[Bane214]

Originally Posted by fordday

I have been offered a ICICI Sapphiro CC, both joining and annual fee waived off. From a kiosk setup in our office. They says its a special offer for our company employees
Is it worth? Is there any trick involved in this wavier?

I have the Sapphiro as LTF. I also use it only for bookmyshow offer and sometimes for lounge access.

I would suggest to doublecheck if it’s indeed lifetime free or just joining and first year fee waive-off. Get this card only if it’s LTF.

[Pancham]

Guys, I have been offered the HDFC RuPay LTF credit card. Any insights on how the card is ? Should I go for it ? Is UPI really seamless with RP credit cards ?

[SteeringWheel]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Guys, I have been offered the HDFC RuPay LTF credit card. Any insights on how the card is ? Should I go for it ? Is UPI really seamless with RP credit cards ?

This probably is a digital card, they are offering the Digital UPI RuPay card for free now a days, it was previously Rs.99 per year. I had it for a few months but cancelled as I wasn't using it. It's a digital only card, you will not get any physical card. Except that you can not swipe it, it works like any other Rupay CC.

My experience with Rupay credit cards for upi payments is mixed. Upi payments with Rupay credit cards are not accepted at most places, I had to switch to normal upi payment or other credit cards.

[heydj]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Guys, I have been offered the HDFC RuPay LTF credit card. Any insights on how the card is ? Should I go for it ? Is UPI really seamless with RP credit cards ?

You need ask yourself why you need it? If it's a full credit card you are after then this is not the one.

I use it with payzapp upi app where I have added this and bank account both for upi payments. When making a payment app tells you if this card or bank account will be used for payment. I have found many places where I can upi using this card so I find it useful. Eg Mother diary near my house to buy milk either takes cash or upi. I upi and pay using this card so I avoid using bank account. Sometimes while paying auto guys I get upi cc option in app and I use it. For me this card helps me avoid doing upi using bank account and that's good enough.

I also have infinia metal card for regular cc. I use above card with limited use case that is wherever I am forced to upi then in some of those places how to avoid using bank account. I hate paying from bank account anything.

[tejas08]

Decided to list down all the Travel Redemptions done using Credit Card Rewards / Points & Loyalty Programs since 2021.

Had posted it on another social media. Posting it here too for some motivation for the members to look at Credit Cards in a more serious way.

Conservative Estimate - INR ~35 Lacs worth of Flights & Hotels

Average annual spends between ₹25-30L. This isnt just discretionary spends - It includes all essential spends such as Utilities, Fuel, Insurance Premiums, NPS, School Fees, School Bus Fees, Groceries, Advance tax etc.

Biggest myth is that you need extreme spending to achieve it. Anybody who is driving a 15+ Lac Car today, would easily be near that spending levels.

Key thing thats missing while trying to achieve those levels of redemptions is knowledge.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Average annual spends between ₹25-30L. This isnt just discretionary spends - It includes all essential spends such as Utilities, Fuel, Insurance Premiums, NPS, School Fees, School Bus Fees, Groceries, Advance tax etc.

I don’t actively track or chase optimum usage of cards (and hats off to those who’ve masted this skill + art by understanding it in depth).

But off hand, I was under the impression that insurance premiums (and possibly advance tax too) didn’t qualify for getting points on most cards. Is this incorrect? Or perhaps there are some specific cards that are going against the market tide and giving points against these two payments as well.

Thanks

[P22V]

Originally Posted by Axe77

and hats off to those who’ve masted this skill + art by understanding it in depth

Totally agree that is surely a skill + art.

Originally Posted by tejas08

Average annual spends between ₹25-30L. This isnt just discretionary spends - It includes all essential spends such as Utilities, Fuel, Insurance Premiums, NPS, School Fees, School Bus Fees, Groceries, Advance tax etc.

Its really good to see someone who is really churning every last bit out of their credit cards.

I have been a long term credit card person with disciplined spending. I fall in roughly the same spend bracket that you mentioned.

My concern with maximizing rewards on credit cards is that it takes a LOT of time and effort and is very taxing on the brain.

Now looking at your post and some other posts on twitter, whatsapp, youtube etc., I feel like a complete noob and question if my methods of doing this were right or not and do I need a systematic approach or maybe a credit card combination that suits my style.

Thanks for sharing.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Axe77

But off hand, I was under the impression that insurance premiums (and possibly advance tax too) didn’t qualify for getting points on most cards. Is this incorrect?

Most cards dont. That's correct. But then there are still few cards that do give or there are two-step ways that work.

HDFC Infinia / Diners Black / BizBlack - All 3 give rewards on Insurance
Amex Platinum Travel - Doesnt give rewards but gets counted for Milestone

Amazon Pay Route - Buy Amazon Pay Vouchers using ur Credit Card, load Amazon Pay wallet and they pay via Amazon Pay - This works too.

Having said that, the transaction thresholds have definitely been reducing as many people have been using this for Investments in those Investment cum Insurance Policy to gain benefits against Investments. So, there are chances that these ways too will vanish over a period of time.

[Aviator_guy]

I don't know if it is just me but finding it so taxing to keep track of spends/offers/optimize voucher purchase for the HDFC Infinia card I received recently. Really hats off to folks who have time, energy and passion to extract best out of such cards. I am feeling overwhelmed that after paying premium annual fee, I have to spend so much energy to get the benefits I'm entitled to.

I think, for my own peace of mind, I might decide to go back to my own ways to use separate cards specific to needs such as Amazon ICICI card, Swiggy HDFC card, Airtel Axis card and Neo Axis card for UPI.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I don't know if it is just me but finding it so taxing to keep track of spends/offers/optimize voucher purchase for the HDFC Infinia card I received recently.

This is the price we have to pay to earn the extra 10 to 13 percent returns over the other cards you mentioned. The fee in isolation looks high but if you are able to earn the bonus rewards even at easy pace, it would definitely be much higher than others.

Just an example, even on my own, I'd not have planned a foreign vacation for my family with my savings. With Infinia reward points, I have completed one sometime back and already planning for another next year.

[civic-dk]

I have recently noticed that the rewards point for my HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card are fetching much lesser amount with many of the options giving a ratio of 6:1 or even 10:1 for some of them (6 or 10 being number of points and 1 being amount in Rs). Not sure if other HDFC Credit Card holders have noticed the same.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I don't know if it is just me but finding it so taxing to keep track of spends/offers/optimize voucher purchase for the HDFC Infinia card I received recently. Really hats off to folks who have time, energy and passion to extract best out of such cards. I am feeling overwhelmed that after paying premium annual fee, I have to spend so much energy to get the benefits I'm entitled to.

I think, for my own peace of mind, I might decide to go back to my own ways to use separate cards specific to needs such as Amazon ICICI card, Swiggy HDFC card, Airtel Axis card and Neo Axis card for UPI.

The initial learning curve is steep. But if you spend some time on understanding things, within a couple of months you will be upto speed.

Small Tip - Don't focus on short term offers. Focus on Card Features that reward higher than usual - Reward Multipliers.

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Decided to list down all the Travel Redemptions done using Credit Card Rewards / Points & Loyalty Programs since 2021.

Had posted it on another social media. Posting it here too for some motivation for the members to look at Credit Cards in a more serious way.

Conservative Estimate - INR ~35 Lacs worth of Flights & Hotels

Great stuff Tejas! You are definitely one of the G.O.A.T.'s of credit card redemptions in India. Learned a lot from you

For everyone else who says it is way too difficult to keep track of credit cards, which one to use, where to use each one, optimising etc, well there is no reward without effort!

In just the last 2 years I have become super serious about optimising each and every spend, and I am happy to say that the rewards have been fantastic! It has taken time to learn, but saved so much on travelling and been able to take several trips that quite possibly would not have happened in such a short period of time otherwise.

Quoting my post from a few months ago on this thread:

Originally Posted by s4ch

1000% agree with Tejas here. Over the last few years I have optimised 99% of my spends to the right credit card and had some insane value back. Some example redemptions:

1) Return reward flights to Japan - saved 1.4L
2) Weekend staycation in a 5 star Taj - saved 20k
3) 5 day stay in a 5 star Marriott - saved 1L
4) Return reward flights to Hong Kong - saved 1L
5) Another 5 day stay in a 5 star Marriott - saved 1.25L
6) Collected Accor Points worth 1L
7) 5 Domestic flights redeemed on Air India - saved about 60k

This is about 6.5L++ of savings by just choosing to use the right card at the right place. I am not a massive spender, but understanding and optimising spends to the right method can give huge value back.

In addition:

8) Another weekend staycation in a 5 star Taj - saved 20k
9) Another weekend staycation in a 5 star Marriott - saved 20k
10) 3 day stay in 5 star Marriott - saved 50k
11) Hotels for 10 days in Japan - saved 1.5L
12) 2x Flights to Europe on Premium - saved 1.5L

Total = about 10L+ savings in just the last 2 years

+ still have points being collected in all sorts of places for trips next year.

If you are finding it difficult to understand how things work, then a great way to start off is by getting the following cards that are quite easily attainable (explanations have been highly simplified):

1) Amex Platinum Travel - spend 4L in a year on this card on anything, and once you hit 4L you will get 40k Amex points + a 10k Taj Voucher. Transfer at 1:1 to Marriott or 2:1 for a selection of airlines like Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic etc.

2) Axis Atlas - use this for all other spends for 7.5L-15L, especially for flight/hotel spends. Normal spends get 2 miles / 100rs and flights and hotels get 5 miles / 100rs. Atlas miles transfer at 1:2 ratio for most partners, so it is highly valuable when transferring to the Accor ALL program.

The above 2 cards will probably work for 80% of people who spend 1L+ a month and give very decent rewards without too much headache of thinking how best to optimise.

If you want to optimise further then HDFC Infinia, Amex Trifecta, HDFC Diners Black, Axis Magnus Burgundy etc are great cards, but are not as easy to get.

The above 2 does what a Thar does compared to a Wrangler: 80% of the job at 30% of the price or in this case, effort!

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I don't know if it is just me but finding it so taxing to keep track of spends/offers/optimize voucher purchase for the HDFC Infinia card I received recently. Really hats off to folks who have time, energy and passion to extract best out of such cards. I am feeling overwhelmed that after paying premium annual fee, I have to spend so much energy to get the benefits I'm entitled to.

I think, for my own peace of mind, I might decide to go back to my own ways to use separate cards specific to needs such as Amazon ICICI card, Swiggy HDFC card, Airtel Axis card and Neo Axis card for UPI.

If you already have Infinia, then other cards you mentioned are practically useless. They are just entry level cards. Even if you don't optimize and just use Infinia for everyday usage, you will be fine if your annual spends are upwards of 10L. Unlike Amex or Diners cards, Infinia is accepted everywhere!

Some good cards to complement Infinia are those that offer benefits that Infinia doesn't, such as milestone bonuses.

Here's how i use my cards:
HDFC Infinia - For smartbuy flights/hotels/vouchers, bill payments, school fees, tax payments etc, and other spends where Amex cards are not accepted. Add-on card is also used for general spends.
HDFC Tata Neu Infinity Plus Rupay - For UPI, bill payments and insurance payments.
Amex Travel - General spends (where Amex accepted), some insurance payments, fuel at HP.
Amex Gold - Primarily used with Reward Multiplier.
Amex MRCC - Reward Multiplier, fuel at HP (but haven't bothered using this card off late)

Other cards I have:
Amazon ICICI - which is probably used once a year to keep card active.
Axis Horizon - I have been lazy to act on this, need to either close it or upgrade to Atlas, as there's no value in holding this card (this was a Citi Premier Miles that got converted).
Axis Rewards - Just lying unused (My oldest card since 20+ years, converted from Citi Rewards)

I don't try to optimize the rewards as such, so mostly i end up using Infinia points in Smartbuy portal for flights. Have previously transferred to Accor and KrisFlier for travel.
Amex points - Generally convert to 18K/24K Gold collection, or convert to a airline/hotel partner depending on need.
Axis points - converted to Accor usually.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Focus on Card Features that reward higher than usual - Reward Multipliers.

Even if you max out Infinia's monthly accelerated points, it's 15k a month. That's 180,000 points a year. Plus another lakh or so for other spends. About 3L points a year.

How do you go from there to 10L worth of redemption? A few times we got lucky with bonus points transfer but other than that, I havne't been able to unlock much value. Good redemptions, sure. Not great ones.