Below is a concise summary of real customer-reported experiences with credit‑card rewards in Sri Lanka (common themes, typical complaints and positives), followed by quick tips for evaluating a card yourself. Key points are supported with recent public customer reviews and forum posts.

Summary — what customers say (major themes)

• Rewards value is hit‑or‑miss: many users report that advertised discounts and cashback exist but are often capped, limited to specific merchants/categories, or smaller than they expect — so perceived value is frequently lower than marketing suggests. (Reddit.com)
• Bank‑to‑bank variability: experiences differ a lot by issuer. Some customers praise cards from Sampath, HSBC and Commercial Bank for useful partner offers; others say the same banks’ apps, online services or branch support are poor. Premium/fee‑bearing cards usually deliver stronger perks, but users warn to “do the math” versus the annual fee. (Reddit.com)
• Customer service and operations often drive dissatisfaction: slow dispute resolution, delayed responses to fraud/unauthorised charges, long waits on hotlines, and branch/service delays are commonly mentioned and can negate reward benefits. Multiple Trustpilot and forum complaints describe slow or unhelpful complaint handling. (Trustpilot.com)
• Mobile app / online banking matters (and is inconsistent): several threads call out buggy apps, extra charges for certain digital services, or poor card management tools — which affects how easily customers track and redeem rewards. (Reddit.com)
• Merchant acceptance and network differences: some cards (e.g., Amex) have fewer local acceptance/use cases (installments, partner offers) than Visa/Mastercard; partner promotions and which network a bank uses materially change how useful rewards are. (Reddit.com)
• Hidden limits, caps and “marketing” offers: reviewers frequently note caps on cashback, limited-time promotions, and offers that sound generous but have narrow eligibility or low maximum payout. This reduces actual realized benefit for many cardholders. (Reddit.com)

Representative customer complaints (examples)

• “Delayed or no OTP / unauthorized transactions and slow bank response” — customers on Trustpilot describe losing funds or long complaint cycles. (Trustpilot.com)
• “Mobile app is buggy and banks sometimes charge for digital services” — Reddit posts mention app problems and charges for online banking features. (Reddit.com)
• “Offers are inconsistent or less valuable in practice” — forum users report hotel/restaurant offers or cashback that turn out limited or with low caps. (Reddit.com)

Representative positives (examples)

• Some customers get useful supermarket, fuel, dining or travel discounts and find cards worthwhile — especially when the card aligns with their main spending categories. Premium cards or those with airline ties can be valuable to frequent travelers. (Reddit.com)

Practical checklist — how to evaluate a Sri Lanka credit card rewards offer

1. Identify your top spending categories (fuel, groceries, dining, travel, online). Match the card’s core partner offers to those categories. (Most users get value only where they actually spend.) (Reddit.com)
2. Read the fine print for caps & limits: check monthly/annual cashback caps, minimum spend requirements, excluded merchants, and whether promos are “first‑time only.” Customers often miss these limits. (Reddit.com)
3. Do the math vs annual fee: calculate expected annual reward value and compare to the fee. Premium cards often require high spend to break even. (Reddit.com)
4. Check customer‑service reputation: look for recent complaint threads / Trustpilot entries for the issuing bank — slow dispute handling and fraud resolution are common pain points. (Trustpilot.com)
5. Confirm app/online experience: good online statements and rewards tracking are important for realizing benefits; many complaints relate to poor apps. (Reddit.com)
6. Verify merchant acceptance for the card network (Visa/Mastercard/Amex) if you need installments or specific partner benefits. (Reddit.com)

If you want, I can:

• check current, specific card offers and recent user reviews for up to 4 banks/cards (example: Sampath, Commercial Bank, HNB, HSBC) and list caps, fees and the most recent customer complaints (I’ll cite sources and dates); or
• prepare a short comparison table of 3 cards that match your top spending category.

Which would you prefer?