Question 1

What is the annual fee on the IRCTC Credit Card and how do you get it waived?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

What is the reward rate on the IRCTC Credit Card?

Accepted Answer

You earn 5 points per ₹100 on IRCTC website/app and HDFC Bank SmartBuy train ticket and similar spends. Everything else earns 1 point per ₹100. Each point is worth about ₹1 when you redeem it well, so ₹10,000 of top category spend gives you 500 points, roughly ₹500, which is about 5% back. The accelerated rate stops after ₹1,000 of spend in a month. Fuel, Wallet/Prepaid card loads or top-ups, Voucher purchases, Cash advances earn nothing at all.

Question 3

Does the IRCTC Credit Card give free airport lounge access?

Accepted Answer

The IRCTC Credit Card gives 8 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year, usually capped at 2 per quarter. There is no prior spend requirement on paper, though HDFC Bank has been moving cards to spend linked access, so confirm before you rely on it at the airport.

Question 4

What changed on the IRCTC Credit Card recently and is it still worth it in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Other: HDFC category surcharges (incl. 1% railway) and reward tightening apply. At ₹1.5L of yearly spend the card returns roughly ₹1,500 at its general rate of about 1%, against a ₹500 renewal fee. Keep it if you clear the ₹1.5L waiver spend and your spending really sits in the accelerated category. Drop it at renewal if you do not.

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