Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card is a premium credit card from Yes Bank. Earlier, its name was Yes Bank First Exclusive. However, Yes Bank changed the name of many of its credit cards last year to enter the credit card Industry. It was not just the name; there were changes to many other things. Let’s find out where it stands.
Overview: Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card
Here is an overview of the Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card:
| Type | Rewards |
| Joining Fees/Annual Fees | INR 1999 Plus Taxes |
| Welcome Benefits | Fees Waived on INR 40K Spend in 30 Days |
| Renewal Fees | INR 1999 Plus Taxes |
| Renewal Benefits | 8000 Reward Points |
| Reversal of Annual Fees | INR 3 Lacs Spending |
| Forex Markup Charges | 1.75% Plus Taxes |
| Lounge Access | Domestic-3/Qtr INTL-6/Year |
| Default Reward Rate | 1.50%-3% |
| Maximize Reward Earn By | Online Spending Subscription Plan |
| Redemption Maximization | Travel Booking [Hotel & Flights] |
| Stand Out Feature | Purchase Protection |
Yes Bank Reserv Card Eligibility
To be eligible for Yes Reserv:
- You should be a Minimum of 21 Years old,
- Earning a Net Monthly Income of INR 2 Lac or Income Tax Return of 18 Lac Per Annum
Annual Fees
Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card has annual fees of INR 1999 plus taxes. This fee is waived if you spend INR 40K in 30 days.
However, getting this card for the first year free is possible.
Welcome Benefits
There are no welcome benefits on the Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card. However, from the second year onwards, you will get 8000 Reward points if fees are charged.
Fee wavier on Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card
In the first year, fees are waived on spending of INR 40K within 30 days of card set-up. From the second year onwards, the fee is waived on spending of INR 3 Lacs in the card anniversary year. The fee waiver spending requirement is very low for a premium credit card like this.
Yes Bank Reserv Card Reward Earning
Your reward point earned on the Yes Bank Reserv credit card varies based on where you spend.
| Category | Earning | Reward Rate |
| Online Spends | 24 Pts/200 | 3.00 % |
| Offline Spends | 12 Pts/200 | 1.50% |
| Select Categories | 6 Pts/200 | 0.75% |
Boost Points Earning with a Subscription Plan
Yes Bank Rewards Subscription Plan is a great way to boost your points earning on Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card. You can choose from two plans. One is a 3x plan, and the other is a 5x plan. With a 3x plan, your regular points will be boosted three times except for online, which gets doubled; with 5x, they will be boosted five times except for online, which gets 3x. However, the 5x plan is only valid for Travel, Dining, Fashion & Healthcare. A 3x plan costs INR 3500, and a 5x plan costs INR 5000 plus taxes. In a statement cycle, you can earn a maximum of 75K additional points in both plans.
| Category | 3x Earning | 3x Plan Reward Rate | 5x Earnings | 5x Plan Reward Rate |
| Online Spends | 48 Pts/200 | 6.00% | 72 Pts/200 | 9.00% |
| Offline Spends | 36 Pts/200 | 4.50% | 60 Pts/200 | 7.50% |
| Select Categories | 18 Pts/200 | 2.25% | NA | NA |
Bonus Points Offers
Yes Bank sends bonus points-earning offers via email. So, make sure to check your email for such promotions.
Select Categories
Yes Bank has categorised specific spending under “Select Categories”, which will only earn 6 points on every INR 200 spending.
These are the select categories:
- Transportation—Suburban and Local Commuter Passenger, including Ferries
- Limousines and Taxicabs
- Bridge and Road Fees
- Tolls
- Bus Lines
- Miscellaneous Food Stores
- Convenience Stores
- Markets & Specialty Stores
- Grocery Stores
- Supermarkets
- Court Costs
- Fines
- Payments
- Utility Bill Payments
- Insurance
- Education
- Government payments
Capping of Points
Since Online spending earns more points than offline spending, there is a capping of 36K points. This limit will be exhausted when you spend INR 3 Lac monthly, which is a big limit.
However, once you reach the limit of 36 K points, you will continue to earn 12 reward points for every INR 200 spent.
| Earning on | Statement Cycle Points Capping |
| Online Spends | 36000 |
| Subscription Plan | 75000 |
| Utilities | 750 |
Exclusions & Charges
There are two exclusions: one is general exclusions, and the other is subscription plan exclusion.
You will not earn any points on the following:
- Rental Including Real Estate Management, Maintenance, etc. [w.e.f. 7th Mar’24]
- Wallet [w.e.f. 7th Mar’24]
- Cash Withdrawals
- Fuel Transactions
- EMI Converted Transactions
You must also bear 1% of education, utilities, rental, and wallet transaction charges. So, using Yes Reserv for rental and wallet recharge transactions doesn’t make sense.
For utilities, the monthly threshold spending is INR 15K; above that, you pay 1% charges up to a maximum of INR 3 K. For education, 1% charges are only if you pay via third-party apps, with fees capped at INR 5K per month.
You don’t have any bonus points under the subscription plan on the below spending:
- Fuel
- Pawn Shops
- Video Game Arcades/Establishments
- Dating/Escort Services
- Gambling Transactions Betting (Sportsbook, fantasy, social gaming)
- Gambling-Horse, Dog Racing, State Lottery
- Digital Goods – Games
- Real Estate Agents and Managers–Rentals
- Cleaning and Maintenance, Janitorial Services and other similar services
- Account funding, stored value card purchase, prepaid load (non-financial institution) OR POI (Point of Interaction) Funding Transactions
- Service Stations (With or Without Ancillary Services)
Redemption of Rewards Points
There are multiple ways to redeem Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card Points:
- Flight: INR 0.25/Pt
- Hotel: INR 0.25/ Pt
- Vouchers: INR 0.10/Pt
- Bill Payment [Number of Options]: INR 0.10/Pt
- Transfer to Intermiles: 10:1
- Transfer Credit Card Points to another member.
- Redeem at Merchants: INR 0.10/Pt
It will make sense for most Yes Bank Reserv Points redemption on flights and hotels, as you can book any flight and hotel available on the redemption portal. And prices are not jacked up like those of HDFC SmartBuy.
Starting 1st December 2024, you can redeem points to the extent of 70% of the total cart value while booking a hotel or flight. So, the most significant advantage of Yes Bank cards of using points for 100% redemption is over. However, it is still a decent card. But changes are frequent over the past year.
How much benefit can you get from Reserv Credit Card?
For online spending, Yes Bank Reserv is a great card. You get a 3% reward rate. Plus, the fee waiver is at 3 Lacs, which is achievable. So, you effectively don’t have to pay anything to earn a 3% reward rate.
Combine this card with a Subscription Plan, and this reward rate shoots up to 6%, which is exceptional; however, you will have to shell out INR 4K. Still, this card works if most of your spending is online, where you don’t earn any accelerated points.
And, if your spending is more than 50% on Travel, Dining, Fashion, & Healthcare, then a 5x plan will give a 9% reward rate with a cost of INR 6K. An advantage of the Yes Bank Reserv credit card is that you can book a flight and hotel for a point value of INR 0.25.
Lounge Access Benefit
With a Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card, you get domestic and international lounge access. The Domestic Lounge Access Benefit is available to both primary and add-on cardholders, whereas it is only for primary cardholders of international lounges.
| Lounges | Limit |
| Domestic | 3/QTR |
| International | 6/YR |
From 1st April 2025, the lounge access benefit will only be available if you spent INR 100K in the previous quarter; until then, the limit of INR 35K applies. I find the spending requirement of INR 100K very high.
Quarter means 21st Dec-20th Mar, 21st Mar-20th Jun, 21st Jun-20th Sept and 21st Sep-20th Dec for Yes Bank Credit Card.
Purchase Protection
Yes Bank added a Purchase Protection feature to the Reserv Credit Card on December 18th, 2023. This is a good feature for a credit card with low or waived annual fees.
This is insurance coverage against accidental damage; however, burglary has been excluded from 16th April 2024. [Complete Official Details]
| Particulars | Conditions |
| Eligible Purchase | From any domestic e-commerce website |
| Payment Mode | Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card |
| Minimum Item Value | INR 5K |
| Maximum Cover | INR 50K |
| Eligible Customers | Spending of INR 100 in the last 60 days |
| Purchase Date | After 18th Dec 2023 |
| Validity | Six months from the date of purchase |
| Contact | 18001036000 or yestouchcc@yesbank.in yesfirstcc@yesbank.in |
Other Benefits
You also enjoy these benefits on your Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card:
- Forex Markup of 1.75% plus taxes, which is one the lowest in credit card market
- 25% Off up to INR 250 monthly on Movie tickets at BookMyShow.
- Four green fee waivers per year
- One Golf lesson per year in India.
- Credit Shield cover of 15 Lac [Applicable on Death due to Accident Only]
- Lost Card liability 15 Lac to 30 Lac
Bottomline
Yes Bank Reserv Credit Card is a decent card for online shopping due to accelerated earning. It also has benefits, usually on Super Premium credit cards, like low forex markup, lounge access and purchase protection. That, too, with a low wavier spending threshold, effectively making it free. However, there have been frequent changes over the past year and they should settle down now. If you are eligible for this card, try it out.
