ADCB Essential Cashback cashback rate, cap and annual fee
ADCB Essential Cashback pays 1% on everything, as a base rate, and 6 other rates. Nothing at all below AED 1,000 of spending a month — AED 12,000 across a year.
ADCB · United Arab Emirates · catalogue v101
Read from ADCB's own published terms on 19 Sep 2026.
NoneAnnual fee
AED 1,000Minimum monthly spend
AED 1,000Cap across the whole card
1%Best rate
What it pays, by category
| Spending | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|
| everything else | 1.00% | —Everything else, in dirhams or not. ADCB pays 1.25% instead in any month your total spending reaches AED 5,000. |
| groceries | 0.75% | —Supermarkets, on the published select-category list with car dealers, insurance and charity. |
| fuel | 0.75% | —Fuel and Salik, on the same select-category list. |
| government | 0.75% | —Government services and utilities, on the same list. |
| education | 0.75% | —Education, on the same list. School fees themselves earn nothing at all. |
| phone and internet | 0.75% | —Telecoms, on the same list. |
| rent and property | 0.75% | —Estate agents and housing rentals, on the same list. |
A plain cashback card with two conditions and a tier. Nothing is earned in a calendar month you spend under AED 1,000, and no month pays more than AED 1,000 back. Above the floor it is 1% up to AED 5,000 of monthly spending and 1.25% from AED 5,000 — the rates below are the 1%, because that is what the card pays until the higher tier is reached, and a comparison built on the better number would be describing somebody else's month. A published list of categories pays 0.75% instead: supermarkets, charity, fuel, utilities, government, telecoms, Salik, transport, car dealers, education, insurance, estate agents, housing rentals and anything bought in the EU. Bill payments, school fees and anything paid through an ADCB channel earn nothing, though they still count towards the AED 1,000 floor. No annual fee. Source: adcb.com Essential Cashback page and its own merchant guide, read 19 Sep 2026.
Questions people ask
What cashback does the ADCB Essential Cashback pay?
1% on everything, as a base rate, and 6 other rates.
Is there a cap on the ADCB Essential Cashback?
Yes — AED 1,000 a month across the whole card, however you split your spending.
What is the annual fee on the ADCB Essential Cashback?
No annual fee.
Is there a minimum spend on the ADCB Essential Cashback?
Yes — AED 1,000 a month. Below that the bonus rates do not apply at all, which is the condition most comparison tables leave out.
Knowing the rate is not the same as remembering it
PayperWIZ holds the cards you actually own and names the right one at the till — after the cap you have already used this month, and after the foreign-currency fee. It works offline and never connects to a bank.
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