A lifetime free card costs nothing to hold, which makes it the right first card and a sensible permanent backup — closing a card shortens your credit history, so a free one you keep open indefinitely is quietly useful. The trap is treating free as the whole argument. A card with a ₹500 fee returning 2% beats a free card returning 1% at any meaningful spend, so free is the correct choice for light or occasional use, not automatically the best card in your wallet.
26
Cards listed
Free
Cheapest to hold
₹0
Most expensive
Ranked by how widely held each card is — not by commission, because CardCopilot takes none. 26 of them carry no annual fee.
The shortlist
Cards with zero annual fee and zero joining fee, ranked by popularity.
Lifetime free — 5% on Amazon for Prime members, 2% on Amazon Pay partners, 1% everywhere.
Annual fee
Lifetime free
shopping online
utilities
2
ICICI BankEntry
ICICI UPI RuPay Advantage
•••• •••• •••• ••••
2
3
OneCard (FPL)Core
OneCard
•••• •••• •••• ••••
3
4
IDFC FIRST BankCore
IDFC FIRST Select
•••• •••• •••• ••••
4
5
Federal BankEntry
Scapia Federal Bank
•••• •••• •••• ••••
5
6
IDFC FIRST BankPremium
IDFC FIRST Wealth
•••• •••• •••• ••••
6
7
AU Small Finance BankEntry
AU LIT
•••• •••• •••• ••••
7
8
IDFC FIRST BankEntry
IDFC FIRST Millennia
•••• •••• •••• ••••
8
9
IDFC FIRST BankEntry
IDFC Secured FD Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
9
10
Deutsche BankEntry
DB Rewards Advantage
•••• •••• •••• ••••
10
11
Indian Overseas BankEntry
IOB Dining Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
11
12
Karnataka BankEntry
KBL Dining Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
12
13
RBL BankEntry
RBL Rewards Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
13
14
Canara BankEntry
Canara RuPay Select
•••• •••• •••• ••••
14
15
Razorpay (Business)Entry
Razorpay Cashback Value
•••• •••• •••• ••••
15
16
Amazon PayEntry
AmazonPay UPI RuPay Advantage
•••• •••• •••• ••••
16
17
Tamilnad Mercantile BankEntry
TMB Fuel Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
17
18
Bank of BarodaEntry
BoB Rewards Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
18
19
DCB BankEntry
DCB Shopping Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
19
20
Amazon PayEntry
AmazonPay Cashback Classic
•••• •••• •••• ••••
20
21
South Indian BankEntry
SIB Dining Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
21
22
SliceEntry
Slice Rewards Classic
•••• •••• •••• ••••
22
23
Utkarsh SFBEntry
Utkarsh Cashback Classic
•••• •••• •••• ••••
23
24
Uni CardsEntry
Uni UPI RuPay Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
24
Frequently asked questions
Is lifetime free genuinely free?
Free of the annual and joining fee, yes. Interest on revolved balances, cash-advance charges, late fees and forex markup all still apply. The term refers only to the membership fee.
Can a bank start charging a fee later?
Issuers can revise terms with notice, and cards marketed as free have occasionally been moved to a fee later. A card that is free because it is genuinely a no-fee product is safer than one on a temporary fee waiver — the distinction is in the terms, not the marketing.
Should I keep a free card I never use?
Usually yes. Length of credit history and total available limit both help your score, and a free card costs nothing to keep. Put one small recurring payment on it so the issuer does not close it for inactivity.