HDFC Millennia Debit Card Vs. HDFC Millennia Credit Card

When it comes to welcome benefits, HDFC Millennia Debit Card rewards you with 1,000 CashPoints after the payment of joining fee, which is equivalent to Rs. 1,000 if you redeem them against cashback. On the other hand, Millennia Debit Card does not charge a joining fee, hence no welcome benefits are provided on the debit card.

Overall, not providing any welcome benefits cannot be a drawback for Millennia Debit Card as it comes with no joining fees. Also, Millennia Credit Card compensates for it by providing benefits worth the joining fee.

Which one to choose?

After considering the above-mentioned points, you can choose any of the cards based on your requirements. If you do not want to pay a joining fee and are not inclined towards welcome benefits, then you can apply for Millennia Debit Card. If you are ready to pay a joining fee of Rs. 1,000 and want to earn better benefits, you can consider applying for Millennia Credit Card.

Suggested read: Credit Cards with Best Welcome/ Signup Benefits

HDFC debit card and credit card offers cashback through CashPoints or CashBack Points, which you can later redeem against cashback or any other category as per your requirements. Below mentioned are the details regarding the cashback offered on these cards:

Suggested read: Strategies to Optimize Credit Card Reward Points

Illustration: Suppose you have made the below-mentioned transactions:

Amazon: Rs. 5,000 | Myntra: Rs. 5,000 | Swiggy: Rs. 2,000 Wallet Reload: Rs. 5,000 | Offline Shopping: Rs. 10,000

Considering that you will redeem the earned reward points against cashback at a value of 1 CashPoint/ CashBack Point = Re. 1.

How much you will save via debit card?

Total Savings: Rs. 125 (2.5% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 125 (2.5% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 50 (2.5% CashBack Points of Rs. 2,000) | Rs. 50 (1% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 100 (1% CashBack Points of Rs. 10,000) = Rs. 450

How much you will save via credit card?

Total Savings: Rs. 250 (5% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 250 (5% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 100 (5% CashBack Points of Rs. 2,000) | Rs. 50 (1% CashBack Points of Rs. 5,000) + Rs. 100 (1% CashBack Points of Rs. 10,000) = Rs. 750

Which one to choose?

From the above illustration, it is clear that HDFC Millennia Credit Card allows you to save more on your expenses. However, this is applicable only if you frequently shop online because both cards offer similar cashback on offline transactions. With the Millennia Credit Card, you can earn up to 5% CashPoints on your transactions, whereas the debit card rewards you with 2.5% CashBack Points on your online transactions. So, if you use your credit card for most of the online transactions or on brands like Amazon, Swiggy, BookMyShow, Flipkart, etc., HDFC Millennia Credit Card would be the right choice for you.

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If you frequently visit within the country, then lounge access is something that can help you maximize your benefits. Both HDFC Millennia debit and credit cards offer domestic lounge access at several lounges. Here are the details regarding the same:

• HDFC Millennia Debit Card: 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge access every year (Max. 1 per quarter)
• HDFC Millennia Credit Card: 8 complimentary domestic lounge access per calendar year (Max. 2 in a quarter)

Which one to choose?

At an annual fee of Rs. 500, the Millennia Debit Card offers 4 complimentary domestic lounge access every year, whereas Millennia Credit Card offers 8 complimentary lounge access to domestic lounges in a year at an annual fee of Rs. 1,000. So, both cards justify the lounge access benefits offered on them. You can choose any of the cards based on your requirements. However, you must remember that both cards are suitable only for domestic travel as none of them offers international lounge access. This might be a drawback for Millennia Credit Card as cards with similar annual fees usually offer international lounge access.

Suggested read: Best Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access

Apart from cashback and travel benefits, both cards also offer additional benefits like fuel surcharge waiver, insurance coverage and more. Details regarding the same are as follows:

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: With HDFC Millennia Credit Card, you can get a 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India on your transactions between Rs. 400 to Rs. 5,000. Similarly, no fuel surcharge will be applicable on your fuel transactions via Millennia Debit Card.

Insurance Benefits: HDFC Bank Millennia Debit Card also offer insurance benefits like accidental insurance coverage, personal death cover, fire & burglary protection, baggage insurance and much more. You can avail of international air coverage of Rs. 1 crore on purchasing air tickets.

Milestone Benefits: HDFC Millennia Credit Card offers gift vouchers worth Rs. 1,000 on spending Rs. 1 lakh in each quarter. This is a good benefit especially if you frequently shop as you can redeem these gift vouchers against your purchases.

Dining Benefits: You can get up to 20% discount on partner restaurants on your bookings via HDFC Millennia Credit Card. However, this is applicable only on bookings and payments vis Swiggy Dine Out.

Note: It is easy to avail of a debit card instead of a credit card as it does not require any credit score. However, you need to have a savings or current account with the bank to apply for an HDFC Debit Card.

In terms of fees and charges, definitely HDFC Millennia Credit Card is expensive as compared to the debit card. But, it also offers better benefits and additional privileges. The fees and charges applicable to both cards are as follows:

It is clear that the credit card comes with a higher joining or annual fee. However, it compensates the joining fee by providing benefits worth the amount. Besides this, it also offers an annual fee waiver on achieving the spending milestone of Rs. 1 lakh annually. It is easy to achieve the spending milestone of approximately Rs. 8,300 per month if you put most of your expenses on your credit card. Overall, there is no doubt that Millennia Credit Card comes with higher fees and charges but it also justifies the fee by providing better benefits as compared to the debit card.

Suggested read: Credit Card Fees and Charges You Must Be Aware of

Without a doubt, both cards offer decent benefits as compared to the fees charged by them. You can shop and get a good value back through CashBack Points or CashPoints. The good thing is you can redeem the earned rewards against cashback at a value of 1 CashBack/ CashPoint = Re. 1. You can apply for any of these cards based on your relationship with the bank and your requirements. Here are the factors that will help you decide which card to choose:

Consider applying for HDFC Millennia Debit Card if:

• You have a savings/ current account with the bank
• You do not want to pay a high annual fee
• You are more inclined toward rewards
• You do not have a good credit score
• You want to earn basic benefits

Consider applying for HDFC Millennia Credit Card if:

• You have a credit history
• You are inclined toward rewards instead of direct cashback
• You frequently travel across the country
• You are ready to pay joining and annual fees
• You want to earn basic dining benefits

Based on the above-mentioned comparison, it is clear that both cards offer decent benefits and justify the fees charged by them. However, Millennia Credit Card is definitely a winner as compared to the Millennia Debit Card as it offers better cashback, more lounge visits and benefits on other categories as well. So, if you are ready to pay an annual fee of Rs. 1,000, you should definitely opt for Millennia Credit Card. However, if you already have an account with the bank and want to earn rewards at a nominal annual fee, you can consider applying for Millennia Debit Card.

Also look at Best Cashback Credit Cards | Best Travel Credit Cards | Best Dining Credit Cards