Eternal SBI Card offers up to 10% discounts on Zomato, Blinkit, District | Personal Finance
SBI Card and Eternal Limited (Zomato) have launched the Eternal SBI Card, which offers instant discounts on food delivery, quick-commerce purchases and entertainment, along with cashback on select travel and service providers. However, the benefits come with monthly limits, category exclusions and an annual spending condition for the fee waiver.
Customers can request early access through the Zomato, Blinkit and District apps. Applications are scheduled to open from October 22, in phases. The card will be available on both Mastercard and RuPay networks, with a fully digital application process.
For customers who regularly use these platforms, the card could help reduce everyday expenses. However, its actual value will depend on how much they spend on eligible purchases and whether they can use the benefits within the prescribed limits.
What discounts and cashback does the card offer?
The card’s main attraction is a combination of instant discounts on Eternal’s platforms and cashback on purchases from other merchants.
The benefits include:
Zomato and District: 10 per cent instant discount on eligible transactions.
Blinkit: 10 per cent instant discount on electronics and beauty products, and 5 per cent on other eligible categories.
Bistro: 10 per cent instant discount.
Other merchants: 5 per cent cashback on eligible spending with Apollo 24|7, ixigo, Uber and Urban Company, capped at Rs 1,000 a month.
Other eligible spending: 1 per cent cashback, capped at Rs 500 a month.
The instant discounts on Zomato, Blinkit, District and Bistro share a combined monthly cap of Rs 2,000. The cap applies across all four platforms, rather than separately to each one. The company says discounts on its platforms are available over and above existing platform offers, subject to applicable conditions.
The card also offers a monthly movie-ticket benefit through District. Customers can receive a discount of up to Rs 200 on the second ticket when purchasing one ticket.
What are the fees and other benefits?
The card has a joining fee of Rs 499. Customers who pay this fee receive a complimentary six-month Zomato Gold membership.
The annual fee can be waived if the cardholder spends Rs 2 lakh during the preceding year. This condition matters for customers who are considering the card primarily for its discounts.
Other benefits include a 1 per cent fuel surcharge waiver, capped at Rs 200 in a statement cycle. Cashback earned on eligible transactions is automatically credited to the SBI Card account as a statement credit when the monthly statement is generated.
The foreign currency markup is 3.50 per cent on overseas spending. Customers who frequently transact in foreign currencies should factor this charge into their decision.
How much can customers actually save?
The headline discount rates do not necessarily translate into equivalent savings on total monthly spending.
For instance, a customer spending Rs 5,000 on eligible Blinkit electronics and beauty products could receive a 10 per cent discount of Rs 500. Another Rs 5,000 spent on eligible purchases in other Blinkit categories could qualify for a 5 per cent discount of Rs 250.
The combined discount would be Rs 750, assuming the transactions meet the card’s conditions and the monthly cap has not been exhausted.
However, customers must distinguish between instant discounts and cashback. The former reduces the eligible purchase amount, while cashback is credited to the card account. Spending on categories excluded from rewards will not generate the advertised benefit.
The 1 per cent cashback on other eligible spending also excludes several categories, including fuel, wallet loading, rent, tax payments, insurance, jewellery, education, utilities, gaming and equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Blinkit’s 5 per cent discount also excludes specified categories, including tobacco products, certain infant-feeding products and precious-metal jewellery.
Should you apply for the Eternal SBI Card?
The card may suit customers who regularly order food through Zomato, buy eligible products on Blinkit and use District for entertainment. Those who also spend with the listed travel and service partners could extract additional value through cashback.
However, customers should not increase their spending merely to earn rewards or meet the Rs 2 lakh annual threshold for the fee waiver. The value of a credit card depends on the savings it generates on purchases they would have made anyway.
Before applying, customers should check the complete terms and conditions, including excluded transactions, monthly caps, fees and eligibility requirements. They should also pay their credit card bills in full by the due date. Interest and late-payment charges can quickly outweigh the savings from discounts and cashback.
Ultimately, the Eternal SBI Card is likely to be more useful for customers whose regular spending already aligns with its reward structure than for those who use these platforms only occasionally.
