Compare Federal Bank Imperio Credit Card and SBI Card PRIME on annual fee, rewards, fee waiver, lounge access, forex markup, best-fit use case and source evidence.
Compare exact issuer-backed terms and practical trade-offs without a universal winner badge.
Federal Bank customers seeking a no-standard-fee rewards card with travel and lifestyle benefits but limited need for foreign-currency spending.
Mid-premium users who can use lifestyle accelerators, milestones and lounge benefits.
bankingreference.info · Comparison research sheet
Prepared 14 Sep 2026 · Source page: https://bankingreference.info/compare/federal-bank-imperio-credit-card-vs-sbi-card-prime/
General product research only. Recheck the listed first-party sources before acting because product terms can change after the recorded review dates.
Each checkpoint reproduces the recorded product fields instead of assigning a winner. Read the condition, scope and missing-data state before treating a difference as useful to you.
Source review: September 9, 2026
Maintenance: Within the scheduled review window
3 attached sources. A review date is not a guarantee that terms have stayed unchanged.
Source review: September 11, 2026
Maintenance: Within the scheduled review window
2 attached sources. A review date is not a guarantee that terms have stayed unchanged.
Full issuer-backed wording stays visible because a waiver condition, cap or qualification rule can matter more than the headline number.
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| Decision factor | Federal Bank Imperio Credit Card | SBI Card PRIME |
|---|---|---|
| Joining fee | Nil under the currently reviewed Federal Bank onboarding terms | ₹2,999 + taxes |
| Annual fee | Nil under the currently reviewed onboarding terms; current issuer FAQ describes the lifetime-free offer as limited-period | ₹2,999 + taxes |
| Fee waiver | Not required while issued under the current no-membership-fee onboarding terms | Renewal fee of ₹2,999 + applicable taxes is waived on annual spends of ₹3 lakh or more in the preceding year. |
| Rewards | Federal Bank markets Imperio with its 3-2-1 reward structure, partner vouchers, dining benefits and fuel-surcharge waiver positioning | 10 reward points per ₹100 on selected lifestyle categories on the reviewed SBI listing |
| Lounge | Complimentary airport lounge access is advertised on the issuer's current credit-card listing; verify present quota/conditions | Complimentary domestic and international airport lounge access is listed; current access conditions should be checked |
| Forex markup | 3.5% foreign-currency markup in the reviewed Federal Bank MITC | 3.50% foreign-currency transaction fee under the current SBI Card MITC; DCC is also listed at 3.50% for qualifying INR-denominated international or overseas-registered-merchant transactions. |
| Network | Visa / Mastercard variants as offered | Visa / Mastercard / American Express variants may differ |
| Eligibility / approval | Subject to Federal Bank underwriting and current product/account eligibility | Subject to SBI Card approval |
These cautions remain attached to the underlying card records instead of being converted into a score.
These tools are arithmetic aids only. They do not predict approval, issuer offers or future benefits.
Each side keeps its own review date, source set and evidence state.
Checked: Joining fee · Annual fee · Fee waiver · Rewards · Lounge · Forex · +2 more
Open primary issuer source ↗Checked: Joining fee · Annual fee · Fee waiver · Rewards · Lounge · Forex · +2 more
Open primary issuer source ↗These are the exact source URLs already attached to the two research records. Re-open the controlling documents before relying on a fee, rate, limit, eligibility rule or benefit.
Reviewed September 9, 2026 · 3 attached first-party sources
Reviewed September 11, 2026 · 2 attached first-party sources