[tejas08]

Have you guys ever thought about things like:

1. 5-Star Hotel Stays
2. Airport Lounge Access
3. Business Class Air Travel

and many more such luxury stuff are out of your reach?

Quite frankly, I was of the same opinion till about couple of years back. Then I started reshuffling my credit card portfolio just like we reshuffle our financial portfolio from time to time. And Voila! I had some of the best possible means to work on some luxury goals which I never expected to achieve. Prior to late 2018, I had never made a personal stay in a luxury hotel or had booked flight tickets on points. But in 2019, I stayed at three luxury hotels in a year as well as booked flight tickets for me & wife only on Credit Card Points.

While, there is a dedicated thread on Credit Card discussion, the intention to start this thread isn't to just think about credit card rewards. There are many other ways for luxury hacks. Credit Cards are one of the most used ones. Couple of other significant ones are Hotel Loyalty Programs & Airline Loyalty Programs. If you give some time to going through these programs, you can enjoy luxury you never imagined.

A couple of examples:

1. Rs. 14,000 worth Taj Vouchers can be achieved for normal day to day spends worth less than 1 Lac through the American express membership rewards credit card Rewards redemption options.
2. A 3 Night Hotel stay in peak season worth approx. 1.68 Lacs (Sample price of Le Meridien, Jaipur in November) can be achieved in just around Rs. 37,000 thousand by just registering for Marriott Bonvoy Program. Marriott Bonvoy program allows members to buy points. The points required for a 3 night stay in Le Meridien is worth just Rs. 37,000.
3. Transferring some of your reward points to Club Vistara Points and using the Points for upgrading your Economy tickets to Business Class is sometimes cheaper than booking economy class tickets.

I guess you get the hang of it by now.

Looking forward to hearing from people and the interesting options they use for such luxury hacks.

[Axe77]

Interesting thread and worth learning. I have never paid attention to CC benefits other than occasionally monetising them for flight tickets but I know some people who consciously move all expenses to CC to rack up points (works well for people like me who don't need to or have "cash" to spend). And this can rack up sizeable benefits. I recall a friend who had bought up and done up a new home had bought a massive (almost all) chunk of his electronics and home furnishings / some furniture just from racked up points. If you have the mind space and inclination to research this the rewards are indeed quite good.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Interesting thread and worth learning. I have never paid attention to CC benefits other than occasionally monetising them for flight tickets but I know some people who consciously move all expenses to CC to rack up points (works well for people like me who don't need to or have "cash" to spend). And this can rack up sizeable benefits. I recall a friend who had bought up and done up a new home had bought a massive (almost all) chunk of his electronics and home furnishings / some furniture just from racked up points. If you have the mind space and inclination to research this the rewards are indeed quite good.

Credit Cards are definitely one of the most important instruments to achieve most of these hacks, but there are few good ones which are beyond credit cards too.

[nikhilthegunner]

There are blogs specifically dedicated to points and miles in the travel industry. I mostly follow the US blogs since they're quite big on this. Would recommend you guys look at Ajay Awtaney's blog 'Live From A Lounge'. He has every possible update on the Indian scenario of credit cards, points and miles.

[GTO]

Superb thread! Here are a handful from my end:

1. Rent a luxury car from Zoom Car / Myles instead of buying one to enjoy the experience .

2. Ask for an upgrade to Business Class when checking-in on your economy ticket. If the airline has spare seats, you'll get them at throwaway prices.

3. Use Zomato Gold to eat at luxury restaurants at half the price. Many fancy restaurants (including several @ 5-stars) are part of the program.

4. Some hotels offer tempting memberships (Oberoi, Leela etc.). A friend got the Leela membership for 7k or something, which more than paid for itself since he gets 1 night / year free, 50% off if he dines with his wife and a couple of other benefits.

5. Sites like Nearbuy.com offer throwaway prices at some really luxurious spas.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by GTO

3. Use Zomato Gold to eat at luxury restaurants at half the price. Many fancy restaurants (including several @ 5-stars) are part of the program.

If you are a frequent shopper on Flipkart, you can buy a Zomato Gold membership using Flipkart Supercoins

[tejas08]

Some tips for the people who love eating out or ordering food via Swiggy

Be on the lookout for offers on Times Prime membership. With Times Prime membership, you get Gourmet Passport (Single City) membership, Super Swiggy Membership and a lot of other coupons for Burger King, MacD etc.

Gourmet Passport can be used for heading out to those exclusive fine dining restaurants at the cost of a local eatery. Super Swiggy saves you any kind of convenience or delivery charges.

[shijinpr]

We used Emirates Holidays for our recent trip to Dubai. Airfare Economy Emirates + 4 nights stay in Marriott (bed and breakfast) was way cheaper compared to individual prices or with other tour operators. This was during last Christmas.

[jayram.r]

Suggest people to go through the link https://www.cardexpert.in/

It's one of the most comprehensive Indian website for all credit card points & rewards related information. The author has really put together a wealth of information on using credit card for more than their basic purpose.

[xway]

Great topic, I love luxuries without having to spend a fortune on them.

There was a time when MakeMyTrip used to give hotel deals beyond imagination - now it has become expensive and in many cases booking the hotel directly is cheaper. GoIbibo is also purchased by MMT so no major players in that space, and they have started putting booking charges and other on top bloating up the prices further.

Holiday Inn - Radisson - Ramada - Sheraton all have their membership programmes and offer a good experience at a reasonable price when you strike a deal.

I recently would like to share my experience with one offline Travel planner who provides 6 nights in good 4 star hotels all over india with some dining vouchers (worth 6K) in just 19K. I was skeptical initially knowing that many are notorious for providing sub par hotels later after enrolling for membership. I took the risk and have had a great experience through them at Holiday Inn and Ramada.
Note I am not affiliated or promoting anyone - just sharing my experience and hence have not put the operator name. In case anyone needs they can message me.

Yes Bank credit cards had free Lounge access and the card too was free - unfortunately the card is discontinued for sure - not sure about the bank though (pun intended)

I too use Amex Rewards card and am fairly happy with the points and benefits.

Have got many time free upgrades to business class in international travel (the key is to dress smartly looking to be a class above) and Airlines are glad to shift you in case of vacant seats. This does not happen for Domestic though.

Will eagerly follow the thread to see other hacks.

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Have you guys ever thought about things like:

1. 5-Star Hotel Stays
2. Airport Lounge Access
3. Business Class Air Travel

and many more such luxury stuff are out of your reach?
...

The Taj Epicure card at Rs. 14000 or so which comes with 1 Free night and 50% cashback on first 2 dining spends plus upgrade vouchers. I've been getting it for the past 3 years and splurging that free night at pricey properties where the room rate is well above 20K. Last year it was Taj Madikeri.

Also intend on getting the IndusInd Pinnacle card which comes with a couple of nights at any Oberoi hotel. Including the Uber expensive Agra and Rajasthan ones.

Originally Posted by GTO

Superb thread! Here are a handful from my end:
..

The best dining deal at the moment is to get a Dineout Gourmet Passport membership and then pay using Dineout Pay. Also look out for flat 50% offer month on Dineout and Eazydiner.

Don't think Oberoi has a membership program though will look up Leela's.


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[tejas08]

Originally Posted by jayram.r

Suggest people to go through the link https://www.cardexpert.in/

It's one of the most comprehensive Indian website for all credit card points & rewards related information. The author has really put together a wealth of information on using credit card for more than their basic purpose.

He used to give out good information at one point. Now, the articles are just about offers, credit card, hotel & lounge reviews. Barely any hacks that are being opened up by him.

I looked at the credit card consultation offered by that guy who runs the website. Rs. 3999 for a 45 mins phone call is way too much.

Originally Posted by iamitp

The Taj Epicure card at Rs. 14000 or so which comes with 1 Free night and 50% cashback on first 2 dining spends plus upgrade vouchers. I've been getting it for the past 3 years and splurging that free night at pricey properties where the room rate is well above 20K. Last year it was Taj Madikeri.

The Taj epicure membership is too steeply priced to buy unless you are a regular at Taj hotels for dining. Else you would be better of with the dining deals from the likes of Dineout, Zomato etc. Rs. 15,000 almost (including Taxes) for one night worth of stay is as good as paying for the night. One would be able to earn TAJ vouchers equivalent of that amount easily on Amex cards.

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by tejas08

He used to give out good information at one point. Now, the articles are just about offers, credit card, hotel & lounge reviews. Barely any hacks that are being opened up by him.

I looked at the credit card consultation offered by that guy who runs the website. Rs. 3999 for a 45 mins phone call is way too much.



The Taj epicure membership is too steeply priced to buy unless you are a regular at Taj hotels for dining. Else you would be better of with the dining deals from the likes of Dineout, Zomato etc. Rs. 15,000 almost (including Taxes) for one night worth of stay is as good as paying for the night. One would be able to earn TAJ vouchers equivalent of that amount easily on Amex cards.

Rs. 15000 membership for Rs. 25-30K room at places like Taj Madikeri or Taj Fisherman's Cove or Fort Aguada (with upgrade voucher) is a good deal in my book. I clubbed my Amex Plat Reserve vouchers along with the Epicure membership so it was even sweeter.

Also, Dineout/Zomato/Eazydiner work better if you have more diners. For 2, you'll mostly get 1 dish or 2 drinks free. They rarely cover coveted restos which are doing well as it is like Orient Express at Taj Palace or Southern Spice at Taj Coromandel. With Taj, you get the 50% cashback on first 2 dining, 50% off drinks between 6 to 8 PM at any Taj bar (works out cheaper in places like Chennai than drinking at a standalone bar), free invites to Innercircle events koel standup comedy where the 50% offer is on all night.

[D33-PAC]

I've driven almost every supercar there is except the really rare ones.

It was not cheap at all but it's definitely cheaper than owning or maintaining one.

I'm happy I did it. I learned that I'm a comfort and luxury kind of fellow and the stiffness of a supercar didn't really match my preferences.

[bhairavp]

Amex Plat Charge Card - pricey, but you get Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Taj Inner Circle Silver, Hilton Honors Gold, Shangri La Golden Circle Jade Tier.

Value here lies in linking your Shangri La Jade Tier to your Taj Inner Circle account, you'll be automatically upgraded to TIC Gold, which comes with 50% cashback on your first 3 meals at a Taj, and 20 upgrades.
Also, you can link this to SIA Krisflyer, you will get Krisflyer Silver status. Take 3 flights on SIA within a year, you're upgraded to SIA Krisflyer Gold, which is a Star Alliance Partner - i.e. you enjoy Gold status on any *A partner, e.g. Air India, Lufthansa etc.
Also, you get discounts on dining at Oberoi hotels, if you book through the Amex concierge.


HDFC Infinia and Diners Black - 33% cashback through SmartBuy on FK, Amazon - up to 25k points for Infinia, 15K for DCB, per month. These points are worth 1 rupee each for travel through the SmartBuy portal.