[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by dhruvwali

Going to try this out this month. Cant see any downside yet.

Theres a fee that red giraffe charges for the service. For about 35k, it works out to INR 160.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by dhruvwali

UPDATE : Was finally able to speak to the bank and found out below things -

1) 10x partner reward points schemes are switched OFF since 1st april 2020 - This is a bummer, lets see if it resumes post lockdown or not
2) All earlier 10x reward points will be credited post lockdown as the concerned team isnt working right now

It seems that the bank miscommunicated. Smartbuy website clearly says that 10x offer expires on 31st May.

[dhruvwali]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

It seems that the bank miscommunicated. Smartbuy website clearly says that 10x offer expires on 31st May.

Oh missed to tell this, smartbuy offer on their website is still on till end of May.

But firstcry and other partner offers are not.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by dhruvwali

Oh missed to tell this, smartbuy offer on their website is still on till end of May.

But firstcry and other partner offers are not.

Got you! As a workaround, you can buy vouchers for majority of their partner brands through Smartbuy itself. Obviously not as seemless as paying through your card directly while shopping but still gives you 10x.

I am also surprised to know from your earlier post that the reward point credit process is not fully automated and they have a team responsible for this. But it does explain why none of us have got points credited since the lockdown.

[kavensri]

I own HDFC DB card since last 2 years. Today, I got a call from one of their representative stating that I will no longer have ‘Unconditional Life Time Free’ option with my existing card, unless I open a savings accounts with them or do annual transaction of 5l. I am not in a position to accept either of their options and hence may proceed with the cancellation of my card. With 10x program coming to an end and also their cash back conversion rate reduced from 50% to 30%, this card is no longer attractive for me.
Does anyone else who is using this card got a call from HDFC with these new conditions?

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by kavensri

I own HDFC DB card since last 2 years. Today, I got a call from one of their representative stating that I will no longer have ‘Unconditional Life Time Free’ option with my existing card, unless I open a savings accounts with them or do annual transaction of 5l. I am not in a position to accept either of their options and hence may proceed with the cancellation of my card. With 10x program coming to an end and also their cash back conversion rate reduced from 50% to 30%, this card is no longer attractive for me.
Does anyone else who is using this card got a call from HDFC with these new conditions?

OH! Didnt know that cash conversion rate was reduced to this degree.

Time to look for another card I guess. The inconvenience of Diners is no longer worth it I guess (the acceptance rate is very low for Diners)

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

The inconvenience of Diners is no longer worth it I guess (the acceptance rate is very low for Diners)

I agree with you. I have been using this card mostly for online shopping as this card does not get detected in most of the shops. So, I am not going to miss this card much as I started using my ICICI Amazon Pay CC for most of my shopping needs.

[warrioraks]

Does anyone know what happens if I cancel a refundable ticket booked through my reward points? Do the reward points get credited back to my account?

This question is specifically in context to Diners black just in case the additional information is useful.

[vikash49]

I own a HDFC DB and even my Lifetime free option was taken away once they launched the New Diners Black...however the renewal fee us waived on spending 5L in the previous year. On the plus side, they have added many other perks like free memberships to multiple paid services and free vouchers on reaching monthly spending milestones. The 10x rewards on partner brands has been removed but 10x rewards via smart buy incl Amazon n Flipkart continues. So overall I still find the card pretty aggressive in rewards rate.

Originally Posted by kavensri

cash back conversion rate reduced from 50% to 30%, this card is no longer attractive for me.

Couldn't understand what you meant here? Are you talking about conversion rate for Points to INR?

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by vikash49

...however the renewal fee us waived on spending 5L in the previous year.

So far, it was 'unconditional' life time free card for me and now they want to attach this condition, which is not acceptable to me.

Originally Posted by vikash49

but 10x rewards via smart buy incl Amazon n Flipkart continues. So overall I still find the card pretty aggressive in rewards rate.

Most of my shopping is done in Amazon and I could never get this 10x rewards working for Amazon shopping! And my Amazon Pay ICICI CC already pays back minimum of 1% cash back for any spends and maximum of 5% cash back for shopping at Amazon. So, HDFC DB card is no longer attractive for me.

Originally Posted by vikash49

Couldn't understand what you meant here? Are you talking about conversion rate for Points to INR?

Right, earlier the conversion from reward points to INR was 50% and recently they have reduced it to 30%. So, if I do the calculation, it turns out to be 1% cash back of the purchase amount. Which is the same as the least cashback that I can get from Amazon Pay ICICI CC.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by kavensri

........

Most of my shopping is done in Amazon and I could never get this 10x rewards working for Amazon shopping! And my Amazon Pay ICICI CC already pays back minimum of 1% cash back for any spends and maximum of 5% cash back for shopping at Amazon. So, HDFC DB card is no longer attractive for me.

....

My ICICI Platinum and ICICI Amazon cards are true lifetime free cards so is the Amex Gold.

For purchased made on Amazon, their card has one of the best benefits and would advise people who shop on Amazon regularly to consider getting this card and cancel a few that are not as attractive.

[dhruvwali]

Originally Posted by kavensri

Most of my shopping is done in Amazon and I could never get this 10x rewards working for Amazon shopping!

May I ask what's the issue you've faced? I've been shopping on FK and Amazon via smartbuy every month and getting 10x reward points each time.

You need to go through the smartbuy website , enter your card number last 4 digits, mobile number and go and shop on Amazon. Just ensure you add products to cart post going to Amazon.

Even after these restrictions, cost of the DB card is terrific value for money for its reward points.

One single international trip or long haul flight with family makes it worth it. Depending on how many points you have, you save tens of thousands or even lakhs in this case.

What are the charges you're being asked for it?

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Time to look for another card I guess. The inconvenience of Diners is no longer worth it I guess (the acceptance rate is very low for Diners)

Originally Posted by kavensri

I agree with you. I have been using this card mostly for online shopping as this card does not get detected in most of the shops. So, I am not going to miss this card much as I started using my ICICI Amazon Pay CC for most of my shopping needs.

Surprising to hear this statement about HDFC DCB. I have used HDFC DCB for over a year now and the acceptability issue has been less than on 5% transactions. And now with Smartbuy having a tie-up with gfytr, you absolutely dont need worry about acceptability (Except for small standalone road-side shops). In fact, the addition of gyftr on Smartbuy 10X means 90% of the spends are now covered under 10X program (33.3% Reward Rate)

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Does anyone know what happens if I cancel a refundable ticket booked through my reward points? Do the reward points get credited back to my account?

Gets credited back to the Reward Points. May take some time right now though due to the Covid-19 episode.

Originally Posted by kavensri

So far, it was 'unconditional' life time free card for me and now they want to attach this condition, which is not acceptable to me.


Most of my shopping is done in Amazon and I could never get this 10x rewards working for Amazon shopping! And my Amazon Pay ICICI CC already pays back minimum of 1% cash back for any spends and maximum of 5% cash back for shopping at Amazon. So, HDFC DB card is no longer attractive for me.

Right, earlier the conversion from reward points to INR was 50% and recently they have reduced it to 30%. So, if I do the calculation, it turns out to be 1% cash back of the purchase amount. Which is the same as the least cashback that I can get from Amazon Pay ICICI CC.

I know HDFC isn't the best in customer service. In fact, one of the worst I have come across in my various credit card usages. Considering the level of rewards this card offers, I would advise to stick to it, if you can manage to cross 5 lacs annually.

ICICI Amazon Pay Card is an entry level credit card whereas the HDFC DCB is a Super-Premium credit card. No comparison really.

Seems like you are missing some trick while using the DCB. Even with the dismal conversion rate of 30%, my reward rate on DCB is above 5%. If I go by the 1 Re per Reward Points conversion rate for flight & hotel bookings, the reward rate in the past one year comes to 16+%

Originally Posted by Aroy

My ICICI Platinum and ICICI Amazon cards are true lifetime free cards so is the Amex Gold.

You are comparing an Entry-Level Credit Cards with a Super-Premium Credit Card. DCB gets you 50 Reward Points for every 150 Rs spent on Amazon for purchases upto 51,000 Rs. beyond that the regular 5 Reward Points per 150 Rs.

Originally Posted by dhruvwali

May I ask what's the issue you've faced? I've been shopping on FK and Amazon via smartbuy every month and getting 10x reward points each time.

You need to go through the smartbuy website , enter your card number last 4 digits, mobile number and go and shop on Amazon. Just ensure you add products to cart post going to Amazon.

Even after these restrictions, cost of the DB card is terrific value for money for its reward points.

One single international trip or long haul flight with family makes it worth it. Depending on how many points you have, you save tens of thousands or even lakhs in this case.

What are the charges you're being asked for it?

Perfectly Put!

[RaceHorse]

Originally Posted by mithun

My wife is having a ICICI Platinum Chip Credit Card for the last 9 years and that is her first credit card. She is not using it regularly since she is having other premium cards.


Does cancelling an old credit card affect her CRISIL rating?

Yes, it definitely affects the CIBIL rating.

As per CIBIL website:

Check the impact of closing your oldest credit card.

A longer credit history can help in predicting your future credit behavior more accurately.
In general, longer the duration of a clean credit history, the higher is your CIBIL score.

It happened with me, I did the same mistake, I blocked my ICICI card because I was not using it, but that turned out to be a big mistake.
I was holding that card for more than 12 years. My CIBIL rating came down by 25 points because of that. Hold onto your old cards as long as possible.

[kavensri]

tejas08 - Thanks a lot for your detailed response.

Originally Posted by tejas08

Surprising to hear this statement about HDFC DCB. I have used HDFC DCB for over a year now and the acceptability issue has been less than on 5% transactions.

At least for me, this card has almost become not usable at physical shops. Most of the times, it throws an error message 'Restricted Card' on their swiping machine. And HDFC CC is not able to solve this issue for me. They even sent me a replacement card and even that has the same issue.

Originally Posted by tejas08

Considering the level of rewards this card offers, I would advise to stick to it, if you can manage to cross 5 lacs annually.

This is the where the problem lies for me. I don't think I can manage 5l annual transaction with this card. So, I have no choice other than to cancel this card now.

Originally Posted by tejas08

ICICI Amazon Pay Card is an entry level credit card whereas the HDFC DCB is a Super-Premium credit card. No comparison really.

Seems like you are missing some trick while using the DCB. Even with the dismal conversion rate of 30%, my reward rate on DCB is above 5%. If I go by the 1 Re per Reward Points conversion rate for flight & hotel bookings, the reward rate in the past one year comes to 16+%

Yes, i agree that HDFC DB is super premium CC where as Amazon Pay CC could be an entry/mid level CC. But for my usage, it is not making much of a difference. I don't use the reward points for hotel/flight booking. And I only use it for cash back purpose. So, for normal usage (not through smart buy), the conversion rate for HDFC reward points would be 1% cashback where as in case of Amazon Pay CC, the minimum i get is 1% and the maximum is 5%.