[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by Noctis

Congrats on your new card!

Thanks Noctis. All useful inputs. I noticed today that several restaurants have 15% discount with Infinia where as the standard is 10%

Unlimited lounge access through PP across the world and $27 for guests is a pretty good deal.

[Noctis]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

I noticed today that several restaurants have 15% discount with Infinia where as the standard is 10%

If you are interested in that check out the ITC offers as well: 1+1 on buffet and 3rd night free on stays.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Same. I also had a RBL Zomato card which they changed to RBL Shoprite. Few months ago, I requested them to close it and they offered LTF RBL World Safari card which has zero forex markup charges and I accepted.

It was useful on my UAE trip a couple of months ago. It also gives lounge access in India and outside India (it comes with priority pass).

It also comes with travel insurance for one year.

Good for a life time free card. Give it a try.

I tried closing the RBL Shoprite but they sent me another junk RBL card called ICON. Thankfully it is LTF, so will just keep it.

Their app has improved a lot though. Setting up the card was a breeze.

[sunilrs]

American Express seems to have devalued the Platinum Reserve dramatically. The 10,000 Taj Vouchers at 5 lakh milestone is gone as is the Amex lounge access in Mumbai and Delhi, instead one gets 10,000 rupee voucher at 10 lakh milestone .

The benefits which I still find of value are as follows:

1) Taj Epicure Membership (I prefer to stay with them when possible)

2) Priority Pass membership

I also use Amex Travel but again that is easily replaceable.

Does anyone have a view on whether it is worthwhile to continue paying the annual fee for the Platinum Reserve card anymore?

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by sunilrs

American Express seems to have devalued the Platinum Reserve dramatically. The 10,000 Taj Vouchers at 5 lakh milestone is gone as is the Amex lounge access in Mumbai and Delhi, instead one gets 10,000 rupee voucher at 10 lakh milestone...

Missed the Mumbai lounge the most, didn't renew the card.

[VaibhaoT]

There is recent devaluation wave from various card provider. I am just wondering if HDFC will also join the bandwagon.

Recently HDFC is giving lot of Infinia upgrades. So I feel that devaluation of Infinia/DCB might be possible. Also talk of "Infinia Reserve" has been resurrected on some forums. So timing is apt for devaluation of HDFC card portfolio.

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by VaibhaoT

I am just wondering if HDFC will also join the bandwagon.

Part devaluation already happened in January 2024. Reward Point conversion ratio for Accor, Avianca Lifemiles, Etihad etc. was devalued from 1:1 to 1:2.

[Noctis]

Originally Posted by VaibhaoT

Recently HDFC is giving lot of Infinia upgrades. So I feel that devaluation of Infinia/DCB might be possible. Also talk of "Infinia Reserve" has been resurrected on some forums. So timing is apt for devaluation of HDFC card portfolio.

Infinia has seen incremental but regular devaluation for years now, with the latest one just a few months back. Most likely this is going to continue as opposed to a drastic drop like Axis because there is already 15k p.m. cap on bonus points and despite increasing numbers it's still one of the toughest cards to get.

[praveen789]

Axis Magnus has been severely devalued and they have taken away the Airport Meet and Greet service which was the main reason I had renewed the card in Jan. I called up the helpdesk to tell them that I do not intend to continue with the card without that benefit and if I can get back the annual fees on a pro-rata basis for the rest of the year. She didn't sound like she had much of a clue on this but has initially denied that possibility.

From what I understand, shouldn't credit card companies do the following?

1) Continue with the benefits for the period that it has been paid for.

2) If they do not want to do 1, allow a client to exit and refund the fees on a pro-rata basis.

I am sure some fine print in the agreement will let them get away with this sort of scam, but we will have a bunch of companies doing something similar. Promise the moon, take money and cancel it the next month.

Has anyone successfully managed to get a refund or should I stop chasing with them?

[Highh5]

Originally Posted by Noctis

Infinia has seen incremental but regular devaluation for years now, with the latest one just a few months back. Most likely this is going to continue as opposed to a drastic drop like Axis because there is already 15k p.m. cap on bonus points and despite increasing numbers it's still one of the toughest cards to get.

Looks like Jockey is removed as a 10x partner from the Infinia smartbuy portal. That's another devaluation.

[Noctis]

Originally Posted by Highh5

Looks like Jockey is removed as a 10x partner from the Infinia smartbuy portal. That's another devaluation.

It's gone from smartbuy as a whole, so it's a smartbuy devaluation that affects all HDFC cards and not just Infinia. Jockey is still available on insta vouchers though, so you can get it for 5% discount + 5x points.

[Jagann13]

Enough discussions have be done on fuel credit cards and so I don't want find out about the basics.

What's the best way to optimize fuel spends over Rs.15k per month. I already have a SBI BPCL Octane and the maximum cap is Rs.10k a month.

Is there any fuel card out there which doesn't have a maximum cap? My monthly spending will be around Rs.15k on an average, and up to Rs.25k a month if I travel enough, which happens once in 3 months.

I have an AMEX MRCC with which I can cover up the remainder of the fuel over Rs.10k, but wanted to see if I can stick with the same company, rather than fueling up at BPCL and HP. I'm open to any operators as long as there is no upper limit.

[Noctis]

Originally Posted by Jagann13

Is there any fuel card out there which doesn't have a maximum cap? My monthly spending will be around Rs.15k on an average, and up to Rs.25k a month if I travel enough, which happens once in 3 months.

You already have two of the best fuel cards. Maybe you can consider adding Amex Gold Charge, because it gives regular rewards for fuel (upto 2.5l p.m.), has the same surcharge waiver as MRCC (For HPCL), and gives bonus points for 6 transactions of 1k each in a month.

This way you can use the SBI card for 10k, 6k each on MRCC and Gold for the bonus points and then the remaining on Gold. Do keep in mind there is no spend based waiver of the 5k fees on Gold, so hitting the bonus is essential for the card to be worth it.

[NG_EV]

Originally Posted by Jagann13

Is there any fuel card out there which doesn't have a maximum cap? My monthly spending will be around Rs.15k on an average, and up to Rs.25k a month if I travel enough, which happens once in 3 months.

If possible, you can get a separate BPCL Octane (not add-on) card in name of family member.

I had issues with Amex acceptance so I used this method.

[Guite]

TLDR:
I don’t remember how long but my Axis Bank credit card journey have come to an end.

Short story:
Right from the beginning I had payment issues and server down problems, due to which my bill payments would hang in balance till last minute. When chatting with their representative on their website to resolve issues it would constantly display warning to disconnect you due to inactivity at your end while you are waiting for their agent to respond. When they send SMS alert about bill payment it would end with “non/late payment will be reported to credit agency”. It sounds like threat to me.

Recently I tried ending an auto pay mandate. I could not find any link on the phone app. On website I was not successful either. I tried chatting with their bot. After initial exchange it displayed “Your chat will end in 90 seconds due to inactivity”. The popup showed a countdown. If you close it, it will pop back immediately, preventing you from typing anything.

Long story:
In middle of last year I initiated a merchant payment through Razorpay. Due to network issues the payment timed out, the error showed on my phone screen. The merchant also received ‘transaction fail” error at his end but my card was charged immediately.

I raised transaction dispute by sending mail to Axis Bank. There is apparently 120 days duration fixed (probably by RBI) for redressal. In the meantime Axis made “temporary credit” of same amount to my account so that I do not have to pay the disputed amount in the intervening bills. When the merchant/ Razorpay did not make claim for this amount during this 120 day duration, the matter was finally considered settled in my favour. Axis Bank made fresh credit of same amount, again.

So I now have positive balance on my credit card account. I sent them a mail pointing out the mistake. They cooly replied that everything is in order, they can transfer the amount to my bank account if I chose so. The positive balance got settled eventually (I did not make use of it). However, henceforth, my available credit balance always showed less than credit limit minus spend.

I do not want to be straddled with a card which cannot not handle simple maths. More mistakes can happen. Moreover, the user experience has not always been pleasant. That’s why I decided to end this journey. I mailed Axis an application to cancel the card, it has now been cancelled.