IDBI Royale Signature Credit Card

₹0 for four lounge visits a year

The number that decides this card is zero. The IDBI Royale Signature has no joining, annual or renewal fee, and it still gives you one domestic airport lounge visit every quarter. Four visits a year, on a card you never pay for, is why Reddit users keep calling it a sleeper.

Looking for Kotak's NRI Royale Signature? That is a different bank's card with a ₹1,000 annual fee. And the IDBI card some threads praise for 4 lounge visits a quarter is the Visa Signature debit card, not this one.

The catch is getting it

The card is easy to hold. Getting it is the hard part. Users report that IDBI expects you to open or keep an IDBI savings account before it issues a credit card. IDBI's exact rule is not in our record, so ask your branch first.

That changes the maths. If you already bank with IDBI, Royale Signature is close to a free add. If you do not, you are opening a new account, with its own balance rules, for one lounge visit a quarter. One user put it plainly: if you only want lounges, a RuPay Select debit card at a bank you already use may be simpler.

Expect a branch-led, slower process. Holders describe IDBI's app and online banking as dated.

What 3 points per ₹100 adds up to

Royale Signature earns 3 Delight Points per ₹100 on eligible spends. The bonuses sit on top:

• 500 points on activation and 750 on your first ₹1,500 spend.
• 1,500 points at ₹2,00,000 of annual spend, and 2,000 more at ₹4,00,000.

Spend ₹2,00,000 in year one and you collect 6,000 base points, 1,500 milestone points and 1,250 welcome points: 8,750 in all. IDBI does not state a rupee value per point in our record, so check the Delight catalogue before you compare this with a cashback card. Redemption is free according to IDBI's product page.

The smaller perks, and the forex cost

• 1% fuel surcharge waiver, up to ₹500 a month.
• ₹25 lakh personal air travel accident cover.
• No UPI: the card runs on Visa, and credit card UPI needs RuPay.

The forex markup is 3.5%. On ₹50,000 of foreign spend, that is ₹1,750 before GST. Keep it for domestic use.

Is IDBI Royale Signature worth it?

Yes, if you already have an IDBI savings account or do not mind opening one. It is a free backup card that gets you into a domestic lounge every quarter and earns modest points along the way.

If you fly every month, one visit a quarter will not be enough; IDBI's own Euphoria World gives 12 domestic visits a year for a ₹1,499 fee. If you do not want an IDBI account at all, pick a lifetime free card from a bank you already use. Our lifetime free credit card picks and the guide to credit card lounge access in India are good places to start.

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