Linking a credit card to UPI is a genuinely Indian innovation and it changed which card is best for everyday spending, because it puts credit into the small-value transactions that used to be debit-only. Only RuPay credit cards can be linked. The important detail is that rewards on UPI are usually treated as their own category with their own rate and their own cap — often lower than the card's normal rate, and frequently excluding merchant categories like fuel and utilities entirely.
92
Cards listed
Free
Cheapest to hold
₹2,999
Most expensive
Ranked by how widely held each card is — not by commission, because CardCopilot takes none. 7 of them carry no annual fee.
The shortlist
RuPay cards that can be linked to a UPI app, ranked by popularity.
5% NeuCoins on Tata brands (+ up to 10% with NeuPass), 1.5% everywhere, UPI on RuPay.
Annual fee
₹1,499
Fee waived at
₹3L
Lounge visits
12/yr
groceries
electronics
upi
2
Axis BankEntry
Axis UPI RuPay Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
2
3
ICICI BankEntry
ICICI UPI RuPay Advantage
•••• •••• •••• ••••
3
4
OneCard (FPL)Core
OneCard
•••• •••• •••• ••••
4
5
SBI CardCore
BPCL SBI Card Octane
•••• •••• •••• ••••
5
6
HDFC BankEntry
HDFC MoneyBack+
•••• •••• •••• ••••
6
7
SBI CardCore
SBI Card PRIME
•••• •••• •••• ••••
7
8
Axis BankEntry
Axis Secured FD Value
•••• •••• •••• ••••
8
9
HDFC BankCore
HDFC UPI RuPay Prime
•••• •••• •••• ••••
9
10
SBI CardEntry
SBI SimplySAVE
•••• •••• •••• ••••
10
11
HDFC BankEntry
IRCTC HDFC Bank
•••• •••• •••• ••••
11
12
SBI CardEntry
SBI Secured FD Advantage
•••• •••• •••• ••••
12
13
RBL BankEntry
RBL Secured FD Classic
•••• •••• •••• ••••
13
14
IDFC FIRST BankEntry
IDFC FIRST Millennia
•••• •••• •••• ••••
14
15
IDFC FIRST BankCore
IDFC UPI RuPay Plus
•••• •••• •••• ••••
15
16
HDFC BankEntry
HDFC Freedom
•••• •••• •••• ••••
16
17
ICICI BankEntry
ICICI Coral
•••• •••• •••• ••••
17
18
RBL BankEntry
RBL UPI RuPay Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
18
19
YES BankEntry
YES UPI RuPay Platinum
•••• •••• •••• ••••
19
20
SBI CardEntry
IRCTC SBI Card Premier
•••• •••• •••• ••••
20
21
Kotak Mahindra BankEntry
Kotak Secured FD Easy
•••• •••• •••• ••••
21
22
Bank of BarodaEntry
BoB Secured FD Classic
•••• •••• •••• ••••
22
23
SBI CardCore
SBI UPI RuPay Prime
•••• •••• •••• ••••
23
24
AU Small Finance BankCore
AU UPI RuPay Signature
•••• •••• •••• ••••
24
Frequently asked questions
Which credit cards can be linked to UPI?
RuPay cards only. Visa and Mastercard credit cards cannot be linked to a UPI app, so if UPI spending matters to you, the network is the first filter — not the rewards.
Do I earn rewards on UPI transactions?
Usually, but often at a different rate to normal spending and with its own monthly cap. Small merchant payments below a threshold are excluded on several cards, which removes exactly the transactions UPI is used for most.
Is there a charge for paying by credit card on UPI?
Not for you. Merchants pay an interchange fee on larger transactions, which is why some small merchants decline credit-card UPI payments even when the QR supports it.