Best Credit Cards for Defence Personnel

Last Updated : June 24, 2025, 1:06 p.m.

If you're a defense personnel (Active or retired) in India, choosing a credit card that aligns with your spending habits can offer unmatched value. Several banks now provide special cards with exclusive military benefits like free insurance, fuel surcharge waivers, airport lounge access, and extra rewards on CSD and lifestyle purchases. Here's a detailed, easy-to-read breakdown of the Top 10 Credit Cards for Defence Personnel in India 2025

Comparing the Best Defence Credit Cards for 2025

Best Credit Cards for Defence Personnel - Key Features

Bank of Baroda Vikram Credit Card

The Bank of Baroda Vikram Credit Card is a credit card that offers an exciting and robust rewards programme. Card holders can earn reward points on almost all their spends with accelerated reward points on movies, grocery, and departmental stores.

Key Highlights:

• Complimentary 3 month Disney Hotstar membership on doing the first transaction within 30 days of issuing the card.
• 500 bonus points on spends of Rs. 5,000 in 60 days.
• 5x reward points per Rs. 100 on movies and departmental store spends.
• 1 reward point per Rs. 100 on all other spends @1 reward point = Rs. 0.25
• Personal accident death cover worth Rs. 20 lakhs (Air/Non Air).
• Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on fuel spends between Rs. 400 to Rs. 5,000. (Up to a maximum of Rs. 250 per month)

Indian Army Yoddha BoB Credit Card

The BOB Indian Army Yoddha Card is an exclusive credit card for the personnel of the Indian army. It offers exclusive complimentary memberships, travel perks, and shopping rewards. Here are some of the key highlights.

Key Highlights:

• Free 6-month Fitpass Pro worth ₹15,000.
• 1-year Prime membership on spending ₹1 lakh in 90 days.
• Earn 500 bonus points on ₹5,000 spent in the first 60 days.
• 10 points/₹100 on movie and departmental store expenses.
• 2 points/₹100 on all other regular purchases.
• Accidental death cover of ₹20 lakh (air and non-air).
• 1% fuel fee waiver on ₹400–₹5,000 (limit ₹150/month).
• 5X points on movies/departmental stores (limit: 1,000/month)
• Access 8 lounges/year within India (2 per quarter).
• Lifetime free

Assam Rifles The Sentinel BoB Credit Card

The Bank of Baroda Sentinel Credit Card is curated for Assam Rifles personnel, providing many benefits for lifestyle and shopping. This card is lifetime free and offers a rewarding experience on using it. Upgrade your shopping and lifestyle with this exclusive card that understands your unique needs. Here are some of the key features.

Key Highlights:

• Complimentary 6 months FitPass Pro membership worth Rs. 15,000 for 6 months.
• Amazon Prime subscription for a year upon spends of Rs. 1 lakh within 90 days.
• 10 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on movies, shopping, and departmental stores.
• Additional features like complimentary airport lounge access , golf games, and insurance benefits.
• 5x rewards (10 reward points) per Rs. 100 on departmental stores and movies.
• Attractive discounts across leading brands.
• 8 complimentary lounge access.

Bank of Baroda Varunah Credit Card

This card offers a sea of rewards and benefits for the Indian Navy Personnel across travel, dining, international spends, lounge access, and so on. Here are some of the key features.

Key Highlights:

• Get a 12 month Amazon Prime membership
• Enjoy an exciting welcome with a complimentary 6 month FitPass Pro membership worth Rs. 15,000.
• Earn 5x rewards i.e. 15 reward points per Rs. 100 on travel, dining, and international spends.
• Unrestricted complimentary access at domestic airport lounges.
• Save more with a reduced forex markup fee of 2% on international spends.
• Pleasure yourself with mouth watering cuisines and delight in 5x rewards or 15 reward points per Rs. 100 on your dining spends.
• Get a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% at all fuel stations across India on transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5000.
• Get 3 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other categories.
• Reward points can be redeemed as cash back @ 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25

Also Read: Bank of Baroda Credit Cards

ICICI Bank Parakram and Parakram Select Credit Cards

ICICI Bank has launched two specially curated credit cards for India’s defence community. These cards are designed to offer exclusive benefits to serving and retired personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and paramilitary forces. Users can enjoy savings across Canteen Stores Department (CSD), groceries, and departmental purchases.

ICICI Parakram Credit Card

Key Highlights:

• Lifetime free card
• Earn 5X rewards on groceries, CSD, and departmental store spends (up to 1,000 points/month)
• 1 point per ₹100 on other spends
• 1 complimentary domestic lounge access every quarter
• ₹2 lakh accidental insurance cover
• Dining offers via Swiggy, Zomato, and EazyDiner under the ICICI Culinary Treats Program.

ICICI Parakram Select Credit Card

Key Highlights:

• 5X points on CSD/grocery/departmental stores (Up to 1000 points per month)
• No joining/annual fee
• 2 RP/Rs. 100 on all other spends.
• Lounge access:
  • 2 domestic lounges/quarter
  • 2 international lounges/year
• 1 golf round/₹50000 spent (Up to 4 rounds each month)
• Rs. 2 lakhs personal accident insurance cover
• Rs. 20 lakhs air accident insurance cover.
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs. 400 to Rs. 4,000 (Up to Rs. 250 each month)

Also Read: ICICI Bank Credit Cards

Axis Bank Pride Signature Credit Card

This credit card offers decent rewards on each spend. The earned rewards can later be redeemed. The card also offers benefits across categories such as lifestyle and dining. You can also avail lounge access upon reaching milestone spends.

Key Highlights:

• 4 RP/₹100 + 100 bonus points on ₹5K monthly discount
• Up to 8 lounges/year (on spends of Rs. 50,000 in the previous 3 months)
• 15% discount at partner restaurants.
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs. 400 to Rs. 4000 (Up to Rs. 400 per month).
• ₹500 annual fee (Waived on ₹40K/yr spends)

Axis Bank Pride Platinum Credit Card

This card is exclusively curated for the defense personnel who serve tirelessly in the Indian defence forces and the Government of India. The card offers rewards on daily spends, surcharge waivers on fuel, and discounts on dining at partnered restaurants.

Key Highlights:

• Annual fee waived on spends of Rs. 20K per year.
• Get 4 reward points for each Rs. 200 spent on the card + 100 bonus points/month.
• 15% dining discounts at partner restaurants.
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs. 400 to Rs. 4000 (Up to Rs. 250)
• Lounge access (on Rs. 50K spends/quarter)

SBI Shaurya Credit Card

Cardholders can enjoy earning bonus reward points on dining, movies, grocery, departmental stores, and canteen stores departments. Also, the card can be embossed with emblems of Air force, Army, Navy, and Paramilitary.

Key Highlights:

• Welcome bonus: 1000 reward points on paying the first year annual fee of Rs. 250.
• 5X points on:
  • Dining
  • Movies
  • Grocery
  • Departmental & CSD
• 1 reward point per Rs. 100 spent on other categories. 1 reward point = Re 0.25.
• Renewal fee waiver on spends of Rs. 50,000 or more in the previous year.
• Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on purchases in the range of Rs. 500 to Rs. 3000 (Up to Rs. 250) .
• Complimentary personal accidental insurance of up to Rs. 2 lakhs.
• Custom military emblem design

Shaurya Select SBI Card

The Shaurya Select SBI Card serves those who serve the nation. The card is curated to meet the specialized needs of the defence personnel and provides you with a truly rewarding experience. This card provides milestone benefits, insurance coverage, and a strong rewards program.

Key Highlights:

• 10 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on dining, movies, grocery (CSD canteen spends), and departmental stores.
• 2 reward points per Rs. 100 spent on other categories.
• Reward points are not accrued on categories of fuel, cash, & S2S transactions.
• Reward points can be used to purchase items, vouchers, etc. from the SBI rewards catalogue.
• Enjoy a credit of 1500 reward points on paying the renewal fee.
• Milestone benefits:
  • Pizza hut voucher worth Rs. 500 on spends >= Rs. 50,000 quarterly
  • Yatra or Pantaloons voucher worth Rs. 7000 on spends > = Rs. 5 lakhs.
• Get a waiver on next year’s annual fee on spends of Rs. 1.50 lakhs.
• Complimentary personal accidental insurance cover worth Rs. 10 lakhs by RuPay.
• Complimentary fraud liability cover worth Rs. 1 lakh.
• Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on transactions between Rs. 500 to Rs. 4,000 (Up to a maximum of Rs. 250).
• Concierge services to make travel arrangements like dining reservations, hotel bookings, and consultancy services.

Also Read: SBI Credit Cards

PNB Rakshak RuPay Credit Cards

The 2 variants of PNB Rakshak RuPay credit cards - RuPay Platinum and RuPay Select are issued under the PNB Rakshak Plus Scheme to all serving defence personnel, pension, defence veteran pensioners, and trainees. Both the card variants are lifetime free.

Key Highlights:

• No annual fee has to be paid if the card is used at least once every quarter.
• Get 300 welcome reward points on making the first transaction using the credit card.
• Earn exclusive cashback on dining at restaurants and eateries and utility bill payments .
• Get offers on over 300 merchants under the RuPay program.
• Get a comprehensive accidental death insurance cover and permanent disability cover of Rs. 2 lakhs and Rs. 10 lakhs respectively.
• Complimentary domestic lounge access every quarter and 4 international airport lounge access every year.
• The limit of the card is marked by double the monthly income or pension, which can be changed at the discretion of the bank.

Veer Select Credit Card - Kotak Mahindra Bank

The Veer Select credit card enables the brave defence personnel to manage their daily spends while earning exciting rewards and other benefits.

Key H ighlights :

• Renewal fee waived on spends of 1L
• 9 RP/₹200 on:
  • Dining
  • Grocery
  • Movies
  • Departmental store spends
• 3 RP/Rs. 200 across other categories.
• 8 domestic lounge visits/year (2/quarter within India)
• Spend Rs. 500 within 30 days of card issuance to get a complimentary IHO membership worth Rs. 8,500
• Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% across fuel stations.
• Railway surcharge waiver:
  • 1.8% for transactions on www.IRCTC.Co.in
  • 2.5% for transactions on Indian Railways booking counters.
• Embedded EMV chip gives an extra level of protection.
• 6 digit PIN authentication for greater security of your transactions.
• Annual fee waiver on spends of Rs. 100,000 annually.

Kisan Gold Card Loan for Defence Personnel

This loan can be availed by all the defence personnel with minimum one year of service. Eligible individuals include Personnel of Army, Air Force, Navy, Military services like ITBP/BSF/CRPF/Coastal Guards/CISF and Assam/J&K rifles. The loan can be taken for various purposes like crop production, repair and maintenance, farm development, and domestic requirements.

Key Highlights:

• Get free personal accidental insurance cover of up to Rs.10,00,000/-
• Get an exclusively designed Rupay farmer Platinum premium debit card for conducting hassle free transactions.

Benefits of Credit Cards for Defence Personnel

Credit cards for defence personnel offer multiple benefits ranging from low interest rates to specially tailored reward programmes. All these programs are aimed at offering financial stability and strength. Here are some major benefits of credit cards for defence personnel.

• Low Interest Rates: Given the unique challenges of a job, defence personnel need financial flexibility. The lower interest rates offered by these cards help these individuals manage sudden expenditures seamlessly without accumulating debt.
  
• Higher Credit Limits: The higher credit limits help defence personnel manage sudden huge expenditures that come in their way.
  
• Exclusive Rewards: These cards accumulate rewards on every purchase. The value of rewards in defence cards is usually higher than other normal cards. These rewards can be redeemed across categories like travel, shopping, and other merchandise.
  
• Nil Annual Fees: Many credit cards meant for defence personnel come without any annual fees. This helps them get complete benefits from discounts, rewards, cashback, etc.
  
• Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Fuel surcharge waiver contributes considerably to savings. This minimises the overall cost of fuel and travelling.
  
• Priority Services: Many card issuers provide quick application processing and dedicated customer service lines for these personnel taking into account the importance, time sensitivity, and risky nature of their jobs.
  
• Insurance Cover: Credit cards for defence personnel often include comprehensive insurance covers for life and accidents.
  
• Special Discounts: These cards provide exclusive discounts across online shopping, dining, and lifestyle. These help in saving considerably and reducing the overall cost.

How to Choose a Credit Card for Defense Personnel?

Comparing credit cards for defence personnel helps individuals choose the best one. Here are some factors on which you need to judge the cards.

• Interest Rates: It is important to compare the interest rates as reduced interest rates will help in ease the burden of paying credit card bills. These are especially useful for people who carry a balance every month.
  
• Credit Limits: High credit limits give financial stability, especially beneficial for defence personnel who may have sporadic but large expenses. Always compare how much credit is provided and if it meets your spending patterns.
  
• Rewards Programs: Each card will offer unique rewards such as cashback, air miles, discounts, and redeemable points. Compare between the cards for reward points and choose one according to your spending habits.
  
• Annual Fees: There are many cards that come with no annual fee or very low annual charges. Choosing a card with no or low annual fee can help you save significantly. It is always important to note that charges on the card should not outweigh the savings made on the card .
  
• Simplicity of the Application Process: Consider how easy the application process is including the necessary documentation and the approval time. Easy and quick approval is important when you need a credit card in a short duration of time.

Conclusion

Among the best credit cards for defence personnel in India, some stand out in specific categories. For zero-fee value, cards like BOB Vikram, ICICI Parakram, and BOB Yoddha are top picks. If lounge access is your priority, ICICI Parakram Select and Axis Pride Signature offer excellent travel perks. For everyday essential rewards such as CSD, groceries, and departmental stores, the SBI Shaurya and Kotak Veer Select cards deliver strong benefits. Those who prioritize lifestyle and travel bonuses may prefer the PNB Rakshak or Parakram Select cards. Ultimately, the right card depends on your spending style—each is specially crafted to maximize value for defense families.