Earn stars on Google Pay

When you use your Flex credit card, you earn special rewards called "stars." You can use stars to:

Convert to cashback when you make eligible payments.
Get a discount when you buy vouchers from your favorite brands through Google Pay.

Earn stars instantly

You can earn stars on every Flex payment, including fuel, with no minimum transaction. The earning rate is similar across all eligible spends, with no special rules or conditions. For payments made through Google Pay, stars get awarded instantly after successful payment. Stars on other payments get awarded at the end of day or after transaction settlement. You can boost your earning rate for a reward cycle or get extra stars when you meet certain requirements.

Base reward rate: Earn 1 star for every ₹500 cumulative spend on Flex. There’s no minimum transaction amount as all spends count.
2X Booster: If you’ve spent at least ₹100 on eligible merchants in the previous reward cycle, you earn 2 stars for every ₹500 you spend. For your first reward cycle on Flex, you'll automatically start off on 2X.
4X Booster: Spend a minimum amount of ₹15K in a reward cycle to double the stars you've already earned this cycle and earn 4 stars for every ₹500 you spend.
*8X Booster: Spend a minimum amount of ₹30K in a reward cycle to double the stars you've already earned this cycle and earn 8 stars for every ₹500 you spend.
- The 8X Booster is a limited-time promotion. It's valid until September 15, 2026.
Welcome reward: Pay ₹1 during activation to receive 250 stars and a gift card worth ₹250.
- If you don't earn the Welcome reward, you can still earn 250 stars when you make your first UPI transaction through Google Pay.
- The Welcome reward must be claimed within 30 days after you receive the card.

Tip: "Reward cycle" is the period from the 16th of a month to the 15th of the following month.

Use your stars

Important: Each star you earn is worth ₹1 for redemption when used for payment with stars or discount on voucher purchase as described below.

Redeem stars instantly

When you use your Flex credit card on Google Pay, you can use your stars to help pay for eligible payments through instant cashback.

In the Google Pay app, check your available star balance when you're ready to make a purchase.
Turn on Redeem [XX] stars.
- When you use stars for your purchase, the maximum allowed star balance is applied to your transaction. You can't raise or lower this amount.
To confirm the payment, enter your UPI PIN.

After the successful transaction, your Flex credit card account will get an instant cashback credit based on the number of stars used. For example, ₹50 cashback for 50 stars.

Buy vouchers with stars

Important:

You can't redeem stars on any app or platform outside Google Pay.
You can't cash out stars.

You can use your stars to get a discount when you buy deals and vouchers from popular merchants through Google Pay.

On the Flex Rewards page, discover gift cards and vouchers for categories like:
- Shopping
- Travel
- Food
- Fashion
Use your stars to get a discount when you buy vouchers.
- For example, you can use 100 stars to get a ₹100 discount. Pay only ₹900 to purchase a ₹1,000 voucher.
- Purchased vouchers have an expiration date.

Track your rewards

To track your stars and earning rate, go to the Flex Home page in the Google Pay app. You can find:

Your available star balance
The total value of all rewards you've earned
Whether your 2X or 4X or *8X reward cycle booster is currently active
- The 8X Booster is a limited-time promotion.
Your progress towards the spend milestones

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What type of transaction doesn’t earn stars?

You can’t earn stars from purchases under certain categories:

Insurance services
Cash withdrawal
Rental payments
Wallet load transactions
Educational services
Government services
Jewelry
Individual transactions converted to Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs)

These purchases don’t count towards your reward cycle spend milestones. They’re identified based on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) of the merchant. The exact list of categories are subject to change based on the issuer bank’s terms and conditions.

How long does it take to receive rewards for a transaction?

For Google Pay app transactions: You can receive stars in real time.
For all other transactions: You can receive stars within 24-48 hours from the settlement date.

Tip: If you earn more than 200 stars in one day, extra stars carry over to the next day.

Is there a limit to how many stars I can earn in a reward cycle?

You can earn a maximum of 1500 stars each reward cycle.

What happens if I get a refund?

Important: If you redeem stars as part of a payment and then get a refund from the merchant, the entire amount refunded by the merchant will be credited to your account. During the payment, the stars you already redeemed for cashback will stay credited to your account.

If you receive a refund for a purchase, the stars you earn for that transaction are deducted from your star balance.
- For example: With an earn rate of 1 star per ₹500, a transaction worth ₹2000 earns 4 stars. If this transaction is refunded, then 4 stars are removed from your star balance.
Your spend progress towards the reward cycle milestone is also reduced by the refund amount.

Do my stars expire?

Yes. If you don't redeem your stars within one year after you earn them, they expire.

What happens if my credit card is blocked?

If your credit card is blocked, you can’t redeem your stars for cashback. However, you can still use them to purchase vouchers or gift cards on Google Pay.

Can my star balance be negative?

In rare cases, when you get a large refund after you’ve spent your stars, your balance can become negative.

If your star balance is negative, you can earn more stars with purchases for a positive balance.