2R(RAKBANK (The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah)RAKBANK RedNo annual fee · AE

woman holding magnetic card — Photo: Blake Wisz / Unsplash

No Annual Fee · United Arab Emirates

RAKBANK Red Credit Card

4.0 / 5 editorial score

Best for: salaried residents who want a simple cashback card that never charges an annual fee.

#2 of 2 · No Annual Fee · UAE #16 of 17 · All UAE cards

Annual feeNo annual fee

IssuerRAKBANK (The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah)

NetworkMastercard

Welcome offerSee issuer for the current offer

Interest rate3.65% per month (43.8% a year)

Foreign fee2.57% of the transaction amoun…

Who qualifiesMinimum monthly salary AED 5,000 plu…

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AED 300 monthly cap and an unpublished minimum spend for the top rate

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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.

Our verdict

Why the RAKBANK Red Credit Card ranks where it does

RAKBANK Red is one of the few UAE credit cards with no annual fee in any year, and that is its main appeal. It pays up to 1.5% cashback on retail spend, subject to a minimum spend per statement cycle that RAKBANK does not publish, and 0.25% on government payments, bills, education, transport, telecom, real estate and fuel. Cashback is capped at AED 300 per statement cycle.

The unpublished minimum is the weak point: you cannot know in advance what monthly spend earns the top rate. The AED 300 cap is reached at AED 20,000 of retail spend at 1.5%, which few holders will hit. Cashback stays valid for 15 months and can be redeemed from AED 100.

Application has more friction than most free cards. The minimum salary is AED 5,000, but RAKBANK also asks for a security cheque for the card limit, and self-employed applicants need an average quarterly balance of AED 75,000 or quarterly credit turnover of AED 150,000. There is no lounge access and no Islamic variant, and the foreign currency fee of 2.57% including VAT, plus the scheme fee, makes it a domestic card. It suits people who want a genuinely free cashback card and do not want to track categories.

Good fit if

People who want a card with no annual fee in any year
Residents earning from AED 5,000 who do not want category tracking
Anyone who uses the free international remittance each month

Skip it if

Applicants unwilling to provide a security cheque
People who spend mostly on fuel and bills, which earn 0.25%

Worked example

Assume AED 4,000 a month of retail spend at the full 1.5% and AED 1,500 on fuel and bills. Retail earns AED 60 and fuel and bills 0.25%, AED 3.75: AED 63.75 a month, AED 765 a year, with no fee to subtract. Because RAKBANK does not publish the minimum spend for the top rate, the conservative case is that only 0.25% applies if you fall short, which would give AED 165 a year on the same spend.

How it stacks up

The Liv Cashback is also free for life, publishes its tiers, 0.75% to 2% by monthly spend, and applies through an app. The Mashreq Cashback is free for life too and pays 5% on dining with no minimum spend, which suits households that eat out often. RAKBANK's advantage over both is the free monthly remittance. Its unpublished minimum spend is the main reason to prefer Liv.

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.