SBI Platinum Credit Card for IRCTC: Two of the biggest companies in their respective domains - State Bank of India and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have come together to offer various benefits to passengers of the Indian Railways. The IRCTC SBI Platinum Credit Card can help you get a free rail ticket. We will tell you how but before that, you should know the features and charges of this credit card:

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* Get 350 activation bonus Reward points on spending Rs 500 or more within 45 days of card issuance
* Earn Rs 100 cash back on your first ATM cash withdrawal within 30 days of receiving the card
* Buy tickets through irctc.co.in for AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC CC and earn up to 10% value back as Reward points. (1 Reward Point = Rs. 1)
* Get 1 Reward point for every Rs 125 spent on non-fuel retail purchases, including railway ticket purchases at irctc.co.in
* Save 1.8% transaction charges on railway ticket bookings on www.irctc.co.in
* Book your airline tickets with IRCTC at unbeatable prices
* Enjoy freedom from paying the 1% fuel surcharge across all petrol pumps in India, on transactions of Rs 500 - Rs 3,000, exclusive of GST and other charges
* Get maximum surcharge waiver of Rs. 100 per statement cycle per credit card account
* Joining fee, one time: Rs 500
* Annual fee: Rs 300

Now, you know that you can earn one reward point on every Rs 125 spent using the IRCTC SBI Platinum Credit Card. One reward point is equivalent to Re 1. Therefore, if you use this card for the payments of your monthly expenses excluding fuel expenses, you will be able to book a free train ticket once or twice a year depending on the price of the ticket. Let us explain the math behind it:

If you travel in Sleeper Class from Delhi to Bihar, the average ticket price is Rs 500. So, you will need about Rs 1,000 for the return journey. To get both tickets for free, you will need 1000 reward points, which you can get by spending Rs 1,25,000. If you break it down further, you will have to spend around Rs 10,416 per month with SBI Platinum card. So, if you pay your monthly groceries and other non-fuel bills using the IRCTC SBI Platinum Credit Card, you will be able to book a free train ticket.

Calculation shows that you will have to spend approximately:
* Rs 2.5 lakh for a free ticket worth Rs 2000
* Rs 3.125 lakh for a free ticket worth Rs 2500
* Rs 3.75 lakh for a free ticket worth Rs 3000

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While these options may not look feasible but if you like to do shopping with credit cards, the SBI-IRCTC card offer can definitely help you cut on your rail ticket expenses. Since you can get the add-on card for free, the IRCTC SBI Platinum Credit Card makes a good sense for those families who travel mostly via Indian Railways.