Compare all 4 Bandhan cards | Step down: Ignite
Verified against Bandhan Bank’s official Flare page and Fees and Charges table on 9 Sep 2026. One gap flagged below. Check the MITC before applying.
First card? Three terms to know: waiver = yearly fee dropped if you spent enough, milestone = bonus for crossing a monthly target, MITC = the bank’s official rulebook that has the final word.
Why should you care? Strong travel rewards — but only if you spend big
Flare is Bandhan’s travel and lifestyle card. Rs 2,499 a year, 10 points per Rs 200 base, 20 points on travel, a 5,000-point monthly bonus and four domestic plus one international lounge visit every three months.
The rewards are strong, but they only kick in if you already spend around Rs 75,000 a month.
The catch, in plain words: the waiver needs Rs 6 lakh a year
Rs 2,499 plus GST is Rs 2,949 out of pocket. The waiver needs Rs 6,00,000 of yearly spending — Rs 50,000 a month, every month. Below that you pay full fee every year.
And the best travel rate of 20 points per Rs 200 applies to travel spending, with the monthly bonus needing Rs 75,000 of total monthly spend. So average spending gets you little here; heavy spending gets you a lot. Be sure which group you are in.
What Flare actually gives you
Fee: Joining Rs 2,499 plus GST. Yearly Rs 2,499 plus GST, so Rs 2,949 all-in. Waived on Rs 6,00,000 a year (rent payments and wallet loads do not count, per the MITC). Add-on card free. Paying rent by card costs 1% + GST, capped at Rs 250 per transaction.
Rewards: 10 points per Rs 200 on eligible spends (about 1.25%). On travel you earn 20 points per Rs 200 (about 2.50%), once you spend Rs 25,000 or more on travel in that month, per the official Value Chart. That travel rate is the whole point of this card.
Milestone: 5,000 bonus points when total monthly spend hits Rs 75,000. At Rs 0.25 per point per the Delights FAQ, that is about Rs 1,250 earned in that month, usable roughly two months later per the MITC. It repeats monthly. Confirm which categories are excluded, fuel usually is.
Welcome gift, read carefully: the official compare page says Rs 2,000 Amazon Pay e-voucher on Rs 10,000 spend within 30 days of issuance. Some aggregator pages instead mention 5,000 bonus points, and one press report used similar voucher language. The official page wins: expect the Rs 2,000 Amazon Pay voucher, not the points. Recheck on the day you apply, because launch offers change fast.
Lounge: 4 free domestic plus 1 free international visit per quarter at select airports.
Movies and food: 25% off BookMyShow up to Rs 500 a month, plus 15% off EazyDiner up to Rs 750 a month. Together that is up to Rs 1,250 a month if you use both fully.
Fuel: 1% surcharge waiver up to Rs 500 per statement cycle.
EMI: 10% cashback up to Rs 750 on the first EMI conversion of 12 months or more. One time only. Note this is Rs 750, higher than the Rs 500 on Sparks and Ignite.
Golf: 4 free golf lessons per calendar year.
Foreign spends: 1.99% plus taxes. Better than the 3.50% on the two cheaper cards, still not zero.
Interest: 2.00% a month for existing customers with a CASA relationship, 3.50% for new customers. Cash withdrawals 3.50%. These rates are per the Fees table. Even 2% a month is about 24% a year, so the rule never changes: pay the full bill every month.
When Flare works, and when it does not: an example
Amit from Mumbai spends Rs 80,000 a month, including Rs 30,000 on flights and hotels. In a bonus month he earns roughly 4,000 base points plus the travel doubling plus 5,000 bonus points — around 10,000-plus points in a good month, worth roughly Rs 2,500, plus lounge visits and up to Rs 1,250 of food and movie caps. His yearly spend crosses Rs 6 lakh, so the fee is waived. For Amit, Flare genuinely earns.
His colleague spends Rs 35,000 a month with one trip a quarter. No bonus ever, fee never waived, Rs 2,949 paid every year for lounges used twice. Ignite at Rs 999 would have been the smarter card. Same bank, wrong rung of the ladder.
What to do next
- Only consider Flare if your monthly average is already above Rs 60,000 with regular travel. Otherwise stop here.
- In the first 30 days, plan Rs 10,000 of normal spending and check whether the live offer on your application page is the Amazon Pay voucher or points. Screenshot the offer.
- Track the Rs 75,000 monthly bonus and the Rs 6 lakh yearly waiver. Never force spending to hit them.
- Use the BookMyShow and EazyDiner caps monthly. They expire; points do not.
Bottom line
Flare is a specialist. Heavy travellers spending Rs 75,000 a month get 2.50% on travel plus a fat bonus. Everyone else overpays. Match the card to travel you already do.
If you do one thing today: check your last six months for any Rs 75,000 month. If it never happened, Flare is not your card yet.
Verified 9 Sep 2026: official Flare page and Fees table (Joining and Renewal Rs 2,499 plus taxes, waiver Rs 6,00,000, forex 1.99%, fuel cap Rs 500). Welcome per official compare page is the Rs 2,000 Amazon Pay voucher, resolving the aggregator conflict in favour of the voucher. Reward value Rs 0.25 per point per Bandhan’s official Delights FAQ (confirm the credit-card catalogue uses the same Delight Point on apply day). Final word is the English MITC (CC/MITC/OA/090726/03/V-01).
