YES Bank RESERV Credit Card
By WhichWise Editorial Team · Verified ·
A gold Visa card. We break down whether the 1.2% return rate justifies the ₹2,499 annual fee.
Yes Bank
By WhichWise Editorial Team · Verified ·
A gold Visa card. We break down whether the 1.2% return rate justifies the ₹2,499 annual fee.
You must spend ₹1,00,000/quarter to access domestic lounges (international Priority Pass access has no spend gate).
Fee waiver requires ₹3,00,000 annual spend (₹25,000/month) on eligible retail. Most issuers exclude cash, rent, wallet reload, and fuel from the waiver-eligible total.
The YES Bank RESERV Credit Card is Yes Bank's ₹2,499-a-year reward points credit card with about 1.2% base rewards on everyday spend. Best for ₹3l+ annual spenders.
Quick Decision
Reward earnings only, at the everyday spend mix: milestone vouchers and lounge value are tracked separately in the sections below.
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.
- Fee waived on ₹3.0L annual spend
- Fuel surcharge waiver
- High income requirement: ₹2,00,000/month
- Lounge access gated: spend ₹1,00,000 per quarter to unlock
Our editorial take on this card
What works
At ₹30,000/month of online spend you earn ₹720/month (₹8,640/year) in YES Rewardz value, comfortably ahead of the ₹2,499 fee, so the card pays off for the ₹25K-50K/month online-heavy spender who travels internationally now and then.
1.75% forex markup is the lowest among ₹2,499-tier cards: HDFC Bank Regalia Gold (₹2,500) charges 2.0%, ICICI Coral (₹500) and Axis Bank Atlas (₹5,000) both charge 3.5%. On a ₹2,00,000 international trip, RESERV saves ₹500 over Regalia Gold and ₹3,500 over Atlas in markup alone.
Priority Pass international lounge access carries no spend gate, verified in the YES Bank MITC. This is genuinely useful for a ₹2,499 card; per-visit count is not published by the issuer, so check the YES Rewardz portal for current eligibility.
BookMyShow 25% discount adds ~₹150-300/month back if you watch 2 movies a month, small but real, layered on top of the base earn rate.
Reward redemption fee (normally ₹100 + GST per request) is waived for RESERV cardholders; first-year fee waives at just ₹40,000 spend in the first month, easy to clear by rerouting one month of expenses.
Domestic lounge access requires ₹1,00,000 spend per quarter (₹4,00,000/year), which is higher than the ₹3,00,000 fee-waiver bar, so you'd need to overshoot to unlock domestic lounges. Compare HDFC Regalia Gold (12 domestic + 6 international lounges with no spend gate) at the same ₹2,500 fee.
Reward exclusions are wide: Rent, Wallet loads, Fuel, UPI, Government, and Marketing/Advertising MCCs earn 0 points (per YES Bank product page T&Cs). UPI is the sharp one here: if much of your day-to-day runs through UPI, or rent and fuel dominate, the effective rate drops fast.
Utility spends (MCC 4900: electricity, gas, water) are subcapped at 750 YES Rewardz points per statement cycle, regardless of the 36,000-point monthly cap. At 6 pts/₹200, that's ₹25,000 of utility spend before the subcap bites.
Reward redemption quality is LOW: ₹0.20/point best-case applies to flight/hotel bookings via the YES Rewardz portal, capped at 70% of invoice value and 2,00,000 points per calendar month. Statement credit redemptions return less. The card's nominal earn rate is competitive; the per-point value lags HDFC SmartBuy or Axis EDGE Miles.
Rewards system is layered (3 base tiers + 2 optional ₹3,500-5,000 subscription plans + utility subcap + 70%-of-invoice travel cap). Maximising value requires active management of where you spend; simpler 1.5% cashback cards earn less but require zero strategy.
Bottom line
YES Bank RESERV is a tightly-targeted ₹2,499 card: it rewards online spenders who hit ₹25,000/month, gives you Priority Pass international lounges without a spend gate, and undercuts every peer on forex at 1.75%. The trap is the exclusions (rent, wallet, fuel, UPI, government, marketing) and the ₹1L/quarter domestic lounge gate. If your spend pattern dodges those traps and online dominates, RESERV earns its keep; otherwise HDFC Regalia Gold is the safer ₹2,500 default.
Independent analysis from public card terms, no paid placements or ratings.
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.
per point
0.9%
assumes ₹0.15/point redemption
Redemption Tiers
Tap a tier to update the Value Verdict above
Worst Case
Statement credit, cashback
Earn Rate by Channel
Different earn rates apply by spend channel
Boost Programs
YES Rewardz Subscription Plan
Earn up to 3X/5X YES Rewardz Points on all spends by subscribing to an annual boost plan
- Online: 2× (48 pts per ₹200)
- Offline: 3× (36 pts per ₹200)
- Select categories: 3× (18 pts per ₹200)
- Online: 3× on Dining, Travel, Fashion & Healthcare
- Offline: 5× on Dining, Travel, Fashion & Healthcare
Additional Benefits
Purchase Protection Plan
Purchase protection plan available for eligible purchases made with the RESERV Credit Card
Reward Redemption Fee Waiver
Reward redemption fee of INR 100 + GST per request is waived for Reserv credit card
Utility Spend Subcap
Reward points on utility spends (MCC 4900: electric, gas, water, sanitary) are capped at 750 points per statement cycle, independent of the overall 36,000 pt monthly cap.
Golf Benefit
Golf course access via network partner (VISA or Mastercard); list of eligible courses subject to change at network partner's discretion without prior notice
Reward Redemption Cap (Travel)
When redeeming YES Rewardz points for flight/hotel bookings, points can cover up to 70% of the invoice value, capped at 2,00,000 points per calendar month
Monthly Reward Cap
Maximum rewards you can earn per month
Monthly Cap
₹5,400
Annual Cap
₹64,800
36,000 reward points at ₹0.15/point
Takeaway: you get full headline value up to about ₹6,00,000/month. Higher spends hit diminishing returns.
At base 0.9%: global cap kicks in at ₹6,00,000/month (0.9% × ₹6,00,000 = ₹5,400 cap).
At ₹12,00,000/month, effective rate drops to 0.45%, half the headline rate.
Lounge Access
Complimentary airport lounge visits
Domestic
—
via Priority Pass
International
—
via Priority Pass
Priority Pass
Yes
membership
- Network
- Priority Pass
- Guest policy
- chargeable
- Notes
- Complimentary visit count not published by YES Bank; access is via Priority Pass membership. Domestic access requires INR 1,00,000 spend per quarter. International access has no spend threshold.
₹1,00,000 quarterly spend required
Lounge Spend Requirement
Minimum spend needed to unlock lounge access
You must spend ₹1,00,000 in the quarter to access lounges.
Who Is This Card For?
Salaried earners (₹2L+/month gross or ₹18L+ ITR) who spend ₹25,000-50,000/month with most of it online (Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra/MakeMyTrip), travel internationally 1-2 trips a year, and don't mind tracking exclusions. Strong fit if you also book 2-3 international flights/hotels through the YES Rewardz portal yearly to redeem at ₹0.20/point.
Anyone whose spend is under ₹25,000/month (the ₹2,499 fee won't waive at ₹3L/year). Households where rent, wallet, fuel, UPI, or government payments dominate (all excluded from rewards). Frequent domestic flyers who want lounges without committing to ₹1L/quarter: pick HDFC Regalia Gold instead. Cashback purists who want simple 1.5%-on-everything (try Amazon Pay ICICI or Axis Bank ACE).
How It Compares
Side-by-side with similar cards in our database.
| Feature | This card | BPCL SBI Octane | Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | ₹2,499 | ₹1,499 | ₹1,499 |
| Reward ratecash-equivalent · accelerated | 0.90%1.20% if redeemed for travel | 0.25%no accelerator | 1.50%no accelerator |
| Network | Visa / Mastercard | Visa / RuPay | Visa / RuPay |
| Acceptance | Universal | Universal | Universal |
| Eligibility | Applicable | Applicable | 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
All rupees · no routingEstimated annual value at ₹50,000/month spend with base earn on all retail on a 50/50 online/offline channel mix.
✓ Fee waived above ₹25,000/month, so all ₹8,100 is net value
Year 1 also carries a one-time ₹2,499 + 18% GST joining fee (~₹2,949), charged upfront on issuance and not waivable by spend. The net above reflects the renewal-year fee (which your spend waives); subtract the joining fee from year-1 value.
Assumptions used in this estimate▸
- • Reward earnings shown at the conservative redemption tier (vouchers / statement credit).
- • Monthly reward cap of ₹7,200 applies to the card; spend above this earns nothing extra.
- • Lounge access is gated at ₹1,00,000/quarter preceding spend. At ₹50,000/month you clear the gate with ₹50,000 headroom, value counted at full utilization band.
Eligibility
Requirements you need to meet to apply for this card.
Before You Apply: Lounge Access Requires Spend
You must spend ₹1,00,000 per quarter to unlock lounge visits. Without meeting this threshold, lounge access is not available even though the card advertises it.
Data verified against Yes Bank official website · Last verified: 2026-05-07 · 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 Yes Bank's own pages and documents, not paraphrased.
- Joining fee
“First Year Membership Fee of INR 2,499 applicable taxes, waived off on total retail spends of INR 40,000/- done within one month of card set up date”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Annual fee
“Renewal Membership Fee of INR 2,499 applicable taxes, waived off on total retail spends of INR 3,00,000/- or more within 12 months prior to card renewal date”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Reward type
“Reward Points will not be awarded for Rent, Wallet, Fuel, UPI, Government & Marketing / Advertising category transactions”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Monthly rewards cap
“Maximum Capping of Rewards Points per statement cycle 36000.”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Forex markup
“Preferential Foreign Currency Markup of 1.75%”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Fuel surcharge waiver
“Total waiver in statement cycle is capped at INR 500. Only surcharge will be waived”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Minimum income
“Minimum Net Salary of INR 2 lakh per month or Income Tax Return of INR 18 lakh and above”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21 - Card network
“The list of golf courses is subject to change at the sole discretion of the network partner (VISA or Mastercard) and without any prior notice to YES BANK or its Cardmembers.”
Verified quote from yes.bank.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-04-21
Interested in YES Bank RESERV?
Check the official page for the latest terms before applying.