Axis Bank ACE Credit Card vs Cashback SBI Card

What the numbers don't show

Axis ACE pays a flat 1.5% on most spends with no cap in the Axis T&C; SBI Cashback pays 5% online and 1% offline, each capped at ₹2,000 cashback per statement cycle (SBI revision effective 1 April 2026). Both fees (₹499 ACE, ₹999 SBI) are waived at ₹2 lakh annual spend.

Worked example at ₹30,000 a month: if all of it is offline, SBI earns 1% (₹3,600 a year) and ACE earns 1.5% (₹5,400). If all of it is online, SBI earns 5% (₹18,000, within its ₹24,000 yearly online cap) and ACE earns ₹5,400. So the online share of your spend decides this comparison. Break-even is an online share of about 12.5% when the rest is offline (online share x ×5% + (1−x)×1% = 1.5%, so x = 12.5%).

Bills: SBI Cashback excludes utilities, insurance, fuel and rent. ACE pays 5% on utility bills only through Google Pay, within a ₹500-per-statement combined cap. Neither pays on fuel or rent, and ACE charges 1% on rent payments.

ACE adds 4 domestic lounge visits a year; SBI Cashback has none listed.

Who each card suits. ACE suits someone whose spending is mostly offline or mixed and who wants no cap to think about: the 1.5% applies to groceries, dining out, travel and online alike, and the fee is half SBI's. SBI Cashback suits someone who shops online for more than about an eighth of their spend and will keep it under ₹40,000 a month of online spend (5% of that is the ₹2,000 cap); above that, extra online spend earns nothing from this card, so ACE's flat rate beats SBI on the overflow. SBI has the higher ceiling overall, ₹4,000 a statement cycle (₹2,000 online plus ₹2,000 offline) against ACE's ₹500-per-statement cap on its 5% and 4% categories, which is why ACE's headline rates should be treated as a small bonus.

Where the two have both tightened. SBI added digital gaming (MCC 7993, 7994, 5816), tolls (4784) and government payments (9222, 9311, 9402) to its exclusions from 1 April 2026. Axis's generic revision effective 28 August 2026 puts bridge, road and toll spends outside cashback, moves gift cards into a separate category that earns nothing and does not count toward the fee waiver, and raises the dynamic currency conversion markup from 1.5% to 3.5%. Fuel earns no cashback on either card; ACE gives a 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions of ₹400 to ₹4,000, up to ₹500 a statement (Axis page), while we have SBI's ₹100-a-month waiver only from an aggregator.

Figures from the issuers' own T&C/MITC as recorded on each card page (checked 30 Oct 2026); sources are listed on Axis Bank ACE Credit Card and Cashback SBI Card. Estimates, not offers: terms change, so confirm with the issuer.