Apollo SBI Credit Card

Apollo SBI Card – Features and Benefits

Apollo SBI Card is a result of a partnership between SBI and Apollo Hospitals. It is something new in the market that provides the customers with healthcare benefits. This credit card has been specially designed for those individuals who spend on healthcare at the Apollo centres all over the country. This includes getting treatment at the Apollo Hospitals or purchasing medicines or products from the Apollo pharmacies. This credit card is suitable for individuals who get their medical needs fulfilled from the Apollo centres only. The cardholders will get an instant discount on selected Apollo services and accelerated reward points while transacting using their credit card at the Apollo hospitals. The Apollo SBI Card comes with an affordable joining and renewal fees of Rs. 499 which can be waived on the basis of the amount that the cardholder spends using his credit card in an anniversary year.

Welcome Benefits

As a welcome benefit to this credit card, the cardholders will get the following advantages –

• 500 Reward Points amounting to Rs. 500 on paying the joining fee of the credit card. These reward points will be credited to the cardholder’s account 20 days after he has paid the joining fee on the credit card.
• Second, the cardholders will get complimentary Apollo Gold Tier Membership. This membership is provided to the cardholders only for the first year. If the cardholder would like to continue this membership to the second year, he will have to spend a minimum of Rs. 75,000 using his credit card at the Apollo Centres in the previous year. If the cardholder fails to spend an amount of Rs. 75,000 or more using his credit card in the previous year, his membership will be downgraded to Apollo Silver Tier Membership.

Dining Benefits

• With Apollo SBI Card, the cardholders can earn 2x Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on dining-related spends.

Fuel Transactions

• The cardholders will get a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on fuel transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000 at all fuel stations in India.
• The fuel surcharge waiver amount is capped at a maximum of Rs. 100 in a month.

Spend Based Renewal Fee Waiver

• The renewal fee of Rs. 499 of the Apollo SBI Card can be waived off if the cardholder spends Rs. 1 Lakh or more using this credit card in an anniversary year.

Zero Credit Card Lost Liability

• In the unfortunate circumstances where your Apollo SBI Card is lost or stolen, you will not be liable for fraudulent transactions taking place through your card if you inform about the loss or theft of the card on an immediate basis.

Apollo SBI Card – Reward Benefits

Following are the details of the reward points that a cardholder can earn using his SBI Apollo Credit Card.

• You will get 3x Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on all Apollo services.
• The cardholders can earn 2x Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on expenditures related to Dining, Movies, and Entertainment.
• 1 Reward Point for every Rs. 100 spent on Beauty and Wellness services.
• You will get 1 Reward Point for every Rs. 200 spent on all other retail transactions except fuel.
• The cardholders can get up to a 10% Instant Discount at Select Apollo Services.

Reward Redemption

Since SBI Apollo Credit Card is quite different from regular credit cards, the reward redemption procedure of this credit card is also different. The reward points that the cardholders have earned with this credit card can be redeemed by the following methods –

• You can instantly redeem the earned reward points at POS.
• You can convert the reward points into health credits.
• The cardholders can also redeem the reward points against Apollo Vouchers.
• For the purpose of redemption, 1 Reward Point = Re. 1.

Apollo SBI Card: Fees and Charges

• The joining fee for the Apollo SBI Card is Rs. 499
• This card comes with a renewal fee of Rs. 499
• Apollo SBI Card offers a Foreign Currency markup fee of 3.5%
• 3.50% per month is the interest rate that is charged on this card. This comes out to be 42% annually
• The cash advance charges on this card are 2.5% of the transaction amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher.
• The cardholders will have to pay a reward redemption fee of Rs. 99 per redemption request.

Eligibility Criteria for Apollo SBI Card

• Only Indian residents can apply for this card.
• Both salaried and self-employed individuals, above the age of 18 years can apply for this credit card.
• The add-on cardholder should at least be 18 years of age to get this card.
• The cardholder should have a stable source of income.
• The cardholder must have a good credit score to be eligible for this credit card.

How to apply for Apollo SBI Card

You can apply for this card through both – online and offline modes.

For online mode –

• Visit the official website www.sbicard.com
• Go to the ‘Credit Cards’ Tab
• Choose ‘Apollo SBI Card’ and then click on apply now
• You need to fill in all the required details and submit the documents required.

For offline mode –
You can visit the nearest SBI branch and fill in the credit card application form. Attach all the required documents. Submit it to the bank officials, who will then forward it to the credit card department for further processing.

Conclusion

From a pool of credit cards issued by the SBI Card, the Apollo SBI Card is a quite different credit card from regular credit cards. It is one of the best health credit cards in India, giving direct competition to other health-based cards like the YES Bank Wellness Credit Card. This credit card offers some exclusive healthcare benefits to individuals whose go-to brand for health treatments is Apollo. With this credit card, the cardholders can get an instant discount on select Apollo Services and can also avail of additional discounts while paying using their Apollo SBI Card at the Apollo Hospitals. Not only this, but you can also earn reward points while paying for non-fuel transactions as well. Apart from health benefits, this credit card provides some other benefits as well such as amazing welcome benefits, reward points on dining and movie-related spends, fuel surcharge waiver, etc.

With respect to the benefits that this credit card provides, the joining and renewal fee of this credit card is quite nominal, i.e., Rs, 499, which too can be waived off on the basis of the amount the individual spends using the credit card. Launching this credit card was a good initiative by the State Bank of India but the target audience would be quite limited as this credit card will be beneficial only to those who visit Apollo Centres for their medical needs. So, if you are the person who trusts Apollo for health care services, this card is meant for you!