SBI Card and Apollo Hospitals have come up with a co-branded card focused on healthcare. The Apollo SBI credit card offers good rewards on Apollo healthcare services. This card can be a good fit for people who have significant spends at Apollo hospitals/services. Here is a review of the Apollo SBI credit card and its rewards & benefits.
Fees and Charges
The welcome benefits more than make up for the joining fee. The complimentary Apollo Gold Tier Membership is valid only for the first year. It offers upto 15% discount across all Apollo services.
The tier second year onwards will be “Silver” if the spends do not meet Apollo Hospitals criteria for Gold Tier.
| Joining/Renewal Fee | Rs 499 plus taxes |
| Welcome Benefit | 500 Reward Points (Rs 500 Value) Complimentary Apollo Gold Tier Membership |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 90000 in a membership year |
Rewards
| TYPE OF SPEND | REWARD POINTS | RETURN RATE AT 1 RP = RS 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Services | 3 RP/Rs 100 | 3% |
| Dining, Movies and Entertainment | 2 RP/Rs 100 | 2% |
| Beauty and Wellness | 1RP/Rs100 | 1% |
| Other Spends (except Fuel) | 1RP/Rs 200 | 0.5% |
Rewards Redemption
Each reward point is equal to Rs 1. There are three options for redeeming rewards on the Apollo SBI credit card.
- POS Redemption at select Apollo outlets
- Convert Reward Points to health credits. There is not much info on this but it should be health credits that can be used for Apollo care packages.
- Apollo Vouchers
Of all these options, POS redemption would be easiest. The eligible POS outlets for redemption include Apollo Pharmacies. So, we can buy medicines and redeem accumulated reward points at the same time.
My View
Apollo SBI credit card is a good option for the first year. But, I do not see much of a benefit afer that. The Gold Tier membership is only for first year. We need to do qualifying spends to keep the tier. I would rather do the spends on some other card like Amex Platinum Travel or SCB Ultimate if I am not getting extra benefits on this.
To make this card attractive, the Gold Tier membership should be a recurring benefit. Without that, I don’t see any USP on this card. The rewards are ok for Apollo services but not much for other categories. So, we cannot use this card for all kinds of spends.
