Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

The SBI Card PULSE 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 SBI Card PULSE?

Accepted Answer

You earn 10 points per ₹100 on Chemist, Pharmacy, Sports, Dining and Movies. Everything else earns 2 points per ₹100. Each point is worth about ₹0.25 when you redeem it well, so ₹10,000 of top category spend gives you 1000 points, roughly ₹250, which is about 2.5% back. The accelerated rate stops after ₹1,875 of spend in a month. Fuel earn nothing at all.

Question 3

Does the SBI Card PULSE give free airport lounge access?

Accepted Answer

The SBI Card PULSE gives 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year, usually capped at 1 per quarter. International lounge visits are capped at 2 a year. 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 SBI Card PULSE recently and is it still worth it in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Air/rail accident insurance discontinued (Aug 2025); lounge tightened (Jan 10, 2026). The changes are dated Jul 2025; Jan 2026. At ₹2L of yearly spend the card returns roughly ₹2,000 at its general rate of about 1%, 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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