[dass]

How does one transfer CC points to Airmiles on domestic carriers? Do any of our domestic carrier have a good enough loyalty program like some of the US ones do?

Asking for a Regalia Gold CC.

[jsrakkar]

I have a query for the expert users here.

I'm planning a trip to Canada during May/June this year with my family of 4. I would like to make the most of my points for the flight bookings on the Delhi-Toronto route.

Currently, I have around 80k points in HDFC Infina and 104k in Amex MRCC. What will be the best way to make use of these points?

1. Convert these to airmiles and then book ticket(s) from there.
2. Use the native booking portals and book tickets from there.
3. Buy airmiles from respective airlines or alliances (and possibly club with the existing airmiles from card points conversion) and book from there.

I also have to option to get an Amex Platinum card with the ongoing and get 150k points by paying around 78k. Does it make sense to go for the card and use the points for flight bookings?

Any help/pointers will be helpful.

Regards,
Jaspreet Singh

[sagarpadaki]

I have a query with Lounge access for HDFC Regalia gold card. In this page it states

https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/re...ld-credit-card

->12 complimentary airport lounge access: You are entitled to enjoy 12 complimentary lounge visits annually within India, at both domestic and international terminals.
->International airport lounge access with priority pass: By utilizing the Priority Pass, you along with your add-on members, can access up to 6 complimentary lounge access per calendar year.

Does it mean to access Domestic and International lounges at Indian airports I do not need priority pass but to access international lounges outside Indian airports I need to buy the priority pass?

Also, will they allow lounge access with my card if my father uses it at Delhi airport lounge? He has early morning flight would prefer some sleep/relaxation before boarding.

[DK_accord]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Does it mean to access Domestic and International lounges at Indian airports I do not need priority pass but to access international lounges outside Indian airports I need to buy the priority pass?

You're correct. For domestic lounges ,swipe your regalia card and for international swipe your PP. You don't need to buy PP, you get one more card with regalia gold which is your PP.

Also, will they allow lounge access with my card if my father uses it at Delhi airport? He has early morning flight would prefer some sleep/relaxation.

It depends upon the lounge person, sometimes they check the card name and boarding pass for entry. In that scenario they will deny the entry. Sometimes they just swipe the card and let the person go without checking anything.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by DK_accord

You're correct. For domestic lounges ,swipe your regalia card and for international swipe your PP. You don't need to buy PP, you get one more card with regalia gold which is your PP.

It depends upon the lounge person, sometimes they check the card name and boarding pass for entry. In that scenario they will deny the entry. Sometimes they just swipe the card and let the person go without checking anything.

Thank you for your response.

I will give my card to my father. If he is lucky, he can get in and get some sleep. He has a 6AM flight and he is getting dropped to airport at 2AM itself.

[yosbert]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I will give my card to my father. If he is lucky, he can get in and get some sleep. He has a 6AM flight and he is getting dropped to airport at 2AM itself.

This may not work at bigger airports since most of them check that the name matches the boarding pass name.
If you want this arrangement on a more permanent basis, you can get an add on card in your father's name. That way he can carry his own card and is not dependent on sharing your card. This also ensures that your father will never be denied entry since the add on card will be in his name.

[navin]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

So my point is, there is usually no free lunch. ..And so there are many people who don't want to bother about finding the best deals. ..There are enough people who fall in the trap of credit cards who will fund these people who beat the system

Maybe it's my age, but I am wary about credit cards because I also have the same belief:
1. There is no free lunch (the Credit Card companies have to charge someone to cover their overheads, just like the Mutual FUnd companies)
2. The maximum benefit is 2% if you are lucky (like the dividend you receive from good quality shares).

Originally Posted by century

Got HDFC BizBlack Metal yesterday!
My use case for this:
Advance tax

Originally Posted by century

HDFC BizBlack is a diners card

Century, given my profile (partially retired old man, partly senile, who travels every summer to Europe and the US), would this card work for me?

I have never used a credit card to pay taxes; the concept is quite foreign - I usually write a cheque. I also pay my travel agent by cheque, and he makes all my train, airline, and hotel bookings and gives me a dossier of printouts for each destination.

I was recently at an event where all the young men were using their phones and credit cards to book taxis and air tickets. I felt left out, so I figured I should understand more. However, I am not an absolute novice. My bank manager (they are called RM or something now) helped me get an ICICI Emerald credit card that gives me access to the airport lounge and 25% off on Food and Beverages at Taj Hotels. I also use it for shopping sometimes (at our age, our needs are limited).

Would this HDFC card help augment my ICICI card? If not, which card would be best for my air tickets and hotels? Also, how does one pay Income Tax using a credit card?

[UD17]

Originally Posted by navin

an ICICI Emerald credit card that gives me access to the airport lounge and 25% off on Food and Beverages at Taj Hotels.

I also got this emerald card, with unlimited lounge access, 1% effective rewards system (the card provide 4% worth of points on transactions and then the 1 points mean 25 INR cents worth benefits).

The annual fee is 12K and waived off on usage of 10 Lakhs, which i could do now so i get 12K back at the end of year.

Limit of 10 Lakhs. 4 golf sessions per month (i don't know, how and where to use them), Unlimited buy 1 get 1 free ticket on bookmyshow.

Other than that this card has no big benefits.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Thank you for your response.

I will give my card to my father. If he is lucky, he can get in and get some sleep. He has a 6AM flight and he is getting dropped to airport at 2AM itself.

No need to give your card. Just get add on card in the name of your father. Priority Pass will be provided to him as well. The lounge access is shared between primary and add on holders. So he can comfortably use it both domestic and international during travel.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

No need to give your card. Just get add on card in the name of your father. Priority Pass will be provided to him as well. The lounge access is shared between primary and add on holders. So he can comfortably use it both domestic and international during travel.

I do not have an addon card and the travel is in a few days. So, even if I apply, I will not get. Will give him my card. If it works, well and good

[Satkaj]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I do not have an addon card and the travel is in a few days. So, even if I apply, I will not get. Will give him my card. If it works, well and good

It should work for domestic lounge as they never bother to check name but for international lounge access with Priority Pass , most of the airports have become strict to check and allow only the person holding valid PP. Worst experience was at Singapore airport. They were literally hunting at midnight for passengers who were sleeping and over consumed 3.5hrs limit.

I have stopped using lounge access while travelling with family unless it’s absolutely necessary and easy. But it’s certainly a boon for people travelling for work catching early morning or late evening flights back home.

[century]

Originally Posted by navin

Century, given my profile (partially retired old man, partly senile, who travels every summer to Europe and the US), would this card work for me?

This card is for tax and utility payments only and I use it exclusively for Advance Tax, TDS payment and GST payments. As per HDFC this card preferably suit businessmen and MSMEs. There is no other card which provide good benefit for government payments even HDFCs BizPower and BizGrow do not entice me.

This card is new to me and I have not redeem points yet. Accumulated 80000 points and have registered in Krisflyer, 100:100 ratio of redemption.

If you fit a profile of taxpayer (IT or GST), paying more than 7.5L yearly, you should go for it

Below attachments are step by step Advance tax payment process.

[Sohail_91]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Also, will they allow lounge access with my card if my father uses it at Delhi airport lounge? He has early morning flight would prefer some sleep/relaxation before boarding.

You can also generate a QR code for the desired lounge through the DreamFolks Website and share it with your father. This will depend on whether the lounge is part of the DreamFolks program and generating the QR code also helps verify if the credit card is eligible for that lounge.

I’ve done this a few times at Bangalore and Mumbai airports for family members who didn’t have lounge access on their cards, and I wasn’t traveling with them. Using the DreamFolks website, I generated the QR code and shared the image with them. They were granted access without any issues.

However, keep in mind that access may depend on the lounge receptionist, as they might verify if the name after scanning the QR code matches the name on the boarding pass. So, it’s a matter of luck.

This method also works as a convenient alternative if you don’t have the physical card, simply generate the QR code for lounge access.

Tip: Share only the QR code image, not the full image displaying your DreamFolks card and name.

Note: The Lounge has to be part of Dream Folks Program in order to generate QR using the website.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by navin

Maybe it's my age, but I am wary about credit cards because I also have the same belief:
1. There is no free lunch (the Credit Card companies have to charge someone to cover their overheads, just like the Mutual FUnd companies)
2. The maximum benefit is 2% if you are lucky (like the dividend you receive from good quality shares).

Century, given my profile (partially retired old man, partly senile, who travels every summer to Europe and the US), would this card work for me?

I have never used a credit card to pay taxes; the concept is quite foreign - I usually write a cheque. I also pay my travel agent by cheque, and he makes all my train, airline, and hotel bookings and gives me a dossier of printouts for each destination.

I was recently at an event where all the young men were using their phones and credit cards to book taxis and air tickets. I felt left out, so I figured I should understand more. However, I am not an absolute novice. My bank manager (they are called RM or something now) helped me get an ICICI Emerald credit card that gives me access to the airport lounge and 25% off on Food and Beverages at Taj Hotels. I also use it for shopping sometimes (at our age, our needs are limited).

Would this HDFC card help augment my ICICI card? If not, which card would be best for my air tickets and hotels? Also, how does one pay Income Tax using a credit card?

1. YES there is free lunch. With credit card you get the following benefits
. Extended time to pay, varies from 10 days to 50 days.
. Insurance against fraud. If there is any dispute, you can ask the credit card company to intervein. This is not possible with any direct payment method - check, UPI, Debit card.
. You can get travel insurance on some cards, especially for tickets bought with the card. In many cases you get accident cover free.
. Even if you get miniscule points for spends, you get some. Better than no points.
. While travelling you need not carry a lot of cash. A credit card works in most places, especially for Hotels, Airlines and Large purchases.

2. I pay every thing (where possible) with credit cards and points keep accumulating. Yes some sites levy a charge (between 0.3% and 1%). But that is made up by the value of points. As I said any benefit is better than no benefit.

3. One basic card is enough if the benefits are as you stated. An additional card does not make sense if you have to pay an annual fee and the points are less than that.

By the way I am turning 74 this march and have been using credit cards since 2000. Over the years I have accumulated and spend lacs in points, so to me it makes sense.

[navin]

Originally Posted by UD17

I also got this emerald card, with unlimited lounge access, 1% effective rewards system

I also got an Epicure card with mine so that helps.

Originally Posted by century

This card is for tax and utility payments only

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I will need some time to digest this.

Originally Posted by Aroy

. Extended time to pay, varies from 10 days to 50 days.
. Insurance against fraud. If there is any dispute, you can ask the credit card company to intervein. This is not possible with any direct payment method - check, UPI, Debit card.
. You can get travel insurance on some cards, especially for tickets bought with the card. In many cases you get accident cover free.
. Even if you get miniscule points for spends, you get some. Better than no points.
. While travelling you need not carry a lot of cash. A credit card works in most places, especially for Hotels, Airlines and Large purchases.

One basic card is enough if the benefits are as you stated. An additional card does not make sense if you have to pay an annual fee and the points are less than that.

I have two credit cards (a Visa and an Amex). I also carry a dollar-denominated (zero markup or bank charges) Forex card (along with an inactive supplementary card in case the Forex card is lost or stolen) for my travels.

Do these points you collect expire? Or can you collect points over 10 years? What do you use these points for?

Thanks.