BOBCARD, the credit card arm of Bank of Baroda, is the 2nd largest public sector bank in credit card issuance and the 8th largest among all banks in India, as of writing this article.
BOBCARD is aspiring to break into the top 5 players by 2027 (which looks achievable) and is also gearing up for a public listing soon. To get there, they’re aggressively launching new products, both in-house cards and co-branded ones and reworking their existing portfolio.
So if you’ve been ignoring BOB cards for years, this is probably a good time to take a fresh look. Here are the best BOB credit cards worth your attention right now.
BOB Cashback Card
- Best for: 5% Cashback on Online spends
- Apply Now
The BOBCARD Cashback Credit Card is BOB’s answer to the SBI Cashback Card, a pure-play cashback card with no reward points, no redemption hassles, just plain money back into your statement.
The catch is, you must do at least 4 transactions in that statement cycle.
If your online spends are around Rs.30K/month and within eligible categories, this is one of the simplest cashback cards in the market.
If you’re holding BOBCard’s old age entry-level cards, it’s worth swapping it to this cashback card.
*** Best BOBCard for Beginners ***
BOB Eterna
- Best for: Online spends upto ~40K INR a month
- Read Review (or) Apply Now [Limited Period Lifetime Free Offer]
The Eterna is BOB’s flagship premium card and easily their most rewarding offering which I’ve been using for almost 5 years now. It’s marketed as a lifestyle card, but in practice, it functions like a typical cashback card since reward points convert to statement credit.
If you can grab the LTF offer, this is a no-brainer addition to the wallet. Even at the regular Rs.2,499 fee, the 3.75% return on online and travel spends is one of the best you’ll get from any PSU bank card.
*** Best Lifetime Free Premium Card ***
BOB Etihad Premium
- Best for: Flying Etihad Partners and 0% Forex
- Read Review (or) Apply Now [Limited period Bonus Points Offer]
This is BOB’s first serious airline co-branded card, launched in early 2026 in partnership with Etihad Guest. After SBI shut down its Etihad cards, this is now the only viable option for Etihad loyalists in India.
The fast-track to Etihad Guest Gold tier is the real hidden gem here. Gold tier benefits include chauffeur service, business lounge access on Etihad flights, and priority everything.
If you fly Etihad or it’s partners even occasionally or value airline status, this is a must-have. The 0% forex + Gold status combo alone justifies the fee for international travelers.
*** Best Airline Credit Card ***
Other BOB Cards
While the above three are the standout picks, BOBCARD has a fairly wide portfolio. Here are some other notable ones:
BOBCARD TIARA: A women-only premium card with 5X rewards on dining, travel and international spends, unlimited domestic lounge access, complimentary Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar, Swiggy One and more. But it has very low base reward rate for a card that costs 2.5K INR.
HPCL BOBCARD: Fuel-focused card offering up to 5% savings on fuel/LPG at HPCL outlets. Good for fuel if you do not have access to the modern method of saving on fuel spends as discussed here.
IRCTC BOBCARD: Co-branded with IRCTC for frequent train travellers. Up to 10% savings on IRCTC bookings, complimentary railway lounge access and more. Useful only for IRCTC spends and not elsewhere.
Other BOBCards like BOB Premier and BOB Select are quite old offerings and so worth switching them to one of the cards listed above.
Things to note
A few things to keep in mind before applying for any BOBCARD product:
- Long MCC exclusion list: This is a recurring complaint across BOB cards. Categories like rent, wallet, fuel, insurance, government, education, supermarket, fast food, telecom, hospital, etc. don’t earn rewards on most cards.
- Reward redemption ratio: Across most BOB cards, 1 reward point = Rs.0.25 (4:1 ratio). So when a card says “15 reward points per Rs.100,” the actual cashback works out to 3.75%, not 15%.
- Service: Expect poor service, keep screenshots of T&Cs for escalations.
- Lounge access conditions: Even on the Eterna and TIARA, lounge access requires Rs.40K spend in the previous quarter, it’s not unconditional.
- Multiple Cards: You may hold upto 2 BOBCards at a time. Some applicants get rejected when applied for a 2nd card, but gets approved later after a week.
Bottomline
BOBCARD is clearly putting in serious work to increase their market share and the new lineup of cards is starting to reflect that. Right now, three cards stand out:
- For online cashback: BOBCARD Cashback, low fee, no points to track.
- For everyday spends: BOBCARD Eterna, great if you can grab the LTF offer.
- For travel and Etihad flyers: BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium, easily the best new co-brand launch of 2026.
That said, BOBCARD still has work to do as the long list of MCC exclusions is a dealbreaker for many. But with the IPO push and aggressive product roadmap, things should only get better from here.
Already holding a BOB card? Or planning to pick one up? Share your experiences in the comments below.
