Google Pay Flex SBI Card Launched: ₹499 Fee, Stars Rewards, RuPay & Visa (2026)

Google Pay and SBI Card have officially launched the Google Pay Flex SBI Card. It’s designed for users who prefer making everyday payments through the Google Pay app. And it’s the second Google Pay co-branded card in India after the one launched with Axis Bank seven months ago.

Priced at an affordable ₹499 annual fee, it offers fee waiver on eligible spending and a welcome benefit for new users. It aims to compete in the growing entry-level rewards credit card segment.

Let’s see whether it's worth applying for in 2026.

TL;DR

• SBI Card and Google announced the Google Pay Flex SBI Card on 29 July 2026.
• Charges ₹499 plus GST as both a joining fee and an annual renewal fee.
• Fee is waived if you spend ₹1 lakh in the preceding year.

The card earns Stars, Google Pay's reward currency, where 1 Star equals ₹1, and it tops out at 8 Stars per ₹500 spent. However, to collect the advertised “rewards worth up to ₹18,000 annually,” you would need to spend roughly ₹11.25 lakh a year on eligible transactions

Our verdict, stated upfront: if you can get approved for the Axis Bank version of Flex, take that one instead. It earns at the same rate and currently carries no joining or annual fee.

What SBI Card and Google announced

Apart from these, two extras apply to every Flex cardholder (both SBI and Axis).

Google said Flex customers will get the Google AI Plus plan at 50% off for a year, and a discount across the Pixel smartphone range. (source)

The ₹18,000 claim, worked out

The maximum earn rate is 8 Stars per ₹500, which works out to 1.6% back. To collect 18,000 Stars at 1.6%, you need ₹11,25,000 of eligible spend across the year. Divided by twelve, that’s ₹93,750 every single month, in the top tier, without a gap.

Compare that to the threshold the card advertises.

You reach the 8X tier at ₹30,000 of monthly spend. Someone who sits exactly at that threshold spends ₹3.6 lakh a year and earns ₹5,760 in Stars. That's a perfectly good outcome for a card at this fee level. But it’s also roughly a third of the number of the promised rewards.

Exclusions also contribute to diminishing rewards. Rent, cash withdrawals, insurance premiums, education, government payments, wallet loads and jewellery purchases earn no Stars at all.

So the ₹18,000 figure is a ceiling that’s hard to reach for many users. The ₹1L fee-waiver threshold is further away as well.

What the ₹499 actually buys you

The reward ladders are the same; the tier thresholds sit at the same ₹15,000 and ₹30,000; and the best-case rate on both is 1.6%. Once you clear the trivial ₹100 prior-cycle condition on the Axis card, even the base rate matches.

What you get for ₹499 is the option of a Visa variant, plus a second issuer to apply through if Axis turned you down. The welcome benefit is ₹500 richer, which covers the first year's fee and leaves you ahead by about ₹411.

From year two onward, you are paying ₹589 for a product available free via Axis, unless you cross ₹1 lakh of spend.

Be careful with the Visa option, though. While it’s being marketed as flexibility, it costs you UPI linking. Only the RuPay variant links to UPI, and that linkage is the entire reason this product exists. Confirm which network you are being issued at the application screen.

The ₹1 lakh waiver threshold looks easy at ₹8,334 a month, but you sit below the ₹15,000 gate at that spend level. You’ll be earning 0.4%, which is ₹400 a year on ₹1 lakh of spending. Essentially, you’re spending ₹1 lakh to avoid a ₹589 fee and collecting ₹400 for the trouble.

Our credit card annual fee waiver guide covers when a waiver is worth chasing and when it quietly costs you.

Cards that beat this for the same money

If UPI-linked credit is what you want, the field is crowded, and several options are stronger.

The HDFC Bank UPI RuPay Credit Card charges ₹99 and returns up to 3% on groceries, dining and utilities. The catch is a ₹99 redemption fee per request and a 2,000 CashPoint minimum before you can redeem against your statement.

The Kotak UPI RuPay Credit Card carries no fee and returns a flat 0.75%, with rent, fuel, wallet loads and EMI spends excluded. Lower ceiling than Flex, higher floor, and nothing to pay.

The Tata Neu Plus SBI Card charges the same ₹499 and reaches 7% on Tata Neu transactions against a 2% base. If your household buys from BigBasket, Croma, Westside or 1mg, That's a better use of the same fee, and the Tata Neu Infinity SBI Card goes further at ₹1,499.

The Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card has no fee and returns 5% on Amazon for Prime members, credited straight to Amazon Pay balance.

If a fee of any size makes you uneasy, our list of zero-fee credit cards in India is the right starting point.

Our verdict

For most people, this is a card to skip. Not because it’s a bad product. The instant redemption at the point of payment removes the most annoying part of Indian credit card rewards, and 1.6% on UPI spending is competitive.

The problem is that the identical reward engine is already available on a card that costs nothing.

However, if Axis Bank declined you and SBI Card approves you, Google Pay Flex SBI Card can be your route into the Flex ecosystem. It’s worth ₹589 in year one against a ₹1,000 welcome benefit. You can also take it if you already bank with SBI and want to maintain a relationship with one issuer.

Everyone else should apply for the Axis version, choose RuPay, and put their UPI spending on it.

Disclaimer

This is our honest read, not formal financial advice. Card terms change, and promotional reward tiers change faster. Verify current terms with the issuer before you apply.