Card Details
IRCTC Credit Card
Monzy Score
7.5/ 10
Very good for frequent travellers.
Strong ~5% back in its core category; high 3.5% forex markup.
Card Issuer
HDFC Bank
Joining Fee
₹500
Annual Fee
₹500
Reward Type
Reward Points
Card Access
Standard
Changes to this card
Earn Points
5X RP
Reward Points per ₹100 on IRCTC bookings
1 RP
/₹100 on other retail spends
5% cashback
Additional cashback on IRCTC bookings via HDFC SmartBuy
Benefits
5X Reward Points + 5% SmartBuy cashback on…
- High-value rewards on train tickets
- 5X Reward Points on IRCTC bookings
- Extra 5% SmartBuy cashback on train tickets (₹1,000 monthly cap)
- Accelerated reward points capped at 1,000 RP/month and 12,000 RP/year
8 IRCTC Executive Lounge visits/year
- Railway lounge comfort
- 2 railway lounge visits each quarter
- Total of 8 visits in a calendar year
- Access limited to railway lounges; no airport lounges
1% fuel surcharge waiver
Reward Calculator
NOTE: Enter your monthly spends to see
projected returns.
Excluded: fuel, rent, wallet, government, emi
Estimated Returns
IRCTC train bookings (IRCTC website / Rail Connect app)
5X (5 RP/100) on partner IRCTC spends, capped at 1,000 RP per billing cycle. Points redeem 1:1 only against train tickets via HDFC SmartBuy (against up to 70% of fare). Rs 99+GST redemption fee.
₹1,000
IRCTC bookings via HDFC SmartBuy
Extra 5% cashback on IRCTC train tickets booked through SmartBuy, stacks on top of the 5X reward points.
₹500
All other retail spends
1 RP per Rs 100 on other categories.
₹0
Total Annual Return
₹18,000
5% Effective ROIWhat Users Are Saying
Community Feed
May 2026
“IRCTC Credit Card - Loyalty Program”
by r/CreditCardsIndia, May 2026
“Anyone else facing issue applying for HDFC–IRCTC Credit”
by r/CreditCardsIndia, Nov 2025
“HDFC IRCTC Credit Card LTF offer”
by r/CreditCardsIndia, Mar 2026
“Any special credit card for IRCTC bookings?”
by r/CreditCardsIndia, Aug 2025
“i did this big mistake last year, realised it now and not”
by r/CreditCardsIndia, Mar 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
The IRCTC Credit Card charges ₹500 plus GST as a joining fee and the same ₹500 again at renewal. HDFC Bank waives the renewal fee if you spend ₹1.5L in the previous year, which is about ₹12,500 a month. If your card spend sits below that, treat ₹500 as a real yearly cost that your rewards have to clear first.
Things to Keep in Mind
Accelerated IRCTC reward points limited to 1,000 RP per month (12,000 annually).
No reward points on fuel, wallet loads, vouchers, government-related, education, or rental transactions.
SmartBuy cashback has monthly cap of ₹1000.
Lounge access has quarterly cap and ₹2 validation charge.
