IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card: Zero Annual Fee, All Rounder Benefits

With IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card, you get the following welcome benefits:

• Gift vouchers worth Rs. 500 on spending Rs. 15,000 within 90 days of card set-up
• 5% cashback on your first EMI transaction done within 90 days of card set-up

The introductory benefit of Rs. 500 can be called satisfactory, considering the card comes free for a lifetime. However, the extended benefit on EMI transactions is a rare feature, not offered by many cards. Even the range of cashback offered, that is 5% is a good value back, as the maximum you can save is Rs. 1,000. Thereby, the card does fairly well in offering welcome benefits.

IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card offers unlimited rewards that never expire. The reward structure on the card is as follows:

• 10x rewards on incremental purchases greater than Rs. 20,000 per billing cycle
• 10x rewards on  Birthday spends
• 3x rewards on all online purchases up to monthly spends of Rs. 20,000
• 1x rewards on utility spends (charges of 1% of the transaction value are applicable on utility spends of more than Rs. 20,000 in a billing cycle)
• 3x reward points on education, wallet load & government services spends, (these are not considered for 10x reward points calculation)

Here, 1x = 1 reward point per Rs. 150 spent, with value of 1 reward point = Rs. 0.25. Reward points earning and 10x threshold not applicable on fuel, EMI, insurance transactions and cash withdrawals. Education, wallet load & government services spends will also not be calculated for incremental spends threshold calculation.

Prior to the May 2024 devaluation, the card offered incremental rewards on spends above Rs. 25,000. While the threshold has been reduced, meeting even the lowered target (of Rs. 20,000) has become more difficult than before. Where users could previously earn 1 reward point per Rs. 125  now the earn-rate is 1 reward point per Rs. 150. Besides, new exclusions have been added, with education, wallet load and government spends excluded from consideration of incremental spends calculation. The rewards on these transactions have also been reduced from 10x to 3x, along with 6x to 3x on online spends. All these changes have significantly impacted the rewards earning potential for users.

Keeping aside the devaluation and looking at what the card offers now, the rewards structure on the card is not so good for the customer segment and card league it targets.  Not only is the redemption value low, but users do not have any strong redemption options except general redemption against product catalog. The card however, covers some everyday transactions like wallet reloads and utility bills for rewards, which is a good option as these transactions are often excluded. Also, for those glued to this card for its lifetime free feature, the reward benefits are still fairly good.

IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card offers travel benefits as following:

• Complimentary domestic airport lounge access (2 per quarter, subject to spending spending Rs. 20,000 in the previous month)
• Complimentary railway lounge access (4 per quarter)
• Low foreign exchange mark-up fee of 1.99%
• Comprehensive Travel Insurance Cover of  Rs. 22,500 (Loss of Checked-In Baggage – Rs.  7,500; Delay of Checked-In Baggage Rs.  5,000; Loss of Passport and other documents – Rs.  5,000; Delay in Flight- Rs.  5,000)

The lounge access and low forex mark-up features can help users save well, especially beneficial for frequent travelers. But other than the low forex, international travelers do not get any strong benefit, as there is no complimentary international lounge access. But domestic travelers still  get a good deal, as both airport and railways lounge access is complimentary, that too with a decent frequency.

However, users looking for premium-type benefits might be disappointed, as  there are no additional travel features such as extra reward points on travel bookings, free membership to some frequent flyer programs, or international lounge access. Besides, the complimentary lounge access is spend-based, post devaluation it can be achieved only on spending Rs. 20,000 in the previous month, too high a value for moderate spenders.

• Personal Accident cover of Rs. 5 Lakh & Complimentary Lost Card Liability Cover of Rs. 50,000
• Fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India up to Rs. 300 every month
• Interest-free cash withdrawal from ATMs for up to 48 days
• Buy 1 Get 1 offer on movie tickets of up to Rs. 125  (twice per month)

IDFC FIRST Select Credit Card is best suited for those who are looking for a lifetime-free credit card offering multiple benefits. The card offers good rewards on your online and offline spends, only when you meet the Rs. 20,000 spending threshold. If you are a decent spender, extracting the maximum benefit could be tedious, but for heavy spenders this could be easy. The card offers a low reward return of Rs. 0.25 per point, but reward points utilization is somewhat balanced via the unlimited reward points feature that comes without any capping, and expiry limit.

The major drawback of this credit card is that even when the card offers a low forex markup, it does not offer any other international travel benefits, thereby the premium type travel benefits bar is not matched. However, access to domestic railway and airport lounges, along with travel covers, make it a suitable option for people who frequently travel within India.

You can consider the following pros and cons before applying for this credit card: