I don’t mind paying an annual fee if a credit card offers good value, but I’d prefer one where I can get the fee waived with regular spending. The SBI SimplySAVE Credit Card has a ₹499 annual fee—how does the waiver work, and is it easy to achieve?
I had the same concern when I was considering this card. ₹499 isn’t a huge fee, but why pay if you don’t have to, right? The good news is that SBI waives the annual fee completely if you spend ₹1 lakh or more in a year.
Now, whether it’s “easy” to achieve depends on your spending habits. If you’re using the card for daily essentials—groceries, dining, movies, and online shopping—it adds up pretty quickly. For example, spending ₹8,500 per month on your usual expenses would get you to ₹1 lakh in a year, and you won’t have to worry about the fee at all.
If you’re someone who pays bills, books travel tickets, or shops frequently, this threshold is very achievable. But if your spending is lower or you use multiple credit cards, you might not hit ₹1 lakh, meaning you’d have to pay the ₹499 fee.
Also, remember that this waiver is for the second year onward. The first year’s ₹499 fee is non-refundable (unless you get a special offer from SBI where they waive it initially).
For me, the annual fee waiver was one of the biggest reasons to get this card. As long as you use it regularly for everyday spending, it’s pretty easy to make the card free for life while earning solid rewards.