The 3 Best Cash Back Credit Cards of 2025: Earn More on Every Purchase

Different credit cards have numerous features and benefits. Some of these include instant discounts, cashbacks, reward points, airport/railway lounge access, BOGO offers on movie tickets, various memberships, etc. A section of credit card holders use them for the cashbacks they offer. Looking at the popularity of this segment, banks have launched cashback-specific credit cards that cater to this segment.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of some cash back credit cards and which one is the best for 2025.

Cashback SBI card

The Cashback SBI Card is one of the most popular credit cards in the cashback segment. It offers the following features and benefits.

1. 5% cashback on online spends and 1% cashback on offline spends, with a maximum cashback of Rs. 5,000 in a review cycle.
2. The following expenses/transactions do not provide cashback: wallet loads, rental/property management, jewelry, school and educational services, utilities, insurance premiums, railway transactions, any purchases at gas pumps, etc.
3. 1% waiver on fuel surcharge at all petrol pumps in India on fuel transactions ranging between Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000. The maximum fee waiver is Rs. 100 per monthly billing cycle.
4. The cashback will be automatically credited to the cardholder’s SBI Card account within two working days of generating the monthly statement.
5. The participation and annual fee is Rs. 999 + Taxes. The annual fee will be reversed if the cardholder pays Rs. 2 lakhs or more in the previous year.
6. One limitation of this card is that it is not eligible for the 10% instant discount that SBI Card gives on various trading platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, etc., during sale events.

The Cashback SBI Card is a simple credit card that gives cashback on online and offline spending. Cashback earned during a billing cycle will be posted to the account within two business days of the statement being generated. It does not have the concept of reward points.

Individuals whose maximum spending is online and who prefer cash back over instant discounts and rewards points may want to consider this card.

Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card

If you are a foodie who likes to eat out or order food at home, Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card can offer you 10% cashback. The card offers the following features and benefits.

1. 10% cashback on Swiggy app (order food, Instamart, Dineout and Genie), up to a maximum of Rs. 1,500 in a billing cycle.
2. 5% cashback on online spend in specific categories. These include apparel, department stores, electronics, entertainment, home decor, pharmacies, personal care, local taxis, online pet stores, discount stores (Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho and Ajio), etc. The maximum cashback that can be earned in a billing cycle is Rs. 1,500.
3. 1% cashback on other categories, subject to specific exclusions. The exclusions include fuel, rent, wallet loads, jewelry, government-related transactions, etc. The maximum cashback that can be earned in a billing cycle is Rs. 500.
4. Free Swiggy One membership 3 months after card activation.
5. The cashback earned on an account statement is posted as a statement credit.
6. The card has a membership and annual renewal fee of Rs. 500 + taxes. The renewal fee will be waived off on spending Rs. 2 lakhs last year. For a limited period, the bank is offering the card free for life till December 31 for applications submitted through HDFC Bank’s digital platform and physical applications.

With Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card you can save up to Rs. 42,000 annually as follows:

1. 10% cashback on Swiggy App purchases (Rs. 1,500 savings per month X 12 months = Rs. 18,000 per year)
2. 5% cashback on online spending (€1,500 savings per month X 12 months = €18,000 per year)
3. 1% cashback on other expenses (€500 savings per month X 12 months = €6,000 per year)

If you prefer cashback and spend a lot of money on purchases through Swiggy App and other online websites/apps, you can consider this credit card.

HSBC Live+ Credit Card

In the earlier section, we saw how the Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card can give you 10% cashback on dining and ordering food through the Swiggy App. However, the 10% cashback on this card is limited to the Swiggy app. What if someone wants to get food delivered from Zomato, order groceries from Bigbasket or dine at a local restaurant of their choice? The HSBC Live+ Credit Card gives you the flexibility to choose the online or offline merchant of your choice for certain categories and earn 10% cashback on it.

The HSBC Live+ Credit Card offers the following features and benefits:

1. 10% cashback on all dining, food delivery and grocery spend, subject to a maximum limit of Rs. 1,000 per invoice statement.
2. 1.5% unlimited cashback on other expenses, with some exceptions
3. The exclusions are utilities, tax payments, rent and other property management costs, jewelry, insurance premiums, fuel, wallet charges, education, government payments, gambling, tolls, charities, wholesale clubs, etc.
4. Four complimentary access to domestic airport lounges (one per quarter).
5. The card has a membership and annual fee of Rs. 999 + Taxes. Annual fee will be waived for expenditure of Rs. 2 lakhs last year.

If you prefer to order food from or dine at a restaurant of your choice and get 10% cashback, you may want to consider this credit card.

Which cashback credit card is the best?

Since everyone has their own choices and preferences, there is no one best cash back credit card. If one prefers cashback for most online purchases, the Cashback SBI Card can be considered. If one prefers the Swiggy app, be it for ordering food, shopping for groceries or booking restaurants for dining, one can consider the Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card. If one prefers to order food from or dine at different restaurants independently of any platform like Swiggy, the HSBC Live+ Credit Card can be considered. The HSBC Live+ Credit Card therefore offers flexibility and a good cashback of 10%.

However, the HSBC Live+ Credit Card is available in very few cities and for salaried employees. The Cashback SBI Card and Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card are available in most cities due to the wide reach of SBI and HDFC Bank. These credit cards are also available for employees and self-employed persons.

The HSBC Live+ Credit Card limits the 10% cashback to Rs. 1,000 per billing cycle. The Cashback SBI Card has a maximum cashback limit of Rs. 5,000 per billing cycle. The Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card has a maximum cashback limit of Rs. 1,500 on Swiggy purchases and Rs. 1,500 for online purchases per billing cycle.

If you are employed and reside in a city served by HSBC Bank, you may want to consider the HSBC Live+ Credit Card. Otherwise, you can choose between Cashback SBI Card or Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card depending on how much you spend through the Swiggy App.

Besides the three cashback credit cards discussed in this article, there are others such as the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card, Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card, Tata Neu HDFC Bank Credit Card (Plus and Infinity variants), etc. Each of these credit cards has its own USP.

You need to analyze factors like your cashback needs, annual expenses, categories where you spend the maximum amount, annual income, place of residence, profession, etc. Based on the above factors, you can choose the best card. Because everyone’s needs are different, the best cash back credit card is the one that suits your needs and gives you flexibility in spending wherever you want.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with over 15 years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.