CheQ AU LED Credit Card

12% or 3%: the number that decides it

The CheQ AU card advertises up to 12% back on Amazon, Flipkart, other listed partners and CheQ Travel. That figure assumes one CheQ point is worth ₹1. Users who tried to cash their points out report a rate of 4 points to ₹1. At that rate the 12% lane is worth about 3%, and the "1%" base rate is worth about 0.25%.

So the real question is not the headline. It is what you will redeem your points for. Check the redemption options in the CheQ app before you move spend to this card.

The free card and the ₹999 light

AU lists the card as lifetime free: no joining fee and no annual fee. The LED version, the one that glows when you tap to pay, carries a one-time ₹999 + GST fee, about ₹1,179. Users like the glow, and it needs no battery. But at 4 points to ₹1, you need about 4,700 points just to earn back the ₹1,179 LED fee.

Several users report being billed a joining fee or the LED fee after applying under a free promotion, and some launch posts quoted a ₹499 fee. Check your first statement, and raise any fee you were told would not apply straight away, with screenshots of the offer.

How the points are counted

Points are earned per ₹200, and any transaction under ₹200 earns nothing. That matters for UPI, where many payments are small.

• Listed partners and CheQ Travel: 24 points, which the bank calls 12%, about 3% at 4 points to ₹1.
• Online shopping, food delivery, groceries and travel at leading brands: 10 points, called 5%, about 1.25% in cash.
• UPI through the CheQ app on RuPay: 5 points, called 2.5%, about 0.63% in cash.
• Everything else: 2 points, called 1%, about 0.25% in cash.

Accelerated points stop at 12,000 a month. Utility bills earn rewards only when paid through the CheQ app. Fuel, education, gold, gambling, insurance, rent and EMI earn nothing; fuel gets a 1% surcharge waiver up to ₹150.

A worked example: ₹10,000 at a 12% partner earns 1,200 points. That is ₹1,200 if you find a ₹1-a-point redemption, or ₹300 in cash.

Visa or RuPay?

Pick RuPay if you want to scan and pay by UPI on credit. Only RuPay works on UPI, and only UPI through the CheQ app earns the 2.5% lane. Visa is fine if you do not need UPI. AU does not state the forex markup in our record.

Some applicants with strong credit scores report rejections citing a "non-target profile". AU does not publish what that means.

Where CheQ AU fits in your wallet

As a free secondary card for partner shopping, it is fine, as long as you check redemption value first. Skip the LED fee unless the glow is worth ₹1,179 to you. For direct UPI cashback, users prefer Kiwi. For true 5% statement credit on Amazon, Amazon Pay ICICI is simpler.

Credit Card Information Compiled by: Abhijeet Kumar | Reviewed by: Anmol Ratan Sachdeva