When paying online or offline changes your rate
Updated 30 September 2026
Many offers apply only to one channel, and the published terms say so. Of the live offers in our database that state a channel, 2,752 are online only, 533 are offline only and 270 apply to both. Paying the same merchant in a shop instead of on the app can change what you earn.
Online is where the offers are
The ratio is roughly six to one in favour of online. This reflects where issuers can track and target spending, not where people shop. If a card is marketed on its shopping rewards, check whether those rewards exist in a physical store, because often they do not.
| Channel stated in the terms | Offers |
|---|---|
| Online only | 2,752 |
| Offline only | 533 |
| Both | 270 |
| Via a UPI app | 32 |
| In-app only | 30 |
| Via the issuer's shopping portal | 5 |
| Other, each under 5 offers | 1 |
| Not stated | 7,814 |
| Total live offers | 11,437 |
The same brand can be two different merchants
A brand's own website, its app, and its counter in a shopping centre can be processed as different merchants with different category codes. An offer written for the website may not fire in the store even though the brand is identical. Where the terms name a channel, take them literally.
Most offers do not say
7,814 live offers do not state a channel at all. Silence is not permission, but it is usually reasonable to read an unstated channel as applying to both. Where the amount is large, check the specific terms rather than relying on that reading.
Figures on this page are computed from AskTula's offer database, 11,437 live offers read from published terms across 593 cards and 47 issuers, as read on 30 September 2026. They describe what issuers, merchants and card networks publish, not what any individual card will pay you.