CheQ AU Credit Card Review 2026: 12% on Partner Brands — and Why the Network You Get Matters
CheQ AU is lifetime free and advertises 12% rewards on partner brands. The Visa and RuPay variants earn differently, UPI outside the CheQ app earns nothing, and the cap is unpublished. Full review.
CheQ AU is lifetime free and its headline is 12% rewards on partnered brands.
CheQ points are worth ₹1 each — that is not an assumption but AU's own arithmetic: its reward terms call '24 CheQ points on every INR 200 spend' 12%, which only holds at ₹1 a point.
Three conditions decide whether you see that 12%, and one of them is which card AU sends you.
CheQ AU Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Entry co-brand rewards card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Someone who will route spending through the CheQ app |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | Nil, same on renewal |
| **Network** | Visa, RuPay |
| **Base reward rate** | **1.0%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **12.0%** — shopping |
| **Reward currency** | CheQ points, valued at ₹1 each |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.49% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
CheQ points redeem through the CheQ mobile app rather than AU Rewardz, so AU's ₹99 redemption fee does not apply to this card.
12% — 24 CheQ points per ₹200 — on partnered brands and on utility bills paid in the CheQ app.
5% — 10 points per ₹200 — on dining and quick-service restaurants, online marketplaces, clothing and apparel, electronics, department and variety stores, and book stores.
2.5% — 5 points per ₹200 — on UPI transactions made through the CheQ app.
1% on POS and e-commerce at partner merchants on the RuPay variant.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| shopping | **12.0%** |
| utility | **12.0%** |
| dining | **5.0%** |
| Everything else | 1.0% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
The Visa and RuPay variants are different cards
This is the detail most easily missed, and AU states it plainly in the reward terms:
- On the Visa variant, the 12% band covers spending at partnered brands.
- On the RuPay variant, POS and e-commerce spending at partner merchants earns 1%. The 12% is reserved for CheQ Travel and for utility bills paid through the app.
Two people holding a card with the same name can earn twelve times differently on the same purchase.
UPI outside the CheQ app earns nothing
AU is explicit: UPI transactions from other third-party payment apps are not eligible for rewards. The 2.5% UPI band applies only inside CheQ.
Two more conditions worth knowing
Transactions below ₹200 earn nothing. A per-transaction floor, so a run of small purchases returns zero.
The cap is not published. AU states no ceiling for any CheQ band in the terms reviewed here. On a 12% headline rate that is the most important missing number on the card, and this review records it as unknown rather than uncapped.
How partners are identified
AU identifies partnered brands by merchant ID, not by merchant category code. That means the 12% band cannot be predicted from an MCC list — a brand either is or is not on CheQ's partner roster, and the roster can change.
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 | Nil |
| 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 CheQ AU Credit Card Worth It?
Lifetime free with a real 12% band is a strong proposition, narrowly applied. The band covers partner brands and in-app utility bills, not general spending.
Check which network variant you are issued before building a strategy around the 12%.
The 'lifetime free' label has one exception: AU's Schedule of Charges notes a one-time ₹999 + GST fee for the LED card variant. The standard card is free.
CheQ is the only AU card with a ₹500 fuel surcharge floor rather than ₹400 — the waiver runs from ₹500 to ₹5,000, capped at ₹150 a statement month.
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)
Is a CheQ point worth ₹1? Yes, by AU's own arithmetic. AU's CheQ reward terms describe '24 CheQ points on every INR 200 spend' as 12%, '10 points per ₹200' as 5% and '5 points per ₹200' as 2.5%. All three statements are only consistent if a CheQ point is ₹1.
Do the Visa and RuPay CheQ AU cards earn the same? No. On the Visa variant the 12% band covers partnered brand spending. On the RuPay variant, POS and e-commerce at partner merchants earn 1%, and 12% applies to CheQ Travel and in-app utility bill payments.
Does CheQ AU earn rewards on UPI? Only through the CheQ app, at 2.5%. UPI transactions made through any other third-party app are not eligible for rewards at all.
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
