RuPay, India’s indigenous card scheme created by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has extended the airport lounge access program and monthly utility bill cashback offer on RuPay Platinum debit cards for an year. RuPay has also extended the domestic lounge access program to RuPay Platinum prepaid cards. Let’s dive into the details of all offers running currently on both (debit and prepaid) cards.
RuPay Platinum Debit Card
RuPay Platinum Debit Card is issued by all major banks in India. The annual charges on RuPay variants is generally lesser than corresponding Visa/MasterCard variants. RuPay has extended the lounge access program, utility bill cashback offer as well as concierge services on RuPay platinum debit cards for another year.
Airport Lounge Access Program
- Offer: Complimentary access to domestic and international airport lounges
- Period: 1st April 2020 to 31 March 2021
- Applicable Cards: RuPay Platinum Debit Cards
- Max Cap:
- Domestic: 2 per quarter
- International: 2 per year
- Source: Website
This is really a great offer and inclusion of 2 complementary international lounge access is cherry on the top. However I have seen many people complain about their RuPay Platinum Debit Card being declined during validation at international airport lounges. Hence make sure that your Platinum Debit Card is enabled for international usage if you are planning to use it for international lounge access.
Note that your card would be charged Rs. 2 for validation while availing complimentary domestic airport lounge access. Also complimentary access is limited to the card holder and the same cannot be transferred.
Utility Bill Offer
- Offer: 5% cashback per month on utility bill payments
- Period: 1st April 2020 to 31 March 2021
- Applicable Cards: RuPay Platinum Debit Cards
- Max Cap: Rs. 50 per month
- Source: Website
This is a decent offer and can help you some extra bucks. To maximize the benefit, utility bills up to Rs. 1,000 should be paid utilizing this offer.
Concierge Services
RuPay Platinum Debit (International Variant) Card holders can also enjoy Concierge Service for following:
- Gift & Flower Delivery
- Restaurant Referral and Arrangement
- Courier Service, Movie ticket sourcing, Car Rental and Limousine Referral and Reservation Assistance
- Golf Reservations
- IT Return assessment and filing assistance
- Investment Consultancy
- International Travel Services like Pre-trip Information, Lost passport & lost luggage assistance services, Arrangement of hospital admission and Emergency Medical Evacuation etc.
Cardholders need to call 1800-26-78729 to avail above services. Note that these services are not free and you have to pay all charges reasonably levied by Service Providers, as notified at the time of booking.
RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards
RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards come with various in-built features & offers. These cards are generally issued by partner banks and non-bank PPIs. Let’s look into the offer details to know more.
Personal Accident Insurance
- Offer: Personal Accident Insurance (Accidental Death or Permanent Total Disability) of upto Rs. 2 Lakhs
- Period: 1st April 2020 to 31 March 2021
- Applicable Cards: RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards
- Eligibility Criteria:
- Cardholder should perform at least one successful card induced transaction (financial) at any POS / E-Com merchant by using RuPay Prepaid Platinum Card.
- The successful transaction should be done 45 days prior to the date of accident including accident date in order to avail the benefit of RuPay Insurance Program.
- Source: Website
The personal accident insurance cover is pretty low in my opinion and I don’t see much value in it.
Domestic Lounge Access Program
- Offer: Complimentary access to domestic airport lounges
- Period: 1st April 2020 to 31 March 2021
- Applicable Cards: RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards
- Max Cap: 2 per quarter
- Source: Website
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per quarter on prepaid cards is quite generous in my opinion. However the only caveat is sourcing RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards. I am not sure which banks or PPIs issue RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards.
Concierge Services
The concierge services on RuPay Platinum Prepaid Cards are limited to following categories only:
- Gift & Flower Delivery
- Restaurant Referral and Arrangement
- IT Return assessment and filing assistance
You need to call 1800-26-78729 to avail above services on your RuPay Platinum Prepaid Card. Again, these services are not free and you have to pay all charges reasonably levied by Service Providers, as notified at the time of booking.
Bottomline
Extension of airport lounge access program on RuPay Platinum Debit and Prepaid Cards is definitely a welcome move by NPCI. This will further help them in increasing their penetration in a market which is currently being dominated by Visa and MasterCard. However most banks aren’t willing to issue RuPay Cards due to low MDR. NPCI should look into this aspect too if they really want to compete with other players in the market.
What do you think of the above offers on RuPay cards? Have you ever accessed the airport lounge using RuPay Card? How was your experience? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
