All SBI Cards - Benefits & Features [Encash, Easy Money, Balance Transfer, BT on EMI, Flexipay, ATM Cash]

◽ ENCASH
- Encash is a pre-approved, money- on- demand facility, which is offered to a select set of SBI credit cardholders. The Encash amount that a cardholder would be eligible for can be over and above the existing credit limit or within the current credit limit on the card. The funds will be transferred to your account instantly within 48 hrs or via payable-at-par cheque.


- No documents, paper-work or post-dated cheques needed.

- A one-time processing fee of 2%, up to a minimum of Rs. 499 and a maximum of Rs. 3,000 will be levied.

Experience: I had availed the SBI Card's Encash facility back in 2017 for Rs 2,18,000 against ROI of just 8.75%. That time SBI didn't directly transfer the fund into the bank account; instead, they sent a cheque for the booked amount. It was a very convenient process. I just dropped the cheque into the recipient bank's dropbox, and the fund got credited in only 3 working days. 

◽ BALANCE TRANSFER ON EMI

- Balance Transfer on EMI (BT on EMI) facility on SBI Card enables the cardholders to transfer balances from any other credit card to their SBI Card at low rates of interest and pay back in EMIs.

- Continue enjoying interest-free period on purchases with BT on EMI

- Pre-closure fee: 3% on the remaining outstanding principal balance

- Repay in 3 months or 6 months
  ⦁ 3 Months - 0.75% ROI per month, Processing fee:1.5% or Rs. 199, whichever is higher
  ⦁ 6 Months - 1.27% ROI per month, Processing fee:1.5% or Rs. 199, whichever is higher

Experience: SBI Cards' BT on EMI is the service that I use a lot. There have been many times when I went short of funds, and then I opted for BT on EMI. Once booked, you can rest assured that this BT will go through, unlike ICICI Bank, who first offers you the BT and then abruptly declines the BT after 5 working days. You can depend on SBI cards.

◽ BALANCE TRANSFER
- Balance Transfer (BT) facility on SBI Card, enables the cardholders to transfer the outstanding balance from your other bank credit cards to your SBI Credit Card and repay it in easy monthly installments at a lower interest rate.

- You get 2 options on BT
   ⦁ 0% interest for 60 days, Processing fee: 2% or Rs. 199, whichever is higher
   ⦁ 1.7% interest per month for 180 days, Zero processing fee

- It is highly recommended not to use your SBI Card for retail purchases once you have opted for a Balance transfer. During the ongoing BT tenure, using the card on the retail purchases will attract interest charges as well. However, this does not apply to BT on EMI

Experience: I have never opted to BT for the afore-mentioned reason. I always prefer BT on EMI as I can keep making the regular retail transactions. Further, the BT amount gets paid slowly in EMIs; saving me from the burden of paying a massive chunk of amount after 3 or 6 months of BT has expired.


◽ FLEXIPAY
- Flexipay is a facility offered to existing SBI credit cardholders to convert their big purchases into easy monthly installments. Any SBI Cardholder, with a transaction higher than Rs 500 can convert the said transaction into Flexipay within 30 days.

- Minimum booking amount is Rs 2500

- A one-time processing fee of 2%, up to a minimum of Rs. 199 and a maximum of Rs. 1,000 will be charged for availing Flexipay

- An interest rate of 22% per annum, or as per applicable offer

- If you want to foreclose or cancel your Flexipay plan, a 3% cancellation fee will be levied on the outstanding principal amount

Experience: Please note that you cannot avail BT from an SBI card to another SBI card. Hence, if you have made some significant purchases on SBI Card; you can go for Flexipay. You can either convert 1 transaction of minimum Rs 2500 into Flexipay, or you can combine multiple transactions and then convert them into 1 Flexipay transaction.

I have availed many Flexipays, and it's an effortless procedure. The turn-around time for a Flexipay transaction is 5 working days, but most of the time it reflects in your unbilled transaction section within 2-3 working days.

◽ EASY MONEY
- Just like Encash facility; which is for the long term for an amount that can be over and above your card's credit limit, Easy Money empowers the cardholders to avail funds for a short time at a low rate of interest. The funds get instantly credited to your bank account through NEFT.

- Rate of interest: 2.45% p.m. for 45 days

- Processing fee: 1.5% or Rs. 199, whichever is higher

Experience: I have availed 'Enchash' but not 'Easy Money' but both the process is precisely the same. Please refer to Encash's experience section above.


◽ ATM CASH
-  For sure you have withdrawn cash from the ATM numerous time with your debit card. This is the same, but the only difference is that you use your credit card to withdraw the cash.

- For domestic cash withdrawal, a fee of 2.5% or Rs. 300 (whichever is higher) will be charged

- For international cash withdrawal, a fee of 3% or Rs. 300 (whichever is higher), will be charged

- You will also have to pay a service charge (monthly & annual fees 3.35% p.m. & 40.2% per annum, respectively) on these withdrawals, starting from the date you withdrew the cash from the ATM till the date of settlement or repayment of the entire amount.

Experience: By God's grace, I have never fallen into that dire situation wherein I had to withdraw cash using the credit card, and I pray never to fall in such a situation. Unless it's a 'live or die' situation, never ever use this facility. If you need urgent hard cash, just load it into one of your digital wallets such as Payzaap, Paytm, etc. and transfer the funds into your bank account for a nominal transfer charge of 3-5%. Doing that, you will have hard cash with you, and vis-à-vis you will get ample amount of time to repay the amount to your credit card. However, never withdraw cash using your credit card.

Thanks for reading!