Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card Review

This Article was fact checked and last updated for accuracy on November 3, 2020 by Mani Karthik

If you’re a credit card freak like me, you are always on a continuous pursuit of the “ultimate” card. One where you can put all your regular shopping on to and earn all the cashback rewards for it. Well, with the Standard Chartered Manhattan card, you are close to that dream (probably as close as it can be). Here’s why.

Let me get it straight. The Standard Chartered Manhattan credit card is not for everything! Think about your every day expenses. Groceries and stuff. Now think about some high lifestyle expenses,. Travel, international transactions etc. Now, can you think of a credit card that can fit both these type of expenses equally AND get cashback rewards for? Probably not. This is why the Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card is awesome! But let’s not stop there. Let’s deep a little more deeper into how this card works in India and its benefits.

What’s the best use of Standard Chartered Manhattan credit card?

Like I said, this card is the kind of credit card you would want in your wallet all the time. Because, you’re going to be using it for your grocery shopping at department stores (like Reliance fresh), online shopping from Flipkart, Amazon etc, travel expenses and even foreign transactions if any (not a big fan of using credit cards for these but hey, you have this option just in case).

For a millennial guy like me, this card is godsend. And wait, I’m not goo goo ga ga over this card just because it lets me use it at a multiple number of places, but… wait for it… it gives you 5% cashback on groceries (not all supermarkets though) & 5X reward points on other type of spending. Pretty cool, eh?

Standard Chartered Manhattan credit card features & benefits

Since this is a hugely popular card internationally, a lot of people mistake its features to the international versions. Well, even though it’s pretty similar, the India version of this card is unique. Let’s take a look at the features this card has in India.

• 5% cashback on supermarket and department stores (More, Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar).
• Redeem reward points for gifts and vouchers through Standard Chartered’s rewards catalogue.
• Cashback of up to Rs. 150 on every spend of Rs. 1,000.

Ok so, what’s the catch?

All that glitter and no catch? Cannot be true in the world of credit cards, right? Well, even in this case, the Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card comes with a difference. It has some “drawbacks” for sure but depending on how you use it, it could be benefits too. Like I said, this card is not an “all purpose” one. If you are spending a lot on groceries, fuel, travel, dining out etc, then you can use this card and get benefits, no doubt. But let’s take a look at the following things.

• Maximum cash back is limited to Rs.150 per transaction and Rs.500 per month.
• At least Rs.1,000 expense required per transaction to get the cashback. (So, not all spend is qualified)
• There is a small joining fee Rs.499 (Small or big, I hate and don’t see the sense why credit card companies should charge a joining fee)
• Yearly renewal fee of Rs.999 from the second year on wards. (Bummer!)

So, there you go. No catch as such, but there are those nasty joining fees and yearly renewal fees, which aren’t too much compared to some other cards, but still is a bummer. But wait, you can get over them (or get them waived off). How?

• Spend Rs.60,000 or higher in the first year and voila, there are no yearly renewal fees.
• Spend Rs. 30,000 in the first month and there are no joining fees. (Waived off)

Well, that’s good to hear.

So, who can apply for this card?

Folks in big cities with more than 5 Lakh yearly income is a safe bet but if you already have other credit cards and have an income more than 6 Lakhs/year, I don’t see a reason why you should not be in.

Can you apply online?

Sure can. You can apply for this card online and the application process is pretty straight forward. Use the button below to get to the application page.

If you are not interested in this card, there are several other alternatives here. All the best!