HDFC Bank has revised the bonus reward points structure on its SmartBuy platform which has been implemented from 2nd February 2022. This has a direct impact on the earning potential of HDFC Credit Cards. While the new structure has devalued the rewards on HDFC’s most premium cards- Infinia and Diners Club Black, cards like Regalia and DC Privilege have seen an upgrade. Reward points on lower-end credit cards, however, remain stable. Let us talk about this revision in detail.
Devaluation on HDFC Diners Club Black and HDFC Infinia
SmartBuy Bonus Rewards Program gained so much popularity only because of these two cards as the accelerated reward bonus, on top of their existing rewards structure, fetched the highest returns. Also, the value of each reward point is Re.1 (for select spend categories), making the earnings even more valuable.
This revision of bonus reward points has the highest impact on DCB users. Here is a comparison of the previous rewards structure with the current one.
Note: Regular reward rate is 5 reward points per Rs. 150. (1 Reward Point = Re. 1)
| HDFC Diners Club Black (Bonus Rewards Comparison) | ||||
| Category | Previous Rewards Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 | Current Rewards Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 |
| Amazon | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Flights (via Yatra and Cleartrip) | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Hotels (via Cleartrip and MMT) | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 |
| IRCTC | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Redbus | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Apple Tresor | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Flipkart | 3X (10%) | 1,000 | 2X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Instant Vouchers | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Total Earnings* | 17,667 | 11,334 | ||
*Total earnings are for example only. Actual earnings on the card will depend on other regulations such as daily and monthly capping.
HDFC Infinia is another super-premium offering by HDFC Bank, even better than DCB on some aspects. Though HDFC Bank has not devalued its rewards on a major level, there are some adjustments. The table below shows the comparison.
Note: Regular reward rate is 5 reward points per Rs. 150. (1 Reward Point = Re. 1)
| HDFC Infinia (Bonus Rewards Comparison) | ||||
| Category | Previous Rewards Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 | Current Rewards Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 |
| Amazon | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Flights (via Yatra and Cleartrip) | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Hotels (via Cleartrip and MMT) | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 |
| IRCTC | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Redbus | 10X (33.33%) | 3,333 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Apple Tresor | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Flipkart | 3X (10%) | 1,000 | 3X (10%) | 1,000 |
| Instant Vouchers | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 | 5X (16.67%) | 1,667 |
| Total Earnings* | 17,667 | 13,668 | ||
*Total earnings are for example only. Actual earnings on the card will depend on other regulations such as daily and monthly capping.
Higher Earnings for Regalia and DC Privilege Users
Just like the lower-end HDFC credit cards, Regalia and DC Privilege were also getting flat cashback when transacting through the SmartBuy platform. But now, these two cards have also been moved to the bonus rewards structure. Since the base rate on these cards is already high (4 reward points per Rs. 150), this change actually translates to higher earnings for Regalia and DC Privilege users.
Here is a table that shows the rupee value comparison of the two bonus earning structures.
Please note that the redemption value of 1 reward point has been considered Rs. 0.5. However, it varies depending on the type of purchase you make on the SmartBuy Platform.
| HDFC Regalia and DC Privilege (Bonus Rewards Revision) | ||||
| Category | Previous Flat Cashback Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 | Current Rewards Rate | Value Back on Rs. 10,000 |
| Amazon | 5% | 500 | 5X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Flights (via Yatra and Cleartrip) | 5% | 500 | 5X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Hotels (via Cleartrip and MMT) | 5% | 500 | 10X (13.33%) | 1,333 |
| IRCTC | 5% | 500 | 3X (4%) | 400 |
| Redbus | 5% | 500 | 5X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Apple Tresor | 5% | 500 | 5X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Flipkart | 1% | 100 | 3X (4%) | 400 |
| Instant Vouchers | 5% | 500 | 5X (6.67%) | 667 |
| Total Earnings* | 3,600 | 5,468 | ||
*Total earnings are for example only. Actual earnings on the card will depend on other regulations such as daily and monthly capping.
Apart from these popular credit cards, lower-end cards like HDFC Millennia, HDFC Moneyback, etc. are still on the flat rate cashback model, when it comes to bonus earnings on SmartBuy.
Additional Rules on Bonus Rewards: Per-day Capping and more
In addition to changing the earning rate, HDFC Bank has also laid down certain regulations, as mentioned below:
- Eligible cashback or bonus reward points will be credited on the day of settlement of the transaction, not on the day of making the transaction
- Secondly, there is per-day as well as per-month capping on the bonus rewards.
| HDFC Credit Card Type | Capping per Calendar Month | Max. Points per Day |
| HDFC Infinia | 15,000 | 7,500 |
| HDFC Diners Club Black | 7,500 | 2,500 |
| HDFC Regalia and DC Privilege | 4,000 | 2,000 |
| All Other HDFC Credit Cards | Rs. 1,000 | NA |
What does this mean for you?
Monthly capping was already there on most of the cards and premium cards also came with the daily capping. While the maximum cap itself may be reasonable, combining it with the settlement day regulation could make you lose points.
Suppose you used your DCB Credit Card for large transactions on 1st Feb, 2nd Feb and 3rd Feb, keeping in mind the daily capping. Now say the bank did not settle your 2nd Feb transaction on the same day and settled your 2nd and 3rd Feb transactions together. Now since rewards are counted only on the day of the settlement, 2nd and 3rd Feb transactions will bunch together and give you bonus rewards up to the daily capping of only 1 day that is 3rd Feb. This could be a big loss especially if you are making big-ticket transactions.
Our Take
HDFC’s SmartBuy rewards propositions were great especially for its premium cards- Infinia and Diners Club Black. While Infinia rewards have not been devalued so much, this revision could have come as a hard blow for DCB users.
Over the last couple of years, HDFC Bank has been actively promoting its Regalia and Diners Club Privilege Cards. And now the users are handsomely rewarded with the upgrade to a bonus rewards model from the flat-rate cashback model like lower-end cards. So, this was a pleasant surprise for Regalia and DC Privilege users.
Image credit: HDFC SmartBuy Official Website
