Do you order frequently on Zomato? If you do, would you want to own a credit card issued by Zomato? Yes, I know Zomato is not a bank and can’t issue credit cards. I am talking about a co-branded credit card. Zomato has launched a co-branded credit card, offered in tie-up with RBL bank. The credit card, as expected, offers benefits if you order on Zomato. And the benefits don’t end there. There is a whole host of additional benefits on dining out, online shopping and a birthday surprise.
In this post, let’s find out more about the card and see if there is merit in adding this credit card to your wallet.
Benefits of Zomato Edition Classic Card
- Attractive cashbacks
- 5% cashback on all Zomato orders
- 5% cashback when you use the card at any restaurant. (The identification is based on MCC code assigned by MasterCard/VISA). Refer to the highlighted section in terms and conditions below
- 1.5% cashback on all websites and apps (on the Zomato app, Ola, Uber, Flipkart, Myntra and Amazon are shown)
- 1% cashback on all offline spends.
- 10% cashback on all spends on your birthdays
- No cap on the cashback amount.
- All cashback offered in the form of Edition Cash
- 1 Edition cash = 1 Indian Rupee
- Edition cash can be used only on Zomato
- Birthday Surprise: 10% cashback on your birthday is very interesting. If you have any big-ticket expenses such as insurance premiums or gadget purchases around your birthday, you can plan, use this card on your birthday and save a neat 10%
- Lifetime free card (this can change anytime)
- Zomato Pro Membership: You get free Zomato Pro membership. If you are already not aware, Zomato has 2 tier membership structure. Zomato Pro and Zomato Pro Plus (more premium and expensive). These memberships get you exclusive discounts on many restaurants and lower delivery charges. The membership will get renewed every year on card renewal
- Additional Rs 2000 (Edition cash) if you spend more than Rs 2 lacs in a year (excluding EMIs). If you use this card only for online food delivery or dining bills, that’s lot of outside food in a year
How Do You Apply for This Zomato Edition Classic Card?
You can apply for this card only from the Zomato app. If you are eligible, you will get an option in the app to apply for this credit card. I don’t know how eligibility is assessed. It may depend on how frequently you order or your usual mode of payment. For instance, if you usually pay for your orders using a credit card, this may help increase your chances of getting a card. The option to apply shows up in my app. And I do not order frequently from Zomato.
Drawbacks of Zomato Edition Classic Card
Such co-branded cards can sometimes put restrictions on where you can use the card. For instance, you get 5% cashback if you order from Zomato. Only 1.5% cashback if you order from Swiggy.
There is only one way to utilize Edition cash. You can use it to pay for your Zomato order or to pay at restaurants using the Zomato app. That’s quite restrictive.
Popular co-branded cards such as Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card or Flipkart Axis Bank Credit cards have similar issues. You can use the cashback on respective apps only. You CAN NOT use the amounts to set off the outstanding amounts on your credit card. However, you can use Amazon and Flipkart apps for many things apart from shopping. You can recharge your mobile, pay mobile postpaid. DTH or utility bills and book air tickets etc. You can use cashback to pay for all these things.
On the other hand, Zomato app is just about food, at least for now.
Zomato continues to offer cashbacks/discounts on other credit cards/modes of payment too. You may get a better payment offer on another credit card/payment instrument.
Should You Go for It?
Zomato Edition Classic Credit card seems like a fine product. The cashback structure seems quite transparent. No caps on cashbacks. As mentioned above, you can use the cashback (Edition Cash) only for Zomato orders, which feels a bit restrictive since Zomato is just a food app. But it is also not a big drawback if you use the Zomato app frequently.
Maintaining an additional credit card is never easy. You must keep track of payment dates. A bigger problem is that you might end up spending more. However, if you are a frequent Zomato user or if you dine out frequently, you might find this card useful.