Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

The IRCTC SBI Card Premier charges ₹1,499 plus GST as a joining fee and the same ₹1,499 again at renewal. SBI Card waives the renewal fee if you spend ₹2L in the previous year, which is about ₹16,667 a month. If your card spend sits below that, treat ₹1,499 as a real yearly cost that your rewards have to clear first.

Question 2

What is the reward rate on the IRCTC SBI Card Premier?

Accepted Answer

You earn 10 points per ₹100 on IRCTC train ticket purchases. Everything else earns 1 point per ₹125. Each point is worth about ₹1 when you redeem it well, so ₹10,000 of top category spend gives you 1000 points, roughly ₹1,000, which is about 10% back. Fuel earn nothing at all.

Question 3

Does the IRCTC SBI Card Premier give free airport lounge access?

Accepted Answer

The IRCTC SBI Card Premier gives 8 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year, usually capped at 2 per quarter. There is no prior spend requirement on paper, though SBI Card 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 SBI Card Premier recently and is it still worth it in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Air (₹50L) and rail (₹10L) accident insurance discontinued; SBI portfolio changes. The changes are dated Jul 26, 2025. At ₹2L of yearly spend the card returns roughly ₹1,600 at its general rate of about 0.8%, against a ₹1,499 renewal fee. That clears the fee, but not by much, so it is worth keeping only while your spending stays in the accelerated category.

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IRCTC SBI Card Premier

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