BOB Premier vs BOB Select: Which Mid-Tier Card Wins?

Key Takeaways

• BOBCARD Premier costs Rs 1,000 plus GST with a fee waiver on Rs 1,20,000 annual spend. BOBCARD Select costs approximately Rs 500 plus GST with a waiver at Rs 70,000 spend — Premier costs roughly double but delivers significantly richer travel benefits.

• Premier earns 5X (5 RP per Rs 100) on travel, dining, and international spends. Select earns 5X on online shopping, dining, and utilities.

• Premier's defining benefit is domestic lounge access: 1 complimentary lounge visit per quarter on Rs 20,000 quarterly spend. Select has no lounge access at any spend level.

• Premier earns at accelerated SmartDeal rates: 8 RP on flights, 20 RP on hotels per Rs 100. Select also earns on SmartDeal but at the same rates — neither card has an advantage on SmartDeal bookings.

• Select is the right card if you do not fly domestically or travel rarely and want maximum earn on online shopping and utility payments.

• Premier is the right card if you fly domestically even twice a year and want lounge access, travel earn, and the higher insurance cover.

Understanding What Each Card Is Built For

The fastest way to distinguish Premier from Select is to understand the lifestyle they serve. Premier serves the domestic traveller: someone who flies to Mumbai or Delhi for work, occasionally takes a family holiday, books train journeys, and wants their credit card to earn on travel categories while providing practical airport comfort through lounge access. The Rs 1,000 annual fee is a small price for the 4 complimentary lounge visits and travel earn structure.

Select serves the urban digital spender: someone who shops on Flipkart and Amazon several times a month, eats out or orders delivery regularly, and pays electricity, broadband, and gas bills via credit card. This person may rarely fly and does not need lounge access. They want their card to earn maximum points on the digital and lifestyle transactions that make up 80% of their monthly spend.

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Earn Rate Deep Dive

The Dining Overlap

Both Premier and Select earn 5X on dining. This is the one category where they are identical. Whether you are a frequent restaurant diner on Premier or Select, you earn the same 5 RP per Rs 100. This means dining cannot be used to differentiate between the two cards — it is a wash. Your decision must rest on the other categories.

Premier's Travel Edge

Premier earns 5 RP per Rs 100 on all travel spends including flights booked outside SmartDeal, hotels booked outside SmartDeal, taxis, and travel agencies. This broad travel category earn is the core reason to choose Premier if you spend meaningfully on travel. On Rs 30,000 in annual travel spend (not via SmartDeal), Premier earns 1,500 RP = Rs 375. Select earns only 2 RP per Rs 100 on those same travel transactions: 600 RP = Rs 150. The difference is Rs 225 annually on Rs 30,000 in travel spend — small in isolation, but it compounds across all travel transactions.

Select's Online Shopping and Utilities Edge

Select earns 5 RP per Rs 100 on online shopping and utility bill payments. On Premier, these categories earn at the base rate of 2 RP per Rs 100. For a household spending Rs 5,000 monthly on online shopping and Rs 2,000 on utilities, Select produces:

Online: 5 RP x 2,400 units (Rs 100) = 12,000 RP x Rs 0.25 = Rs 3,000/year. Premier on the same online spend: 2 RP x 2,400 = 4,800 RP = Rs 1,200. Difference: Rs 1,800 per year in favour of Select.

Utilities: 5 RP x 960 = 4,800 RP = Rs 1,200/year on Select. Premier: 2 RP x 960 = 1,920 RP = Rs 480. Difference: Rs 720 per year in favour of Select.

Total Select advantage on online shopping and utilities alone: Rs 2,520 per year at this spending level. This is the clearest case for choosing Select if online and utility spend is your dominant category.

The Lounge Value Calculation

Premier's domestic lounge access is worth quantifying. Each lounge visit at a domestic airport costs Rs 500 to Rs 800 if paid for at the door. Premier provides 4 complimentary visits per year (1 per quarter), contingent on spending Rs 20,000 in the preceding quarter. The value of these 4 visits is Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,200. Against Premier's annual fee of Rs 1,180 (Rs 1,000 + GST), the lounge access alone provides value in excess of the annual fee — assuming you use all 4 visits.

Select has no lounge access. For cardholders who fly even twice per year and want to wait in a lounge, Premier delivers this benefit that Select cannot. For cardholders who have not flown in years, this distinction is irrelevant.

Insurance Cover: Premier Leads

Premier includes Rs 50 lakh in air accidental death cover. This is a meaningful sum insured for a Rs 1,000 annual fee card. The insurance is not a primary reason to choose a credit card, but it is a genuine benefit that Select does not offer at the same level. Frequent flyers who do not have separate personal accident insurance will find this cover materially valuable.

The Annual Fee Premium: Is It Worth It

Premier costs approximately Rs 1,180 (with GST) per year if the fee waiver is not met. Select costs approximately Rs 590. The Rs 590 premium of Premier over Select needs to be justified by the lounge access and travel earn benefits.

If you fly domestically twice per year (2 lounge visits worth Rs 1,200) and spend Rs 30,000 on non-SmartDeal travel (Rs 225 extra RP value over Select), the Premier's additional benefit is Rs 1,425 against a Rs 590 premium — a net gain of Rs 835. The upgrade to Premier is justified even at modest travel volumes.

Who Should Choose Premier

• You fly domestically at least twice per year and want complimentary lounge access at airports.

• You spend meaningfully on travel categories including flights, hotels, and transport across your annual spend.

• You want the Rs 50 lakh air accidental death cover as supplementary insurance.

• Your annual spend comfortably exceeds Rs 1,20,000, making the fee waiver achievable.

Who Should Choose Select

• You rarely or never fly domestically and have no use for lounge access.

• You spend heavily on online shopping and utility bill payments and want 5X earn on these categories.

• Your annual spend is between Rs 70,000 and Rs 1,20,000, meeting Select's lower waiver threshold but not Premier's.

• You want the lowest possible entry fee with strong earn on digital categories.

The Hybrid Scenario: Holding Both

Some BOBCARD cardholders hold both a lifestyle card and a travel card. Holding Premier for travel transactions and Select for online shopping and utilities is a valid two-card strategy within the same bank. Premier earns on travel; Select earns on online and utilities. Combined, both cards cover five high-frequency spend categories at 5X. This dual-card approach requires managing two fee waivers but maximises earn across the full spend spectrum.