Recent graduates and new employees should first compare cards with lower salary bands, simple fees, and everyday rewards instead of premium benefits.
What this means for you
New employees usually need cards that are easy to understand. A complicated miles or premium card can look attractive but may have higher fees or rules.
A simple way to decide
- 1 Low fee
- 2 Clear salary rule
- 3 Useful rewards
Before you apply
- Look for AED 5,000 to AED 8,000 salary bands, AED 0 or low annual fee, and benefits you will actually use.
- Cashback, groceries, dining, fuel, and bill-payment rewards are usually easier to value than complex miles rules.
- Check the official source before applying because offers and eligibility can change.
Words you may see
- Minimum salary
- The lowest monthly income the bank publishes for that product. It does not guarantee approval.
- Salary transfer
- Your employer pays your salary into an account at that bank.
- Debt burden ratio
- The share of your income already used for loan and card payments.
Cards worth checking for this need
These are useful starting points from the cards in the comparison table. They are not paid placements or promises of approval.
First Abu Dhabi BankFAB ADNOC Rewards Credit CardPublished minimum salary: AED 5,000
- Salary
- AED 5,000
- Annual fee
- AED 300
- Cashback
- 15% back on ADNOC spending including fuel
- Published reward
- 3% back on SALIK, DARB and Mawaqif
MashreqMashreq Cashback Credit CardPublished minimum salary: AED 5,000
- Salary
- AED 5,000
- Annual fee
- AED 0
- Cashback
- 5% cashback on local and international dining spends
- Published reward
- 1% cashback on other international spends
Emirates IslamicAmazon Platinum Covered CardPublished minimum salary: AED 5,000
- Salary
- AED 5,000
- Annual fee
- AED 0
- Cashback
- Cashback
- Published reward
- Lounge
Emirates NBDU by Emaar Family Credit CardPublished minimum salary: AED 5,000
- Salary
- AED 5,000
- Annual fee
- AED 0
- Cashback
- It provides up to 5% cashback, discounts, and exclusive benefits tailored for families and Emaar property owners.
- Published reward
- Earn up to 5% back on your spends
Official sources used
These bank pages, Key Facts Statements, fee schedules and terms support the product details in this guide. Open the latest version before applying.
- FAB Credit Cards Service and Pricing GuideFirst Abu Dhabi Bank · Fees-and-charges
- FAB Rewards Terms and ConditionsFirst Abu Dhabi Bank · Terms-and-conditions
- Mashreq cards KFSMashreq · Key-facts-statement
- Mashreq credit cards schedule of chargesMashreq · Schedule-of-fees
- Emirates Islamic credit cards KFSEmirates Islamic · Key-facts-statement
- Emirates Islamic credit cards KFS pageEmirates Islamic · Key-facts-page
- Emirates NBD getallcards APIEmirates NBD · Source-feed
- Emirates NBD credit cards KFSEmirates NBD · Key-facts-statement
- ADCB Credit Cards KFSAbu Dhabi Commercial Bank · Key-facts-statement
- ADCB Terms and ConditionsAbu Dhabi Commercial Bank · Terms-and-conditions
- ADIB Covered Cards KFSAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank · Key-facts-statement
- ADIB Covered Cards Schedule of ChargesAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank · Schedule-of-charges
- Dubai First Credit Cards KFSDubai First · Key-facts-statement
- Dubai First fees and chargesDubai First · Schedule-of-fees
