PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK Review: 10% Back on PhonePe, Priority Pass Membership

The PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK is a co-branded credit card from SBI Card and PhonePe, available on both Visa and RuPay networks. It earns Reward Points (1 RP = Re. 1), credited post statement generation.

The headline number is 10% value back on eligible PhonePe spends, which drops to 5% on online transactions and 1% on everything else. The card costs ₹1,499 per year but can be made effectively free with a ₹1,500 welcome gift card and a ₹3 lakh annual spend waiver.

Reward points expiry is not explicitly stated on the product page. Standard SBI Card points typically expire after 2-3 years, so check the T&C for exact details.

Fees, Waivers, and Welcome Benefits

The fee math here is straightforward. You pay ₹1,499 to get the card and immediately receive a ₹1,500 PhonePe e-Gift Card, so year one is essentially free. From year two, you need to spend ₹3 lakhs in the previous membership year (roughly ₹25,000 per month) to get the annual fee reversed. There is no separate renewal benefit beyond this fee waiver.

If you are already routing most of your spending through PhonePe and online channels, hitting ₹3 lakhs annually should not be a stretch. That makes this effectively a lifetime-free card for moderate spenders.

Earning Structure

No earning caps are mentioned on the product page. The 10% on PhonePe spends is the star here. If you use PhonePe for groceries, food delivery, bill payments through the app, and general UPI-linked purchases, those rewards stack up fast.

The 5% on online spends is also competitive, covering eligible e-commerce and online transactions outside of PhonePe. Offline and in-store purchases earn just 1%, which is fairly standard for this card tier.

What Doesn't Earn Points

This is where the fine print matters. Several categories earn zero reward points:

The exclusion list is long. Fuel, rent, utilities, insurance, education, and wallet loads all earn nothing. Some of these categories also attract additional processing fees on top of earning zero points. If a significant chunk of your monthly spending falls into these buckets, the effective earn rate on this card drops considerably.

Cash advance and EMI transactions are also excluded from the fee waiver spend calculation. Keep that in mind when tracking your ₹3 lakh target.

Milestone Benefits

Beyond the fee waiver at ₹3 lakhs, there is a Yatra e-Voucher worth ₹5,000 when you hit ₹5 lakhs in annual spending. That is a meaningful travel benefit if you book through Yatra. At ₹5 lakhs in eligible spend, you would have earned at least ₹5,000 in reward points (at the base 1% rate) plus this ₹5,000 voucher, making the total return rate notably higher.

Redemption Options

There are no transfer partners. You cannot move these reward points to any airline or hotel loyalty program. Points are redeemable against vouchers from various brands or as straight cash, both at a flat 1 RP = Re. 1 valuation.

This is simple and predictable, but it does mean your rewards are locked within the SBI Card ecosystem. If you are looking for travel miles or hotel points, this is not the card for that.

Lounge Access

You get 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits per year, capped at 1 per quarter. For international travel, the card comes with a complimentary Priority Pass membership worth $99 for the first two years. But this is membership access only. Individual international lounge visits are not complimentary and are charged at standard Priority Pass rates.

The domestic lounge benefit is useful but limited. One visit per quarter means you cannot save them up for a busy travel month. And the Priority Pass membership without complimentary visits is more of a nice-to-have than a real benefit, unless you are willing to pay per visit.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

The fuel surcharge waiver covers transactions between ₹500 and ₹4,000, with a maximum savings of ₹250 per statement cycle. Fuel transactions do not earn reward points though, so the only benefit at fuel stations is this surcharge waiver.

Additional Surcharges to Know

These surcharges are on top of earning zero rewards on these categories. Wallet loads over ₹1,000 and education payments through third-party apps attract a 1% fee (effective from November 2025). Rent payments get a flat ₹199 processing fee per transaction that is not reversed even if the transaction is cancelled or refunded.

Forex and International Use

The foreign currency markup is 3.5%, which is the standard SBI Card rate. Dynamic currency conversion also carries a 3.5% fee. Exchange rates are determined by the Visa or RuPay network.

There is no reduced forex markup for this card. At 3.5%, this card is not suited for international spending. If you travel frequently or shop on international websites, a card with lower forex charges would serve you better.

Eligibility and Support

You need to be an Indian resident between 18 and 65 years old. SBI Card does not publicly disclose minimum income requirements for this specific card, though the catalog suggests a monthly income range of ₹50,000 to ₹99,000. Required documents include PAN card (or Form 60), income proof, and address proof.

For support, you can reach SBI Card at 1860 180 1290, or 39 02 02 02 (prefix your local STD code). There is also the ILA chatbot on sbicard.com and the SBI Card mobile app.

The Verdict

Get this card if you are a heavy PhonePe user who routes a large portion of spending through the app. The 10% value back on PhonePe spends is genuinely strong, and the 5% on online transactions adds meaningful value for e-commerce shoppers. If you comfortably spend ₹25,000 or more per month, the fee waiver makes this a no-cost card.

Skip this card if you travel internationally (3.5% forex markup, no complimentary international lounge visits), spend heavily offline or in-store (only 1% back), or want transferable miles and hotel points (no transfer partners at all).

Key strengths: The 10% PhonePe earn rate is among the highest category-specific rates available. The welcome benefit covers the joining fee completely. And the ₹3 lakh fee waiver threshold is achievable for most primary card users.

Key weaknesses: The long exclusion list means fuel, rent, utilities, insurance, education, and wallet loads all earn zero. Priority Pass is membership-only without complimentary international lounge visits. And points are locked into the SBI Card ecosystem with no airline or hotel transfer options.

If you are already part of the PhonePe ecosystem and want a card that maximises that relationship, this is a solid pick. Just be realistic about how much of your spending actually qualifies for the 10% and 5% tiers versus the excluded categories.

For more SBI Card reviews, check out the PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE Review (its lower-fee sibling), the KrisFlyer SBI Card Review and the KrisFlyer SBI Card APEX Review for miles-earning alternatives.

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See how it compares in our PURPLE vs SELECT BLACK comparison.