HDFC Millennia Visa Signature: Personal Perspective

[gilforchrist65]

TL;DR: Great for those who spend money online and would like rewards against statement balance and simple conversion

Rewards:

1. 5% CashBack on Amazon, Flipkart, Flight & Hotel bookings on shopping via PayZapp and SmartBuy (minimum transaction size of ₹2000) – Max points 750/cycle
2. 2.5% CashBack on all online spends (minimum transaction size of ₹2000) – Max points 750/cycle
3. 1% CashBack on all offline spends and Wallet reloads (Minimum transaction size of ₹100) – Max points 750/cycle
4. Redeem CB against statement balance ₹1:1 point (min 2500). Other redemption options at 0.35:1. 1 year validity of reward points

Lounge: 8 Complimentary Domestic Lounge Access per calendar year (2 in a quarter)

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India (on minimum transaction of ₹400. Max CashBack of ₹250 per statement cycle)

Annual Fee: ₹1000 – Waived on spending ₹100000 in a quarter

Bottom line: HDFC credit cards are attractive due to the high frequency of online merchant offers. This is a good semi premium card especially for online spends. But the rules and regulations on redemption and cap on monthly limits dampen the appeal. It is a good match for me as I don’t spend a lot of money offline(especially due to Covid). Since I already have other co-branded cards, the option to redeem 1:1 against statement balance is also a big plus.

Another reason why I am not currently upgrading is the offer ongoing in NoBroker. You can use the card to pay rent and get 10% PayZapp cashback upto ₹1200. For those who don’t know, PayZapp is a wallet app from HDFC and PayZapp balance can be used across all websites like a prepaid card.

 

[domnino]

@gilforchrist65 They have stopped issuing new cards because of RBI order

 

[gilforchrist65]

@domnino Yeah. A sad development.

 

[domnino]

@gilforchrist65 Indeed sad.. they were growing so rapidly with Amazon vouchers, FLT, instant cashback offers, smartpay, smartbuy... To me it looks like someone wanted to stop it.. n/w outage doesn't look convincing, even icici had many outages

 

[gilforchrist65]

@domnino Outages were actually a lot. Last year it was almost a whole week where mobile banking was inaccessible. I don't think the decision is wrong but still sad development. What is flt btw?

 

[domnino]

@gilforchrist65 Free lifetime.
When I saw the outage history, hdfc was down around the same time previously - nov-dec somewhere. Icici also had similar number of outages

 

[gilforchrist65]

@domnino Don't know about ICICI. Only CC for it so I do not access regularly. Yeah, I am hoping for a free lifetime upgrade rather than upgrading myself as I don't want to pay annual fees for premium.

 

[domnino]

@gilforchrist65 You can convert your card to free lifetime by registering two billers for auto-pay for 3 months. Talk to your RM.

 

[gilforchrist65]

@domnino I think it is revoked now. Old cards which had it are still enabled. When I got offered upgrade to Regalia that's what the bank rep said. Will take a look again once pandemic ends because till then I find Millennia sweet.

 

[barelohim]

@gilforchrist65 HDFC offered me a credit card upgrade to Infinia. Told me that there will be no annual charges. Should I take it? Will there be any hidden charges or will there be any perks using this card? Currently I have a freedom card.

 

[gilforchrist65]

@barelohim Yes. Infinia is great. Especially compared to Freedom card which is entry level. They have been offering free upgrades to Infinia and Regalia after the ban. I previously held a free card with them and there were no hidden charges. So you can go ahead with confidence as they have a good rep for this. Just clarify one time about both annual and joining charges.

 

[overthehill]

@gilforchrist65 Before the bani was offered liftime free diners club credit card. After the ban, my application couldn't complete. How do i apply for anew Hdfc credit card ??

 

[gilforchrist65]

@overthehill You can't till the ban is in place. Only upgrades are allowed.

 

[cjs17]

@barelohim Freedom to infinia ? I'm not even able to get it from diners black

 

[barelohim]

@cjs17 I have no idea how I got it. I don’t even use credit card usually! The relationship manager called one day and was literally begging to take this upgrade even after I told I don’t need it. That’s why I told I doubt if there will be any hidden charges or something.

 

[gilforchrist65]

Original post on r/IndianCreditCards