[tejas08]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

My opinion is that in general, ANY points system will give at max 1 to 3% benefit. Anything more, you are probably paying in a different way. For example, with prime membership, you get 5% cashback on Amazon pay card. Very good. However your real savings start only after you have earned enough that is more than the prime membership.

So my point is, there is usually no free lunch. For most of us, we probably save about 2% of our spends. For most of us, not saving the 2% would not really make a huge difference in terms of quality of life. And so there are many people who don't want to bother about finding the best deals. They just take what's available the easiest way. And that's ok.

If you are subscribed to this thread, I would like to suggest that it's more likely that you are excited to play this game of getting the best deal - not necessarily that your life would change if you don't take such deals, but more because you like to beat the system (or atleast get a feeling that you beat the system). There are enough people who fall in the trap of credit cards who will fund these people who beat the system - because remember, it's just a percent or two that all of us get.

Ignorance is not always Bliss! These are age old myths that no credit card will give a more than 3% benefit.

You definitely haven't evaluated the right set of Credit Cards.

2022 - Bali - 3 Business Return Tickets on Singapore Airlines, 1 Night in Hilton Garden Inn, 5 Nights in W Bali
(Cash out of pocket for the same - Rs. 15,xxx)

2023 - Mauritius - 3 Economy Return Tickets on Vistara, 5 Nights in SO Sofitel
(Cash out of pocket for the same - Rs. 22,xxx)

2023 - 1 Business + First Class Combination Ticket to Vietnam, Singapore & back (Went for the Singapore Grand Prix), 2 Nights in Sofitel Saigon Plaza's biggest Suite
(Cash out of pocket for the same - Rs. 8,xxx)

2024 - 3 Business Class Tickets from Mumbai to Malaga on Swiss Air, 3 Business Class Tickets from Barcelona to Mumbai on Qatar Airways, 3 Nights in Novotel Suites Malaga, 2 Nights in Novotel Seville, 3 Nights in Westin Valencia, 4 Nights in Novotel Barcelona City
(Cash out of pocket for the same - Rs. 78,xxx)

2024 - 1 Business + First Class Combination Ticket to Cambodia on Singapore Airlines, 3 Nights in Courtyard Marriott (3 Adults)

Redemptions on Credit Card Reward Points from one person who spends about 25-30 Lacs annually (Discretionary + Essential Spends) on the right set of Credit Cards. Yes, there will be some places where I might let go of a better deal using another Credit Card. That's the price I pay but the combined value of the travels that happen on Credit Card Points is definitely far higher than 1-3%.

And this is not just me, lacs of Credit Card users are slowly opening up to these rewards. The regular users of Credit Cards have started to look beyond Lifetime free credit cards and are ready to pay a fee for those high-rewarding credit cards.

The problem lies with people not evaluating things in detail and wanting Instant gratification (Cashback / Statement Credit).

Another problem being most people dont give enough importance and time to this topic as they dont understand most of the things. Card issuers specifically keep it complicated to ensure they stay ahead of the customers. This has given rise to a lot of new service providers, bloggers, Social Media Influencers explaining all these details.

[century]

Got HDFC BizBlack Metal yesterday!

My use case for this:
Advance tax
GST payment
Electricity bill
Shopping a few times on amazon business.

How can I maximise savings while shopping on amazon business accounts? instant vouchers and gift cards are not eligible for business users

Any other route? Or opening a business account on Flipkart is better?

If I shop on amazon business normally (without rerouting through smartbuy) will I get 5x/10x RP or not?

Is gyftr useful for this card?

I have one Millennia card also how to check which transactions attracted accelerated RPs and which not?

[turbospooler]

Originally Posted by century

Got HDFC BizBlack Metal yesterday!

How can I maximise savings while shopping on amazon business accounts? instant vouchers and gift cards are not eligible for business users

If I shop on amazon business normally (without rerouting through smartbuy) will I get 5x/10x RP or not?

I think you will get 1x RP on normal usage. Also, Amazon via Smartbuy is long dead. You will earn 5 RP per INR 150 which is the normal earn rate (3.3%).

Is gyftr useful for this card?

Gyftr is not available on the SmartBuy Business webpage, so not useful for getting just 3.3% benefit.

I have one Millennia card also how to check which transactions attracted accelerated RPs and which not?

There is no concrete way to check but to maintain an excel of transactions and estimating the points you were expecting from that particular transaction. HDFC will give you a summary of the earn under 5X & 10X bucket but may not send the separate message always.

[Mumbaiker]

Originally Posted by tejas08

The problem lies with people not evaluating things in detail and wanting Instant gratification (Cashback / Statement Credit).

Hey Tejas,
Have been following you on twitter and here as well, and have been always fascinated by the your credit card points travel posts. May be that was one of the reason when I was pulled into the Magnus bandwagon and then into Amex and Atlas.

May be I really am not evaluating things better, as I keep going back to the cashback cards and discounts on the aggregators instead of booking directly through websites.

I have tried to put my thought here through a hypothetical example.



Below is the difference between the rupee booking rate vs the points redemption if I search for the same flight for Singapore from Mumbai.




May be I am missing some really big picture here.

[malim]

Originally Posted by VaibhaoT

Have you considered the HSBC Premier?
https://www.hsbc.co.in/credit-cards/products/premier/

The website says one has to be an existing HSBC Premier customer to apply. Wonder if there's a workaround.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

Hey Tejas,
Have been following you on twitter and here as well, and have been always fascinated by the your credit card points travel posts. May be that was one of the reason when I was pulled into the Magnus bandwagon and then into Amex and Atlas.

May be I really am not evaluating things better, as I keep going back to the cashback cards and discounts on the aggregators instead of booking directly through websites.

I have tried to put my thought here through a hypothetical example.

Attachment 2671988

Below is the difference between the rupee booking rate vs the points redemption if I search for the same flight for Singapore from Mumbai.

Attachment 2671989
Attachment 2671990

May be I am missing some really big picture here.

Few aspects over here:

1. Aggregator Vs Airline Website pricing is always a tough choice. Discount Vs Miles. My decision making way - If Instant Discount / Cashback is more than 50% of the Airmiles earned (1 Airmile = 1 Re.), then go for aggregator. But I would still use Atlas instead of SBI cashback (4% Miles Vs 5% Cashback)

2. You havent considered the Milestone benefit (1.3-1.5%) on Atlas in the calculation. That ensure that Atlas benefit is ahead of SBI Cashback card even on Aggregator Transactions.

3. You are looking at only Travel but Atlas is giving 4 Miles per 100 Rs. even on lot of other things. My primary use case is Daughter's School & Bus fees, non-brand stores shopping and few other stuff.

As for the Singapore Airlines redemption, can you let me know if the screenshot is for Economy Class Redemption or Business Class? Economy Redemptions on Singapore Airlines using Airmiles dont make sense as the sector has a lot of low cost airlines flying.

[Mumbaiker]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Few aspects over here:

1. Aggregator Vs Airline Website pricing is always a tough choice. Discount Vs Miles. My decision making way - If Instant Discount / Cashback is more than 50% of the Airmiles earned (1 Airmile = 1 Re.), then go for aggregator. But I would still use Atlas instead of SBI cashback (4% Miles Vs 5% Cashback)

Thanks.

Originally Posted by tejas08

2. You havent considered the Milestone benefit (1.3-1.5%) on Atlas in the calculation. That ensure that Atlas benefit is ahead of SBI Cashback card even on Aggregator Transactions.

Yeah, I missed the milestone benefit and even updated the transfer ratio. I have added it again in the calculation. But we are also forgetting the transfer cap that axis has enforced. We can transfer only 30k in a year to Singapore or Accor ! There are other partners which have 1.2L as well, but in my case, I don’t see value in them.

Originally Posted by tejas08

3. You are looking at only Travel but Atlas is giving 4 Miles per 100 Rs. even on lot of other things. My primary use case is Daughter's School & Bus fees, non-brand stores shopping and few other stuff.

True, now even SBI stopped giving CB on school fees

Originally Posted by tejas08

As for the Singapore Airlines redemption, can you let me know if the screenshot is for Economy Class Redemption or Business Class? Economy Redemptions on Singapore Airlines using Airmiles dont make sense as the sector has a lot of low cost airlines flying.

Yes, this is economy. I dont even see the airmiles required for premium economy for a family of three. hahaha !

[Noctis]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

Yeah, I missed the milestone benefit and even updated the transfer ratio. I have added it again in the calculation.

I don't think it's easy to make a direct comparison like this because the true value of airmiles depends on individual use case. For example on qatar I have gotten economy for 1/3 points compared to even aggregators, with value of business when available going to 5x or more in some instances.

Another example is bonvoy points which are usually valued at .5 but its not too difficult to consistently get >1 for it.

General rule is that it becomes easier to extract value the more points you have at hand and the more destinations you are open for your travels.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

Yes, this is economy. I dont even see the airmiles required for premium economy for a family of three. hahaha !

This is where people's patience is tested. I let my points accumulate over 12-15 Months across 2 or 3 different cards (Using Milestone Bonuses of two years as well as strengths of different cards) and then combine them in a Frequent Flyer program to focus on something bigger than just booking economy flights.

The Magnus & Reserve Era were a blip in the Credit Card Rewards history. It wont happen again soon.

So, we are back to the reality of doing 1 Trip on Credit Card Rewards every 12-24 months depending on spends and points accumulation.

[Comrade]

I just checked my last one year spends on HDFC Infinia. I am earning about 4-5% consistently every month. Also, this is without me trying to use multiple cards, trying to find best point-transfer schemes etc etc. I use smartbuy portal whenever I remember about it but ocassionally I do forget to use it.

I think if anyone has penchant for tracking every credit card and their rewards can earn more than this (probably 10%). This credit card points is like finding loopholes and cheat codes in the video game. To my experience, it would take some time and effort to develop this skill, and only few like Tejas G have orientation/enthusiasm to master it. Others like me would be happy that we are getting some "free" discount on our daily spend without any effort on our side. If I spend 20L on credit card every year, I am getting ~1L free money! That is enough for me.

[Guite]

I have never tried but have been very curious about: are co-branded cards eligible for bank offers? Eg, Amazon has 10% cash back offer on HDFC credit card. Is an HDFC co-branded credit card eligible for such offer?

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by Guite

I have never tried but have been very curious about: are co-branded cards eligible for bank offers? Eg, Amazon has 10% cash back offer on HDFC credit card. Is an HDFC co-branded credit card eligible for such offer?

You would have to refer to the T&C'S for the specifics.

As an example, the Amazon pay ICICI Bank Co-branded card mostly does not qualify for the bank offers from ICICI Bank on other sites.

[Mumbaiker]

Originally Posted by Guite

I have never tried but have been very curious about: are co-branded cards eligible for bank offers? Eg, Amazon has 10% cash back offer on HDFC credit card. Is an HDFC co-branded credit card eligible for such offer?

Generally the T&Cs mention if the cards are not eligible. For example, in the current Flipkart sale, this is what the T&Cs mention about SBI Cards.

• This offer is applicable on SBI Credit Cards and Credit EMI Transactions, excluding Corporate cards, SBI Cashback Card and Paytm SBI Credit Card

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Comrade

I think if anyone has penchant for tracking every credit card and their rewards can earn more than this (probably 10%). This credit card points is like finding loopholes and cheat codes in the video game.

+1. I have recently started appreciating the entire rewards point system and realized how much I have been missing all this time just using LTF cards. I mean they are not bad for starting out on the journey but after a point these reward points do start making sense specially if one travels few times a year on flights and stays in hotels.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Comrade

This credit card points is like finding loopholes and cheat codes in the video game. To my experience, it would take some time and effort to develop this skill, and only few like Tejas G have orientation/enthusiasm to master it. Others like me would be happy that we are getting some "free" discount on our daily spend without any effort on our side. If I spend 20L on credit card every year, I am getting ~1L free money! That is enough for me.

Its just about getting used to it. Similar to the usage of ABC Pedals while driving that after a point it becomes instinctive and you really aren't thinking about which pedal to use in what situation.

The maximum effort is in getting the right set of cards that wont see a significant devaluation soon and then you are worry free. Take a look at T&C changes once in 6 months or a Year and tweak usage.