Synopsis: This article compares two Kotak credit cards, one offers reward points and the other cashback and one credit card offers 4X more savings compared to the other.
When used with strategy, a credit card is one of the best sources around for making actual money from day-to-day transactions. Buying groceries, refueling, and paying subscriptions can all result in building up money through rewards programs. Two interesting credit cards by Kotak Mahindra bank, whose main purpose is to provide cashback and rewards to their customers, are the Kotak League Platinum card and the Kotak CC+. While both offer similar services to people looking for a good value from a credit card, they differ greatly in terms of how this is done.
Kotak League Platinum Credit Card
This card is very lifestyle-oriented, wherein the earn rate of rewards increases according to your annual spending. This card offers a relatively affordable joining fee of ₹499+GST and annual membership cost of ₹499+GST. The joining fee and annual fees are waived off on annual spends of ₹50,000 in a year.
- Welcome benefits: 5000 reward points that is worth ₹500 on joining.
- Rewards: Customers are able to earn up to 8 reward points for each ₹150 spent. Until their annual spends reach ₹2 lakh, their rate will be at 8 reward points on selected categories and 4 on all others. Once annual spends surpass ₹2 lakh, their earnings rate will become flat at 8 reward points for every ₹150 spent.
- Milestone Benefits: ₹1,25,000 spent during any six months’ period will fetch 4 PVR movie tickets, 10,000 reward points and 8 free PVR movie tickets a year.
- Additional Benefits: The card carries the offer of 1% waiver of fuel charge on spends between ₹500-₹4,000 per year up to ₹3,500, Railway surcharge waiver up to ₹500 each year. New cardholders are given 5,000 reward points (equivalent to ₹500), after recovery of joining fee. Additionally, the card also has an offer called the league priority attend.
To apply for the card, please visit the Official Website
Kotak Cashback+ Credit Card
The Cashback+ is built to make cash savings straightforward. While the League Platinum provides reward points that can be exchanged for goods from an assortment of items, the Cashback+ gives you cashback directly into your bank account. The joining fee and annual fee of this card are ₹750+GST but the annual fee is waived off on annual retail spends of ₹2,00,000.
- Rewards: This card earns up to 5% cash back for online food orders, groceries, and entertainment purchases, 3% cash back for all fuel spends, and unlimited cashback of 0.5% on all other spending. It is critical to note that the cap for Cashback earned from accelerated spends (5% and 3%) is limited to 750 reward points per billing cycle. Once this cap is reached, no additional cashback will be earned from the accelerated categories. This is the most significant figure to remember, as this means that once you cross the limit of 750 rupees/month, the accelerated cashback cap is limited to 9,000 rupees/year. But the cashback earned from the base spend rate of 0.5% is unlimited.
- What Qualifies & What Does Not: Cashback does not apply for Rent, B2B transactions, Utilities, Insurance, Education, Government, Wallet Loads, Online Skill Based Gaming, and EMI spends. Offline grocery, dining, and entertainment purchases only earn the 0.5% base spend cashback.
- Additional Benefits: Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% is applicable on fuel transactions from ₹500 to ₹4,000, but maximum fuel surcharge waiver that is offered per annum is ₹3,500. There is a buy-one get one for PVR INOX cinema with a limit of once a month with a maximum amount of ₹250 discount on per card basis. The points earned through cash back expire after one year and the same shall only be redeemed in multiples of 400 on the Kotak Rewards Platform.
To apply for the card, please visit the Official Website
Head to Head Comparison
If you spend ₹15,000/month what will you get a
Lets divide the monthly spend into 4 different category
Also read: 3 Best FD-Backed Credit Cards in India that Offer Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
Cashback+ Cap
With the spend amount being ₹15,000, the accelerated categories (food ₹150 + entertainment ₹100 + fuel ₹60 = ₹310) are below the cap of ₹750 per month for cash back, meaning that the cap will not be an issue at all in this situation. It would require substantially higher spends in order to hit the cap limit in the accelerated categories.
Annual Fee
No annual charge of ₹499 will apply if you spend ₹50,000 per annum, which is quite easy to achieve. However, the minimum spending required for waiving an annual fee of ₹750 is ₹2,00,000 for the Cashback+. If your monthly spend is only ₹15,000, then the minimum threshold of spending is marginally hard to achieve. Therefore, your annual cost would be ₹750 plus GST. Although the cashback per month of the Cashback+ card is much higher than the League Platinum, the overall savings become lower.
Conclusion
However, despite being cashbacks tools, Kotak League Platinum and Cashback+ appeal to different types of spenders. Indeed, the Cashback+ wins over anyone who has high spends on online food ordering and deliveries, purchases in grocery stores, subscriptions in OTT services, and fuels, providing up to 5% cashback. The offer by Kotak has a great feature, its simplicity, straightforwardness, and convenience.
On the other hand, the League Platinum will suit people with diversified annual spends, travelers who buy flight tickets, and customers who have points which they can exchange not only for gift vouchers but also for PVR movies. The threshold for waiving annual fees is very low at ₹50,000, being its biggest advantage over CashBack+.
Overall, which one of the cashbacks will fit you depends on the person’s preferences in terms of spending. If someone does most of the payments online or subscribes to digital services, the best choice will be the Cashback+. For people with various annual spends and travels, the choice should go to the Kotak Bank League Platinum. There is no ideal card here, it depends on your spending habits.
Written by Shrikara
