The annual fee is the credit card cost you can see on the front of the brochure. The charges that tend to cost more sit in the fee schedule: interest on unpaid balances, forex markup, late payment fees and cash advance charges. This post lists the figures from the issuers' pages for low-fee cards, so you can see them next to the annual fee.
Charges at a glance
| Charge | Axis ACE | Amazon Pay ICICI | HDFC MoneyBack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest on balance | 3.75% a month (55.55% a year) | See ICICI's fee schedule | 3.75% a month (45% a year) |
| Forex markup | 3.5% (also on rupee transactions abroad via dynamic currency conversion) | 1.99% | See HDFC's fee schedule |
| Late payment | Nil up to ₹1,300 by amount due; extra ₹100 for missing the minimum two cycles running | See ICICI's fee schedule | See HDFC's fee schedule |
| Cash withdrawal | Finance charges apply from the date of withdrawal | See ICICI's fee schedule | 2.5% or ₹500, whichever is higher |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | See Axis's fee schedule | 1% | 1% on ₹400–₹5,000, capped at ₹250 per cycle |
Where a cell says "see the fee schedule", we have not yet confirmed the figure from the issuer's own document and would rather say so than guess.
Interest: the largest number on the page
Axis states 3.75% a month, which it also expresses as 55.55% a year, the compounded figure. HDFC quotes 45% a year for the same monthly rate, the simple figure — so the two annual numbers are not directly comparable. HDFC's fee document states 3.75% a month, or 45% a year, for all variants other than its premium Infinia and Diners Black range. Interest applies on balances you carry past the due date; on a statement paid in full by the due date, the retail purchases above generally carry none. That is a description of how the charge is triggered, not advice on how you should use a card.
Forex markup: what a percentage becomes in rupees
On ₹50,000 of foreign-currency spending, using the stated markups:
- 3.5% (Axis ACE): ₹1,750
- 1.99% (Amazon Pay ICICI): ₹995
- 0%: ₹0
Taxes may apply on top. IDFC FIRST's menu labels Select, Wealth and WOW! "Zero Forex", but it also shows conflicting labels elsewhere, so check the card's own schedule. Note that some older comparison pages repeat "zero forex" claims that no longer match issuers' schedules.
Fuel surcharge waivers: capped by design
- HDFC MoneyBack+: 1% on transactions of ₹400–₹5,000, capped at ₹250 per statement cycle.
- SBI SimplySAVE: capped at ₹100 a month on transactions of ₹500–₹3,000, per SBI Card's booklet.
- Amazon Pay ICICI: 1% waiver on fuel purchases.
A waiver refunds the surcharge a fuel pump adds. It is not a discount on the fuel itself.
Optional extras and utility fees
- IDFC FIRST's pages describe separate charges for a UPI-enabled digital card (₹199 + GST) and personalisation (₹499 + GST).
- Axis's fee table includes a 1% fee on cumulative utility spends of ₹25,000 or more in a statement cycle, which cuts into ACE's 5% utility cashback.
How to read a fee schedule in five minutes
- Find the monthly interest rate and the late-fee slabs.
- Find the forex markup, and whether dynamic currency conversion is treated differently.
- Find the cash withdrawal fee.
- Find what spends are excluded from rewards and waivers.
- Look at the revision date — terms change.
Next: how fee waivers work, or browse cards with their fees on one page.
Sources
Each figure above was read from the issuer's own page or terms document linked here. Where an issuer's pages disagree with each other, the post says so.