(Small) Success Story - Got Cleartrip to pay 5% amount lost due to wrong MCC !!

[AllThatStuff]

Hello Technofinos,

1. Few months back, I read in a thread that SBI Cashback card is not giving cashback for flight bookings done on Cleartrip & other travel sites, as it is categorised as ineligible MCCs.
2. I checked & to my surprise, I found that I was not given cashback for my August flight booking on Cleartrip.
3. SBI customer support told me that since MCC for txn. is Railways, so no cashback was given. I made sure to get this info in writing over mail.
4. Next, I tried reaching Cleartrip support, and as expected no one had any clue what MCC was !! One of their senior supervisors even said "we don't issue MCC to Cleartrip txns." 🤣
5. I understood, noting will happen over phone call so I dropped a mail, to which I received same generic replies. But when I used stronger language and threatened to approach Consumer Forum, they got serious & I started receiving calls asking for more time to resolve the issue.
6. Meanwhile, I also shared the SBI response where they had mentioned that 5% cashback was not given as the MCC was of Railways .
7. This continued for 3-4 months. I was also not very optimistic with this, so I was casually replying / sending reminders.
8. Then finally I received a call today where they admitted their mistake and offered to pay be back 5% amount after I share my bank details. ( Since its more than 6 months, so the amount can't be credited to the source account)

I feel others also try this with and share you response here !!

 

[maheshspanicker]

Good on you for persisting. Hope they fix the problem permanently... More people taking it up might help in that regard...

 

[Hemang]

Hello Technofinos,

1. Few months back, I read in a thread that SBI Cashback card is not giving cashback for flight bookings done on Cleartrip & other travel sites, as it is categorised as ineligible MCCs.
2. I checked & to my surprise, I found that I was not given cashback for my August flight booking on Cleartrip.
3. SBI customer support told me that since MCC for txn. is Railways, so no cashback was given. I made sure to get this info in writing over mail.
4. Next, I tried reaching Cleartrip support, and as expected no one had any clue what MCC was !! One of their senior supervisors even said "we don't issue MCC to Cleartrip txns." 🤣
5. I understood, noting will happen over phone call so I dropped a mail, to which I received same generic replies. But when I used stronger language and threatened to approach Consumer Forum, they got serious & I started receiving calls asking for more time to resolve the issue.
6. Meanwhile, I also shared the SBI response where they had mentioned that 5% cashback was not given as the MCC was of Railways .
7. This continued for 3-4 months. I was also not very optimistic with this, so I was casually replying / sending reminders.
8. Then finally I received a call today where they admitted their mistake and offered to pay be back 5% amount after I share my bank details. ( Since its more than 6 months, so the amount can't be credited to the source account)

I feel others also try this with and share you response here !!

bhai mere apko to 21 topon ki salaami deni chahiye, apne SBI ko daraya hai, aur upar se jeet bhi liya. 😎

 

[lpshreyas]

Wow, I am surprised that they admitted it. Good to know because Urban Company does the same thing. Their MCC is registered as rental for all their services. I am not a 100% sure what MCC they should be using, but I might follow up with them

 

[tachniki]

Wow, I am surprised that they admitted it. Good to know because Urban Company does the same thing. Their MCC is registered as rental for all their services. I am not a 100% sure what MCC they should be using, but I might follow up with them

Actually last time, i checked with SBI, I was told their mcc is under utility which made sense. I didn't check exact mcc code.

Possibly they are using two different mcc. Using rental may trigger extra charge on some credit cards.

 

[AllThatStuff]

Actually last time, i checked with SBI, I was told their mcc is under utility which made sense. I didn't check exact mcc code.

Possibly they are using two different mcc. Using rental may trigger extra charge on some credit cards.

Here you talking about Urban Company...right?

 

[tachniki]

Here you talking about Urban Company...right?

Yes. Urban company.

 

[lpshreyas]

Using rental may trigger extra charge on some credit cards.

In the last six months or so, most cards have introduced charges on rental payments

 

[beingrohan]

I can confirm SBI cashback is not giving 5% back on such websites. I didn't get for flight booking on GOIBIBO. Here's the response I got from customer service:

We wish to inform you that transaction made on dated 21/8/2025 comes under Railways category whose MCC (merchant category code) is 4112 and same is not eligible for Cashback benefit

 

[AllThatStuff]

I can confirm SBI cashback is not giving 5% back on such websites. I didn't get for flight booking on GOIBIBO. Here's the response I got from customer service:

We wish to inform you that transaction made on dated 21/8/2025 comes under Railways category whose MCC (merchant category code) is 4112 and same is not eligible for Cashback benefit

Attach this mail & write to Goibibo !!

 

[Pk004]

I'm also a victim of wrong mcc of the merchant. I had purchased gift voucher from the phonepe app using my axis bank credit card. But this transaction got categorised under the mcc of wallet load and I was charged with 1% surcharge. I tried to dispute with Axis bank but they declined. Tried reaching out to the phonepe support, but their guys are clueless about mcc. Can u guide me how can I proceed to get this surcharge reversed ? I don't know whom to contact now.

 

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

I'm also a victim of wrong mcc of the merchant. I had purchased gift voucher from the phonepe app using my axis bank credit card. But this transaction got categorised under the mcc of wallet load and I was charged with 1% surcharge. I tried to dispute with Axis bank but they declined. Tried reaching out to the phonepe support, but their guys are clueless about mcc. Can u guide me how can I proceed to get this surcharge reversed ? I don't know whom to contact now.

Use this link to file a complaint: https://grievance.phonepe.com/nodal-officer
However, I doubt they’ll be of much help. Anyway, you can also file a complaint with the RBI. I suggest doing that after 30 days, as the RBI might take the wrong MCC issue more seriously if they receive more MCC-related complaints.

 

[Pk004]

Use this link to file a complaint: https://grievance.phonepe.com/nodal-officer
However, I doubt they’ll be of much help. Anyway, you can also file a complaint with the RBI. I suggest doing that after 30 days, as the RBI might take the wrong MCC issue more seriously if they receive more MCC-related complaints.

What is the process for filing complaint with RBI ? Please guide.