HDFC Infinia Vs. Axis Magnus Vs. HDFC Diners Club Black: Which premium card steals the spotlight?

All three cards offer good welcome benefits that match and even surpass the value users pay as joining fee.

Key Takeaway:

While welcome benefit should not be the sole criterion when choosing a credit card, it still holds value for consumers as they can get benefits that compensate for the fee they have paid. Here, all three cards make up for the fee charged but the benefits come in different forms. Magnus and DC Black provide brand-specific benefits whereas Infinia gives bonus rewards, along with complimentary Club Marriott membership. The bonus rewards give a good start to the users with the flexibility to use the points for travel bookings or product/voucher purchase from SmartBuy, air mile conversion, etc.

An important point to note is that joining benefit on DC Black comes with a spend-based condition wherein you get the benefit only on reaching the spend threshold of Rs. 1.5 Lakh within 90 days of card issuance. Magnus and Infinia do not impose any such condition to avail the welcome benefits.

Considering these cards come from the premium cards segment, they all have high reward earning potential, as shown below:

When it comes to rewards, Infinia and Diners Club Black offer the exact same value as their earning rate, redemption rate and redemption options are almost the same. The only major difference is in their monthly redemption capping, as shown in the table above. On Infinia, you can redeem up to 1.5 Lakh reward points in a month whereas DC Black limits it to only 75,000 reward points, which could be limiting for those who would want to redeem the rewards for high-value transactions such as international flight booking.

Now, let’s talk about Magnus.

Magnus provides the highest earning rate among the three. However, the actual value-back arrives when we factor in the redemption rate, an area where Magnus significantly falls short. With a 1:1 redemption ratio for flights and hotel bookings, Infinia and DC Black give a reward rate of 3.33%. Whereas, for the same category, Magnus provides a redemption rate of 5:2, which brings down its overall reward rate to 2.4% (for spends up to Rs. 1.5 Lakh). However, monthly spends above Rs. 1.5 Lakh earn a higher reward rate of 35 points per Rs. 200, giving an overall value-back of 7%. Thus, high-spenders could still extract excellent value out of the card.

Having said that, the rewards program on Magnus comes with a long list of exclusions, especially after the second phase of devaluation in April 2024. Some high-value transaction categories like gold, jewellery, rent, utilities and insurance have been excluded, which could make it difficult for many users to reach the monthly spend threshold of Rs. 1.5 Lakh.

Moreover, unlike the other two cards that have monthly capping, Magnus has yearly capping of 5 Lakh points on reward redemption. From April 2024, miles transfer partners on Magnus have also been divided into Group A and Group B, with capping of 1 Lakh points and 4 Lakh points, respectively. This could be disappointing for users who would want benefits with airlines or hotels falling in Group A.

Key Takeaway:

With a consistent reward rate of 3.33% across all categories, no spend-based variation in reward rate, high redemption capping of 1.5 Lakh points per month and maximum redemption options, HDFC Infinia becomes the best choice among the three for moderate as well as high spenders. Besides, it comes with the least exclusions (even rewarding utilities and insurance), giving more opportunities for users to accumulate rewards. However, if not eligible for Infinia, Diners Club Black would be a better option than Magnus with the same reward rate and redemption options. Users must also note that, the difference in the miles transfer ratio plays a huge role here. With similar points on all cards, you can book varying cabin class tickets with the cards ranging from  Economy to Business class.

For a better understanding, check this illustration.

Apart from the major benefits offered in the form of air mile conversion of reward points, these cards also make travel cheaper via benefits like hotel memberships, complimentary lounge access, etc. Some prominent travel benefits on the card are as follows:

* Lounge Access on Axis Magnus is subject to spending Rs. 50,000 in the previous quarter.

All three cards offer some similar travel benefits like low forex markup fee, unlimited airport lounge access and redemption across travel partners. However, while Diners Club Black and HDFC Infinia extend lounge access to add-on members, Magnus offers 4 visits to guests as well. Prior to the May 2024 devaluation, Magnus holders could avail 8 visits to guests, though the limit is reduced to 4, it still is a decent feature for Magnus.

Key Takeaway:
For overall travel benefits, Infinia emerges as the best option for travelers, as users get accelerated rewards on travel bookings done on SmartBuy without any spend based limit. Besides, complimentary Club Marriott memberships, free night stay at ITC hotel and bonus 12,500 points on card renewal that can be redeemed with a good value against airmiles or for travel vouchers, add more to the overall travel benefits. HDFC Diners Club Black also stands a decent option for travelers. However, it falls behind Infinia due to additional ITC benefit and comparatively higher monthly capping the latter offers.

In comparison to Diners Club Black, HDFC Infinia and Axis Magnus offer no welcome benefits. However, Infinia does come with renewal benefits of Rs. 12,500 which are not spend-based but renewed on fee payment every year. 

Diners Club Black Metal edition also offers bonus reward points as milestone benefit. However, it comes with a high spend-based condition of Rs. 4 Lakh every quarter. Thus, users will have to spend around Rs. 16 Lakh in a year to earn benefits worth Rs. 40,000 as milestone value back and Rs. 10,000 as fee waiver benefit. The regular Diners Club Black card also offers milestone benefits, but again keeps it brand-specific with a low return of just Rs. 500 for every Rs. 80,000 spent per month. Axis Magnus, does not offer any renewal benefit and comes a high annual fee waiver criteria of Rs. 25 Lakh. Prior to the devaluation in Sep 2023, the monthly 25,000 bonus reward points was a key highlight of the card. The discontinuation comes as a major drawback for users.

Key Takeaway:
HDFC Infinia credit card comes with a low annual fee waiver condition for a super-premium card of just Rs. 10 Lakh. Considering it also offers the renewal benefit worth the fee you pay, the spend-based benefits on HDFC Infinia emerge as one of the best highlights of the card.

With better welcome benefits,  extensive yet straightforward rewards structure and redemption options  and overall travel benefits, HDFC Infinia rightfully earns its status as the best super-premium credit card. However, users not eligible for the Infinia card might consider HDFC Diners Club Black over Axis Magnus. Having said that, choosing between HDFC Infinia, Diners Club Black or Axis Magnus depends on your personal preferences with respect to the cards’ specific features and benefits. All cards have their own strengths and limitations. As a user, you will have to see what works out better and aligns with your needs.

Choose Infinia if: 

• Your credit card spends are majorly around shopping & travel
• In addition to air miles, you also want other premium options of reward redemption
• You want unlimited complimentary lounge access for primary as well as add-on member

Choose Axis Magnus if:

• You can spend around Rs. 25 Lakh to maximize the reward benefits on this card
• Air miles are your preferred way to redeem reward points and you don’t use other redemption options 
• You want to share travel benefits with you family and want free lounge access for guest as well
  

Choose Diners Club Black if:

• You are not eligible for HDFC Infinia
• You want high reward rate and multiple redemption options
• You don’t want to pay an annual fee of more than Rs. 10,000 for premium benefits