Devaluations are a part of every credit card’s journey. But, sometimes they can be very harsh especially if they are because of a crisis. Yes Bank credit cards are among the least rewarding cards in the market today. But, they still hold good for the occasional merchants and spend offers. While its entry-level Prosperity cards are mediocre at best, the premium cards are somewhat better in rewards. We have three cards in the Premium Range – First Exclusive, First Preferred, and Premia. In this post, we review the Yes First Exclusive credit card.
Fees and Charges
All Yes Bank credit cards (except the Private) are issued as Lifetime Free (LTF). The product/application pages mention an annual fee but we can apply through agents to get it LTF.
| Joining Fee | Rs 999 plus taxes or NIL |
| Joining Fee Reversal | Spend Rs 75000 within 90 days |
| Renewal Fee | Rs 999 plus taxes or NIL |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 4 Lakhs in a membership year |
Rewards
Yes Bank credit cards have two different reward rates depending on the purchase category. Almost all of our major spending come under the ‘slow’ reward rate. The below table’s return assumes that rewards will be redeemed for flights. More details are in the ‘Rewards Redemption’ section.
| TYPE OF SPEND | REWARD POINTS | RETURN |
|---|---|---|
| Transport, Utilities, Groceries, Supermarkets, Insurance, Education, Govt. Services, Tolls, and Convenience Stores | 6 RP/Rs 200 | 0.75% |
| Other Spends including Air Travel | 12 RP/Rs 200 | 1.5% |
The return rate is too low to even consider using this card for any transactions. Only cases where this might be useful when there is some spend or merchant offer.
There is a milestone benefit as well. We get 25000 bonus RP on spends on Rs 20 Lakhs in a membership year. This is pretty much useless as we do not see any point in spending this much on a card with such low rewards.
Rewards Redemption
We have many options for reward redemption. The best value is against flight redemption.
| REDEMPTION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Flights and Hotels | 25 paise per RP |
| Gift Vouchers | 10 paise per RP |
| Air Miles (Club Vistara/InterMiles) | 10 RP = 1 Mile |
| Rewards Catalog | Varies |
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
Airport lounge access outside India is one area where the Yes First Exclusive matches other super-premium credit cards.
- Domestic Airport Lounge: 3 complimentary visits/quarter.
- International Airport Lounge: Unlimited complimentary visits. Access is with LoungeKey for Visa and Priority Pass for Mastercard variants.
- The list of eligible lounges is available here.
Key Benefits
- BookMyShow: 25% discount on BookMyShow movie tickets. Maximum Rs 250/month.
- Complimentary Golf: Waiver of 4 Green Fee and 1 complimentary Golf lesson at select courses.
- Foreign Currency Markup: 1.75%
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver for transactions between Rs 400 and Rs 5000
Final Thoughts
We had a time when Yes Bank credit cards were very rewarding. But with all the changes, their credit cards are now among the least rewarding cards in the market. The Yes First Exclusive offers rewards that are less than entry-level cash back cards. Not sure why this is tagged as a super-premium card by Yes Bank in the first place.
We have some good benefits like complimentary airport lounge access and Golf. But, the rewards are really low to use the card for any transactions.
