A premium credit card offering but lifetime free? Meet IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card. The Wealth is the top LTF credit card offering from IDFC First Bank that we can directly apply for. We also have a Private credit card with a high annual fee now but it is invite-only at the moment. In this post, we review the IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card. Let’s find out what it offers in rewards and benefits.
Fees and Charges
IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card is offered Lifetime Free (LTF) – no joining or annual fee. While this is a good move, it has an impact on the rewards and benefits as we will see soon.
| Joining and Annual Fee | NIL (LTF) |
| Welcome Benefit | Welcome voucher worth Rs 500 on spending Rs 15,000 within 90 days of card generation
5% cashback up to Rs 1000 on the transaction value of the first EMI done within 90 days of card generation |
| Variant | Visa Infinite |
Rewards
- Offline Spends: 3 RP/Rs 100 ~0.75% return
- Rental and Property Spends: 3 RP/Rs 100 ~0.75% return
- Online Spends: 6 RP/Rs 100 ~1.5% return
There is no max cap on earning reward points. Wallet spends come under online spending and get 6X rewards as well.
The offline reward rate is low. So, it does not make any sense to use the IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card at offline stores. However, one alternative is to use it at offline stores only after the 10X rewards kick in. The 10X rewards are covered below.
The below transactions will not get any rewards on the IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card:
× Fuel Spends
× Insurance Spends
× EMI transactions
10X Rewards on Incremental Spends
IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card gets a 10X benefit on incremental spending above Rs 30000. While the 10X return is decent, we need to spend the threshold amount at lower reward rates to reach there. This decreases the overall reward rate.
| SPEND REQUIREMENT FOR 10X REWARDS |
10X RETURN |
|---|---|
| Rs 30000 | 10 RP/Rs 100 ~2.5% return |
Key Benefits
While the rewards are a little low for a ‘Wealth’ credit card, the offered benefits are quite good. The BOGO on Paytm Movies and complimentary RSA are useful.
- Foreign Currency Mark Up Charges: 1.5% plus GST ~1.77%
- Buy One Get One up to Rs 500 twice per month on Paytm movies
- Complimentary Roadside Assistance up to 4 times per year
- 1% Fuel Surcharge Waiver up to Rs 400 per month
- Complimentary Golf Rounds: 2 per month
Complimentary Lounge and Spa Access
- Domestic Lounge Access at Airports: 4 complimentary visits/quarter to the eligible list of lounges. The access is via Visa or DreamFolks card.
- International Lounge Access at Airports: 4 complimentary visits/quarter to the eligible list of lounges. The access is via DreamFolks.
- Spa Access at India Airports: 4 complimentary visits/quarter to the eligible list of spas.
- Railway Lounge Access: 4 complimentary visits/quarter to the executive lounge in Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Agra
Minimum Spends required for airport lounge and spa access
Rewards Redemption
The earned reward points do not expire on IDFC First credit cards. The reward points can be used to pay for purchases. Each RP is worth 25 paise. Reward points can also be redeemed for gift vouchers like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Big Basket. There is a reward redemption fee of Rs 99 plus GST ~Rs 117 for the IDFC First Bank Wealth credit card.
Final Thoughts
If we look at only the rewards, then what the IDFC First Wealth card offers is very less compared to the competition. Even entry-level cards offer better rewards than this.
But, there can be some uses of the IDFC First Wealth credit card. Some of the benefits offered by it look good. You can use it Paytm Movies BOGO or the RSA. Even railway lounge access is complimentary. But, airport lounge access cannot be considered as fully complimentary anymore as we have to make spends using the card to get it.
