Federal Bank Scapia Credit Card Review
Featured Offer
Apply free. Then earn up to a ₹60,000 Amazon voucher by referring 15 friends.
Lifetime free, zero forex markup, and domestic airport lounge access (spend-conditional at ₹20,000 per billing cycle). Friends who join through a referral link get an instant ₹1,000 flight discount, valid for 30 days. Refer friends for 1,000 Scapia Coins each, plus one milestone voucher: ₹1,500 Amazon at 3 referrals, ₹25,000 at 6, or ₹60,000 at 15. All three are Amazon Gift Vouchers, and milestone rewards are not cumulative.
Applying via pickmycard.in uses the site referral link. The current Refer and Earn campaign is live from 1 September 2026; Scapia announces the end date in-app 4 to 5 days ahead, so apply and start referring early to reach a milestone in time.
At a Glance
Key features
- Lifetime free
- 20% Scapia Coins on in-app travel bookings (4% actual return); 10% on Visa-variant spends (2% actual); 5% on RuPay/UPI spends of ₹500+ (1% actual). Coins convert at 5:1 to INR and redeem only for in-app travel
- No forex markup fee
- Unlimited domestic airport lounge access when preceding calendar month spend ≥ ₹20,000 (gate doubled from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 effective 27 Feb 2026)
Cashback
| Category | Rate | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| travel bookings app | 20% | 20% rewards (Scapia Coins) on flight, hotel, and bus bookings made through the Scapia app. Coins convert to INR at 5:1 (5 Scapia Coins = ₹1), so the actual return is 4% of the booking value. |
| eligible spends visa | 10% | 10% rewards (Scapia Coins) on every eligible online/offline spend of ₹20+ on the Visa variant. At the 5:1 Coins-to-INR conversion, the actual return is 2%. |
| eligible spends rupay | 5% | 5% rewards (Scapia Coins) on eligible UPI/online/offline spends of ₹500+ on the RuPay variant. At the 5:1 Coins-to-INR conversion, the actual return is 1%. |
| Default cashback rate | 10% | All other eligible spends |
| Default earn rate | 0× | All other eligible retail spends |
| Welcome bonus: 1,000 Scapia Coins after making the first flight booking on the Scapia app within the first month of card issuance (via referral path; not on card activation alone) | ||
Fees
| Joining fee | ₹0 |
| Annual fee | ₹0 |
Lounge access
Eligibility
Editor's Review
Who this card is for
Anyone who travels domestically at least four times a year and doesn't want to pay an annual fee to enter airport lounges. Frequent flyers in their 20s and 30s based in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai or any tier-1 airport city will extract the most value. A Rs 3 lakh minimum income is modest, so young salaried workers can qualify. We'd also recommend it as a second card to anyone who travels abroad once a year and is tired of the 3.5% forex markup that most Indian cards charge.
What you earn
Scapia's reward structure earns Scapia Coins, not cash, and the headline percentages describe Coins, not rupees. In-app flight, hotel, and bus bookings earn 20% Coins (4% actual, since Coins convert at 5:1 to INR). General Visa-variant spends earn 10% Coins (2% actual). RuPay and UPI spends earn 5% Coins (1% actual). There is no flat catch-all rate beyond these three; anything outside them, including fuel, rent, wallet loads, education fees, utility and insurance payments, EMIs, gift cards, government or professional services, and international spends, earns nothing.
Is that limiting? Yes, genuinely. If you're looking for a general cashback workhorse, this isn't it. A ₹50,000 flight booked through the Scapia app earns 10,000 Coins, worth ₹2,000 in real terms, useful if you're going to book another flight in the next 12 months. Coins can't be converted to cash or statement credit, and they expire if the card sits unused for a year, so occasional travellers should not bank on redeeming them. There's no limit on how much of a single booking you can pay for with Coins, so a large enough balance can cover up to 100% of a trip.
Where Scapia wins is the non-reward benefits. Domestic airport lounge access at a lifetime free card is rare, though it requires ₹20,000+ of monthly card spend to unlock an Airport Privilege credit each billing cycle. The closest competitor we've seen is the IDFC Wealth, which requires a lifestyle upgrade to qualify for. Zero forex markup is also a standalone reason to keep this card in your wallet for every foreign transaction, even though international spends earn no Coins at all. Think of Scapia as the travel layer in a two-card setup, not your primary.
Worth knowing about the app experience. Scapia's hotel inventory is powered by a smaller set of partners than MakeMyTrip, so availability for Tier 2 destinations can be patchy. Flight options are more comprehensive. For international trips, cross-check pricing on Skyscanner before committing to a Scapia booking purely to capture the 4% effective return. If the base fare is ₹3,000 higher than elsewhere, the Coins don't cover the gap.
What "20% Back" Actually Means
Scapia advertises "20% back" on travel bookings made through its app. That figure describes Scapia Coins, not rupees. The card's headline earn rates are 20% on flights, hotels, and bus bookings made inside the Scapia app; 10% on general Visa-variant spends of ₹20 or more; and 5% on RuPay and UPI spends of ₹500 or more.
Coins are worth ₹0.20 each (5 Coins = ₹1). Convert the headline percentages at that rate and the real return is 4% on in-app travel bookings, 2% on general Visa spends, and 1% on RuPay/UPI spends. A ₹50,000 flight booked through the app earns 10,000 Coins, worth ₹2,000, not the ₹10,000 the "20%" framing implies.
The redemption terms narrow the value further. Coins cannot be converted to statement credit or cash. They only spend inside the Scapia app, against flights, hotels, buses, and trains, though there is no limit on how much of a single booking you can pay for with Coins. Use the card at least once a year or the Coins expire. Rent, wallet loads and crypto, education fees, fuel, utility and insurance payments, EMIs, gift cards, and government or professional services earn no Coins at all, and international spends earn nothing either, even though the card carries zero forex markup on them.
None of this makes Scapia a bad card. Lifetime-free with spend-conditional lounge access and no forex markup is still a strong package. Budget the rewards at 4%, 2%, and 1%, not 20%, 10%, and 5%, and the Coins will not disappoint you when they land.
What you actually pay
There is no fee, ever. Joining is free, annual is free, and we've seen no fine print about hidden charges. That alone puts this card in a category of one. Most Indian banks charge something, or hide a renewal charge in year two. Scapia doesn't.
What about forex and fuel? Forex markup is zero, the best rate in the market. Fuel surcharge waiver applies to all fuel transactions, with no minimum or maximum bound. Honestly, the fee structure is the single most aggressive thing about the card. Federal Bank is clearly positioning this as a user-acquisition play, so we wouldn't assume these terms last forever, but as of April 2026 the pricing is still intact.
What we like, what we don't
What works
- Lifetime free with zero joining and zero annual fees, no waiver conditions to worry about
- Domestic airport lounge access (Airport Privilege credit, unlocked with ₹20,000+ monthly spend) on a zero-fee card
- Zero forex markup fee on international transactions, saves roughly 3.5% per foreign spend
- 20% Scapia Coins on app-booked travel (4% actual return at the 5:1 conversion rate), usable for up to 100% of a future booking
- 2% actual return on general Visa spends, 1% on RuPay/UPI, both paid in Coins rather than cash
What it costs you
- Scapia Coins can't be redeemed for cash or statement credit, and they expire if the card isn't used at least once a year
- Coins only redeem through the Scapia app for travel bookings, so occasional travellers may never use them before they expire
- Scapia app's hotel and flight inventory is limited compared to MakeMyTrip or Booking, so you may pay a higher base fare to capture the 4% effective return
- Owning this card blocks you from holding any other Federal Bank credit card for the same PAN, per recent user reports
- No international lounge access, so long-haul flyers will still need a Priority Pass card
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Federal Scapia card rated so highly?
We rate it 4.7 out of 5, our top score here. It is lifetime free, charges zero forex markup, earns 20% Scapia Coins (an actual 4% back in rupees) on travel booked through its app, and offers domestic lounge access. That mix of no fee and real travel value is rare.
Does the Scapia card charge forex markup?
No. It applies a 0% forex markup on international spends, unusual even among paid travel cards. Combined with no annual fee, that makes it a strong companion card for anyone who travels or shops abroad.
Is the Federal Scapia card good for travel?
Yes. Alongside zero forex and Scapia Coins worth an actual 4% back on in-app travel bookings, it provides spend-conditional domestic airport lounge access. For a lifetime-free card, the travel package is hard to beat, which is why we have recommended it for two years running.
Worth applying?
We think Scapia is the second card every Indian traveller should carry, no matter what their primary card is. Zero fees, zero forex, and spend-conditional domestic airport lounge access is a combination we've not seen elsewhere at this price point. You lose nothing by having it in your wallet.
For primary-card use the story weakens. A 1 to 2% effective default rate, paid out in Coins rather than cash, and the travel-locked redemption path mean this card can't be your only workhorse. Pair it with the SBI Cashback Card or the HDFC Millennia, and you've got a setup where Scapia covers travel and forex while the other card covers online cashback. Combined annual fee is Rs 0 to Rs 1,000. Combined value is well over Rs 20,000 for most urban travellers.
Our one reservation is longevity. Federal Bank is running this card as an acquisition magnet and the terms could tighten. Grab it while the lifetime-free promise holds and use it to lock in the lounge access for as long as you can. For first-time credit card applicants who value travel more than cashback, Scapia deserves a 4.7 rating without hesitation.
A final caveat for those planning their card portfolio. Holding the Scapia card blocks you from applying for other Federal Bank credit cards on the same PAN. If Federal launches a stronger premium card next year, you may have to close Scapia to apply. That's a tradeoff worth considering if you expect to upgrade within the Federal ecosystem. For most users who treat Scapia as a supplementary travel card alongside a primary issuer like HDFC or SBI, this restriction doesn't matter.
Scapia is the lifetime-free travel card we've been telling people to grab for two years running. Domestic airport lounge access (spend-conditional), zero forex markup, and Scapia Coins on every spend that convert to a genuine 4% back on travel booked through the Scapia app. All for zero annual fee. There's a catch about redemption flexibility, but for a first travel card it's unbeatable.
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