AU Business Cashback Credit Card Review 2026: 1% for Paying Your Bill, Not for Spending
AU Business Cashback charges ₹99 a month and pays 1% cashback on repayment of the total amount due — not on spending. Revolve a balance and you earn nothing. How it works, plus FAQs.
AU Business Cashback charges ₹99 a month, waived in any cycle where you spend ₹10,000.
Its 1% cashback works differently from every other card in this dataset: it is earned on paying the bill, not on making the purchases.
AU Business Cashback Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Business cashback card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | A business owner who always clears the full balance |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | Nil joining, ₹1,188 + GST renewal — renewal waived at ₹10,000 of annual spend |
| **Network** | Visa, RuPay |
| **Base reward rate** | **1.0%** |
| **Reward currency** | Cashback, valued at ₹1 each |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.49% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
1% cashback on the repayment of the Total Amount Due.
AU's condition is explicit: the 1% 'will be applicable only upon repayment of the full total amount due'. Pay in full and you earn. Pay the minimum and you earn nothing.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| Everything else | 1.0% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
The fee is monthly and so is the waiver
This is the detail most likely to be misread.
₹99 a month — ₹1,188 a year if never waived. ₹10,000 of retail spend within a statement cycle waives that cycle's charge.
Both figures are monthly. A business spending ₹10,000 a month pays nothing; one spending ₹10,000 in a year pays eleven months of fees.
Revolving costs you twice
A cardholder who carries a balance on this card:
- Earns no cashback at all, because the 1% requires full repayment.
- Pays up to 3.49% a month — 41.88% a year — on the balance.
The card is designed to reward discipline rather than transaction volume, which is an unusual structure and a defensible one for a business card. But it means the cashback is worthless to exactly the businesses most likely to want a credit line.
Fair usage charges do apply here
AU exempts only its Corporate and Purchase cards from the 1% fair usage charges. Business Cashback is not exempt. For a business card, where fuel and utility spending can be substantial, that is a meaningful difference from AU's other commercial products.
AU also publishes a separate excluded-MCC list specific to this card.
Fair usage charges: the most important thing about any AU card
AU levies 1% 'fair usage charges' on five categories of spending. These are charges, not merely the absence of rewards — money leaves your account for using the card.
| Category | MCCs | When the 1% applies |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 5172, 5541, 5542, 5552, 5983 | Monthly aggregate above 50% of your credit limit or ₹50,000, whichever is **lower**. If a single transaction also exceeds ₹10,000, the 1% hits the **entire** aggregate, not just the excess. |
| Utility | 4900 | Monthly aggregate above ₹50,000 |
| Education & government | 8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299 | Paid through third-party apps (CRED, PhonePe, Paytm, MobiKwik, Freecharge) or internationally. Minimum ₹99 per transaction. Paying the institution directly is free. |
| Rent | 6513 | All domestic rent. Minimum ₹99 per transaction. |
| Transportation | 4111, 4112, 4784 | Monthly aggregate above 50% of your limit or ₹25,000, whichever is lower — then 1% on the **entire** aggregate. |
Two exemptions are worth knowing: the AU Corporate and Purchase cards are exempt from all five, and the ixigo AU co-brand is exempt from the transportation charge. Nothing applies to international transactions.
The fuel rule deserves a second look. Fuel earns no reward points on any AU card, and above the threshold it costs 1%. It is the only category in this dataset that is penalised twice.
Category Restrictions: Where You Won't Earn
- Where you earn nothing: Earns nothing at all: AU excludes fuel, cash withdrawals and quasi-cash from Reward Points across the range. Note that fuel is doubly penalised: it earns nothing AND, above the fair-usage threshold, attracts a 1% charge.
- Point expiry: Reward Points remain valid for 24 months from the date of accrual, per AU's Card Member Agreement. Points are credited on the statement generation date and only where the transaction has settled and has not been reversed, disputed, cancelled, refunded or charged back.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | Nil |
| Renewal fee | ₹1,188 + GST |
| Finance charges | 3.75% per month (45% per annum) on all AU retail credit cards. Two exceptions: Zenith+ at 1.99% per month (23.88% per annum) and AU CA and AU CS at 2.99% per month (35.88% per annum). Commercial cards — Corporate, Purchase and Business — are charged up to 3.49% per month (41.88% per annum). |
| Interest-free period | Up to 50 days on retail cards and up to 48 days on commercial cards, and not applicable to cash withdrawals. The period is lost entirely if the previous month's dues were not paid in full. |
| Minimum amount due | 5% of principal outstanding + 100% of fees and charges + 100% of interest + due EMIs + 100% of the annual membership fee + 100% of GST, for customers who paid the previous statement's Total Amount Due in full and on time. For customers who did NOT, the principal component drops to 2% — a lower minimum that lets the balance revolve for longer. The result is rounded up to the next multiple of ₹10, and any unpaid MAD from previous statements is added on. |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount withdrawn or ₹500, whichever is higher. Zenith+ and Traverse (NRI) have NO cash withdrawal fee. |
| Cash advance interest | Charged at the card's revolving rate from the date of withdrawal, with no interest-free period. |
| Forex markup | Varies by card: 0% on ixigo AU; 0.99% on Zenith+, NOMO and Traverse (NRI); 1.99% on Zenith, AU CA and AU CS; 2.99% on Vetta; and 3.49% on the rest of the range. |
| Dynamic currency conversion | Charged at the card's cross-currency markup rate — AU applies the same rate to dynamic and static currency conversion transactions as to foreign currency transactions. |
| Late payment | 15% of the Total Amount Due, subject to a minimum of ₹10 and a maximum of ₹1,300. AU's late fee is PERCENTAGE-BASED, which is unusual — most Indian issuers use a flat slab table. On a ₹2,000 balance the charge is ₹300 where a slab-based issuer would charge ₹400–₹500; on a ₹20,000 balance it is ₹1,300 against a typical ₹950–₹1,000. AU's own MITC works the ₹2,000 example. The charge is levied on the amount outstanding after the due date, not on the total amount due, and applies equally if you pay less than the minimum amount due. |
| Overlimit | 2.5% of the over-limit amount, subject to a minimum of ₹500. |
| Payment return | 2% of the Total Amount Due or ₹500, whichever is higher, on the return or failure of a payment — cheque, ECS/NACH or autopay alike. |
| Rent payment | 1% of the transaction value, minimum ₹99 per transaction, on domestic rent (MCC 6513). International rental transactions are not charged. |
| Utility payments | No charge while aggregate utility spend (MCC 4900) stays at or under ₹50,000 in a calendar month; 1% on the amount above ₹50,000. |
| Education payments | 1% of the transaction value, minimum ₹99 per transaction, on education and government payments (MCC 8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299) made through third-party apps such as CRED, PhonePe, Paytm, MobiKwik and Freecharge, and on international education transactions. Payments made directly to a school or college — on its own website or at its POS terminal — are NOT charged. |
| Fuel transactions | Revised w.e.f. 1 July 2026. No charge while aggregate monthly fuel spend (MCC 5172, 5541, 5542, 5552, 5983) stays under 50% of the credit limit or ₹50,000, whichever is lower. Above that threshold, 1% on the excess — but where a single transaction ALSO exceeds ₹10,000, the 1% is charged on the entire aggregate rather than on the excess alone. |
| Add-on card | AU levies the same joining and annual membership fee schedule on add-on cardholders as on primary cardholders. |
| Reward redemption | ₹99 + GST on EVERY successful redemption, applicable to all AU Bank Credit Card variants. At the ₹0.25 general redemption rate that fee is worth 467 Reward Points. |
| EMI processing | Xpress EMI: 1% of the amount converted, minimum ₹99 + GST — but zero on Laksya, AU CA and AU CS. Instant EMI: ₹199 + GST on every EMI transaction at a point of sale or through a payment gateway. |
| GST | 18% on all fees, interest and other charges. |
Is the AU Business Cashback Credit Card Worth It?
Only worth holding if you clear the balance every month. That is not a hedge — it is the card's explicit condition.
Spend ₹10,000 a month or the fee recurs. At ₹99 a month, twelve unwaived cycles cost ₹1,188.
If your business spends heavily on fuel or utilities, compare against the AU Corporate and Purchase cards, which are nil-fee and exempt from fair usage charges entirely.
The ₹200 fuel surcharge cap is mid-range for AU.
AU's late payment charge is 15% of the total amount due, with a floor of ₹10 and a ceiling of ₹1,300. That is unusual — almost every Indian issuer uses a flat slab table. It works out cheaper than the market on small balances (₹300 on ₹2,000, where a slab issuer charges ₹400 to ₹500) and at the ceiling on large ones.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does AU Business Cashback's 1% work? It is earned on repayment, not on spending. AU pays 1% cashback only upon repayment of the full Total Amount Due. A cardholder who revolves a balance earns nothing and pays up to 3.49% a month in interest.
Is the AU Business Cashback fee monthly or annual? Monthly — ₹99 plus applicable charges, waived in any statement cycle with ₹10,000 of retail spend. Unwaived for a full year it comes to ₹1,188.
What is an AU Reward Point worth? ₹0.25 when redeemed through AU Rewardz, and ₹0.20 if redeemed against gift cards, vouchers or e-vouchers. Both rates are published by AU. Points are valid for 24 months from the date they are earned.
Is there a fee to redeem AU reward points? Yes — ₹99 plus GST on every successful redemption, on every AU card variant. At ₹0.25 a point that fee is worth 467 Reward Points, so redeeming small balances is rarely worth it.
Does this card earn rewards on fuel? No. Fuel earns no reward points on any AU credit card. Above 50% of your credit limit or ₹50,000 a month, whichever is lower, fuel spending also attracts a 1% fair usage charge.
Cards Mentioned in This Article
