AU Bank LIT Credit Card
By WhichWise Editorial Team · Verified ·
A entry Visa card. The 0.25% base rate looks low, but 2 milestone tiers can push the real value much higher.
AU Small Finance Bank
By WhichWise Editorial Team · Verified ·
A entry Visa card. The 0.25% base rate looks low, but 2 milestone tiers can push the real value much higher.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver DetailsPaid · Rs.49/90d
7 spending categories earn zero rewards (including fuel, emi).
The AU Bank LIT Credit Card is AU Small Finance Bank's no-annual-fee reward points credit card with about 0.25% base rewards on everyday spend.
Quick Decision
Reward earnings only, at the everyday spend mix: milestone vouchers and lounge value are tracked separately in the sections below. 7 categories (fuel, emi, rent, etc., see Excluded list) earn 0% and are NOT in this range.
Casual users hit the lower end; engaged users hit the upper end.
See full analysisPros & Cons
A balanced look at what this card does well and where it falls short.
- Lifetime free, no annual fee
- Welcome bonus worth ₹240
- Fuel transactions excluded from rewards
- Rent payments excluded from rewards
- 7 spending categories excluded
- High forex markup: 3.49%
Our editorial take on this card
What works
The zero annual fee is genuinely free: no minimum spend waiver condition, no renewal charge. The pay-per-feature model lets you activate 5% cashback on grocery (₹299 for 90 days, capped at ₹500/month back) only during heavy-spend quarters and skip it otherwise. You can add ZEE5 Premium for ₹99 (vs ₹999 retail), Amazon Prime for ₹299 (vs ₹1,499/year retail), or Cult.Fit for ₹499 (vs ₹2,999 retail), all roughly 70–90% cheaper than standalone subscriptions. Lounge access at ₹399 per quarter covers up to 2 domestic visits per 90 days across 52+ airports via DreamFolks, breaking even at ~₹200/visit against typical ₹400–₹600 walk-in rates if you use both. A ₹300 Amazon Pay/Swiggy/Zomato welcome voucher is unlocked on your first ₹300 transaction. It pays off if you have a predictable heavy-spend category (grocery, dining, or apparel), fly domestic a couple of times a season, and want OTT memberships without a long-term subscription commitment. Passive earners and international travellers should skip it. The 3.49% forex markup makes every overseas transaction expensive.
The base reward rate of 0.25% is among the lowest of any credit card in India: you earn ₹25 back for every ₹10,000 spent without activating paid features. Feature costs compound quickly: if you activate 5% grocery cashback (₹299), 10X online points (₹299), and lounge access (₹399) every quarter, that's ₹997/quarter = ₹3,988/year in feature fees, more than most mid-tier annual-fee cards. The 3.49% forex markup makes it a poor choice for international travel. The 10,000-point monthly cap (worth ₹2,500) is shared across base earn and the 5X/10X online/offline boosters, meaning the cap hits at ₹10 lakh/month on plain base, but compresses to roughly ₹1 lakh/month if you're running all online spend through the 10X booster. Paid category cashback features (Grocery ₹500/mo, Dining ₹1,000/mo etc.) run on independent rupee caps and don't share the 10,000-point pool. The ₹300 voucher welcome bonus carries a realistic value of ₹240 after merchant-restriction haircut, not the face ₹300. Seven major categories earn zero points: fuel, EMI, rent, insurance, government, education, and utility bills.
Bottom line
The AU Bank LIT card is genuinely innovative but requires active management to be worth using. If you're disciplined about activating the right ₹299–₹399 features each quarter and have spending concentrated in one or two categories, you can extract ₹1,000–₹2,000 of real value per quarter at zero annual fee. But for most people who want a wallet-and-forget card, the base 0.25% rate makes it one of the weakest passive cards in India. Get it if the flexibility excites you; otherwise, IDFC FIRST Select or Amazon Pay ICICI deliver better value with less effort.
Independent analysis from public card terms, no paid placements or ratings.
Welcome Bonus
AnalysisOne-time bonus for new cardholders
₹300 Amazon Pay/Swiggy/Zomato voucher on card activation
Adjusted down from issuer face value: vouchers carry expiry, minimum-cart, and merchant-restriction haircuts; not every cardholder fully redeems them. Hover the value for the exact formula.
So what does this card actually earn?
Reward Points
This card earns reward points on every transaction. The real value of your points depends on how you redeem them: here is a breakdown of the redemption tiers.
Cash redemption: 60% value loss vs best tier
Effective rate drops from 0.25% (at ₹0.25/point via vouchers/travel) to 0.1% (at ₹0.10/point as statement credit / cash equivalent). If you want flexible cash redemption, a flat 1.5%+ cashback card will out-earn this card.
per point
0.25%
assumes ₹0.25/point redemption
Redemption Tiers
Tap a tier to update the Value Verdict above
Worst Case
Statement credit
Tiered Rewards
Different reward rates by category
Cap: Monthly: ₹500
Cap: Monthly: ₹1,000
Cap: Monthly: ₹1,000
Cap: Monthly: ₹500
Cap: Monthly: ₹1,000
Monthly Reward Cap
Maximum rewards you can earn per month
Monthly Cap
₹2,500
Annual Cap
₹30,000
10,000 reward points at ₹0.25/point
Takeaway: cap hits at ₹1,00,000/month if you run all spend through the 2.5% booster, or at ₹10,00,000/month on plain base earn.
At 5% (Grocery): sub-cap of ₹125 bites at ₹2,500/month.
At 5% (Dining): sub-cap of ₹250 bites at ₹5,000/month.
At 5% (Travel): sub-cap of ₹250 bites at ₹5,000/month.
At 5% (Apparel): sub-cap of ₹125 bites at ₹2,500/month.
At 5% (Electronics): sub-cap of ₹250 bites at ₹5,000/month.
At 1.25% (booster): cap kicks in at ₹2,00,000/month.
At 2.5% (booster): cap kicks in at ₹1,00,000/month.
Excluded Categories
7 categories earn no rewards on this card
⚠ Do not use for Fuel / Petrol / Diesel / CNG, EMI Transactions, Rent Payments and 4 more. You earn 0 rewards on these spends. Use a different card or pay direct.
This card works best for online spends, offline spends, dining, and online retail. Spends in those categories still earn at the headline rate.
Lounge Access
Complimentary airport lounge visits
Domestic
8
visits/year
International
0
visits/year
Priority Pass
No
membership
- Network
- DreamFolks
- Guest policy
- paid
- Notes
- Paid feature: up to 2 visits per 90 days (per issuer product page).
Up to 2 domestic/quarter
Milestone Rewards
Bonus rewards when you hit spending targets
5% cashback on retail spends (cap ₹500) (~₹500 at threshold) (monthly)
2% cashback on retail spends (cap ₹1,000 at ₹50K spend) (~₹300 at threshold) · cap ₹1,000 at ₹50,000 spend (monthly)
Who Is This Card For?
Someone earning ₹25,000–₹40,000/month who wants a zero annual fee card and is disciplined enough to activate the right features each quarter. Ideal if you spend heavily in one or two categories (e.g. grocery + dining) and want the flexibility to add OTT memberships or lounge access only when needed. Works well as a secondary card for specific quarter spend spikes.
Anyone who wants set-it-and-forget-it rewards. If you won't remember to reactivate features every 90 days, you'll be stuck at 0.25% base rate. International travelers should look elsewhere (3.49% forex markup). Heavy spenders (₹50K+/month) will hit the 10,000-point monthly cap and earn nothing extra. For automatic lounge access without activation fees, IDFC FIRST Select is better (4 domestic visits/year, requires ₹20K spend in prior month). For consistent Amazon or online cashback, Amazon Pay ICICI gives 5% (Prime) / 3% (non-Prime) on Amazon.in and 1% everywhere else at zero cost.
How It Compares
Side-by-side with similar cards in our database.
| Feature | This card | Scapia | Axis My Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | Free | Free | ₹500 |
| Reward ratecash-equivalent · accelerated | 0.25%no accelerator | 2.00%no accelerator | 0.40%no accelerator |
| Network | Visa / RuPay | Visa / RuPay | Visa / Mastercard |
| Acceptance | Universal | Universal | Universal |
| Eligibility | Applicable | Not accepting | Applicable |
Methodology: reward rates shown at cash-equivalent redemption (statement credit / direct cashback): the most conservative tier every cardholder can realize. Travel-transfer or partner-merchant routing can be materially higher; see each card's full review for upside scenarios.
Fees & Charges
Complete breakdown of all fees associated with this card.
Value Verdict
Eligible spend · no routingEstimated annual value at ₹50,000/month spend with base earn on eligible retail (after assumed 21% in excluded categories), plus milestones.
⚠ Lifetime free, but the headline rewards above require ~₹2,792/yr in quarterly feature activations (e.g. ₹299/90d for the top rate). Subtract that from the totals to see your real net.
First year bonus: +₹240 welcome value (not included above)
↓ Accelerated rates (Online Spends (5X) at 1.25%, Online Spends (10X) at 2.5%, Offline Spends (5X) at 1.25%, Offline Spends (10X) at 2.5%, Grocery at 5%, Dining at 5%, Travel at 5%, Apparel at 5%, Electronics at 5%) not included: actual value may be higher
Assumptions used in this estimate▸
- • Reward earnings shown at the conservative redemption tier (Vouchers / merchandise).
- • Monthly reward cap of ₹2,500 applies to the card; spend above this earns nothing extra.
- • Milestone bonus of ₹9,600/year assumes you hit the spend threshold every period: base earn alone (no milestone) is ₹1,185/year.
- • Assumes 21% of your spend lands in 7 excluded categories (fuel, rent, etc.) that earn ₹0: eligible spend used in the math above is ₹39,500/month.
Eligibility
Requirements you need to meet to apply for this card.
Data verified against AU Small Finance Bank official website · Last verified: 2026-04-16 · Terms & Conditions (MITC)
WhichWise does not accept payment for card placement or ratings. Fees, rates, and benefits may change. Always confirm with the issuer before applying.
Verified from the source
Key facts below are quoted verbatim from AU Small Finance Bank's own pages and documents, not paraphrased.
- Reward type
“Earn Reward Points as you shop and redeem them for exciting discounts and offers.”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-19 - Forex markup
“Altura, Altura Plus, LIT, Business Cashback, InstaPay, AU SPONT, AU KOSMO, SwipeUp - Xcite Series of Cards 3.49%”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-04-19 - Lounge access
“Up to 2 visits per 90 days”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-19 - Fuel surcharge waiver
“1% fuel surcharge waiver on all transactions between INR 400 to INR 5,000”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-19 - Minimum income
“INR 25,000”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-02 - Card network
“VISA”
Verified quote from au.bank.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-02
Interested in AU Bank LIT?
Check the official page for the latest terms before applying.