Best RuPay Credit Cards for UPI in 2026, Ranked by What You Earn

Linking a RuPay credit card to UPI lets you pay any shop's QR code with your card instead of your bank balance, and still get the interest-free period and rewards. But what you earn on UPI varies a lot: some cards pay 1.5% or more, many pay 1%, and some pay nothing at all. Several only pay their best rate inside their own app.

We ranked the RuPay cards in our database by what they actually give back on UPI payments, with the catches that decide whether that rate applies to you.

How credit cards on UPI work

• Only RuPay credit cards work on UPI. Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards can't be linked. Many banks issue a RuPay version of a popular card, so ask for the RuPay variant when you apply.
• You can pay merchants, not people. Scanning a shop's QR code works; sending money to a friend's UPI ID doesn't.
• It's free for you. There's no charge to the customer. Merchants pay a small fee on credit card UPI payments above ₹2,000, which is why a few small shops refuse them (how UPI charges on credit cards work).
• Link it in any UPI app. Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM and most bank apps let you add a RuPay credit card. Some cards only pay their full rate through the issuer's own app, as noted below.

The best RuPay cards for UPI

Rates are the value you get back on UPI scan-and-pay, from each card's terms, with points converted to rupees.

1.5% or more

• ixigo AU: 2.5% on RuPay UPI, as ixigo points worth ₹1 each on ixigo flights, trains and hotels. Lifetime free. Best if you book travel on ixigo anyway.
• Tata Neu Infinity HDFC: 1.5% when you pay with a Tata Neu UPI ID (0.5% otherwise), capped at 500 NeuCoins a month, so it covers about ₹33,000 of UPI spends.
• Tata Neu Infinity SBI: 1.5% on UPI in NeuCoins, also capped at 500 a month.
• Kiwi: 1.5% on scan-and-pay made in the Kiwi app (online UPI payments earn 0.5%). Lifetime free.
• Axis super.money: 3% on UPI QR payments in the super.money app, but capped at the cashback you earn on other spends that cycle. In practice it's 1% for most people, more if you also use the card elsewhere.

About 1%

• Uni GoldX: 1% on all eligible UPI and card spends of ₹100 or more, with no cap. Lifetime free, zero forex markup.
• Jupiter Edge+: 1% on UPI, unlimited, plus 10% at its partner shopping brands.
• Scapia: 1% in Scapia Coins on UPI payments of ₹500 or more, usable on travel booked in the Scapia app.
• HSBC RuPay Cashback: 1% on UPI, but all the card's cashback is capped at ₹400 a month.
• HDFC Pixel Go (RuPay variant), PhonePe HDFC Uno and Ultimo: 1% on UPI scan-and-pay, capped at 500 points a month.
• Tata Neu Plus SBI: 1% on UPI, capped at 500 NeuCoins a month.
• CUB SalarySe: 1% through the SalarySe app (2% once you spend over ₹20,000 a month), only 0.2% through other UPI apps.
• IDFC FIRST Quantum+ and Hello Cashback: 1% on UPI, but only through the IDFC FIRST app. Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm earn nothing.

Cards that pay little or nothing on UPI

• YES Bank ACE, Reserv and Marquee exclude UPI from rewards entirely.
• Kotak UPI RuPay pays about 0.3%, and Kotak Cashback+ (RuPay) 0.5%.
• Most IDFC FIRST RuPay cards earn their lowest tier on UPI, around 0.125% to 0.5%.

Three things that change the real rate

• Which app you pay with. Kiwi, super.money, SalarySe and the IDFC FIRST cards only pay their full rate in their own app. Check before linking the card to Google Pay.
• Monthly caps. The 1.5% cards stop at about ₹500 of rewards a month. Above roughly ₹33,000 of UPI spend, an uncapped 1% card like Uni GoldX pays more.
• Excluded categories. Fuel, rent, wallet loads and government payments usually earn nothing on UPI either, the same as with the card itself.

The short answer

For most people, Tata Neu Infinity (with a Tata Neu UPI ID) or Kiwi gives the best everyday UPI rate, and Uni GoldX is the simplest uncapped 1%. If you book travel on ixigo, its 2.5% is the highest of all. To see which card wins at a specific app, check our rankings for Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm, or browse every RuPay credit card.

Rates are from each card's published terms as of October 2026. Banks change UPI rewards often, so check the card's current terms before you rely on a rate.