[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by vvrchandra

Are there any Citibank credit card owners who got migrated to Axis, got Airtel Axis credit card successfully.. I tried couple of times but could not get through.. Don't know the reason.

I have received a email/message from Axis Bank that my Citibank credit cards will replaced by Axis Bank cards and mailed to me soon. It’s from Citibank to Axis not affiliated with Airtel.

Cheers

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by vvrchandra

Are there any Citibank credit card owners who got migrated to Axis, got Airtel Axis credit card successfully.. I tried couple of times but could not get through.. Don't know the reason.

Had a Citi IOC card and got migrated to AXIS IOC. Got a mail that replacement card would arrive but it didn't for a long time so reported card lost and got AXIS IOC delivered.

[PranavDesai]

Hi everybody, need some advice here. I have LTF HDFC Business Regalia. Now I have been offered an upgrade to HDFC Biz Power, but there is no mention if it is LTF or paid. Assuming it is paid are the benefits worth it?

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by PranavDesai

Hi everybody, need some advice here. I have LTF HDFC Business Regalia. Now I have been offered an upgrade to HDFC Biz Power, but there is no mention if it is LTF or paid. Assuming it is paid are the benefits worth it?

Annual charges are mentioned in the offer page/app.

My Business Regalia is LTF but the upgrade is being offered for 10k annual charges.

See the screenshot.

.

[SRM]

Hi guys. Looking to plan for a trip in May next year. Need some help on the below pointers. Which of the below 2 options would be easier to book for economy using airmiles for a family of 4.

Option 1: Istanbul + Greece (which id the best FFP - turkish or any other good option?)

Option 2: Paris + Switzerland (which is the best FFP - flying blue or any other good option? Will do only to and fro booking, internal might be trains)

For example in Turkish airlines, how is the availability for 4 seats and can I book from Mumbai to Greece with a stopover at Istanbul (say for 5 days) on one leg. Or do I need to make separate bookings? Unable to see the stopover option on their website and given it is my first booking, I believe it will need to be done over the phone. What would be the mile requirements for Mumbai to Greece with a stopover at Istanbul?

Only have Magnus burgundy points so will have to take into account for yearly cap as well. So can transfer 2L points this year and rest in Jan. Would appreciate any insights on the best way to go with the above as will need to transfer the points in Dec.

[turbospooler]

Originally Posted by SRM

Hi guys. Looking to plan for a trip in May next year. Need some help on the below pointers. Which of the below 2 options would be easier to book for economy using airmiles for a family of 4.

Option 1: Istanbul + Greece (which id the best FFP - turkish or any other good option?)

Option 2: Paris + Switzerland (which is the best FFP - flying blue or any other good option? Will do only to and fro booking, internal might be trains)

For example in Turkish airlines, how is the availability for 4 seats and can I book from Mumbai to Greece with a stopover at Istanbul (say for 5 days) on one leg. Or do I need to make separate bookings? Unable to see the stopover option on their website and given it is my first booking, I believe it will need to be done over the phone. What would be the mile requirements for Mumbai to Greece with a stopover at Istanbul?

I am seeing good availability on TK metal for Athens in January 2025, but I am not seeing a stopover option as the connecting flight is very conveniently just having 3 hours layover in between. Stopover requires more than 20 hours layover.
Per head requirement is also steep in Economy at 40k miles. Return to Mumbai is 30k miles. But the taxes are also pretty steep in TK. Some 280k miles for a roundtrip. Plus ₹78k in taxes out of pocket.

One issue with Flying Blue is that they have arbitrarily cancelled many of the award bookings if that is the first activity in the account. Even if the account holder is one of the travellers, they have cancelled citing fraud. My personal experience was that there is no redressal except sending mails again and again and hoping it works.
But the availability and taxes are reasonable in Flying Blue.
Other FFP (Frequent Flyer Program) to explore would've been Virgin Atlantic but you have points in Axis, so not relevant. Also, they devalued their program big time by going dynamic. You can look at Lufthansa or Star Alliance (United/Singapore or Air India) for Switzerland booking.

I think transferring to Accor will also not be useful as you are going to shell out for 4 round-trip flight tickets so best option is still miles. Hotel will be cheaper as not much incremental pricing, but flights are definitely additive.
Best wishes.

[rajesh1868]

Any idea on how SBI Vistara points can be used now? Does this card make any more sense (like auto migration to Air India co branded card)?
I had used this extensively for domestic travel.

If I need to replace, which would be my best choice?
I hold Amex platinum travel, MRCC and HDFC Regalia Gold

[SRM]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

I think transferring to Accor will also not be useful as you are going to shell out for 4 round-trip flight tickets so best option is still miles. Hotel will be cheaper as not much incremental pricing, but flights are definitely additive.
Best wishes.

Thank you for the prompt response. Some really helpful insights in there. Yes, I do prefer utilizing the points for flights as that's a fixed cost.

Agree that Turkish airlines has higher taxes, but not sure if there is any other FFP good for Istanbul + Athens.

For Switzerland, I believe the only other good options seem to be Etihad and Air India/United for Star Alliance. Air India post the recent merger seems to have higher miles requirements and also not sure how good is its availability generally. But the good part is there is no transfer cap on Air India, waiting to see how it looks once the merger settles down.

So basically, it looks like for Istanbul + Greece, my options probably would be Turkish only. For Switzerland + Paris could be Etihad, Air India or United, Flying Blue.

Just wanted to check am I missing out any other FFP which could be helpful given Axis has a great list of transfer partners.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

For the Infinia the wanted me to do the following:
- 10 L FD (Since I'm a NRI).
- 7.5 L spending in the last 6 months on my Regalia (which I have not done)

Finally they have come back to this. I have started spending on the Regalia. I asked them to increase the spending limit as I want to shift all spending to this card to fulfil the criteria. They agreed to do that. I asked them if they could upgrade to a slightly better card like Regalia Gold but I was told that NRI's are only eligible for Regalia and Infinia.

Regarding the 7.5 L spending, they said to submit the statements of my primary card (Union Bank) and they will consider basis that.

They reviewed it and I've met the 7.5 L criteria for 6 months but now they are saying they will not consider spending on other cards. It has to be a HDFC card.

One problem I see with all these requirements is, it's not specified anywhere and Bank is not giving it in writing. It's pretty useless talking to them too. I told that, the faster you issue the card, the more I will spend. Also since I'm keeping a collateral of 10 L why do they want to see my spending on a HDFC Card.

Meanwhile I inquired with Axis Bank and American Express:

Axis Bank: I asked for the Atlas. Initially they agreed. Then on learning that I was a NRI, they said I have to have a Burgundy Account (30 L FD or maintain the same in savings) and they will issue me a Magnus. Now I'm not interested in the Magnus after the devaluation but they said that I have to have the Burgundy Account even for Atlas. I guess I'll give Axis a skip.

American Express: These people seemed to be quite positive. I filled in the online application and midway I saw that you have to be a resident of certain cities only. There was a list and Goa was not included so I left the application incomplete. There was also a requirement to be a resident. Today they called to ask why I didn't complete the application and they will guide me in completing. I explained that I do not live in any of the listed cities and that I'm a NRI. They said my Pin Code was eligible and I was also eligible as a NRI provided I had an account in India.

I went through the website and checked the features. I'm not sure if I should take it.
Pros:
- It's a premium card.
- Good options for lounge access.
- Good Hotel Memberships and good offers on hotels. Not sure but I thing its good for tickets too.

Cons:
- High Annual Fee (77 K).
- Low reward points.
- Limited acceptance.

Why I may be able to live with the cons:
- I don't go for holidays much but my wife always wants to go on holidays. With the benefits of this card I can save more than enough on the holiday to recover the annual fee.
- Low reward points I can live with as I'm primarily looking to go on holidays.
- Limited acceptance is an issue but I can use it in the partner hotels. Lot of the benefits are discounted rates at hotels on rooms and dining. Which means I have to make some payments. And since the hotels have partnered with Amex, they will probably accept Amex cards.

Am I missing anything here? Anyone using this card please share your experiences. Also if I keep this card and the Infinia, is it a good combination?

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by aadya

How to change the pin for the addon card? as all the numbered details are same for the Primary and addon card.

Originally Posted by kap04

I received my Infinia yesterday, and with it came the addon card for my wife as well. How do i set the PIN for the addon card?

Originally Posted by aadya

Login to mycards.hdfcbank.com and use "Set Pin" option

I had exactly the same problem. My card worked with the old PIN but the ad on didn't. The change PIN option in the App allows you to change the primary one. When you try to do it for the add on you get a message that it will be mailed to your address. The same never comes.
I called the bank and they said to try using Net Banking. It doesn't work. After another call they said use "My Cards". That site was not opening. They then said to try from the phone. Same issue. They they said try on an Android Phone. Again same issue. Finally I figured it out by accident. You can open the My Cards portal only with Mobile Data and only on the phone. If your phone is connected to Wifi it won't open.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

As mentioned above, call you bank before you travel and inform them of the places you will be travelling to with the dates.

This doesn't work for me because as a seafarer I never know where all I will go.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

This post is only for NRIs
I had a long and challenging process to get an HDFC credit card but in the end 'all is well that ends well'.
I am a long standing HDFC customer (including credit card), but when I became NRI, the card was blocked since according to HDFC 'NRI is not allowed to hold credit card'. So, my Regalia First card of many years finally had to be thrown in the bin. Along with that I also lost my Priority Pass and lounge access.

HDFC makes their own stupid rules. I too had to give up my card and take a Regalia NRI against a FD (Credit limit is 85% of the FD). Manager kept insisting that the minimum FD was 4 Lakhs but I had a mail from HDFC that it was 2 L. After a lot of discussion they agreed.
Now the next ridiculous part is that NRI's are only eligible for Regalia and Infinia. As mentioned in my previous post I was eager to spend more on the HDFC to reach the 7.5 L spends quickly. They said I could not get a higher card than Regalia in the meantime. The credit limit on the Regalia has not increased despite the FD growing. I have put in a request to get it done as it doesn't happen automatically.

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Lastly, HDFC has a notorious reputation for rejecting credit card applications, even if you have a 790+ CIBIL score!!

True. They behave as if RBI is under them rather than the other way around.

Originally Posted by Comrade

I have reduced my portfolio to just two cards. HDFC Infinia & Amex Platinum.

I hope to do the same. But I'll retain my Union Card too.

I would rather have some great intangible benefits like top class concierge, dedicated & best customer service, early access to events, unlimited lounge access in almost all airports etc!

Nice to have but not that necessary. The only reason I want the card is for lounge access and hotels / flights.

Originally Posted by tejas08

They just know their English better than the other Bank Customer Support executives.

For me that's pretty important. I have one of the simplest names (Peter) and most customer care executive cannot pronounce it correctly. And then there are some customer care executives who can't speak English at all. Axis bank for example. They only speak Hindi.

As for Unlimited Lounge Access - Infinia is good enough for this. No need to pay hefty fee for the Platinum Charge Card.

The exclusive Amex Lounge access is an advantage, isn't it?

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Today they called to ask why I didn't complete the application and they will guide me in completing. I explained that I do not live in any of the listed cities and that I'm a NRI. They said my Pin Code was eligible and I was also eligible as a NRI provided I had an account in India.

After this a friend sent me a referral link to apply for an Amex card. He also suggested that I opt for the Platinum Travel Card instead.
Problem is now that I have an open application, I cannot make another application with the referral link. I spoke to the customer care and they said not to use the referral link and they will give me a 10K Voucher for Air India.
Any suggestions on how to go about cancelling the existing application?

[itherohan]

I got into the credit card game because of this thread and thanks to all the contributors for all the knowledge and experience.
My main aim with credit cards had been only one, to book a business class flight one way for me , wifey and kid on any of our trips with points/miles ( Unfortunately my middle class upbringing will never let me spend money on business class, no matter if it's financially possible for me in the future)
Thanks to the prodigious efforts of my wife, I have enough points on the magnus Burgundy now. However for our recent Europe trip, I couldn't get award flights in any partner airline for our desired dates.

Any tips on which airline is most generous with business class reward flights. I don't mind where the flight goes, as long as it's more than 8 hours and is a good airline ( preferably USA, as we have relatives there, so dates can be adjusted without worrying about hotel bookings).

Otherwise it looks like my business class dream will remain a dream even after having the required miles.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Am I missing anything here? Anyone using this card please share your experiences. Also if I keep this card and the Infinia, is it a good combination?

Platinum Charge Card in its current form is one of the worst Amex cards to hold. You will be hugely disappointed. All the benefits that you mention are available thru a lot of different online portals.

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

After this a friend sent me a referral link to apply for an Amex card. He also suggested that I opt for the Platinum Travel Card instead.
Problem is now that I have an open application, I cannot make another application with the referral link. I spoke to the customer care and they said not to use the referral link and they will give me a 10K Voucher for Air India.
Any suggestions on how to go about cancelling the existing application?

You seem to be mixing up two cards - Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge Card are two completely different card from Amex.

Also, I have never understood the fascination of good English speaking customer service over a good rewarding card.

Just recently swiped my key cards for car purchase and the total benefit derived from the car purchase is ~2 Lacs (on a Purchase of Rs. 22 Lacs) which if I would have swiped Amex, it would have been ~22K. Not to mention that the Dealer would charge 2-3% for swiping Amex.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Platinum Charge Card in its current form is one of the worst Amex cards to hold. You will be hugely disappointed. All the benefits that you mention are available thru a lot of different online portals.

OK. So I'm guessing that currently the alternative to this is the HDFC Infinia. That I will get in the next 5-6 months (depending on how fast I spend 7.5 L on the Infinia). Unfortunately I spent quite a lot on my Union Bank Signature. Had I done it on the Regalia, I would get the Infinia.
Other than Infinia, what are my options. My major problem is I'm a NRI and that makes me not eligible for most cards.

You seem to be mixing up two cards - Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge Card are two completely different card from Amex.

This I am aware of. I had never planned to get a Platinum Travel Card. Wanted a Platinum Charge as I was not getting the Infinia or the Magnus.

Also, I have never understood the fascination of good English speaking customer service over a good rewarding card.

Not a fascination. It's just that when I interact with customer care (not limited to Credit Cards), I prefer talking to someone who is easy to understand and who easily understands me.

[aseem23]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Platinum Charge Card in its current form is one of the worst Amex cards to hold. You will be hugely disappointed. All the benefits that you mention are available thru a lot of different online portals.

I beg to disagree here. Being a heavy spender, and frequent traveller, I moved from Gold Charge to Platinum Charge to Centurion Card, and I have always derived value out of AMEX cards. The key is to be spend heavy (more than 70-80Lacs in a year with Plat charge, and much more with Centurion), and for travel I don't think (or atleast have not personally encountered) any other card that offers AMEX like discounts/offers on Business/First class tickets.

[ashis89]

Is it possible to make a large payment via credit card if the amount exceeds the credit limit itself(~1.3x)?

Is it recommended?

The reason for considering a CC over a bank transfer is the hope of earning some points and achieving annual spend limits.