I have reviewed credit cards from all banks and prepared a list of the best credit cards in India.
If you are a fan of HDFC bank only, then I have curated a list of the 5 best credit cards from HDFC for you.
- HDFC MoneyBack Credit Card
- HDFC Solitaire Credit Card
- InterMiles HDFC Signature Credit Card
- HDFC Regalia Credit Card
- HDFC Diner Club Premium Credit Card
In the above list, the HDFC Diner Club Premium credit card is my favorite. Diners Club Premium credit card is a premium card offered by HDFC bank at a nominal fee. You can enjoy premium benefits without burning a hole in your pocket. You can also get an annual fee waiver on HDFC Diner Club Premium.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 best credit cards from HDFC without wasting time.
Best HDFC Bank Credit Card Review
#1. HDFC MoneyBack Credit Card Review
MoneyBack is a basic credit card offered by HDFC bank for newcomers. You can earn 2 reward points per Rs 150 spent. On online spending, you will get 6 reward points per Rs 150.
HDFC Bank offers the MoneyBack credit card as the first credit card to its account holders. If you want to apply for a credit card first time, then you should apply for the MoneyBack credit card. You would get easy approval from the bank.
Fee & Charges
Annual fee – Rs 500 ( Spend Rs 50,000 in a year to get next year annual fee waiver)
Reward Points & Other Benefits with MoneyBack Credit Card
- 6 Reward points per Rs 150 online spend.
- 2 Reward Points for every Rs 150 other spend.
- Get Rs. 500 worth eVoucher on spending Rs. 50,000 in a quarter.
- 1% fuel surcharge waived off on fuel transactions on minimum transaction of Rs 400.
The redemption value of 100 reward points is Rs 20. You need at least 2500 reward points to redeem.
Other important terms to know about MoneyBack card-
- e-wallet and EasyEMI loading transactions will not fetch you reward points.
- If any retail transaction is converted into SmartEMI, accrued reward points will be reversed.
- Cap of 2000 on reward points for every insurance transaction.
The next card is a level-up credit card than the HDFC MoneyBack crafted for women customers.
#2. HDFC Solitaire credit card review
Solitaire credit card is exclusively designed for women customers. HDFC Solitaire card comes with shopping benefits.
My wife applied for the solitaire card and got approved easily with a credit limit of 2,50,000.
She bought her MacBook using this credit card and spent more than 1,00,000 rupees within a few months. HDFC bank sent us shopping vouchers of Rs. 1000 after 6 months. We loved the bonus vouchers along with regular reward points.
HDFC solitaire card comes with a zero liability on loss, which means you are safeguarded against the misuse of the credit card in case of loss. Make sure that you inform the bank within 24 hours of the fraudulent transaction.
Reward points and Benefits
- Get 3 reward points per Rs. 150 you spend through your solitaire credit card.
- Get 4.5 reward points per Rs. 150 by spending on dining and grocery.
- Shoppers stop gift voucher worth Rs. 1,000 on spending Rs.75,000 every 6 months (2 vouchers every year).
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
The redemption value of reward points – 100 reward points = Rs 20.
You can redeem against the outstanding amount on your credit card.
Fee and charges
Annual Fee – Rs 500
Annual Fee waiver
- Spend Rs.10,000 within the 90 days of the card setup date and get the first-year annual fee waived off.
- Spend Rs. 50,000 in a year and get the annual fee waiver for the next year.
#3. InterMiles HDFC Bank Signature Credit Card Review
InterMiles HDFC Bank’s signature credit card was a co-sponsored credit card with InterMiles (previously JetPrivilege). Every credit card holder used to earn Airmiles a.k.a. Intermiles for free flight booking.
Welcome Benefits
You get 8,000 Bonus InterMiles as welcome benefits from Intermiles.
- 3,000 InterMiles onspending Rs. 6,000 within 30 days of card approval.
- 5,000 InterMiles on spending Rs. 90,000 and above, within 90 days of card approval.
You can also avail of a discount voucher worth Rs.750 on return flights booked & Rs. 2000 Hotel Discount vouchers on booking through Intermiles.com for first year.
On renewal, you get 3,000 InterMiles upon the first swipe on your Card after renewal and also get discount vouchers worth Rs.750 for flight booking & Rs. 2000 for hotel booking.
Fee & Charges
Annual Fee – Rs 2500 ( you can get next year annual fee waiver on spending Rs 3,00,000 in a year)
Reward points & Other Benefits
- Earn 12 InterMiles on every Rs 150 spent on every flight ticket booked on Intermiles.com.
- Earn 6 InterMiles on every Rs. 150 spent on all other retail expenses.
- 5% discount on Etihad Airways Economy ticket bookings on Intermiles.com.
- 10% discount on Etihad Airways Business ticket bookings on Intermiles.com.
- Earn 2.5X bonus InterMiles for Etihad Airways tickets booking on Intermiles.com
- 5 Complimentary free visits to the international lounges every year.
- 4 complimentary visits per quarter at domestic lounges.
You can also avail up to 3 Add-on Cards for your family members.
#4. HDFC Regalia Credit Card Review
HDFC Regalia credit card was a premium card but HDFC has reduced its benefits. Still, it’s a valuable card with many benefits.
HDFC launched Regalia comes as a personal and business credit card. There is no difference in the benefits but different documents are required for each one’s application.
Fee & Charges
- First Year – INR 2500
- Renewal Fee – INR 2500
- Foreign Currency Markup – 2%
Least foreign currency markup as compared to other credit cards except Yes Bank preferred credit card
Annual Fee waiver
- Spend INR 40,000 in the first 90 days of the card set up and get your first-year annual fee waiver.
- Spend a total of 3 lakhs in a year and get next year’s annual fee waiver.
In simple words, spend every year 3 lakh with your HDFC Regalia Credit card & get benefits free of cost.
Reward Points & Other Offer
You can earn 4 reward points on every spent of Rs 150.
- Get 15% or more discount on dining at the premium restaurant across India.
- 1 crore air accident insurance in case of death due to flight accident.
- INR 15 lakhs on medical emergencies while traveling overseas.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
Complimentary Lounge access With Your HDFC Regalia Credit Card
You will get 6 complimentary lounge access outside India within one year. Add on cardholders can also enjoy the complimentary lounge access. The Primary Cardholder and the add-on can jointly have 6 free access to the Priority Pass lounges every year.
You shouldn’t use Priority Pass for domestic lounge access, you have to pay a visit charge of $27.
Domestic lounges have a partnership with Visa/Mastercard to offer complimentary access. You can use your Regalia card and get 12 complimentary access per year within India.
Redeem HDFC Regalia Reward Points
You first need to convert them into Regalia vouchers and then redeem them on Regalia’s website. Regalia’s reward points come with limitations. You can redeem the reward points only on Hdfcregalia.com.
But the good thing is that Hdfcregalia.com has lots of things for your day-to-day needs like Mobile/DTH recharges, Hotel/Flight/movie Bookings.
Should You Go For HDFC Regalia Credit Card
The HDFC Regalia card comes with an annual fee of Rs. 2500 that can be waived off, only if you spend 3 lakh in a year ( Avg Rs. 25,000 per month). Make a quick calculation of your credit card expenditures.
If your total annual spending is less than 3 lakh, then your real savings will be up to 0.80% (very less). You should go for another card & vice versa.
#5. HDFC Diners Club Premium Credit Card Review
Fee & Charges
- First Year Fee – Rs 2500 + taxes
- Renewal Fee – Rs 2500+ taxes
- Foreign Currency Markup – 2%
Foreign currency markup is lowest as compared to other credit cards which charge 3.5%.
Make HDFC Diners Club Premium Credit Card Free of Cost
Spend 3 lakh every year and get next year’s renewal fee waiver & make your premium card having no annual fee.
Welcome Gift
The welcome gift is one common thing in all travel credit cards. Most of the cards offer a huge welcome in the first year but either no or reduced welcome gift from the second year.
But HDFC Diners Club Premium credit card gives every year a welcome gift of 2500 reward points.
HDFC Bank Reward Points Redemption
- Earn 4 reward points for every Rs 150 retail spend (except fuel).
- 5% CashBack on Diners Club on online spending like Flipkart, OYO via SmartBuy
HDFC Diners Club Premium credit card provides flexible redemption options. You can redeem reward points for booking air tickets & hotels at hdfcdinersclub.com or redeem for air miles across Air India and Singapore Airlines.
The redemption value of reward points is 1 RP = Rs 0.50 at SmartBuy and in case for air miles , 1RP = 0.50 miles.
Lesser-Known Benefits of HDFC Diners Club Premium Credit Card
- Provide air accident cover of INR 1 crore.
- Emergency medical expense covers up to INR 25 lakhs.
- Credit Liability covers up to INR 9 lakhs.
- Travel insurance covers up to INR 50,000 on baggage delay or loss.
- Get an access to complimentary golf lesson at selected golf courses in India.
- Enjoy 6 Complimentary lounge access to worldwide and unlimited lounge access to domestic airports.
Should You Apply For HDFC Diners Premium Credit Card
This credit card is meant for people having annual spending between 3 lakh to 5 lakh.
If you also belong to this category, then I suggest you, either apply for the HDFC Diners Premium credit card or Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card. Both cards will prove beneficial to you.
On one side HDFC Diners Premium credit card offers an annual fee waiver and on the other side Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card offers additional gift vouchers.
Check out – Slice credit card review
Conclusion
If you are a beginner and want to apply for your first credit card, then go with HDFC Moneyback credit card because of its easy approval and Rs. 500 voucher on spending Rs. 50,000 per quarter.
Otherwise, go with the HDFC Regalia credit card if your annual spending is Rs. 3 lakh, you’ll get free 6 international airport lounge access, a low foreign mark-up fee of 2%, and a high reward points redemption value of 4 reward points per Rs. 100 spent.
