[noopster]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

For this reason, I was exploring and even applied an HDFC Regalia card which was instantly declined citing CIBIL score issues . After this, someone advised me to check out smaller newer banks, I tried IDFC for one of their premium cards which had international lounge access, but almost instantly got rejected from them too. I checked my CIBIL score which showed a score of 690 despite my disciplined pre-closure of my car loan about 9 months back and disciplined EMI payment towards my Home Loan. Dejected, I felt sad and stopped looking for a credit card.

Forgive me for saying this but getting a credit card only for lounge access seems like a completely insane idea to me. You have a low credit rating score for a reason, that probably is a good sign that you should not get or use a credit card.

What’s the attraction of lounge access? You can find a comfortable corner in the public waiting area of any airport and read a book or watch a movie with headphones till your flight boards. Carry snacks and water in your cabin baggage (in case that’s what you are missing- the complimentary food and drink).

Lounge access is an iffy business: last week I travelled with family and realised I could only use 3 of my cards for entry into the Mumbai domestic terminal lounge, and had to pay for my younger kid to enter. It made sense since we had two hours to kill and it was lunchtime. But travelling solo I’ve never felt the need, trust me!

Incidentally you can get lounge access on a debit card as well (my Icici World Mastercard debit works, so does my wife’s). That may be a sensible option for you.

Credit cards are dangerous things when not used sensibly and in moderation. Often they end up sinking one into a debt trap. Think deep and wise before acquiring one, that too for superficial reasons. Apologies if this blunt advice offends you!

[mav2000]

Originally Posted by dheer4

Hey mav, you can use the points for any flight booking around the world. I don't know if you'd be able to earn any airmiles through this.

I usually don't buy any apple products through the Smartbuy platform as the rates are high.

Go to Infinia site, and select the destination. Whenever you're in the checkout page, you have a slider which would allow you to select how many points you'd like to redeem for that transaction.

Thanks, But I was keen to understand if I can, for example, convert the points to krisflyer or Vistara points and then change them to Qatar Airways points, or something to that effect.

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by noopster

Forgive me for saying this but getting a credit card only for lounge access seems like a completely insane idea to me. You have a low credit rating score for a reason, that probably is a good sign that you should not get or use a credit card.

What’s the attraction of lounge access? You can find a comfortable corner in the public waiting area of any airport and read a book or watch a movie with headphones till your flight boards. Carry snacks and water in your cabin baggage (in case that’s what you are missing- the complimentary food and drink).

Incidentally you can get lounge access on a debit card as well (my Icici World Mastercard debit works, so does my wife’s). That may be a sensible option for you.

Credit cards are dangerous things when not used sensibly and in moderation. Often they end up sinking one into a debt trap. Think deep and wise before acquiring one, that too for superficial reasons. Apologies if this blunt advice offends you!

Indeed Credit cards can quickly be the worst enemy if not used properly. I have been living away from credit cards for more than 5 years now. Probably you have not read through my post, my low CIBIL score was due to being co-applicant on my family business loan which had me to be co-applicant since I was salaried. It was a completely secure normal business loan with some property as collateral. For some xyz reason my family had to take up the dispute way to settle it out. That is the summary of why my score is low.

I am never attracted to any credit product, and have shaped my life in a way which teaches me to live only with what I have. I have a home loan on me only for benefits under section 80C of the income tax act, which too I am often tempted to pay off.

Now coming to the lounge access part, I happened to be extremely unfortunate on many occasions, one example being when my connecting flight got delayed for more than 18 hours and sitting in that corner seat with a movie or a book was not suitable since I was connecting from an already travelled 8 hour flight. I make use of my domestic lounge access frequently positioning my flight timings in a way which saves me a dinner visit time to any local place.
I shall check out the ICICI World master debit card, that will solve my problems to a large extent. In fact, I have forex prepaid which gives me access to international lounges but those are limited to few airports. I was looking for a more global access which is available on the HDFC Regalia and a few more cards.

[kushagra452]

I have no banking relationships with HDFC Bank. I am interested in their Regalia card. Is it possible to get the annual membership fees (Rs.2500/-) waived off? My CIBIL score is 800+.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Are these applicable for Diners Club International as well?

No

Originally Posted by arpanjha

I got a call from my bank (where I save money) ICICI, and the agent told me I had been rejected a credit card from HDFC, do I want to apply with ICICI? I said I do not want, since I was more than sure of rejection. Now, this lady proposed me to get a card against an FD. She said you can make an FD of even 10k and you will get a card with limit of 100k. I did not believe in her, but at the same time, wanted to see. So I decided to make an FD right then for 30k and I got a credit card (ICICI Coral) immediately with a meagure limit of 27k. I called up the lady to complain about this limit where she had promised me a minimum limit of 100k.
Anyways, I am using this card for as tiny bit possible since such a low limit is actually of no use to me. And it has been very long I have completely shifted away from credit cards. Now, is there any way other than the FD route to get a decent international lounge access credit card? I guess even if I use and repay this card bills in time, it wont get upgraded to a card which comes with international lounge access. Any idea from experienced CC users here, what can be done? Or is it advisable to buy a priority pass instead of the credit card business all together?

FD Based cards are a great way to build or repair a damaged Credit Score. These are very common across card issuers.

The limit on FD Based credit cards is always going to be lower than the value of the FD as the FDs are marked lien while issuing the credit card. Till the FD exists, your credit card exists. If you need more limit, you need to increase the FD.

Once you have repaired your credit score, you can apply for regular credit cards.

Originally Posted by mav2000

Thanks, But I was keen to understand if I can, for example, convert the points to krisflyer or Vistara points and then change them to Qatar Airways points, or something to that effect.

No. Moving of Points across Frequent Flyer Programs is not possible except a tiny few which work on the same currency (Avios Based Programs)

Your only option to book Qatar Airways using HDFC Points is to book via Smartbuy Redemption Portal

[aastiksaluja]

Amazon spends gives back around 16.6% in reward points and Flipkart gets around 10% back. To maximise spends, anything over 1000 Rs bought online is gone through the smartbuy platform and then routed to amazon.( I bought a MacBook Air M1 for effectively 54K after point rebate and discounts last December.(I got 10X rewards in this offer.))

That's interesting. ALthough I have utilised some vouchers till date, but not that effective. I bought Flipkart vouchers worth 8k for 16K points and PVR vouchers worth 2K for 4k points. I'm too trying to buy amazon gift card via smartbuy so that everyone in family buys every little item through Amazon Pay.

4. I've never received the club Marriott membership as I've been using the card for almost 5-6 years from now. AFAIK new cards get them but its pretty much useless.

Seriously. Its a gimmick which they market so loud. It's not much help in India, not sure about other countries too.

5. If you are an individual who dines out frequently, Dineout offers free Gourmet passport membership on Infinia cards. Gourmet passport usually gives 15-25% discount on the entire bill in select restaurants and HDFC offers 15% on top of that until 1000 rs. Massive savings IMO. Have saved well over 75,000 Rs doing this.

Getting into habit of this. I have Zomato pro plus too, so I check which one's applicable. Got decent discount on last outing. THough we order more, so Zomato seems useful with free deliveries.

6. Get add on's for all your family members. If you have a family of 4, who have PAN Cards, Everyone can get an infinia at no cost and added benefit is every add on member gets Infinite Priority Pass on their name.(Boon if you travel frequently.)

That's great! I'll get at least one for the wife.

Please feel free to ask anything if at all. Happy to help a fellow BHPian. I basically have a PhD in maximising infinia rewards by now .

I can see that . And I'm thankful mate. Will be sharing my elevated experience soon.

Attachment 2317386

Originally Posted by tejas08

On that Vistara Infinite, I feel Vistara Signature or SBI Vistara Prime gives better value as Business Class on Domestic flight rarely ever give u the real business class experience. Instead accumulate Airmiles via other cards and fly Business Class on Medium or Long Haul Flights. Check the link further below of the post I had made.

You're right on the value benefit. But if someone travels at least twice a month, having Vistara gold membership also helps. It provides you priority services and lounge access, helpful in non-metro cities as well as Delhi airport. They had a seperate lounge before which was better as it was just at the gate, but still, you get a seperate section with business class in premium plaza lounge, less crowded than the other section where most of the CC holders gather. It also has better reward earnings on points 6 points for 200 spend.

Second - All kinds of gift vouchers @ 1:1. But its borderline unethical hack as its against the system/ redemption options set by HDFC for Infinia users.

P.S - As much as I want to, I cannot share that hack. Its a ticking time-bomb with a potential to cause a massive devaluation of Infinia.

Well, you shouldn't have shared the half truth, mate Kidding. I'll still try to dig and find out though.

Thank you for all the valuable information.

[dmplog]

Interesting development on Credit Card and UPI evolution

On June 8, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recommended linking credit cards to UPI networks. Governor Shaktikanta Das declared that the procedure would begin with RuPay credit cards for the time being. Currently, UPI allows transactions by linking customers' debit cards to their savings or current accounts.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/...668752353.html

[noopster]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

I have no banking relationships with HDFC Bank. I am interested in their Regalia card. Is it possible to get the annual membership fees (Rs.2500/-) waived off? My CIBIL score is 800+.

You should be able to. I don't have any relationship with HDFC Bank except their Regalia card. At the time of issue, it was a lifetime free. One caveat though: when I got it many years ago it was a Superia that got upgraded to Regalia First and finally Regalia, so please read the fine print!

[kap04]

Originally Posted by dmplog

Interesting development on Credit Card and UPI evolution



Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/...668752353.html

Which would be the smart choice for a Rupay credit card, for online shopping- Amazon/Myntra..etc . I see that BOB, SBI, PNB all have Rupay credit cards.

[kushagra452]

Originally Posted by noopster

You should be able to.

Thanks. I tried applying for the Regalia CC on the HDFC Bank website. After submitting the required information, the system gave the option of choosing one of the following three cards only - Diners Club Black, Diners Club Privilege and HDFC Moneyback.

By the way, does having several credit cards spoil the credit score of an individual? (Presuming he/she is primarily using only one card and the rest are kept only as backups or used only for card specific offers).

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Thanks. I tried applying for the Regalia CC on the HDFC Bank website. After submitting the required information, the system gave the option of choosing one of the following three cards only - Diners Club Black, Diners Club Privilege and HDFC Moneyback.

By the way, does having several credit cards spoil the credit score of an individual? (Presuming he/she is primarily using only one card and the rest are kept only as backups or used only for card specific offers).

I have about 8 credit all with zero outstanding. I pay the balance off every month.

To your question it kind of boosts your credit score though it is a slow growth. CIBIL checks what is your total credit limit available adding all cards together. Then they check your discipline, by checking how much total you are using from that limit. The lower the percentage the better.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by aastiksaluja

... I'm too trying to buy amazon gift card via smartbuy so that everyone in family buys every little item through Amazon Pay.

Don't bother, it's not as beneficial anymore since they started charging ~3% fee for Amazon GCs! Buying directly via SmartBuy still works as before.
.

[AZT]

Anyone using the Flipkart Axis card here. I’ve found it no longer gives 4% cash back on Uber. I don’t see any T&C changed but post all payments there’s a 1.5% cash back message, same as all transactions.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Don't bother, it's not as beneficial anymore since they started charging ~3% fee for Amazon GCs! Buying directly via SmartBuy still works as before.
.

Even on the Amex Rewards Multiplier page, I am not able to find the link to purchase Amazon GCs using gyftr anymore. Are there any other ways to earn extra reward points for loading Amazon balance?

[kavensri]

Update on converting HDFC reward points to Amazon/FK GV through smartbuy portal.
Now, they have only Rs5000 GV for Amazon and Rs2000 GV for FK. Rest all the denominations have been removed.
Every month I promptly encash my reward points to Amazon GV on the statement is generation day itself. I do this to safeguard against any devaluation of reward points in the future. Today when I tried to convert my points to Amazon GV, I was shocked to see the above changes. I really don't know what the intention is for these changes.