Bank of Baroda issues credit cards through its wholly-owned NBFC arm – BoB Financial. While the rewards offered by most of its cards are on the lower side, Eterna is a little different. It is a premium credit card that offers good rewards for its segment. Below is a review of the Bank of Baroda Eterna credit card and its features/benefits.
Fees and Charges
| Joining Fee | Rs 2499+GST |
| Annual Fee | Rs 2499+GST |
| Joining Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 25000 within 60 days |
| Welcome Benefit | 10000 Bonus RP on Rs 50000 spends in first 60 days ~Rs 2500 Value 6 months FitPass Pro membership |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 2.5 Lakhs in a membership year |
If we spend Rs 50000 on BoB Eterna in the first 60 days, we get a joining fee waiver plus another Rs 2500 in reward points. Good welcome benefit!
Rewards
| CATEGORY | REWARD POINTS | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Online Shopping, Dining, Travel and International |
5X Rewards i.e. 15 RP / Rs 100
*Max 5000 bonus RP per month |
3.75% |
| Special MCCs | 1.5 RP / Rs 100 | 0.375% |
| All other spends | 3 RP / Rs 100 | 0.75% |
| Fuel | No Rewards |
The special MCCs where we get lesser reward points include some high-spending categories like Rent, Insurance, Utilities, and Government Transactions. The below screenshot has the complete list. We used to get 3.75% on all online transactions earlier but this will not be the case going forward.
Milestone Rewards
- 10000 Bonus RP on spending Rs 50000 within the first 60 days ~ Rs 2500 Value
- 20000 Bonus RP on spending Rs 5 Lakhs in a year ~1% Return
With milestone rewards, the reward rate on online shopping comes to 4.75%.
Rewards Redemption
Each reward point is worth 25 paise. The reward points can be redeemed for cash back (statement credit). This is why the rewards have a higher value as it is all redeemable as cashback.
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
Unlimited airport domestic lounge access stands out as one of the attractive benefits of the BoB Eterna credit card.
- Airport Lounge Access: Unlimited complimentary domestic lounge access ( Visa || Mastercard ).
- The complimentary airport lounge access is also valid for add-on cards.
Key Benefits
- Paytm Movies: Buy one and get one free up to Rs 250 once per month
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs 400 and Rs 5000 (Max. Rs. 250 per statement cycle)
- Forex Markup: Reduced forex markup at 2% for international transactions
Maximizing Rewards on Eterna Credit Card
This is where we find out how to get the maximum rewards possible on the Eterna. The ‘sweet’ spot is to spend Rs 41667 every month on eligible online transactions. By doing this we get:
- Maximum cap of bonus 4X rewards at 5000 RPs per month.
- 1250 RPs as 1X rewards.
- 20000 Bonus RPs for spending Rs 5 Lakh in a membership year.
- Total Return: 4.75% as cashback
Key Benefits
- Paytm Movies: Buy one and get one free up to Rs 250 once per month
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs.400 and Rs.5,000 (Max. Rs. 250 per statement cycle)
- Forex Markup: Reduced forex markup at 2% for international transactions
My Take
I tend to avoid credit card offerings from PSU banks as the rewards are not that great. But, Eterna is a decent offering. 4.75% cashback with milestone rewards is pretty good on online shopping. However, the low reward rate on other categories is far from ideal. And, now we have SBI Cashback which gets us 5% cashback on all online merchants with a higher cap as well. Considering a lower annual fee on SBI Cashback, Eterna seems to not have an edge in rewards anymore. But, Eterna has an advantage in unlimited complimentary domestic airport lounge access unlike SBI Cashback.
The other missing thing is customer support. It can be frustrating to deal with Eterna’s customer support.
