Kotak Royale Signature Credit Card Review
Kotak bank credit cards are not so popular and rewarding in the world of credit cards. Nevertheless being in tier-2 city, it doesn’t harm if one is able to grab a premium credit card from well known bank. Off late their merchant offers are on the rise.
Kotak Royal Signature Credit Card, one of the most premium offerings from Kotak bank stands a tad below 2 of their cards viz. Kotak Privy League Signature Card, Kotak Wealth Management Infinite Card but both require quite handsome NRV to be maintained as their eligibility criteria.
Rewards & offers available are hardly differentiable between them though.
Overview
| Type | Entry-Level Credit Card |
| Reward Rate | 0.6% – 1.2% |
| Annual Fee | Nil |
| Best for | Nothing except the card design |
| USP | Milestone benefits |
Kotak Royal Signature Credit Card is an unattractive entry-level credit card that is sold as if it is a premium credit card. Don’t fall for it!
Joining Fees
| Joining fee | Nil |
| Welcome Benefit | Nil |
| Renewal Fee | 999 INR + GST |
| Renewal Benefit | Nil |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Spends of > 1,00,000 INR |
After the recent changes done to the product, it now makes sense for anyone to get this card for free. But honestly you shouldn’t be getting this card as there are many other Kotak Bank Credit Cards worth choosing from.
Rewards
Regular Rewards
| SPEND TYPE | REWARD POINTS | REWARD RATE |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Spends | 2 RP’s on every 150 INR | 0.3% |
| Special Categories | 4 RP’s on every 150 INR | 0.6% |
- Special Categories: Hotels, Restaurants, Travel Agencies, Tour Operators , Package Tour Operators, Airlines & International Spends
- 1 reward point= 0.25 INR (can be taken as cash credit as well)
Milestone Rewards
| SPEND | REWARD POINTS | VALUE | RETURN ON SPEND |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,00,000 INR | 10,000 Points | 2,500 INR | 0.64% |
| 8,00,000 INR | 30,000 Points | 7,500 INR | 0.94% |
So on 8L spend, you get ~1.2% reward rate on regular spends, which is poor these days as even the lifetime free credit cards are giving >1.5% return easily.
Airport Lounge Access
| ACCESS TYPE | ACCESS VIA | ACCESS LIMIT |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Visa | 2/qtr |
| International | Priority Pass | Nil |
It’s a free card, so obviously no priority pass benefit.
Hands on Experience
Applied for Royale Signature credit card via Kotak bank website despite my city being shown unserviceable for it. Flow of Card processing is as below,
- 10.07.2019- Applied for the card and CIBIL enquiry done by the bank same day
- 11.07.2019- Received SMS confirming my application
- 15.07.2019- Bank executive visited my house for address verification
- 17.07.2019- Bank executive called to ask for company landline no. for verification
- 23.0.2019- Received email that card has been approved
- 24.07.2019- Card details shown under Kotak 811 app
- 25.07.2019- Card delivered
Also heard from some of my friends that they are good at providing Credit Limit Enhancement every 6 months in general to the tune of 30-35%.
Card looks really Premium having Leather type texture, as you can see above.
