HDFC Credit Cards Ultimate Guide

HDFC is the biggest Credit Cards issuer in India. HDFC started the wave of credit cards. There is a number of credit cards from HDFC that is audience favourites. In this Guide, we will cover those HDFC Bank Credit Cards that have the functionality of transfer of points. So, you might not see some popular credit cards. 

List of HDFC Bank Credit Cards That Allow Points Transfer  

Not all HDFC credit card points can be transferred. Only a handful of premium cards have the functionality of point transfer.

List of Credit Cards from which you can transfer points:

1. Infinia
2. Diners Black
3. Regalia
4. Diners ClubMiles
5. Diners Privilege

Although there are other cards that allow the transfer of points, it doesn’t make sense to transfer points from those cards.

Related: How to transfer HDFC Points to transfer partners [Airlines & Hotels]?

Fees and Welcome Benefit

HDFC Bank has been generous in issuing First year free or Lifetime free credit cards. These days though, credit cards come with an annual benefit. In the case of chargeable cards, you will also get welcome benefits.

Credit Cards	First Year Free	Annual Fees	Welcome Benefits
Infinia	Yes	INR 12500*	Club Marriott membership; and 12,500 Reward Points
Diners Black	No	INR 10000	Club Marriott, Forbes, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One, MMT BLACK and Times Prime Membership
Diners ClubMiles	NA	INR 1000	No Fresh Issue
Diners Privilege	No	INR 2500	Amazon Prime, MMT BLACK, Times Prime and Swiggy One Membership
Regalia	Yes	INR 2500	2500 Reward Points

In the case of an old Infinia card, the annual fee is INR 10000. 

How to get an Annual fee waiver on HDFC Cards?

The only way to get your annual fee waiver on your HDFC Card is by reaching spending. Here is the card-wise spending needed for a fee waiver:

Credit Cards	Fee Waived on
Infinia	Spend INR 10 Lacs*
Diners Black	Spend INR 5 Lacs
Regalia	Spend INR 3 Lacs
Diners Privilege	Spend INR 3 Lacs
Diners ClubMile	Spend INR 1 Lac

In the case of an old Infinia card fee waiver is given on spending INR 8 lacs.

Base Points Earning on HDFC Credit Cards

HDFC Bank credit points on base spending of INR 150 and base points vary on the card. Here are the base points earned on HDFC Bank Credit Cards:

Credit Cards	Points Earned	Amount Spent
Infinia	5	INR 150
Diners Black	5	INR 150
ClubMiles	4	INR 150
Diners Privilege	4	INR 150
Regalia	4	INR 150

Bonus Points Earning on HDFC Credit Cards

Apart from base points, you can earn bonus points on HDFC Cards, but they are still not as good as Amex. Here are the card-wise bonus points opportunities:

Credit Cards	Bonus Points
Diners Black	2x on Weekends Dining
Infinia	NA
Diners ClubMiles	NA
Diners Privilege	2x on Weekends Dining
HDFC Bank Regalia	10000 Bonus Points on Spending INR 5 Lacs; and 5000 Bonus Points on Spending INR 8 Lacs

HDFC Smartbuy: Dark Horse

HDFC Smartbuy is a dark horse with one of the best points-earning opportunities. The points earned are based on the nature of spending.

Spend and Bonus Points on Smartbuy

You earn “x” points on different types of spending. Here are the spending-wise and card-wise X points you can earn on HDFC Smartbuy:

Category	Infinia	Diners Black	Regalia & Diners Privilege
IGP.com	10X	10X	10X
Flights	5X	5X	5X
Hotels	10X	10X	10X
IRCTC	3X	3X	3X
RedBus	5X	5X	5X
Instant Voucher	5X	3X	5X
Apple Imagine	5X	3X	5X
Flipkart	3X	2X	3X

In the case of Diners Club Miles, you earn cashback on spending on Smartbuy.

Limit on Points Earning at Smartbuy

A daily and monthly limit is there on points that can be earned on smartbuy. This limit differ based on the HDFC Credit Cards. Here are the card-wise daily and monthly limits:

Credit Cards	Daily Limit	Monthly Limit
Infinia	7,500	15,000
Diners Black	2,500	7,500
Regalia & Diners Privilege	2,000	4,000
Club Miles	NA	Rs.1,000

Lounge Access on HDFC Credit Cards

A good advantage of HDFC Credit Cards is that you get decent lounge access. Here are the card-wise eligibility and visits limits:

Credit Cards	Lounge Access	Limits
Infinia	Yes	Unlimited
Diners Black	Yes	Unlimited
Diners ClubMiles	Yes	6/Yr
Diners Privilege	Yes	12/Yr
Regalia	Yes	12/Yr (India) and 6/Yr (Outside India)

HDFC Points Transfer Partners

HDFC bank has three points transfer partners, which are:

• Intermiles
• Singapore Airlines
• Club Vistara

HDFC Points Conversion in Airmile Ratio

HDFC Points conversion is similar to other popular points transfer programs in India. This is how many Airmiles you get for transferring your points:

Credit Cards	Intermiles	KrisFlyer	Club Vistara
Diners Black	100 RP=100 Intermiles	100 RP=100 Krisflyer Miles	100 RP=100 CV Points
Infinia	100 RP=100 Intermiles	100 RP=100 Krisflyer Miles	100 RP=100 CV Points
Diners ClubMiles	100 RP=100 Intermiles	100 RP=100 Krisflyer Miles	100 RP=100 CV Points
Diners Privilege	100 RP=50 Intermiles	100 RP=50 Krisflyer Miles	100 RP=50 CV Points
Regalia	100 RP=50 Intermiles	100 RP=50 Krisflyer Miles	100 RP=50 CV Points

HDFC Infinia and, Diners Black, Club Miles have a conversion of 1, whereas others have a conversion of 0.5.

Related: Guide to HDFC Bank Points Transfer Partners

Value of HDFC Credit Cards Points

All HDFC Bank Credit Cards get decent value from HDFC Bank itself. This is how much a point has value:

Credit Cards	Smartbuy	Vouchers	Cash Back
Diners Black	INR 1/RP	INR 0.5/RP	INR 0.3/RP
Infinia	INR 1/RP	INR 0.5/RP	INR 0.3/RP
Diners ClubMiles	INR 0.5/RP	INR 0.35/RP	INR 0.2/RP
Diners Privilege	INR 0.5/RP	INR 0.35/RP	INR 0.2/RP
Regalia	INR 0.5/RP	INR 0.35/RP	INR 0.2/RP

Note: The value of one Airlmile can vary based on different factors.

Bottomline

HDFC Credit Cards are one of the best credit cards in India, especially Infinia and Diners Black. There are a lot of points-earning opportunities on HDFC cards, including with Smartbuy. Indian Credit Card industry is moving in a great direction with a great credit card offering from HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and AMEX.