If there is one type of credit card promotion I dislike, it’s the “top spender” program. It feels like a lottery: you have little control over your ranking against other participants. If you decide to spend a large amount hoping to win and you lose, you not only miss the prize but also forgo the rewards you could have earned using other cards or offers.
That said, SBI Card has put together a range of prizes that might appeal to cardholders who don’t have access to better offers. Below are the details of the Diwali Top Spender program:
Top Spender Program on SBI Card
SBICard Diwali Top Spender Program – Offer Details
Offer #1
- Rs. 50,000 MakeMyTrip holiday voucher
- Number of winners: 20
- Spend period: 9 October to 8 November 2018
This works out to roughly 5% value if you spend Rs. 10 lakh and win. That makes it impractical for most cardholders, so let’s move to the next prize.
Offer #2
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (approx. value Rs. 23,000 as listed on Flipkart at the time)
- Number of winners: 75 (25 winners per week for three weeks)
- Spend period: 9 October to 8 November 2018 (weekly reset)
This prize gives closer to 5% value when a winner spends around Rs. 5 lakh. With a greater number of winners than Offer #1, your probability of winning is higher here.
Offer #3
- Rs. 5,000 MakeMyTrip hotel vouchers (five vouchers of Rs. 1,000 each)
- Number of winners: 60 winners per day
- Spend period: 9 October to 8 November 2018 (daily reset)
This is the most attainable prize given the daily winner count. Many cardholders spending near Rs. 1 lakh may land this voucher, since higher spenders tend to compete for Offer #2 and only one voucher per winner is allowed during the offer period.
However, these vouchers have limited utility: you can apply only one Rs. 1,000 MakeMyTrip voucher per booking, which reduces their practical value for frequent travelers.
Bottom Line
I generally avoid top-spender promotions for the reasons outlined above. A more customer-friendly approach would be to combine a confirmed reward structure for meeting a specific spend threshold with a separate top-spender prize pool — for example, guaranteeing a benefit for achieving a set spend (linked to Offer #2) while reserving Offer #1 for the highest spenders.
In a country where most forms of lottery are restricted, these prize-based promotions walk a fine line; stronger guidance from regulators could be considered. What do you think?
If you’re not satisfied with SBI Card’s offers, consider comparing other Diwali credit card promotions to find better guaranteed benefits.
Who else is tracking these SBI Card promotions this season? Are many people participating?