IRCTC BOBCARD

Up to 10% on train tickets, for ₹350 a year

The number behind IRCTC BOBCARD is 10%. You earn up to 40 reward points per ₹100 on train tickets booked on the IRCTC website or app, and BOBCARD lets you redeem points as statement cashback at ₹0.25 each. That is up to ₹10 back on every ₹100 of tickets, on a card that costs ₹500 to join and ₹350 a year after.

This is Bank of Baroda's IRCTC card, the one people search as "BOB IRCTC credit card". It is not the IRCTC SBI Platinum, the IRCTC SBI Card Premier, HDFC's IRCTC card or the IRCTC RBL RuPay card. The rules below apply to BOBCARD only.

Why "up to" matters here

BOBCARD footnotes the 40-point claim, and users explain why. Two rules come up again and again on Reddit:

• Peak months earn less. Users report the rate falling to about 16 points per ₹100, roughly 4%, in busy travel windows. They put those at about April to mid-July and mid-September to mid-January. That is when most families spend the most on trains.
• You have to be on the ticket. Users say points accrue only when the primary cardholder is a passenger, and only on their own fare. Booking for parents you are not travelling with may earn nothing.

Neither rule is in our record, so read the MITC before you plan around 10%. Our record also shows a monthly cap of 250 on the IRCTC row, with no unit stated.

A year of tickets, worked out

Say you spend ₹2,000 a month on your own AC tickets, half in off-peak months and half in peak months:

• 6 off-peak months at 40 points per ₹100: 4,800 points, ₹1,200.
• 6 peak months at a reported 16 points: 1,920 points, ₹480.

That is about ₹1,680 a year against a ₹350 fee. Even at the lower rate all year, ₹2,000 a month covers the fee more than twice. Both figures assume the 250 monthly cap in our record does not bite; its unit is not stated, so check the MITC.

Everything else earns little: 4 points per ₹100 at departmental stores (1%) and 2 per ₹100 elsewhere (0.5%). New cardholders get 500 points, worth ₹125, for spending ₹5,000 in the first 60 days.

Set it up before your first booking

Link your card's loyalty number to your IRCTC login. Without it, bookings may not earn the accelerated points. Points then take up to 60 days to post.

You also get 4 complimentary railway lounge visits a year, a 1% fuel surcharge waiver up to ₹100 per statement, and RuPay, so the card works on UPI.

The weak spot is BOBCARD itself. Users report stuck video KYC, unexplained rejections and slow customer care across BOBCARD cards. Keep every application reference number.

Who IRCTC BOBCARD suits

Get it if you book your own train tickets several times a year, travel outside school holidays when you can, and want a cheap RuPay card for UPI. It pays for itself quickly.

Look elsewhere if you mostly book for family without travelling, or want one rate all year. Users point to HDFC's IRCTC Credit Card for family bookings and the IRCTC SBI Card Premier for steadier earning, at a higher fee. More options in our guide to credit cards for travel in India.

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