Doctor's SBI Card (IMA)

Is the IMA version a different card?

No. The Doctor's SBI Card (IMA) is SBI's Doctor's card listed in association with the Indian Medical Association. The fee, earn rates, lounges and indemnity cover match the Doctor's SBI Card, which has the full review. This page covers what is specific to the IMA listing and what holders of this version ask about.

In short: ₹1,499 + GST to join and each year, renewal fee reversed on ₹2 lakh of annual spend, ₹20 lakh professional indemnity cover, 5 points per ₹100 on medical supplies, travel bookings and international spends, and 1 point per ₹100 on everything else. You get a ₹1,500 Yatra voucher on joining and a ₹5,000 voucher at ₹5 lakh of annual spend. Our record does not say IMA membership is required to apply, so ask SBI.

The quarterly lounge caps on this listing

The IMA record spells out limits the main listing does not:

• Domestic: 4 visits a year, no more than 1 a quarter.
• International: 4 visits a year through Priority Pass, no more than 2 a quarter.
• Extra international visits: US$27 + taxes each.

So two trips in one quarter can use up your domestic allowance early. Users still like that SBI does not gate these visits behind a quarterly spend target the way some private banks now do; one Reddit thread comparing it with ICICI Rubyx makes exactly that point.

Upgrading from the IMA card

The most recent thread about this listing is from a holder who has met the yearly spend for two years and wants something better. The usual pattern holders describe is slow limit growth, then a move to SBI PRIME or to a private bank card once income and spend rise. Ask SBI for the exact upgrade offer and the net yearly fee before you switch. Others keep the IMA card for the indemnity cover and lounges after getting it made lifetime free through SBI support or the nodal officer, which users report but SBI does not promise.

The bottom line on the IMA listing

If you are a doctor starting out, this is a sensible first card, and the IMA tag changes nothing about its value. Rewards on everyday personal spends are ordinary, and limits start small. If you are a salaried medical officer who will not use the lounges or buy for a clinic, ₹1,499 + GST a year is hard to justify unless you get the fee waived.

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