India has been waiting for a Hotel Co-Branded Credit Card. There was no Hotel Co-Branded card in India, even from bigger chains like Taj & ITC. However, it made sense for Marriott to launch a co-branded credit card as it is the largest hotel operating chain in the world and India. So, on 24 August 2023, the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card was launched. Let’s see how it fares and what it has to offer.
Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card Overview
Here is the overview of the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card:
| Type | Hotels Co-Branded |
| Card Variant | Diners Club |
| Joining Fees/Annual Fees | INR 3000+ Taxes |
| Welcome Benefits | 10 Elite Night Credit Free Night Award [15K Points] |
| Renewal Fees | INR 3000+ Taxes |
| Reversal of Annual Fees | Annual Spend of INR 15 Lac |
| Renewal Benefits | 10 Elite Night Credit Free Night Award [15K Points] |
| Forex Markup Charges | 3.50% Plus Taxes |
| Minimum Reward Rate | 0.80% |
| Maximize Reward Earn By | Spending on Marriott Hotels [Better Alternative Available] |
| Stand Out Feature | 10 Elite Night Credit |
Eligibility
Even though this is an entry-level card from Marriott, the eligibility has been kept high. To make the card available to potential spenders and not just everyone.
For a self-employed person, the ITR should be more than INR 15 Lac; for salaried individuals, the monthly gross income should be more than INR 1 Lac for Marriott HDFC Card.
Annual Benefit on Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Card
The Annual Benefit on the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank credit card is the same given when joining. That means you will receive 1 FNA (Free Night Award) every year on payment of Annual fees of INR 3K till the card remains active. Here are things in detail:
Joining/Annual Fees & Benefits
You become eligible for the below benefit when you sign up for the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Card and pay Joining Fees of INR 3K:
- 10 Elite Night Credits, which gives Marriott Silver Elite Status
- 1 Free Night Award (Up to 15K Points)
Elite Nights are credited within 60 days of joining or annual fee receipt. At the same time, the Free Night Award can take up to 12 weeks to show up in your Marriott Account.
Earning Marriott Bonvoy Points on Co-Branded Card
Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card intends to cater to multiple needs of the cardholder and therefore has three tier point earning opportunities.
These three tiers are based on spending:
- at Marriott Properties
- on Travel, Dining and Entertainment
- on others
Base Earning
For every INR 150 spent, you will earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy Points. These points earned are 2x for spending on Travel, Dining and entertainment. And 4x on spending at Marriott Properties.
Points Earning at Marriott Properties
The card gives 8 Marriott Bonvoy Points on every spent of INR 150 at Marriott Properties. However, Marriott Properties excludes “Homes & Villas by Marriott” properties. This credit card has kept a monthly threshold on total points earned. You will earn a base of 8 Marriott Bonvoy Points until INR 10 Lac is spent at Marriott in a month. So, a maximum of 53328 Marriott Bonvoy Points can be earned monthly for spending at Marriott. After that, you will earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy Points for every INR 150 spent.
Marriott Bonvoy Points on Travel, Dining & Entertainment
It is good to see that this card intends to become a true blue card offering points over and above base points earned. For every INR 150 spent on Travel, Dining and entertainment, you will earn 4 Marriott Bonvoy Points. However, this tier applies to monthly spending of INR 5 Lakh. That means you can earn a maximum of 13332 in these categories. After spending INR 5 Lakh, you will earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy Points.
Points Earning Limit on Grocery Stores
Like other HDFC Bank credit cards, this co-branded credit card has a points earning limit on spending at Grocery Stores. So, a maximum limit of 2000 Marriott Bonvoy Points has been kept on spends at Grocery Stores calculated on a Maximum of INR 1.5 Lakh spent.
Maximum Points Earning Threshold
Here is the summary of Maximum points you can earn in a month on the Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card with the amount of spending.
| Spends on | Points Earning For Every INR 150 | Maximum Spend Considered in a Month | Maximum Points Earned |
| Marriott Properties Ex-Homes/Villas | 8 | INR 10 Lakh | 53328 |
| Travel, Dining & Entertainment | 4 | INR 5 Lakh | 13332 |
| Grocery | 2 | INR 1.5 Lakh | 2000 |
| Others (Inc. After Threshold Ex- Exclusions) | 2 | No Limit | No Limit |
Milestone Reward on Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card
All co-branded credit Cards come with milestone benefits. Considering it is a Hotel Co-Branded Credit Card, the benefit is Free Night Awards valued up to 15K Points. You can earn a maximum of three Elite Night Credits in the card anniversary year.
Milestone of 1 Free Night Award is given on every:
- INR 6 Lakhs
- INR 9 Lakhs
- INR 15 Lakhs
After spending INR 15 Lakhs, no Milestone benefit is given.
No Points Earning Categories [Exclusions]
HDFC knows how to keep its cards from abuse. So here is the list of categories on which Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card which you will not earn any points:
- EMI Payments
- Fuel Payments
- Wallet Loading
- Voucher Purchase
- Gift or Prepaid Card loading
- Payment of outstanding balances
- Payment of fees and other charges for any card
- Government related transactions
- Rental transactions
Milestone spending also excludes all of the transactions.
Getting Value out of Marriott Card
Firstly, this card’s Annual Fee is just INR 3K plus taxes, which gives you ten elite night credits and one free night award. A free night award of 15K is valued at INR 9K, considering one Marriott Bonvoy Point is worth INR 0.6. So that gives a good value of 3x for the fees paid. You can use the Marriott Points tool to get the most out of your free night award.
Every member of Marriott Bonvoy earns ten base Marriott Bonvoy Points for every $1 spent. Bonus points are also given based on the Elite Status. A Silver Elite receives 10% bonus points. This card comes with 10 Elite Night Credits, sufficient to give the cardholder a Silver Status. That means you start your year minimum with Silver Status. This could benefit folks who stay less than ten nights at Marriott.
Also, the Elite who needs just a few more night credits to get a notch higher status can do so with this card without staying. However, make sure to count in the period required to get these Elite night credits in the account, which is currently 60 days.
Another decent benefit is that your points will never expire as long as you earn Marriott Bonvoy Points on this card, as such earnings will reset the validity of points by another 24 months.
Other than the above, there isn’t a unique or special benefit for cardholders already available.
Lounge Access
Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Cardholder gets 12 Domestic and 12 International Lounge Access. It is a great benefit, mainly the International Lounge benefit, which gives 12 visits. There isn’t even a quarterly limit on this.
You must use the Diners Travel Tools App to check for eligible lounges.
Golf Benefits
This card also comes with access to golf courses in India and internationally. I find this to be a great benefit for the annual fees paid. If you are starting to learn, you also get complimentary golf lessons in India.
You get two complimentary golf lessons and gold course access per quarter. Check here for detailed T&C.
Future of Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards In India
This is the first Marriott credit card in India. The agreement between HDFC & Marriott is non-exclusive, meaning both HDFC and Marriott can tie up with other brands for hotel co-branded credit cards. Also, this card isn’t targeting Marriott Elites but intends to bring new customers to the Marriott Brand.
Marriott is the largest hotel chain in the country, so more premium credit cards are needed. Such a card will take time for sure, or maybe not. So, let’s wait and see how things unfold.
Cities with Marriott Hotels in India
There are 39 cities in India currently with at least one Marriott hotel.
Should you apply?
This card packs punch for everyone, including the new members and already elites. This card introduces new members to the Brand Marriott and brings them into a good hotel loyalty program, if not the best. Also, if you can get one free night in a decent five-star hotel for the price of a three to four-star hotel, then this card does need a place in your wallet. You can also use another 15K Marriott Bonvoy points from your account with the free night awards.
This card makes sense for Marriott Elites even if we exclude the Free Night Award benefit. You get 10 Elite night credits. If the card had offered Sliver Elite without Elite night credits, then this card wouldn’t have mattered for Elites already. But you will reach elite status faster with this card’s elite night credit. For Example, you need to stay 25 nights in a year to become a gold elite, and if you have already stayed 15 nights, you will not have to stay another 10 nights as you will receive 10 Elite night credits from this card. Not only that, you can also reach Marriott Lifetime Status a bit faster.
Considering this is the only Hotel Co-branded credit card in the market, I’ll apply for this card.
You can go to this link at the HDFC Bank website and apply for this card.
Related: HDFC Points to Marriott Bonvoy Points?
Bottomline
Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank Credit Card is great for beginners and Marriott Elites. For the price paid to get this card and its relative benefits, it doesn’t hit hard on the wallet. Instead, you can experience a grand stay if free night awards are redeemed at the right property. Overall, it’s worth a look card.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This is not the best card to earn Marriott Bonvoy Points in India. American Express Platinum Travel is among India’s best cards for earning Marriott Bonvoy points. [Apply Now to get first year free (Affiliated)]
10% bonus points on top of base earnings for spending at Marriott and Priority late check-out, subject to availability.
Yes, you can stay at any Marriott Hotel, including outside India. However, free night awards are valued at up to 15k Points.
Yes, you can hold more than one HDFC Bank Credit Card, with the other being a Co-Branded Card.
Based on available information, you can apply for this card even if you already have another co-branded credit card.
You can mention the details of your Marriott Bonvoy account while applying for this credit. Even if a new membership number is created, you can merge two Marriott Bonvoy accounts after both accounts are 30 days old.
Yes, even if you don’t make a stay at the Marriott Hotel, you will receive ten elite night credits, which will add to your existing 40 Elite night credits. You will have fifty elite night credits and become a Platinum Elite from Gold Elite.
Twelve months from the date of issuance.
Silver Elite Status is kept till the end of the card anniversary year if joining or annual fees have been paid.
