Miles Elite
Base Rate
0.25%
Forex Markup
1.99%
Joining Fee
₹4,999
Milestones
4
💳 Fee Structure
🧮 Reward Calculator
Monthly Spending Breakdown
Net Annual Value
-₹4,024
After ₹4,999 annual fee deduction
Base Rewards
₹975
Forex Net
+₹0
Milestones
₹0
Milestone Progress
Earn 10,000 bonus Travel Credits (worth ₹5,000) on spending ₹5L
Spend ₹5L annually
Earn additional 20,000 bonus Travel Credits (worth ₹10,000) on spending ₹8L (Cumulative ₹15,000)
Spend ₹8L annually
Earn additional 20,000 bonus Travel Credits (worth ₹10,000) on spending ₹12L (Cumulative ₹25,000)
Spend ₹12L annually
Annual fee of ₹4,999 waived on spending ₹15L
Spend ₹15L annually
📝 Detailed Review
The CardVault Verdict
The SBI Card Miles Elite is SBIs premier travel card, attempting to capture the market of frequent flyers. While it offers an excellent 1:1 transfer ratio to Air India Flying Returns and robust milestone bonuses, its base earning rate is practically negligible (0.25% return). High spenders who can comfortably hit the ₹15L waiver threshold will benefit, but light spenders should look elsewhere.
Who Should Apply?
Frequent travelers who fly Air India, can funnel over ₹12L annual spend through the card, and need regular airport lounge access.
Lounge Access
Unconditional Access
No minimum spend required to unlock lounge visits.
Visits / Year
14visits
Supported Networks
Additional Notes
8 complimentary domestic lounge visits per year (max 2/quarter) plus 6 complimentary international lounge visits per year via Priority Pass.
🔄 Transfer Partners
Air India Flying Returns
airline
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
airline
Club Vistara
airline
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✓Pros
- •Excellent 1:1 points transfer ratio to Air India Flying Returns miles
- •Generous milestone rewards giving up to 50,000 Travel Credits (worth ₹25,000)
- •Balanced domestic (8/year) and international (6/year) airport lounge visits
- •Reasonable forex markup of 1.99% for a mid-tier travel card
✗Cons
- •Extremely low base reward rate of 0.25% on general spending
- •High ₹15 Lakhs annual spend required to waive the ₹4,999 renewal fee
- •Domestic and international lounge visits are capped at a strict 2 visits per quarter
Historical Changes
Track record of card modifications
Clean Track Record
No devaluations recorded — this card has maintained its value proposition consistently.