HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege is the newest member in the Diners Club family of credit cards. It is positioned above the Diners Club Miles card and has similar rewards/benefits. The card also features an updated design that looks a bit like the Diners Club Black. This card will be a stepping stone to upgrade to Diners Club Black in the future like the Regalia is for Infinia. Here is a review of the HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card.
Eligibility
HDFC Bank has set high eligibility criteria for the Diners Club Privilege credit card. But, these criteria are relaxed by quite a bit if one already has a savings account or some other relationship with HDFC Bank.
| Salaried | Net Monthly Income > Rs 70000 |
| Self Employed | ITR > Rs 8.4 Lakhs/Annum |
Fees and Charges
In most cases, the Diners Club Privilege card is issued as Lifetime Free. HDFC Bank is issuing LTF Diners Club Privilege credit cards currently as well.
HDFC Bank has gone in favor of annual memberships instead of the usual points as the welcome benefit. These annual memberships also get renewed if we spend more than Rs 5 Lakhs in a card membership year.
| Joining/Renewal Fee | Rs 2500 plus GST |
| Welcome Benefit | Complimentary annual memberships of Amazon Prime, Zomato Pro, MMT Black, BB Star, and Times Prime Smart |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Rs 3 Lakhs spend in a membership year |
Rewards
Diners Club Privilege credit card earns 4 reward points for every Rs 150. Each reward is worth between 20 paise to 50 paise based on redemption options. So this translates to a 1.3% return on your regular spending.
But, we have milestone rewards and Smartbuy rewards where we earn up to 5% cashback. This bumps up the reward rate by quite a bit.
| Rewards | 4 Reward Points per Rs 150 spend |
| Wallet Loads | No Rewards |
| Redemption Value | 20 paise to 50 paise per reward point |
| Return on spends | 1.3% if points are used for booking flights/hotels on Smartbuy |
Monthly Milestone Benefits
On spending Rs 40000 in a calendar month, we get the option to choose from one of the below rewards. This is another 1.25% value if we fulfill the spend criteria.
- 1 month Ola Select
- 1 month Cure.Fit Live
- Rs 500 BookMyShow Voucher
- Rs 500 TataCLIQ Voucher
Smartbuy Rewards
The normal/milestone rewards on Diners Club Privilege might seem less for a card in this segment. This is where Smartbuy is useful. For shopping on below merchants through Smartbuy, we get accelerated rewards which increase the overall reward rate. The Smartbuy cap for Diners Club Privilege credit card is 4000 reward points per calendar month.
2X Rewards on Weekend Dining
The weekend dining feature is gone from super-premium Infinia, but Diners Club Privilege still has it. ๐ We get 2X rewards on weekend dining. This is capped at 500 RP per day.
Airport Lounge Access
Diners Club Privilege credit card gets 12 complimentary airport lounge access in a year. The access is directly through the credit card โ no separate pass is required. The list of lounges is available here.
Rewards Redemption
Rewards on the Diners Club Privilege can be redeemed on the Smartbuy redemptionportal.
HDFC Bank provides the option of redeeming for products from its catalog, booking flights/hotels, gift vouchers, or even cash. What differs is the value offered for your rewards for these redemption options. If booking a flight or hotel, each reward point has a value of 50p.
However, if we go for products, gift vouchers, or cash the value of each reward point drops to 20p. So, if you travel the best option is to book flights on Smartbuy using reward points or transfer them to one of the Airmiles partners.
| REDEMPTION OPTION | VALUE OF 1 RP |
|---|---|
| Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels) | 50 paise |
| Airmiles โ Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara | 0.5 Airmiles |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | 20 paise to 35 paise |
| Cashback | 20 paise |
My Thought
HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege is like the Regalia on many levels. It is not surprising as they are below the super-premium Infinia and Diners Club Black in their range. But, Diners Club Privilege scores in some areas over Regalia. It gets 10X on partner brands and also 2X on dining. But, acceptance at offline stores is something that is an issue for the Privilege card.
HDFC Bank credit cards are generally more rewarding than others. The Diners Club Privilege does not disappoint on this front as well. With the monthly milestone, Smartbuy, and 10X on partner brands, the reward rate would be between 2% to 4% on spends which is good! Another reason to get this card will be the potential to upgrade to Diners Club Black in the future.
If you are not into travel and are looking for better cashback redemption cards, then the Millennia or Ace credit cards are better options.
