FIRST Select

Joining ₹0 · Annual ₹0 · Lifetime free. But see the UPI note: linking to UPI needs a paid add-on RuPay card, so this is 'lifetime free unless you want UPI'.

Earns Reward Points · assumed 0.25 ₹/point. 1 Reward Point = ₹0.25, confirmed on IDFC's own Select page and travel T&C. Points are 'pay with points' against any online purchase or in-store, or via firstrewards.in. No catalogue restriction, so ₹0.25 is the realistic value, not a best case. ₹99 + GST (₹116.82) fee per redemption transaction, so small redemptions lose heavily: a ₹500 redemption nets ~₹383. Points accrue per ₹200 slab. Any single transaction under ₹200 earns nothing, and slab remainders are lost. Points now expire 24 months from credit. No Reward Points at all for any billing cycle in which the Minimum Amount Due is not paid by the due date (effective 18 Jan 2026), and points already posted for that cycle are reversed. Points are earned only on spends up to the credit limit per billing cycle.

Verified 10 Aug 2026

Forex markup1.99%

GolfNone. Despite IDFC's own product page saying otherwise. The Select page carousel lists 'Complimentary golf rounds and lessons', but there is no golf section in the 12-page FIRST Select Privileges document, no golf terms anywhere for this card, the January 2026 Select letter is headed 'Lounge Privilege' where the Wealth letter is headed 'Lounge and Golf Privileges', and CardInsider confirms no golf benefit. Treated as erroneous carousel copy pasted over from the Wealth page.

ConciergeNot a confirmed FIRST Select benefit. The product page carousel shows 'Travel concierge at your fingertips' but no supporting terms exist for this card. Same suspected copy-paste from the Wealth page as the golf claim. Left unconfirmed rather than claimed.

EMI₹99 or 1% of the transaction, whichever is higher, plus GST processing fee · A converted purchase stops earning rewards · ₹99 or 1% of the purchase, whichever is larger, so a ₹50,000 conversion costs ₹500 rather than ₹99. There is also a pre EMI interest charge covering the days between converting and your next statement, and a merchant no cost offer does not waive it. Pre closing costs 3% plus GST of the principal left. · Transactions converted to EMI earn no Reward Points, and also forfeit the app travel Bonus Reward Points.

Fuel surcharge1% on fuel transactions of ₹200 to ₹5,000, capped at ₹300 per statement cycle. The waiver is credited separately in the statement and GST on the surcharge is not reversed.

Domestic lounge4 a year. 1 complimentary visit per quarter to select lounges at Indian airports. Spend-gated: you must spend ₹20,000 between the 1st and last day of a calendar month to unlock access in the following month, so a bad month means no lounge at all. Note this is monthly qualification for a quarterly allowance, not a quarterly spend test, which several third-party write-ups get wrong. Eligible spends are fresh purchases plus cash withdrawals net of refunds. EMI instalments, fees, charges, balance transfer, loan-on-card and GST do not count. Unused quarterly visits lapse at quarter end. A ₹2 card-validation charge is taken at the lounge terminal, and a fair-usage policy blocks back-to-back visits in a short window.

International loungeNone. IDFC's own Select FAQ states the card offers complimentary lounge access at domestic Indian airports only and does not provide free international airport lounge access. This is the clearest difference from FIRST Wealth, which does get 4 international visits a year.

Milestones

◆ Spend ₹20,000 per month → Buy-1-Get-1 movie ticket on the District by Zomato app (promo code IDFCCCFS1), usable twice in the month, minimum two tickets per booking

Return by category

Category	Return	Notes
Online spend	0.38%	Base rate
Amazon	0.38%	Base rate
Flipkart	0.38%	Base rate
Subscriptions & OTT	0.38%	Base rate
Offline spend	0.38%	Base rate
UPI spending	0.38%	No stated UPI cap · 3X = 0.375% on UPI transactions ABOVE ₹2,000. Only 1X = 0.125% on UPI transactions of ₹2,000 or less (the threshold is per transaction, not cumulative). Utilities, insurance, railway and FASTag paid via UPI stay at 1X. Requires linking an add-on FIRST Digital RuPay Credit Card, ₹199 + GST joining and ₹199 + GST annual from year two. So UPI is the one part of this otherwise lifetime-free card that costs money. A limited-period offer gives 100% cashback up to ₹200 (₹50 each on the first four UPI transactions). UPI spend does not count toward the welcome-benefit spend criterion. IDFC's 'up to 3X on UPI' marketing is true only above ₹2,000. Most small UPI payments earn a quarter of that.
Dining	1.25%	No category cap. Overall accrual capped at credit limit per billing cycle · 10X = 10 RP per ₹200. MCC 5812, 5813, 5814, including food delivery.
Swiggy	1.25%	Uses its dining rate
Zomato	1.25%	Uses its dining rate
Groceries	0.38%	Base rate
Quick commerce	0.38%	Base rate
Swiggy Instamart	0.38%	Base rate
Blinkit	0.38%	Base rate
BigBasket	0.38%	Base rate
Movies & shows	0.38%	Base rate
BookMyShow	0.38%	Base rate
PVR INOX	0.38%	Base rate
Fuel	0%	Zero Reward Points on fuel (MCC 5172, 5541, 5542, 5983). Additionally a 1% fee + GST on the entire cycle fuel total if fuel spend exceeds ₹30,000 in a statement cycle. The 1% fuel surcharge waiver still applies separately.
Travel (general)	1.25%	No category cap · 10X. MCC 3000-3350, 3501-3853, 7011, 4511, 4722, 4723. From the first transaction, no threshold, effective 18 Jun 2026.
Flights	3.75%	8,000 bonus Reward Points per calendar month (≈₹2,000 of value, reached at about ₹80,000 of flight bookings) · Only via the 'FIRST Rewards Gallery' / Travel & Shop section of the IDFC FIRST Bank mobile app: 5% base points (10X) + 10% bonus points = up to 15% in points = 3.75% value. Flights booked anywhere else earn the plain 10X travel rate of 1.25%. Bonus is forfeited on EMI transactions and on Cash+Points bookings, and is credited only by the 5th of the month after travel.
Hotels	6.25%	8,000 bonus Reward Points per calendar month (≈₹2,000 of value, reached at about ₹40,000 of hotel bookings) · Only via the IDFC FIRST Bank mobile app: 5% base points (10X) + 20% bonus points = up to 25% in points = 6.25% value. Hotels booked anywhere else earn the plain 10X travel rate of 1.25%. Bonus forfeited on EMI and Cash+Points bookings. Credited by the 5th of the month after check-in.
MakeMyTrip	1.25%	Uses its travel rate
IRCTC rail	1.25%	Uses its travel rate
International	−0.74%	1.25% reward − 1.99% forex markup
Utilities & bills	0.13%	1X only = 0.125%. MCC 4814, 4816, 4899, 4900. Worse than that: if total utility spend in a statement cycle exceeds ₹20,000, a 1% fee + GST is levied on the ENTIRE cycle utility total, not just the excess. So a ₹21,000 utility cycle costs ₹210 + GST against ₹26 of points. Effectively loss-making above the threshold.
Rent	0.38%	Rent still EARNS the base 3X = 0.375% (older documentation and much of the secondary web wrongly says rent earns nothing), but MCC 6513 attracts a Rent and Property Management Fee of 1% of transaction value subject to a minimum of ₹249 per transaction, plus GST, on every domestic rent payment with no free threshold. Net return is heavily negative. A ₹25,000 rent payment earns ₹93 of points and costs ₹295. Do not use this card for rent.
Education fees	0.38%	Earns the base 3X = 0.375%. Education paid through third-party apps attracts a 1% fee subject to a minimum of ₹249 per transaction, plus GST (MCC 8299, 8211, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8220). Paid directly to the institution there is no such fee, so the payment route decides whether this is 0.375% or net negative.
Insurance premiums	0.13%	1X only = 0.125% on insurance premium payments. No IDFC percentage fee on this category.
Government & tax	0.38%	Base rate
Wallet loads	0.38%	Wallet and prepaid loads earn the full base 3X = 0.375% and, unlike rent, education, utilities, fuel, railway and tolls, carry NO IDFC percentage fee. There is no wallet-load fee anywhere in the current Schedule of Charges. Wallet loads are, however, excluded from welcome-benefit qualifying spend.
Anything else	0.38%	Base rate
Jewellery	0.38%	Base rate

Rates are the card's own published rates, before any spend profile. Add this card inMy cards to rank it against the rest of your wallet.

Also worth knowing

Welcome benefit: ₹500 gift voucher from a choice of brands on spending ₹5,000 within 30 days of card generation (primary card only. UPI, add-on card spend, wallet loads, EMI-converted transactions and ATM withdrawals do not count). Voucher must be redeemed within 90 days of the SMS/email.
Welcome benefit: 5% cashback up to ₹1,000 on the first EMI transaction converted within 30 days of card generation.
CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) trip cancellation cover up to ₹10,000 on non-refundable flight and hotel bookings.
4 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter at participating Indian railway terminals, shared with add-on cards, and gated on the same ₹20,000 previous-calendar-month spend (gate introduced 20 February 2025). One guest allowed per complimentary visit.
Insurance via New India Assurance: air accident cover ₹1 crore, personal accident cover ₹5,00,000, lost card liability ₹50,000. All requiring at least one transaction on the card in the preceding 30 days. Travel insurance is thin at up to USD 300 total (checked baggage loss USD 100 among the sub-limits). Also purchase protection (60 days, excludes jewellery and perishables) and credit shield.
24/7 roadside assistance worth ₹1,399, up to 4 times a year, via Global Assure.
IDFC advertised 'Reward Points that never expire, unlike the industry practice of 1-3 years' in its own January 2026 letter, then introduced a 24-month expiry five months later. Its website footer still links 'Never Expiring Reward Credit cards', which is now false for this card. Legacy point balances as of the July 2026 statement cycle remain valid until July 2028.
Birthday spend also earns 10X per IDFC's live product page. But neither 18 Jun 2026 customer letter mentions birthday spend, so this rests on product-page copy rather than a dated T&C. Treat as the weakest claim on this card.
ATM cash withdrawals interest-free for up to 45 days if repaid by the due date. ₹199 + GST per withdrawal. Reward redemption fee ₹99 + GST per redemption transaction.
Bank-wide charges: late payment 15% of the previous statement's total amount due less payments received, minimum ₹100 and maximum ₹1,300. Over-limit 2.5% of the over-limit amount, minimum ₹550. Payment return 2% of the payment amount, minimum ₹500. Card replacement ₹199.
Minimum Amount Due = EMI + interest + fees, other charges and taxes + any over-limit amount + 2% of the principal outstanding. The 2% figure has applied since statements generated on or after 1 September 2024. There is NO 2026 change to this formula. If total amount due is under ₹100, MAD equals the total.
Still open to new applicants as of 10 August 2026, with an Apply Now flow live. Stated eligibility is annual income of ₹12 lakh or more.
Image personalisation on the card costs ₹499 + GST joining and annual. Add-on cards ₹499 + GST each. A Mastercard variant of FIRST Select exists (referenced in the MITC image-personalisation exclusions) but the bank does not document any difference in benefits.

Other exclusions

Transactions converted to EMI earn no Reward Points, and also forfeit the app travel Bonus Reward Points.
Cash withdrawals earn no Reward Points (₹199 + GST per withdrawal. Interest-free for up to 45 days if repaid by the due date). Though unusually they DO count toward the ₹20,000 monthly spend gate for lounge, railway lounge and movie benefits. Loan on Card (Quick Cash / Quick Cash Max) and Balance Transfer also earn nothing. Fees, charges and the GST on them earn nothing, transactions below ₹200 earn nothing, and no points at all accrue for a billing cycle where the Minimum Amount Due is unpaid by the due date.

Sources

Every figure above comes from the issuer's own pages and documents. Last verified 10 Aug 2026.