RAKBANK Red Credit Card
Best for: salaried residents who want a simple cashback card that never charges an annual fee.
Why it ranks
- Genuinely free for life
- Cashback on both domestic and international spend
- Low AED 5,000 salary bar
What holds it back
- Fuel, bills and school fees earn only 0.25%
- Security cheque required
- AED 300 monthly cap and an unpublished minimum spend for the top rate
Advertiser disclosure: we may be paid if you apply through our links. Ratings are editorial. Confirm today's terms on the issuer's site — offers change.
RAKBANK Red is one of the few UAE credit cards with no annual fee in any year; it pays up to 1.5% cashback on retail spend, but much less on fuel and bills, and asks for a security cheque. Figures are as of September 2026.
RAKBANK Red Credit Card at a glance
| Issuer | RAKBANK (The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah) |
| Card network | Mastercard |
| Annual fee | Free for life |
| Welcome bonus | See issuer for the current offer |
| Rewards rate | Up to 1.5% cashback on retail spend (subject to a minimum spend per statement cycle); 0.25% on government, bills, education, transport, telecom, real estate and fuel; AED 300 cap per statement cycle |
| Intro APR | None |
| Regular APR | 3.65% per month (43.8% a year) |
| Foreign transaction fee | 2.57% of the transaction amount (incl. VAT) plus the card scheme processing fee |
| Airport lounge access | None |
| Credit needed | Minimum monthly salary AED 5,000 plus a security cheque for the card limit; self-employed need an average quarterly balance of AED 75,000 or quarterly credit turnover of AED 150,000 |
| Best for | Salaried residents who want a card that never charges an annual fee |
Key features
- No annual fee in any year
- One free international remittance per month
- Cashback valid for 15 months; AED 100 minimum to redeem
- Smart Cash up to 80% of the limit, repayable in instalments
- Conventional card only; there is no Islamic variant
Before you apply: confirm the current fee, reward rates and eligibility on the issuer's official site. BestCreditCards is an independent ranking site, not the card issuer, and this is not financial advice.
Sources: rakbank.ae · rakbank.ae · rakbank.ae
How it ranks against similar UAE cards
| Rank | Card | Annual fee | Rewards | Welcome offer | Foreign fee | Who qualifies | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R(RAKBANK (The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah)RAKBANK RedNo annual fee · AE RAKBANK Red Credit CardSalaried residents who want a card that never charges an annual fee |
None | Up to 1.5% cashback on retail spend (subject to a minimum spend per statement cy… | See issuer for the current offer | 2.57% of the transaction a… | Minimum monthly salary AED 5,000… | |
| 2 | L(Liv (Emirates NBD)Liv CashbackNo annual fee · AE Liv Cashback Credit CardDigital-first residents who want a free-for-life card that earns on all spend |
None | 0.75% on monthly spend up to AED 4,999, 1.5% at AED 5,000 to 9,999, 2% at AED 10… | See issuer for the current offer | 1.99% currency conversion… | Minimum monthly salary AED 5,000… |
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