Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) is the capital’s commercial-banking workhorse — formed in 1985 and consolidated again in 2019 through the absorption of Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank, which lifted it into the country’s top three lenders by assets. For an expat household ADCB is the Abu-Dhabi-anchored alternative to FAB: dense branch footprint in the capital, decent Dubai coverage, and a TouchPoints rewards programme that converts to both Skywards and Etihad Guest from one wallet — rare optionality among UAE issuers.

The bank’s distinguishing move in 2026 is its combined salary-transfer and card-spend offer, which stacks a cash account bonus on top of a separate card-spend bonus. The headline AED 12,000 figure at the AED 50,000+ band is real but conditional; the trap is below.

Card ladder at a glance

ADCB’s consumer line-up is unusually wide — eleven live cards as of May 2026 — and most are marketed as AED 0 annual fee through automatic spend-based waivers rather than a true free-for-life guarantee. The ADCB Schedule of Fees (Ver.46, February 2026) lists real fees behind several of them — AED 383.25 on the 365 Cashback (no spend-based waiver), AED 1,050 on the TouchPoints Infinite, AED 1,575 on the Traveller. Read the fee tile on each card page before assuming a waiver applies.

• ADCB 365 Cashback Credit Card — entry-level cashback Visa, AED 5,000 minimum salary, no transfer requirement, category-rate cashback (6% dining and online, 5% groceries) behind an AED 5,000 monthly spend gate. The default first card at the AED 5,000–10,000 expat tier.
• ADCB Essential Cashback — AED 5,000 salary, salary transfer required, up to AED 350 welcome cashback on digital application.
• ADCB Talabat Credit Card — Talabat Pro co-brand, AED 5,000 salary, no transfer requirement, up to AED 750 welcome bonus on AED 5,000 spend in the first 45 days.
• ADCB LuLu Titanium Gold and ADCB LuLu Platinum — LuLu Points co-brands for grocery-heavy spending; AED 5,000 and AED 8,000 minimum salary respectively.
• ADCB Shukran Credit Card — the GMG / Sharaf DG Shukran co-brand, AED 5,000 salary.
• ADCB TouchPoints Platinum and Titanium Gold — entry TouchPoints earners, AED 5,000 salary, no transfer required.
• ADCB Traveller Credit Card — AED 20,000 salary, TouchPoints with a travel-skew earn table, no transfer requirement.
• ADCB Betaqti Credit Card — the bank’s anniversary TouchPoints card, AED 10,000 salary, salary transfer required, up to 750,000 anniversary TouchPoints depending on annual spend.
• ADCB TouchPoints Infinite — the flagship, AED 30,000 salary, no transfer requirement.

Reward currency, in plain English

ADCB TouchPoints are a flexible in-app currency rather than a cashback auto-credit. Points post to the TouchPoints wallet on statement and stay there until you redeem — statement value, partner merchants, travel through the TouchPoints portal, or transfer to Emirates Skywards or Etihad Guest at the bank’s published ratio. The convertibility is the differentiator: ADCB is among the few UAE issuers with credible both-airline routing from one proprietary wallet. Transfer ratios are not aggressive and change without notice, so check the in-app rate the day you intend to move points. For everyday simplicity the ADCB 365 pays straight cashback and bypasses the points layer; for travel optionality, take a TouchPoints card and defer the airline choice until redemption.

Salary transfer and eligibility

ADCB’s 2026 H1 salary-transfer offer pays AED 4,000 at AED 15,000–24,999, AED 8,000 at AED 25,000–49,999, and AED 12,000 at AED 50,000+. Each tier splits roughly half-half between a salary-side cash bonus (12 consecutive months of transfer required) and a card-spend bonus (AED 5,000–12,500 monthly spend, depending on band, for six qualifying months). The card-spend half is forfeited in full if the spend tier is missed in any single month — no pro-rata. Clawback on the salary-transfer half is pro-rata if you stop transferring mid-tenure. The Essential Cashback and Betaqti cards require salary transfer at application; the 365, Talabat, TouchPoints range and Traveller do not.

Customer-service notes

The call centre on +971 600 50 2030 runs daily in English, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu. Branch density is highest in Abu Dhabi, with reliable Dubai coverage on Sheikh Zayed Road, Business Bay and Dubai Mall, and reasonable presence in Al Ain. The ADCB mobile app and the companion Hayyak app handle card controls, TouchPoints redemption, salary-account opening and most service journeys without a branch trip. ADCB reports to AECB per Central Bank rules; missed payments register within 30 days and the 50% Debt Burden Ratio cap applies on all unsecured exposure.

Bottom line

ADCB suits the Abu-Dhabi-resident expat earning AED 15,000+ who can credibly hit the monthly card-spend tier to clear the combined salary-transfer-and-spend bonus, and who wants both Skywards and Etihad Guest optionality from one wallet. Take the ADCB 365 for simple cashback at the entry tier; the Talabat or LuLu cards as accent cards; the TouchPoints range if you want flexibility without committing to one airline. ADCB is the wrong choice if you fly Emirates exclusively (ENBD’s Skywards depth is greater), if you cannot reliably hit the monthly spend tier, or if you want a no-spend-condition salary-transfer bonus — RAKBANK is simpler there.