HDFC Infinia & DCB devaluation - airline/hotel partners transfer ratio reduced

[hritiksakshi]

HDFC Bank has indirectly devalued their Infinia and DCB credit cards by reducing the conversion ratio from 1:1 to 2:1 for some partners, namely - Accor, Lifemiles, and Turkish. This change will take effect from 15th January 2024.

Therefore, the last date for a 1:1 transfer to the aforementioned partners is 14th January.

 

[Avatar Aang]

I am new to miles convertion, so this might sound silly.

We can book flight tickets from Smart Buy where 1 point is ₹1 right? And generally for a ticket which costs ₹5K I observed we would need more than 5K miles, so what is the use of miles conversion? I just checked the miles required for domestic flights between Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vishakapatnam and Delhi.

In some cases you get 1 mile> 1Rs for economy. But most of the guys who are into miles game prefer business class tickets where you definitely get more value out of the airmiles.
I personally feel that if you have HDFC card with 1:1 redemption and are not into miles then the smartbuy way is better.
I had around 1.5L ER before magnus devaluation and couldn't decide which FF program to chose. Also, searching for the award ticket availablity is a tedious job for a beginner. Hence transferred all ER to Accor.

 

[Avatar Aang]

I am new to miles convertion, so this might sound silly.

We can book flight tickets from Smart Buy where 1 point is ₹1 right? And generally for a ticket which costs ₹5K I observed we would need more than 5K miles, so what is the use of miles conversion? I just checked the miles required for domestic flights between Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vishakapatnam and Delhi.

Check out the following posts

• https://www.technofino.in/community...rve-magnus-burgundy-private-credit-card.2487/
• https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/finding-booking-award-flights-beginners-guide.527/
• https://www.technofino.in/community...miles-guide-how-to-redeem-your-airmiles.7568

 

[kermitfrogit]

My billing date is the 15th of every month and, from what I understand, the reward points only get credited to your account once the bill is generated. Does this mean I won't be able to make use of my 15th December-15th January reward points before the devaluation? I tried getting the bill cycle changed but they said it will only happen after 45 days.

 

[drsel]

My billing date is the 15th of every month and, from what I understand, the reward points only get credited to your account once the bill is generated. Does this mean I won't be able to make use of my 15th December-15th January reward points before the devaluation? I tried getting the bill cycle changed but they said it will only happen after 45 days.

Don't worry the devaluation is only a rumour , it is not confirmed by HDFC

 

[LordPSN]

Don't worry the devaluation is only a rumour , it is not confirmed by HDFC

Nope. Confirmed by my RM on the call, said that the mail with detailed information will be sent soon, possibly by 31st, thereby giving 15 days to customers to take proper action.

 

[drsel]

Nope. Confirmed by my RM on the call, said that the mail with detailed information will be sent soon, possibly by 31st, thereby giving 15 days to customers to take proper action.

Only Accor, Avianca and Turkish become 2:1 for HDFC Infinia , DCB and DCB metal?
what about Singapore, United, ITC ?

 

[Harry1]

Nope. Confirmed by my RM on the call, said that the mail with detailed information will be sent soon, possibly by 31st, thereby giving 15 days to customers to take proper action.

15 days is too less. They take 1 month to credit points itself. They definitely should postpone the devaluation date.

 

[phildunphy]

15 days is too less. They take 1 month to credit points itself. They definitely should postpone the devaluation date.

only the date of request counts, not the actual credit.

 

[Harry1]

only the date of request counts, not the actual credit.

I said about crediting of reward points after a transaction. It can be redeemed only after statement generation.

 

[Deleted member 9785]

Don't worry the devaluation is only a rumour , it is not confirmed by HDFC

i did transfer the point to accor to be on safer side

 

[Deleted member 9785]

 

[drsel]

If the points transfer is going to be devalued 50%, then the HDFC Infinia return will also fall 50% to 8.33% for air tickets and 16.66% for hotels on smartbuy.
So no point in using HDFC Infinia after the devaluation.
better use Burgundy

 

[kermitfrogit]

15 days is too less. They take 1 month to credit points itself. They definitely should postpone the devaluation date.

Exactly. Only people whose points are credited before 15th January will be able to get any benefit from the notice they've given.

 

[Avatar Aang]

If the points transfer is going to be devalued 50%, then the HDFC Infinia return will also fall 50% to 8.33% for air tickets and 16.66% for hotels on smartbuy.
So no point in using HDFC Infinia after the devaluation.
better use Burgundy

IMO if they retain the 1:1 redemption option on smartbuy then still infinia/DCB will be a better choice

 

[Harry1]

IMO if they retain the 1:1 redemption option on smartbuy then still infinia/DCB will be a better choice

Nothing beats magnus burgundy.

4.8% airmiles vs 3.33/1.66% on normal non utility mcc spends.

For revenue flight, u get ith voucher option with 3.84% reward rate (more with 10% bonus). And no 70% limit here.

Govt spends is excluded for both. Rent is better for magnus burgundy with 4.8% airmiles and 1% charges compared to hdfc at nil rewards/fees.

Travel edge is 24% without convinience fee vs Smartbuy 16.5% with convinience fee. People keep saying prices are inflated. But they compare prices after discount or Skyscanner prices. For me, it always matches with cleartrip price without any discount.

Grab deals 5x/10x is better than Smartbuy 5x/10x, as base points is more and more merchants.

Among vouchers, Amazon/Flipkart vouchers are lesser in Axis vs Smartbuy (only Infinia). But other vouchers with 3x is almost same and with 5x, Axis is better.

Then comes other unique benefits like priority pass guest access (child can't get add on card), BMS BOGO, Eazydiner (Dineout is there for hdfc, but nowhere close to 40-50% discount from Axis).

And the ultimate stroke is for people spending 1.5L+ getting straight away 3x points😃.

 

[Harry1]

Exactly. Only people whose points are credited before 15th January will be able to get any benefit from the notice they've given.

Currently there is no notice at all if u check Smartbuy site. Customer care is denying any such devaluation. We haven't got any email.

 

[Rajeev.Nakka]

In some cases you get 1 mile> 1Rs for economy. But most of the guys who are into miles game prefer business class tickets where you definitely get more value out of the airmiles.
I personally feel that if you have HDFC card with 1:1 redemption and are not into miles then the smartbuy way is better.
I had around 1.5L ER before magnus devaluation and couldn't decide which FF program to chose. Also, searching for the award ticket availablity is a tedious job for a beginner. Hence transferred all ER to Accor.

Thanks for the detailed information @Avatar Aang , Yeah looks like it's more of beneficial for domestic business class tickets and all international travel tickets.

 

[kermitfrogit]

Currently there is no notice at all if u check Smartbuy site. Customer care is denying any such devaluation. We haven't got any email.

This is true. The banner on Smartbuy has disappeared.

 

[Deleted member 9785]

This is true. The banner on Smartbuy has disappeared.

farzi flunenza of cc n shor macha dia tha

 

[SM24]

Some folks on twitter are constantly in breaking news mode.

Just the eagerness to get noticed by hyping stuff, without verification, like they know insider stuff.

The verification is a 'specious' huddle on space.

I always take it with a 'pinch' of salt.