OneCard Review: The Metal Credit Card
OneCard is a Visa Signature Credit Card launched by a fintech start-up FPL Technologies in partnership with IDFC First Bank. They became popular because of their initial waitlist based invitation process, but now they have opened the card to all eligible individuals. The best thing about OneCard is its look. Their app is very good compared to the apps of some bigger banks, providing ease of use and transparency in terms of reward points. They also have a OneScore App where you can keep track of your CIBIL Score once every month for free.
Fees
None, OneCard is a Lifetime Free Credit Card with no joining fees.
You can apply for the card by downloading the OneScore app. The application process is pretty straight forward and the virtual card is available for use instantly after filling up all the details, if you are eligible.
Eligibility for OneCard Credit Card
There is no specific eligibility criteria mentioned in the OneCard Website. However, currently this card is available only to the residents of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi (NCR), Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Vadodara, and Visakhapatnam.
Benefits of OneCard Credit Card
Metal Card
The card looks decent with clean front side having only the cardholder name. The Card number, Expiry date and the CVV are printed on the back side of the card.
Low Foreign Currency Markup Fees
The best benefit I see in the OneCard Credit Card is the forex markup fee of 1 %+ GST (18%) . This is one of the lowest in India. Even Super premium Cards like HDFC Diners Black Credit Card don’t have this low markup fees.
Reward points
1 reward point (equal to Rs 0.1) every Rs 50 spent (except wallet loading) which translates the to a reward rate of 0.2% (seriously?? 🙄🙄)
5x Rewards
On top 2 spend categories every month, you get 5x reward points, taking the reward rate to up to 1%.
The reward points corresponding to each transaction can be seen in the app as soon as the transaction is done. You can redeem the points to statement credit directly through the app.
Drawbacks
- While the card looks good, the Reward rates (Even with the 5x multiplier) are low compared to many other free entry-level credit cards in India. But given that this is a new company, we might see some improvement in this in coming months.
- No airport lounge access.
Should you get it?
Well, if you are looking exclusively for good rewards on regular spending, OneCard Credit Card is not for you as there are other entry level credit cards available in the market. The 1% reward rate in top 2 spend categories is not too bad but there are cards such as the Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card, which give the same reward rate on all purchases (except categories like wallet, fuel etc). Lately they have been coming up with offers such as the OneCard Christmas Bonanza offer which gives decent bonus reward points on up to 10 transactions every day. I applied for the OneCard Credit Card just for the Metal factor and because it was lifetime free, with a hope of using it someday when the reward rates improve 😐😐.
To apply for this card, you need to download the OneScore App, fill your details and your virtual OneCard will be generated in no time. One good thing is that unlike the other banks, they don’t do a hard enquiry of your CIBIL report, so no impact on your CIBIL score for applying.
Let me know your thoughts or queries on the OneCard Credit Card in comments below. Want me to review any other cards? Let me know in the comments below or using the Contact Me section of this website.
Hi! I’m Gaurav, a Software Engineer by profession and a credit card enthusiast by heart. I love earning reward points and cashbacks from credit cards and giving ‘gyaan’ on credit cards and personal finance.