[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Other cards have cutoff date as 9/10 every month. So in those cards, if you buy something on 11th September, then you need to pay it back only 30th October. This 50 day credit cycle is present in all credit cards, just that this particular card has it on 25th.

I think you can decide the billing cycle yourself. I did it for my ICICI credit card from (20th to 19th of next month) to (3rd to 2nd of next month).

There is an option of "Request for Billing cycle change" on ICICI netbanking. Other banks should have this option online or through customer care.

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by sukhoi

...

On a related note, while I was in the branch at HDFC I asked them about the various tiers of banking they offer and eligibility criteria. They mentioned that highest is Imperial banking and with that they offer Insignia credit card (which I understand is the best that the bank has to offer), for free as one of the perks. ..

Thanks,
S

Couple of friendly name corrections.

It's Imperia, not Imperial.
And Infinia, not Insignia.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by sukhoi

I did that only, went via a referral link of a colleague. The eligibility conditions mentioned that I need to hold another card from another bank as well, so based on that coupled with high markup fees (3.5%), decided to get this one later on.

If you are going to look at reaping Credit Card benefits to the fullest, you will first need to understand that not every card is useful for everything. Amex MRCC is being used by me on a monthly basis only for 4 x 1000 Rs. transactions. That's it. No other transaction on that card, unless there is any exciting offer.

Originally Posted by sukhoi

I would love to hear more about this. Sounds like an exciting prospect, making the most of credit cards, however can be risky too if one is not disciplined and careful. Please share more if you can

Discipline! This is the first thing you need to have with your finances. If you don't have it, credit cards are not for you. The problem is never the cards, it's the lack of financial literacy of the person holding the card. Regarding the exciting prospect, some people I know and have helped out with this stuff are now reaping benefits well near to the 6-figure mark per year.

Originally Posted by sukhoi

On a related note, while I was in the branch at HDFC I asked them about the various tiers of banking they offer and eligibility criteria. They mentioned that highest is Imperial banking and with that they offer Insignia credit card (which I understand is the best that the bank has to offer), for free as one of the perks. I am eligible for Imperial banking should I switch from current bank to HDFC Bank. My question is, what do you guys think is the best bank which offers best credit card products, maybe initiating a relationship with that bank would be beneficial over HDFC Bank Imperial. I understand that this is more of a question for the bank account thread but am asking more from a credit card offering perspective. Mods, trust it is ok to keep this question here. If not, please delete this paragraph.

JohnyBoy already pointed out the correct terms Viz. Imperia Banking and Infinia Card.

Yes. Both these are their top of the line Retail Services. As of now, Infinia and Diner's Club Black Credit Cards offer some crazy rewards / benefits. If you can get your hands on one of them, nothing like it. Else there are other options too. Regalia is only a start into the Premium Category Credit Cards.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Yes. Both these are their top of the line Retail Services. As of now, Infinia and Diner's Club Black Credit Cards offer some crazy rewards / benefits. If you can get your hands on one of them, nothing like it. Else there are other options too. Regalia is only a start into the Premium Category Credit Cards.

I was considering Diner Black but heard that their benefits never materialize to actual inhand benefits. Is this true? Any user experience for anyone here?

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I was considering Diner Black but heard that their benefits never materialize to actual inhand benefits. Is this true? Any user experience for anyone here?

The issue with HDFC cards is that the best Reward Rate is achieved only thru Flight or Hotel Booking through HDFC Portal. Any other rewards from the reward catalogue and the Reward Point conversion rate is halved.

For example, DCB and Infinia market a Reward Rate of 3.3%. 5 Reward Points per 150 Rs. 1 RP = 1 Re. Now this conversion rate is only true for Flight or hotel bookings. You try and get some gift from Rewards Catalogue or some shopping voucher, the Reward Point conversion is 2 RP = 1 Re.

That is why it is essential to understand all these points before calculating the Reward Rate.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I was considering Diner Black but heard that their benefits never materialize to actual inhand benefits. Is this true? Any user experience for anyone here?

I am using Diners Black since last one year or so. I have generated more than Rs17000 worth of GV so far. They have 5/150 points. And each reward point is worth Rs0.50. It is that simple. So, i really did not understand what you meant?

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by tejas08

The issue with HDFC cards is that the best Reward Rate is achieved only thru Flight or Hotel Booking through HDFC Portal. Any other rewards from the reward catalogue and the Reward Point conversion rate is halved.

Are the rates on the HDFC portal similar to the rates you get while using other travel portals?

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Are the rates on the HDFC portal similar to the rates you get while using other travel portals?

No. When I had checked these couple of times, they were almost 30% more expensive compared to travel portals.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by kavensri

I am using Diners Black since last one year or so. I have generated more than Rs17000 worth of GV so far. They have 5/150 points. And each reward point is worth Rs0.50. It is that simple. So, i really did not understand what you meant?

Hotels & Flights offer a conversion rate of 1 RP = 1 Re. In fact, that 1 RP = 0.5 Re conversion rate, I have achieved on Regalia.

My DCB points accumulation over the last 3 and half months is 70K+.

The only major issue with HDFC Reward Points is the hap-hazard crediting of Reward Points.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Are the rates on the HDFC portal similar to the rates you get while using other travel portals?

Pretty Much. There could be one off cases where the rates seem absurd at times. Dont book. Wait it out. The rates get corrected after a while. By 'A While' I mean few hours or a couple of days max.

Originally Posted by kavensri

No. When I had checked these couple of times, they were almost 30% more expensive compared to travel portals.

I haven't come across such a situation. I have myself booked as well as have few more friends who have booked flights / hotels through the DCB portal for negligible rate difference with other travel portals.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Hotels & Flights offer a conversion rate of 1 RP = 1 Re. In fact, that 1 RP = 0.5 Re conversion rate, I have achieved on Regalia.

Yes, you are correct. It is 1RP = 1 Re for Hotels & Fights, but 1RP = 0.5 Re when converted through rewards catalog.
Regalia - When I was using it, the rewards was 4/150 and conversion was 1RP = 0.4Re.

Originally Posted by tejas08

My DCB points accumulation over the last 3 and half months is 70K+.

I have 3 Credit Cards (Citibank Indian Oil, HDFC DB and ICICI Amazon Pay). So, my expense will be split among these cards.

Originally Posted by tejas08

The only major issue with HDFC Reward Points is the hap-hazard crediting of Reward Points.

I have never faced this issue.

Originally Posted by tejas08

I haven't come across such a situation. I have myself booked as well as have few more friends who have booked flights / hotels through the DCB portal for negligible rate difference with other travel portals.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I tried only twice. And I am not a frequent flier and generally book the hotels through MMT or OYO.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by kavensri

Yes, you are correct. It is 1RP = 1 Re for Hotels & Fights, but 1RP = 0.5 Re when converted through rewards catalog.
Regalia - When I was using it, the rewards was 4/150 and conversion was 1RP = 0.4Re.

That's what I said in earlier post. Except Flights & Hotels, RP conversion rate gets halved in all HDFC cards.

Originally Posted by kavensri

I have 3 Credit Cards (Citibank Indian Oil, HDFC DB and ICICI Amazon Pay). So, my expense will be split among these cards.

7 Cards here. Top-End Cards of 4 banks.

Originally Posted by kavensri

I have never faced this issue.

This is about the 10X Bonus points which HDFC keeps crediting hap-hazardly as the T&Cs state 'Within 90 Working Days'. Have Approx. 21K points pending to be credited.

Originally Posted by kavensri

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I tried only twice. And I am not a frequent flier and generally book the hotels through MMT or OYO.

Me Neither. Use it only for vacations. All my office related travel is through Office provided Amex Corporate. Since, the points generally have a expiry of 2-3 years, I use it for the vacation once a year.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by tejas08

This is about the 10X Bonus points which HDFC keeps crediting hap-hazardly as the T&Cs state 'Within 90 Working Days'. Have Approx. 21K points pending to be credited.

Ah! Finally i got hold of a person who can tell me how to avail this offer! I had posted this query earlier also, but let me ask it here as well. I know, we have a dedicated Amazon Page (https://www.amazon.in/b?node=1570536...=1567143529522) that we need to visit first. When i search for any product in the page, as soon as i clicked my product, i don't see 'HDFC SmartBUY Offer' dropdown option next to the search bar (it changes to All). So, I still do not know how to avail this offer. It would be great if you can help me. If not here in this thread, you can help me through whatsapp or email.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by kavensri

Ah! Finally i got hold of a person who can tell me how to avail this offer! I had posted this query earlier also, but let me ask it here as well. I know, we have a dedicated Amazon Page (https://www.amazon.in/b?node=1570536...=1567143529522) that we need to visit first. When i search for any product in the page, as soon as i clicked my product, i don't see 'HDFC SmartBUY Offer' dropdown option next to the search bar (it changes to All). So, I still do not know how to avail this offer. It would be great if you can help me. If not here in this thread, you can help me through whatsapp or email.

The process I have been following is to search for the product on the Smartbuy Page itself rather than going to Amazon Page through smartbuy and then searching for it. Once the product search result is available, then on the product you get the option of purchasing from either Amazon or Flipkart or any other tie-up party (Like HDFC had tie-up with Samsung Store too earlier from where I bought my current phone and got the 10X).

Having said all this, Amazon Purchase for 10X have been a hit or a miss. Also, it becomes difficult to track the 9X bonus points as only for Amazon, the criteria is Bonus Points Crediting within 90 Working days.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by tejas08

The process I have been following is to search for the product on the Smartbuy Page itself rather than going to Amazon Page through smartbuy and then searching for it. Once the product search result is available, then on the product you get the option of purchasing from either Amazon or Flipkart or any other tie-up party (Like HDFC had tie-up with Samsung Store too earlier from where I bought my current phone and got the 10X).

Hey, thank you so much for helping me on this.
As you mentioned, this 90-days CB thing is really annoying. I buy groceries from BB through my Citibank cards. It is really pain to track whether they have credited the CB amount or not. I get the CB amount for CC without sending any reminders, but for my Debit card, i had to contact their CC to get my cashback.

[pratika]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Are the rates on the HDFC portal similar to the rates you get while using other travel portals?

I've been using Diners Black for 1.5 yrs or so. Earlier I had the Regalia for 4-5 yrs. I found rewards redemption of HDFC for air tickets/hotels to be very competitive wrt rates. I've booked domestic air tickets, domestic and international hotels using reward points. For my US booking I remember that HDFC reward redemption nightly rate was lower than several other aggregator sites.


About delay of points, their customer service mentioned that Amazon accrued points get posted after 90 days. But Flipkart points get posted within 3-4 days. And I've personally experienced this pattern. Having said this, I feel they should be more transparent with point credits by adding a column next to each purchase on billing statement. My other grudge against them in recent times is their flippant attitude in extending their 33% offers to their partners.



Still, Diners Black has been the best (most rewarding ) card I've ever held in any country. Their customer service is also top notch - at par with Infinia. If you get a chance to grab it, do so with eyes shut.