benefit users in the long term.
UPI Feature
It is an online era, and the RBL Bank Novio Ruway Credit Card has a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration that makes it more convenient for the user. This option gives users the option of connecting their credit card to the UPI apps, and they can easily and instantly make payments without having to carry a physical card.
Such integration makes transactions easy in terms of daily expenditure, bill payment, and online shopping. Also, UPI operations are secured at several levels, which protect user data besides ensuring that one is not scared of making a purchase. As the popularity of digital payments increases, such an option is well-integrated with the current consumer behaviours, so it is a good option among tech-savvy users.
Potential Drawbacks
Limited Acceptance of RuPay Network
RuPay cards cannot be universally withdrawn, in particular, at international merchants or at some online shops. This may inconvenience the common traveller or the user who transacts internationally.
Modest Reward Rates
The card will provide a low cashback rate of 0.5 on online purchases (2 points/[?]100) and 0.25 on other purchases (1 point/[?]100). This is not as attractive to intensive spenders due to the cards offered by competing cards offering better reward rates.
High Spending Thresholds for Milestone Benefits
To accumulate 1,000 reward points ([?]250), one has to spend [?]1.5 lakh in a year, and to earn 2,000 points ([?]500), one has to spend [?]3 lakh. These milestones require a lot of money in return for comparatively low compensation, thus reducing their utility to average users.
Annual Fee and Hidden Charges
Casual users may not be in a position to justify the price, although the annual fee can be compensated through rewards. Other charges, such as late payment, cash advance fees and interest rates (in case balances are not paid) would accumulate rapidly on the undisciplined spenders.
Fees and Charges
Joining fee: INR 500/- plus taxes.
Annual fee: INR 500/- plus taxes.
Foreign currency markup: 3.50%.
Cash advance fee: 2.5% or INR 500, whichever is higher.
Late payment charges: INR 100 to 1300.
Reward redemption fee: INR 99 per redemption request.
Interest rate: 3.99% monthly, 47.88% annually.
Final Thoughts
Though the RBL Bank Novio Rupay credit card has the UPI features and milestone advantage, it is not a value-for-money card because of its low rewards and high charges against advantages. The milestones' spending limits are so high in terms of expenditure in order to earn a few rewards and are not viable to ordinary users.
Also, the card has poor acceptance on the RuPay system (particularly overseas) and high fees, 3.5% forex fee, 47.88% interest and [?]99 redemption fee also help to make it less desirable. This card is not the best option for most consumers who want real value or high cashback, given that the competitors' cards have better reward programs and larger acceptance.
If you want to read a more detailed review of this card and find out its AI-powered, unbiased rating, click here.
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