In this article, we delve into a comprehensive review of the Standard Chartered Ultimate credit card, exploring its rewards and benefits in detail.

Eligibility criteria

To boost your approval odds for the Standard Chartered Ultimate credit card, it's vital to meet these key criteria:

Age range: 21 to 65 years.

Income stability: A consistent monthly income.

Credit score: A satisfactory rating.

It seems like the Standard Chartered Ultimate card has stricter entry requirements compared to other credit cards, although the exact salary criteria aren't explicitly disclosed. Standard Chartered has internal guidelines to determine eligibility for this card.

One way to acquire this card, if you already hold another SC credit card with a limit exceeding ₹4 lakhs or any other card with a ₹5 lakhs plus limit, is by applying online. SC permits multiple cards with a shared credit limit. However, self-employed individuals might encounter challenges applying for Standard Chartered credit cards. The bank maintains an internal list of approved employers, possibly leading to a higher chance of rejection for self-employed applicants.

Fees and charges

Enrollment fee: ₹5000 + applicable taxes.

Annual fee: ₹5000 + GST, and there is no spend-based waiver available on this card.

Fuel surcharge waiver: Enjoy a 1% surcharge waiver on all transactions across all fuel stations, with a maximum waiver capped at ₹1000 per statement cycle.

Interest rates: A monthly interest rate of 3.75%, equivalent to an annual rate of 45%.

Rewards redemption fee: ₹99 will be charged whenever you will redeem your rewards point, one should keep the redemption charges also.

Features and benefits

Welcome benefit: Upon joining, you'll receive a welcoming bonus of 6,000 reward points. These points are versatile and can be redeemed for shopping vouchers or used for charitable donations as part of the 360° rewards program.

Renewal benefit: On every successful renewal payment of the annual charges, you'll receive 5000 reward points as a renewal benefit.

Rewards benefit: Earn 5 reward points for every ₹150 spent on retail purchases.

• Specific categories like utilities, supermarkets, insurance, property management, schools, government payments, and rental payments will earn 3 reward points for every ₹150 spent.
• Enjoy a 5% cashback on duty-free store purchases at airports, with a monthly maximum cap of ₹1,000.
• However, fuel and cashback transactions do not accrue any reward points along with that there is no capping on the number of reward points you can earn in a month or year.

Rewards redemption: The accumulated reward points can be redeemed for shopping vouchers from well-known brands like Nykaa, Croma, Shoppers Stop, and more. Additionally, you can use these points for charitable contributions via the Standard Chartered online portal through the 360° rewards program.

Each reward point holds a value of ₹1 for this card. It's important to note that these earned rewards have a validity period and expire after 3 years from their accumulation date.

To optimise value, since this card carries a redemption fee of ₹99 + GST, so it is smarter to redeem points in bulk for a bouquet of required brand vouchers as per your need in a single redemption order.

Travel Benefits

Domestic airport lounge access: Indulge in comfort and relaxation with access to 16 complimentary lounge access (you'll get 4 lounge access per calendar quarter).

International airport lounge access: You're entitled to 1 complimentary international lounge access per month using the Priority Pass, provided you've spent ₹20,000 or more in the preceding month with your credit card. Additional visits beyond the complimentary one, including guest visits, will incur the priority pass usage fee.

Golf benefit: Enjoy your game with 1 complimentary golf game and 1 complimentary golf coaching session every month at selected domestic golf courses.

Foreign currency markup: The card offers a notably reduced foreign currency mark-up compared to other cards. While a 3.5% markup is initially applied at the time of the transaction, you receive a 1.5% cash back within 60 days. This effectively brings down the foreign currency mark-up to 2%, providing a more favourable rate for transactions conducted in foreign currencies.

In conclusion, Standard Chartered Ultimate card gives direct competition to HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black since the base reward rate is the same.

The main difference lies in the redemption since with the above HDFC twins you will get the face value of the points only if redeemed for hotel or flight bookings that too for 70% of the amount or more than that if you prefer miles. But if you go for voucher redemptions this value gets reduced to 50 paise a point whereas with Ultimate you get to redeem at a rupee per point and with so many travel redemption options available it's even harder to take the call.