[feluda86]

Originally Posted by binand

Is this Regalia an upgrade from the Signature? Mine's due renewal in September so might want to ask them for a change. Fuel surcharge waiver is my primary use-case but wouldn't mind the occasional lounge access now that Citibank has withdrawn that.

Regalia is VISA Signature. With the recent changes done to Regalia (removal of Taj epicure membership, Priority pass access down to 2 per quarter, downgrading of points to rupee conversion on their website), I have shifted to Citi PremierMiles - has most of what Regalia used to have. It is a VISA Signature also.

If fuel spend is your primary use I would suggest Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium. Apart from surcharge waiver, it has 5% cash back on all utility bills (min transaction of Rs 750, upto Rs 100 per transaction and maximum Rs 500 per billing cycle). It is one of their lower cards but very effective.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by binand

Is this Regalia an upgrade from the Signature?

Originally Posted by feluda86

Regalia is VISA Signature.

There is a separate card from HDFC called Signature, that's what the question was I think (wonder why banks name their cards confusingly like signature, platinum etc).

To answer that, yes definitely Regalia is an upgrade. In Visa/MasterCard platforms (excluding jet co-branded cards) Regalia is only below Infinea. Reward points earn rate in Signature is 2/150, while it's 4/150 in Regalia.

[binand]

Originally Posted by feluda86

Regalia is VISA Signature... I have shifted to Citi PremierMiles - has most of what Regalia used to have.

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

There is a separate card from HDFC called Signature, that's what the question was... To answer that, yes definitely Regalia is an upgrade.

Yes, thanks. They are indeed different HDFC Cards:

http://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/cre...visa-signature
http://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/cre...d/regalia-card

HDFC on the Signature card has started capping fuel surcharge waiver to Rs. 250 per billing cycle which translates to 10K worth of fuel - I often fill more than that, especially in months when I drive out of Bangalore. Wanted a card without that cap. On the Regalia the waiver is limited to 1%. Neither is optimal.

Originally Posted by feluda86

If fuel spend is your primary use I would suggest Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium.

Didn't want to start a banking relationship with another entity; but let me check.

Edit: SCB limits this cashback to Rs. 500 a month, which translates to 10K in fuel spend. No different from HDFC's.

https://www.sc.com/in/credit-cards/s...-titanium.html

[diyguy]

The Infinia from Hdfc is for (salaried) individuals taking home a minimum of 3.5 lakhs per month, in case anyone wants to know

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by diyguy

This is my first HDFC card and I have not had their signature in the past, so cannot answer. However this card was declined on all my transactions in London and in Chicago. Have to figure out why they have not enabled international usage, when I spoke to the customer care guy prior to departure as well. Also it has only a 2% surcharge vs normal 3.5% for currency exchange.

A few years back, HDFC disabled use of credit cards on international gateways/merchants by default.

But it's a very easy fix. Just log in to your Netbanking account, go to Credit Cards and on the left, you'll see the option to enable/disable international use; and also the limit for international transactions.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Just log in to your Netbanking account, go to Credit Cards and on the left, you'll see the option to enable/disable international use; and also the limit for international transactions.

Thanks, didn't think of that! Could have saved some processing fee had I tried this earlier.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by feluda86

If fuel spend is your primary use I would suggest Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium. Apart from surcharge waiver, it has 5% cash back on all utility bills (min transaction of Rs 750, upto Rs 100 per transaction and maximum Rs 500 per billing cycle). It is one of their lower cards but very effective.

Originally Posted by Holyghost

Check out the Standard Chartered Titanium Card. They give 5% cash back for fuel purchases.

Originally Posted by jbpanda

Agreed. Even I have been using it for about 7-8 years and it's pretty good. Good thing is that the cash back applies in all outlets and not limited to any particular outlet like - Indian Oil or HP or BPCL.

Looks good!

I have a Regalia but since HDFC does not completely waive off fuel surcharge, I've been contemplating a fuel-specific card.

I was browsing through the SuperValue Titanium and also Manhattan. SV is a cash back while Manhattan is predominantly cash rewards.

For SV, is cashback a straightforward process or is there a charge levied each time you convert?

Any idea how good/bad converting reward points to cash is on the Manhattan cards?

[feluda86]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looks good!

I have a Regalia but since HDFC does not completely waive off fuel surcharge, I've been contemplating a fuel-specific card.

I was browsing through the SuperValue Titanium and also Manhattan. SV is a cash back while Manhattan is predominantly cash rewards.

For SV, is cashback a straightforward process or is there a charge levied each time you convert?

Any idea how good/bad converting reward points to cash is on the Manhattan cards?

I use Regalia/Citi PremierMiles to accumulate points and redeem them on flight tickets (@0.45Rs/point in Citi and 0.6Rs/point Regalia). I take all my expenses (except fuel and utility) on one of these cards for 5-6 months, pay off monthly as per bill (No outstanding policy) and redeem points for a vacation at the end of that period.

For SV, the process is straight forward with no additional charges. Additionally you also get 5% cashback on utility bills (telephone, internet, DTH, electricity etc). Manhattan, however, is useful for supermarket buys (Star Bazaar, Big Bazaar etc) and eating out at stand alone restaurants. I personally do not see a lot of value with the Manhattan card as compared to the SV Titanium.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looks good!

I have a Regalia but since HDFC does not completely waive off fuel surcharge, I've been contemplating a fuel-specific card.

True! The Service tax is the component which does not come back to the consumer.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I was browsing through the SuperValue Titanium and also Manhattan. SV is a cash back while Manhattan is predominantly cash rewards.

For SV, is cashback a straightforward process or is there a charge levied each time you convert?

Thanks for your suggestion. I've applied for it today. Don't know if its lifetime free or will be charged with an annual fee.

Cheers,
Amey

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looks good!

I was browsing through the SuperValue Titanium and also Manhattan. SV is a cash back while Manhattan is predominantly cash rewards.

For SV, is cashback a straightforward process or is there a charge levied each time you convert?

Any idea how good/bad converting reward points to cash is on the Manhattan cards?

I've been using both SC Titanium and Manhattan card for more than a decade. Fuel cash back for Titanium is pretty straight forward. The amount will be credited back to your account on the same month.
Sample Statement attached


My fuel price was Rs3440
Including Surcharge, they have charged Rs3479 to my card.
For this they have credited back Rs 137 as cash back + surcharge reversal.

For Manhattan, The cash back is not credited back, but it is added similar to how you earn points.

You need to redeem your cash back similar to how you redeem your points. This change was done a couple of years back. Before that, the cash back used to get credited the same way as in Titanium fuel cash back.
Each point in Manhattan is ~30Ps. So 30K points makes it worth a little less than Rs10K. I had redeemed 100K points 3 years ago for ShoppersStop and Croma vouchers.

[adimicra]

Need some suggestion from the credit card experts.

I have 2 credit cards now
Stan Chart super value titanium - used for fuel utility etc
Citibank cash back - used for normal expenses, shopping etc

The problem I have is none of these cards provide lounge access in domestic or international airports. (My Citibank debit card gives lounge access but I need more for family members)

So, I have been looking for a 3rd card which will provide lounge access along with fuel surcharge waiver and good cashback/rewards so that I can replace all my cards with a single card.

After doing some research, I was unable to find such a card. The closest I got is the HDFC regalia card (other than expensive high end cards) - it offers pretty good rewards along with lounge access and priority pass privileges. I am planning to apply for the same. Should I go ahead or there are better alternatives? HDFC says it will be a lifetime free card. My plan is to keep using the Stan Chart Super value card for fuel and utility and the Regalia card for everything else (effectively replacing the Citibank card)

Also, how many lounge access do I get in HDFC regalia?
My understanding is 20 in a year - 12 from priority pass + 8 from Visa signature.
Is the understanding correct?

[autorahul]

Originally Posted by adimicra

After doing some research, I was unable to find such a card. The closest I got is the HDFC regalia card (other than expensive high end cards) - it offers pretty good rewards along with lounge access and priority pass privileges.

You should talk to the HDFc representative for which Diner's card you can get lifetime free. HDFC has been devaluing its Regalia cards in favour of Infinia recently. If you can get Diner's premium, thats better than Regalia in terms of points. You get unlimited domestic lounges but you get fewer (5) international lounge visits.

If they are able to offer you Diner's black then its far ahead of Regalia.

I would keep the Citibank card, just because its one of the 3 banks (others being SBI and HDFC) which are popular with e-commerce portals like Amazon, Flipkart, Makemytrip for cashbacks and discounts during their sale periods.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by autorahul

You should talk to the HDFc representative for which Diner's card you can get lifetime free. HDFC has been devaluing its Regalia cards in favour of Infinia recently. If you can get Diner's premium, thats better than Regalia in terms of points. You get unlimited domestic lounges but you get fewer (5) international lounge visits.

If they are able to offer you Diner's black then its far ahead of Regalia.

I would keep the Citibank card, just because its one of the 3 banks (others being SBI and HDFC) which are popular with e-commerce portals like Amazon, Flipkart, Makemytrip for cashbacks and discounts during their sale periods.

Thanks for your response.
In what way is the Diners club better than Regalia?
I think the Regalia has good number of lounge access, domestic and international, which should suit my needs.

And yes, I will keep the citibank card for the reasons you mentioned above but won't be using it regularly. It's a lifetime free card, so no issues. I also have a lifetime free SBI card for the same reasons which I don't use normally

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Also, how many lounge access do I get in HDFC regalia?
My understanding is 20 in a year - 12 from priority pass + 8 from Visa signature.
Is the understanding correct?

You get 6 international and 8 domestic visits. You wouldn't want to use priority pass for domestic visits because it's chargeable now.

From recent update:

6 International Lounge visits per calendar year through Priority Pass membership

2 Domestic Lounge visits per quarter through Visa/Mastercard Credit Card Lounge Programme

All domestic lounge visits using Priority Pass will be charged at US $27 + ST as applicable w.e.f. 25th May, 2017.

In spite of recent devaluations, Regalia is still a decent card in its category.

[Sahil]

I see Regalia is a hot favourite here however it has gotten very devalued over the years and several better alternatives have come such as SBI's new Elite and Prime cards.

Do check out www.cardexpert.in I rely greatly on this guy's blog to get the best info on credit cards.