Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival 2026: which card to use on each
Amazon's sale starts 8 October with 10% off on SBI cards. Flipkart's starts 9 October with 10% off on Axis and ICICI cards, more for members. Here is how the bank discount stacks with your card's own cashback, where the caps bite, and the mistakes that cost the most.
In this article
The two biggest sales of the year start this week, a day apart, and each one has picked a different bank.
Amazon's Great Indian Festival opens on 8 October with a 10% instant discount on SBI cards. Flipkart's Big Billion Days opens on 9 October, a day earlier for members, with a 10% instant discount on Axis Bank and ICICI Bank cards. Your favourite shopping card may be the wrong card on both sites.
The offers at a glance
| Sale | Starts | Bank offer | Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Great Indian Festival | 8 October | 10% instant discount | Most SBI credit cards, SBI debit cards, SBI credit card EMI |
| Flipkart Big Billion Days | 9 October (8 October early access) | 10% instant discount | Axis Bank and ICICI Bank cards |
| Flipkart early access | 8 October | 12% for Plus and Premium, up to 15% for Black | Axis Bank and ICICI Bank cards |
Early access on Flipkart is open to Flipkart Plus members, Flipkart Black members and Flipkart credit card holders. Prime members get early access on Amazon.
Watch out
Not every SBI card gets Amazon's discount. The reported terms exclude the Cashback SBI Card, the Flipkart SBI Card, the Paytm SBI Card and corporate cards. Two of those are among the most popular online shopping cards in the country, and they are exactly the cards people reach for on Amazon out of habit.
Why the cap matters more than the percentage
A "10% instant discount" always comes with a ceiling, either per transaction, per card for the whole sale, or both. The useful number is the spend at which the cap is reached: divide the cap by 10%.
Amazon's SBI terms, as reported on 6 October:
| SBI card | Cap for the whole sale | 10% runs out after | Minimum order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | ₹13,750 per card | ₹1,37,500 of spend | ₹2,490, or ₹4,990 on mobiles |
| Debit card | ₹9,000 per card | ₹90,000 of spend | ₹2,490, or ₹4,990 on mobiles |
The cap is per card across the whole sale, not per order. Once it is used up, the 10% stops, even on later purchases. Add-on cards are reported to carry their own caps, so a household with two eligible cards can claim twice. The debit card offer is reported to cover full payment only, not EMI.
Flipkart has not published its caps or minimums yet. In recent Big Billion Days the Axis and ICICI discount has been capped at somewhere between ₹1,500 and ₹4,000 depending on the order value. If that pattern holds, the cap binds fast: a ₹1,500 cap is fully used at ₹15,000, and on a ₹60,000 order it is a 2.5% discount, not 10%.
How the discount stacks with your card's cashback
The instant discount comes off the price first. Your card then earns its normal rewards on what you are actually charged. So the two do stack, but the cashback is calculated on the smaller, discounted amount.
That gives a simple test for each site: does your card qualify for the bank offer, and what does it earn on the site on top?
On Amazon
| Card | Bank discount | Card earns | Net on a ₹40,000 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible SBI credit card, e.g. SimplyCLICK | 10% | its normal rate | ₹36,000 less rewards |
| Amazon Pay ICICI, Prime | none | 5% cashback | ₹38,000 |
| Amazon Pay ICICI, non-Prime | none | 3% cashback | ₹38,800 |
| Cashback SBI Card | excluded | 5% online cashback | ₹38,000 |
| Flipkart SBI Card | excluded | 1% | ₹39,600 |
A ₹40,000 order sits well inside the ₹13,750 credit card cap, so the full 10% applies.
Any eligible SBI credit card wins on Amazon this week, even one that earns very little on its own, because 10% off beats 5% back. The Amazon Pay ICICI card is still the right card for a Prime member once the SBI cap is used up, and for anything the SBI offer does not cover.
The Cashback SBI Card is the surprise. It pays 5% on online spends, so it looks like the natural pick for an SBI offer on Amazon, but it is excluded. On Amazon it now does exactly what a Prime member's Amazon Pay ICICI card does, and its 5% is capped at ₹2,000 a statement cycle, which a ₹40,000 order uses up in one go.
Tip
Spend up to the cap, then switch cards. After ₹1,37,500 of purchases on one SBI credit card the discount is used up, and from there a Prime member's Amazon Pay ICICI card, with 5% and no limit, is the better card.
On Flipkart
| Card | Bank discount | Card earns | Net on a ₹60,000 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flipkart Axis Bank | 10% | 5% cashback | ₹51,300 |
| Any other Axis or ICICI card | 10% | its normal rate | about ₹54,000 less rewards |
| Flipkart SBI | none | 5% cashback | ₹57,000 |
These rows assume Flipkart's cap covers the full 10%, which on a ₹60,000 order it may not. Recompute with the real cap once Flipkart publishes it.
The Flipkart Axis Bank card is the obvious winner, because it gets both the bank discount and its own 5% on Flipkart. Two limits apply to the 5%:
- It is capped at ₹4,000 per statement quarter on Flipkart. That covers ₹80,000 of spend. Beyond that the card earns nothing extra, so a second large purchase in the same quarter is better on a different Axis or ICICI card.
- It does not apply to EMI. Axis excludes EMI transactions and purchases converted to EMI afterwards from the cashback, so a no-cost EMI order gives up the 5%.
The Flipkart SBI card is the trap on this side. It earns 5% on Flipkart, but SBI is not Flipkart's partner this time, and it is also excluded from Amazon's SBI offer. It gets the bank discount on neither site. On a big Flipkart order an Axis or ICICI card's 10% is worth twice its cashback.
Five mistakes that cost the most
- Paying on EMI without checking what you lose. Amazon's SBI offer covers SBI credit card EMI, but co-brand cashback usually does not. The Amazon Pay ICICI card pays no cashback on EMI, and nor does the Flipkart Axis card. On a ₹60,000 phone that is ₹2,700 to ₹3,000 of cashback given up for the convenience of instalments.
- Using your usual card out of habit. The card that is best on Amazon the rest of the year is not the best card on Amazon this week, and the same is true on Flipkart.
- Ignoring the cap on a big purchase. Amazon's SBI cap is per card for the whole sale, so splitting an order on one card gains nothing, but a second eligible card brings a second cap. If Flipkart's cap turns out to be per order, one ₹1 lakh order will get far less than its 10%, and two smaller orders on two eligible cards may each get the full discount.
- Assuming every card from a bank qualifies. On Amazon the Cashback SBI, Flipkart SBI and Paytm SBI cards are reported to be excluded, along with corporate cards. Flipkart has not published its exclusion list yet. Look for your card in the exclusions on the offer page, not just the bank's name.
- Forgetting what happens on a return. The instant discount and any cashback are reversed if you cancel or return. A partial return can push the remaining order under the minimum value, in which case the bank can claw back the discount.
A checklist for sale day
- Find out which of your cards are SBI, Axis or ICICI. That decides who gets the 10% on which site.
- Open the bank offer details on a product page before you pay and note the maximum discount, the minimum order value and whether the cap is per order or per card. Flipkart's terms should appear by 8 October.
- For each big purchase, compare: bank discount plus your card's rate on the discounted price, against your best co-brand card at full price.
- Decide on EMI before checkout. The bank discount may survive it. Your co-brand cashback probably will not.
- Add up how much of your quarterly cashback cap you have used, especially on the Flipkart Axis card.
- Do not buy anything because a card offer exists. A 10% discount on something you did not need is a 90% loss.
Common questions
Can I use an SBI debit card on Amazon for the discount?
Yes. The reported cap on debit cards is ₹9,000 per card for the whole sale, against ₹13,750 on credit cards, and the debit offer is for full payment only, not EMI.
Does the Amazon Pay ICICI card get any discount during the sale?
The festival-wide bank offer is on SBI cards, not ICICI. Some individual products may carry their own extra bank discounts, so check the product page, but plan as if the card earns only its normal 5% or 3%.
Is the 12% or 15% Flipkart discount for the whole sale?
Reported terms describe 12% for Plus and Premium members and up to 15% for Black members during early access on 8 October, with 10% after that. If you are a member with a big purchase planned, early access is the day to make it.
Does cashback apply to the full price or the discounted price?
To what you are actually charged, which is the price after the instant discount.
Can I combine the bank offer with Flipkart Pay Later or Amazon Pay Later?
Not for the card discount. The bank offer applies when you pay with the eligible card at checkout. Pay Later, UPI and wallet payments carry their own separate offers, such as Amazon Pay Later's 10% cashback on eligible purchases.
Sources
- Amazon India, Great Indian Festival 2026 announcement, for the 8 October start, the SBI credit, debit and credit card EMI offer and the Amazon Pay ICICI card rates, checked 5 October 2026
- Business Today, 16 September 2026, for the 9 October start, 8 October early access and the Axis and ICICI 10% offers
- Sunday Guardian, for the 12% and 15% early access rates for Flipkart members
- Mint, 2 October 2026, via TradingView, for both sales' bank partners and the Flipkart Axis card offer
- PromoCodeClub, 6 October 2026, for the reported SBI caps, minimum order values, debit card terms and excluded SBI cards
- Zee Business, for Prime early access and the SBI offer
- Axis Bank, Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card cashback terms, for the 5% Flipkart rate, the quarterly cap and the EMI exclusion
- SBI Card, Cashback SBI Card, for the 5% online cashback and its ₹2,000 cap per statement cycle
The offer page at checkout is the only authoritative source for the caps and exclusions that apply to your order. Check it on the day, because sale terms often change between announcement and launch.
Figures here were checked against issuer and primary sources on 6 October 2026. Card terms and offer periods change without notice, and this is general information rather than advice about your particular situation.
