Federal Bank Scapia Credit Card

Introduction – Scapia Credit Card Review

There is a new kid in the block of Zero Forex Markup, a claim that appeals a lot of frequent travellers. I’m talking about Scapia Federal Credit Card, a co-branded card issued by Federal Bank and Scapia. There are now a full blown range of multiple neo banking apps which offer Zero Forex Markup, despite the main premise of all being the same, each of them is different from the other in a lot of ways.

This card claims to be the ultimate travel companion, with features such as zero joining and annual fees, zero forex fees, unlimited domestic lounge access, and Scapia coins that can be redeemed for travel bookings on the app. But is it really worth it? How does it compare to other travel credit cards/neo zero forex markup cards in the market?

What is Scapia Credit Card?

Federal Bank Scapia Credit Card is a typical credit card which offers Zero Forex Markup. Why typical? Because it offers your a certain credit limit on the basis of your credit score, has perks and benefits and also a generous reward points program.

How does it position itself uniquely amongst it competitors?

The USP of Scapia is that it comes as an app centric travel credit card that offers easy spending abroad with zero forex charges, booking flights and stays from reward points within the app and also promises to deliver a lot of other benefits at little to no cost to users who use it wisely.

Scapia Credit Card Benefits

The Scapia Card offers a lot of benefits on its cards for no fee to its users –

1. Zero Joining Fees & Zero Annual Fees: There is absolutely no fee required to be paid as joining fee when you are approved for the card. Nor there would be any Annual or Renewal Fee due when you complete a year of using the card.
2. Zero Forex Markup: All international credit and debit cards generally charge upto 5% forex markup on international transactions while Scapia charges zero forex markup on the same.
3. 3 Month No Cost EMIs on Travel Spends: This feature is not live yet but it is coming soon. Users will have the option to convert their travel spends within the app into 3 month no cost EMIs.
4. Rewards Program: The card offer a very generous rewards program wherein you can collect Scapia Coins wherein 5 Coins = INR 1 and you can collect the coins as 10% Coins on All Spends, 20% Coins on Spends within the App, No coins for Fuel or International Transactions.
5. Flights & Stays: The Scapia App lets you books flights and stays within the app and even lets you redeem Scapia Coins while booking them. They claim best price guarantee on flights, easy cancellations & 24*7 support. They also offer you to choose from 5 Lakh+ Stays.

Scapia Credit Card Lounge Access

Unlimited Lounge Access: As a joining benefit the card offers two complimentary lounge access which activate on first statement generation and unlimited domestic lounge access thereafter if you spend more than INR 5000 in every billing cycle. It is bit complicated to understand how it works though. I’m attaching a screenshot from their app for better understanding.

How to apply for Scapia Credit Card?

Getting a Scapia Credit Card is easy and hassle-free. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Download and install the Scapia application on your smartphone.
2. Use your Aadhaar & PAN to complete the KYC and Video KYC(Applicable for some users).
3. Once you’re approved, you will get an instant virtual Scapia card that will allow you to make online transactions.
4. The physical Scapia Credit Card shall be posted and be delivered in just 2 – 3 days. You can track the same via app.

Scapia Credit Card Eligibility

To be eligible for a Scapia Card, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be an Indian citizen of 18+ years of age.
• You must have a valid Aadhaar & PAN card.
• You must not have an existing credit card by Federal Bank.
• You should have a decent credit score.

Documents Required for Scapia Credit Card

Use your Aadhaar & PAN to complete the KYC and Video KYC(Applicable for some users).

Scapia Coins Rewards Program

Scapia offers a coin based rewards program where all spends are eligible for 10% scapia coins and spends within the app are eligible for 20% scapia coins. The value of each scapia coin in INR is 0.2. Here’s what scapia’s website says about exclusions of the rewards program –

Scapia Coins will not accrue for money transfers, rent payments, cash withdrawals, EMI transactions, forex transaction, education and school fees, gift cards, credit card repayments, crypto/digital asset transactions, fuel surcharge and digital wallet loading or top-up transactions. Sometimes, when you purchase a service/product on a digital wallet app which also offers in-app purchases, you may not get reward points, as it involves actual wallet load, which is then used to make payment to the merchant

How Does Scapia Credit Card Compare To It’s Competitors?

To be able to make a proper comparison of Scapia Credit Card to it’s competitors, we need to understand that Scapia’s Competitors can be categorised into three sub categories –

1. Typical Zero Forex Markup Credit Cards

The closest card to the Scapia Credit Card that I can think of could be the RBL World Safari. Other typical credit cards which do offer Zero Forex Markup are Club Vistara IndusInd Bank Explorer & Burgundy Private Credit Card which are very premium ones and are only affordable for high income Individuals.

Verdict in this Category – My conclusion is that Scapia delivers most value for least expense, also it is most accessible to the Middle Class in this category. Also, the rewards program seems to be really great with Scapia offering 10%-20% nearly having the same value of other card’s points which are only offering 1% to 5%.

2. Atypical Zero Forex Markup Credit Cards

This is not a right comparison to start with as the other two cards are FD backed cards. But just in case if international cash withdrawal matters you, you might want to consider these two Atypical Zero Forex Markup Credit Cards Niyo Global SBM Credit Card & IDFC First Wow. Why are they atypical? Because they do not offer your a credit limit on the basis of your credit score. They are a Fixed Deposit secured or backed limit based cards where you would have a credit limit equivalent to the Fixed Deposit you hold with them.

Verdict in this Category – My conclusion is that Niyo Global SBM Credit Card might be more suitable for you in this atypical comparison only if cash withdrawal is very integral to you in a forex card where Niyo Global SBM Credit Card shines with a cheap flat rate of INR 300+ GST, while Scapia has limits, high charges, fees and interest on cash withdrawal. IDFC still allows 100% of the limit to withdrawn as cash but I was not able to be very sure about the charges. Scapia is more of a reward oriented credit card than being a Forex Card. Zero Forex Markup is one additional feature on top of the range of features that Scapia offers.

3. Atypical Zero Forex Markup Debit Cards

This is comparison is even more controversial as we are about to compare two Atypical Zero Forex Markup Debit Cards Niyo Global Equitas Debit Card & Fi Money Federal Bank Debit Card. Why am I comparing a debit card to scapia, sounds like apples & oranges. Well maybe, but the common denominator for comparison is “Zero Forex Markup” because apart from that these cards are fundamentally different in nature.

Verdict in this Category – My conclusion is that Niyo Global Equitas Debit Card might be more suitable for you in atypical comparison as again if cash withdrawal is very integral to you, a forex card where Niyo Global Equitas Debit Card shines with a cheap flat rate of INR 110+ GST and even Fi Debit Card charges INR 100+ GST, while Scapia have limits, high charges, fees and interest on cash withdrawal as we already know that’s the usual with any credit card.

Scapia Credit Card Review Conclusion

Here is my opinion about the revolutionary Scapia Credit Card. Things that I like –

1. Unlike Niyo and IDFC you do not need to have an FD as a collateral to have a credit card that offers Zero Forex Markup.
2. Unlike IndusInd and Axis you also do not need hefty annual fee to have a credit card that offers Zero Forex Markup.
3. I like the generous rewards program. The ability to redeem the rewards so easily within the same app to book flights and stays.
4. I like the fact that there is no annual fees on the card.
5. I like the unlimited lounge access and of course Zero Forex Markup.

Things that I do not like about this card –

1. The Eligibility is a bit tricky as existing Federal Bank Credit Card holders are outrightly rejected.