Kotak Royale Signature Credit Card Review 2026: 30,000 Bonus Points at ₹8 Lakh, Lounge Access, Fees
This card is closed to new applicants — Kotak's page title reads "Royale Signature Credit Card (Discontinued)". Existing holders keep it, and Kotak still publishes its fees, rewards guide and milestone terms.
The Royale Signature's earn rate is modest — 0.67% on travel and dining, 0.33% on everything else. Its value is entirely in the milestones: 10,000 Reward Points at ₹4 lakh of annual spend, or 30,000 at ₹8 lakh. At ₹8 lakh that is ₹7,500 against a ₹999 annual fee, and it dwarfs what the card earns per rupee.
Quick Overview
| **Status** | Discontinued for new applicants; existing cards active |
|---|---|
| **Joining fee** | ₹1,499 (a NIL-joining variant also exists) |
| **Annual fee** | ₹999 — waived on **₹1 lakh** of annual retail spend |
| **Network** | Visa |
| **Accelerated rate** | **0.67%** — 4 Reward Points per ₹150 |
| **Base rate** | 0.33% — 2 Reward Points per ₹150 |
| **Point value** | ₹0.25 catalogue / ₹0.20 cash |
| **Milestones** | 10,000 points at ₹4 lakh **OR** 30,000 at ₹8 lakh |
| **Lounge** | 2 domestic/quarter — gated on ₹75,000 previous-quarter spend |
Reward Structure
| Spend | Reward Points per ₹150 | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and tour operators, package tour operators, airlines and air carriers | 4 | **0.67%** |
| Other eligible base categories | 2 | **0.33%** |
| Excluded categories | 0 | 0% |
Neither rate is capped.
A point is worth ₹0.25 on the Kotak Rewards catalogue and ₹0.20 in cash — the cash rate having fallen from ₹0.25 on 1 June 2025. Every figure here uses the catalogue rate; if you always take cash, cut them by 20%.
The milestones are the card
| Annual spend | Bonus points | Value at ₹0.25 |
|---|---|---|
| ₹4,00,000 | 10,000 | **₹2,500** |
| ₹8,00,000 | 30,000 | **₹7,500** |
These are alternatives, not additive. Kotak's wording is "10,000 Reward points on annual spends of ₹4,00,000 OR 30,000 Reward points on annual spends of ₹8,00,000". Reaching ₹8 lakh gets you 30,000 in total, not 40,000.
Put the earn rate and the milestone side by side at ₹8 lakh of spend:
| Source | Value |
|---|---|
| Earn rate (mixed accelerated and base) | roughly ₹3,600 |
| Milestone | **₹7,500** |
| **Total** | **₹11,100** |
The milestone is two-thirds of the value. If you can't reach ₹4 lakh a year, this card doesn't make sense — you'd be paying ₹999 for a 0.33%–0.67% return.
What changed on 1 June 2025
Kotak's rewards revision reshaped the card:
| Category | Points earned up to |
|---|---|
| Education and insurance | **₹70,000** per statement cycle each |
| Utility | **₹50,000** per statement cycle |
| Government | **₹40,000** per statement cycle |
| **Wallet load, fuel, rent, online skill-based gaming** | **Nothing at any level** |
Kotak also confirms that spend in all of these categories is excluded from the milestone calculation — which matters a great deal on a card whose value is the milestone. If a big share of your spend is utilities, insurance or government payments, you may not reach ₹4 lakh of eligible spend even if your statements say otherwise.
Lounge Access — now gated
2 complimentary visits every quarter to select DreamFolks lounges in India.
With effect from 1 June 2025, access is conditional: you must spend ₹75,000 or more in a calendar quarter to unlock lounge access in the next quarter.
That means a new cardholder gets nothing in their first quarter, and any quarter below ₹75,000 costs the following quarter's visits. To have access all year you need ₹75,000 every quarter — ₹3 lakh a year.
No international lounge access.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹1,499 (a NIL variant exists per the MITC) |
| Annual fee | ₹999 — waived on **₹1,00,000** of annual retail spend |
| Add-on card | **Waived** |
| Finance charges | 3.75% per month (45% per annum) |
| Interest-free period | Up to 51 days |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount, minimum ₹500 |
| Forex markup | 3.50% |
| Late payment | Nil up to ₹100, rising in slabs to ₹1,300 above ₹50,000 |
| Over-limit | ₹500 |
| Rent payment fee | 1% + GST on MCC 6513 |
| Utility fee | 1% above ₹50,000 per statement cycle |
| Fuel fee | 1% above ₹35,000 per statement cycle |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1% on ₹500–₹5,000, capped at ₹3,500 an anniversary year |
| Railway surcharge waiver | 1.8% / 2.5%, capped at ₹500 an anniversary year |
The ₹1 lakh fee waiver is easily cleared by anyone chasing the ₹4 lakh milestone. Add-on cards are free, and both surcharge waivers apply.
A note for older Royale holders
The MITC distinguishes a fee-paying Royale variant that redeems at 10 paise per point, with a different and richer accrual structure, from the free variant at 25 paise. This review models the card as its own product page describes it — 4 points per ₹150 accelerated, 2 base, at 25 paise.
If you hold an older fee-paying Royale, these figures may not apply to you. Check your own terms.
Worked Example
A cardholder spending ₹8 lakh of eligible spend a year, with ₹2 lakh on travel and dining:
| Source | Spend | Points | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel and dining at 4/₹150 | ₹2,00,000 | 5,333 | ₹1,333 |
| Other eligible at 2/₹150 | ₹6,00,000 | 8,000 | ₹2,000 |
| Milestone at ₹8 lakh | — | 30,000 | ₹7,500 |
| **Total** | **₹8,00,000** | **43,333** | **₹10,833** |
Net of the ₹999 fee — waived at ₹1 lakh anyway — that's 1.35%. Respectable for a card at this price, but almost entirely milestone-driven.
Who This Card Still Suits
Keep it if:
- You spend ₹4 lakh or more a year in eligible categories — below that, the card doesn't earn its fee
- You spend ₹75,000 every quarter, so the lounge access actually materialises
- Your spend skews to hotels, restaurants, travel agents and airlines — the 0.67% band
- You redeem on the catalogue rather than for cash
Supplement it if:
- Your spend is concentrated in utilities, insurance, government or fuel — capped or zeroed, and excluded from the milestone
- Your quarterly spend is lumpy — the ₹75,000 lounge gate will keep slipping away
- You spend abroad — 3.50% forex on a 0.33% base rate is a losing combination
- You always take cash redemptions — every figure here drops 20%
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still apply? No. Kotak's page title reads "(Discontinued)". Existing holders keep the card.
What's the fee? ₹1,499 joining (a NIL variant exists) and ₹999 annual, with the annual fee waived on ₹1 lakh of retail spend.
What's a point worth? ₹0.25 on the Kotak Rewards catalogue, ₹0.20 in cash since 1 June 2025.
Are the two milestones additive? No. It's 10,000 points at ₹4 lakh or 30,000 at ₹8 lakh — reaching ₹8 lakh gets you 30,000 in total.
Which spends don't count towards the milestone? Utility, education, insurance, government, wallet loading, fuel, rent and online skill-based gaming. On a milestone-driven card, that's the list to check before planning.
How do I get lounge access? Spend ₹75,000 or more in a calendar quarter to unlock 2 visits in the next quarter. A new cardholder gets nothing in their first quarter.
Is there international lounge access? No — domestic DreamFolks lounges only.
Which categories earn nothing? Wallet loading, fuel, rent and online skill-based gaming, since 1 June 2025. Utility, education, insurance and government earn up to per-cycle caps.
Is there a fuel surcharge waiver? Yes — 1% on ₹500–₹5,000 transactions, capped at ₹3,500 an anniversary year. The railway waiver applies too, capped at ₹500.
Fees, rates and benefits verified against the Royale Signature Credit Card product page, the Royale Rewards Program Guide, its fees-and-charges and milestone pages, Kotak's MCC schedule dated 1 June 2025 and the Kotak credit-card MITC, as at 23 September 2026. The card is closed to new applicants. Accelerated-category MCCs are inferred from Kotak's category names, which are published without codes.
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