Bank of Baroda Launches 3 RuPay Varunah Credit Cards

Public sector Bank, Bank of Baroda has tied up NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India) to launch credit cards on the RuPay payment network. The three cards launched under the brand name ‘Varunah’ are Varunah Credit Card, Varunah Plus Credit Card and Varunah Premium Credit Card, with the Varunah Premium, as the name suggests, being the most premium offering and the Varunah Card being the most basic of the three offerings by the bank.

Bank of Baroda Varunah Premium Credit Card

As mentioned earlier, it is the most premium card of the three credit cards launched by the bank. The Varunah Premium Credit Card comes with an annual fee of Rs. 2,499 and being a premium credit card, apart from the Reward Points benefit, offers a number of add-on benefits as well. The key features of the BOB Varunah Premium Credit Card are-

• 12 months Amazon Prime membership, 12 months Zomato Pro membership and 6 months FITPASS Pro membership as a welcome benefit on joining the card membership.
• The card earns 3 Reward Pointe per Rs. 100 spent. 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25, therefore reward rate = 0.75%.
• 5X Reward Points (i.e. 15 Reward Points per Rs. 100) earned on spends on travel, dining, online & international spends (reward rate = 3.75%). A max cap of 2,500 Points is applicable on the Reward Points earned at the accelerated rate.
• The card entitles the cardholder to unlimited complimentary lounge access at domestic airports across the country.
• A lower mark-up fee of just 2% of the transaction amount is applicable on foreign currency transactions made with BOB Varunah Premium Credit Card.
• The first year’s annual fee for the card (joining fee) is reversed on spending a minimum of Rs. 25,000 within the first 180 days of card issuance.
• The annual renewal fee of the card is waived off on an expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 1.5 lacs in the preceding membership year.

Bank of Baroda Varunah Plus Credit Card

The Varunah Plus Card by the Bank of Baroda is a mid-level offering by the bank. The card comes with a membership fee of Rs. 1,499 per annum and offers a reward rate of 0.5% on normal spends and 2.5% of spends on travel, dining, online and international spends. Some of the salient features of the BOB Varunah Plus Credit Card are-

• 12 months Amazon Prime membership, 12 months Zomato Pro membership and 6 months BigBasket BB Star membership.
• The card earns the cardholder 2 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent (reward rate = 0.5% as 1 RP = Rs. 0.25).
• 5X Reward Points (10 Reward Points per Rs. 100) are earned on travel, dining, international and online spends (reward rate of 2.5%). A maximum of 2,000 Reward Points can be earned at the accelerated rate. Any further Reward Points earned on the aforementioned spend categories are earned at the regular rate of 2 RPs/Rs. 100.
• The cardholder is also entitled to 3 complimentary lounge visits at domestic airports every quarter.
• A reduced mark-up fee of 2.5% of the transaction amount is applicable on all foreign currency transactions made with the card.
• The joining fee (first year’s membership fee) of the card is reversed on the expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 15,000 in the first 180 days of card issuance.
• The annual membership fee (second year onwards) is waived on the expenditure of a minimum of Rs. 1.5 lacs in the preceding year.

Bank of Baroda Varunah Credit Card

It is the most basic credit card of the three cards launched by the Bank of Baroda. The Varunah Credit Card is a lifetime free card. While the card does offer a reward rate of 0.25% on normal spends and 1.25% on spends on groceries and departmental stores. The key features of the card are as under-

• 5X Reward Points (5 Points per Rs. 100) on grocery and departments store spends (reward rate = 1.25%).
• BOB Varunah Credit Card earns 1 Reward Point per Rs. 100 spent.
• The maximum number of Reward Points that can be earned at 5X rate is capped at 750 Points per month.

Bottom Line

Since recently, particularly after RBI imposed restrictions on MasterCard, many card issuers are partnering with NPCI to issue new credit cards on the RuPay platform. Earlier this month, Yes Bank also launched its Prosperity Rewards Credit Card on the RuPay platform. It will be interesting to see when RBI lifts the ban of MasterCard.