Huge Update: HDFC Infinia – This Is Not Just a Devaluation – It's a Warning Sign

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

For a long time, the TechnoFino Community expected that HDFC Infinia would eventually face some level of devaluation, most likely around 2026. That assumption was based on history, lifecycle patterns of premium cards, and how banks usually behave.

But what has surfaced now is far more serious than a routine devaluation.

An official HDFC Bank document, marked as internal yet publicly accessible on their website, reveals a major change in how Infinia credit cards will be retained going forward.

And yes - this is about card continuation, not just fee waiver.

What Has Changed?​

As per the document:

Effective from 1st Jan, 2026, To keep your HDFC Infinia credit card active, you must either:

• Spend ₹18,00,000 in a calendar year
Or
• Maintain a ₹1 crore+ relationship value with HDFC Bank

Failing this, the card can be reviewed / discontinued.

This is a fundamental shift.



Till now, premium card conversations revolved around:
• Joining fee
• Renewal fee
• Fee waivers

Now, the discussion has moved to:
"Do you even deserve to hold this card?"

Is This a New Concept?​

No. Not at all.

Banks in India - have been following this model quietly for years.

Almost every top-tier / invite-only credit card is not judged purely on:
• Your credit score
• Or your past loyalty

Instead, it is judged on how much total business you bring to the bank.

Ultra-premium cards are not highly profitable products on their own.
So banks compensate by demanding value elsewhere:

• High CASA balances
• Investments & relationship value
• Large annual spends (MDR income)

More spend = more MDR = more revenue.

This new Infinia rule simply makes that logic official and transparent.

Where It Really Starts Hurting​

Here is the biggest contradiction:

• Infinia annual fee waiver requires ~₹10L spends
• Infinia survival now requires ~₹18L spends

Which means:
Even if your fee is waived, your card is still not safe.

This puts many cardholders in an awkward position, especially those who:

• Got Lifetime Free Infinia
• Or use Infinia selectively, not as a primary card

A Small Reality Check (With a Smile)​

For years, TechnoFino members have been asking:

“How to get HDFC Infinia Lifetime Free?”

Looks like HDFC Bank finally answered:

Spend ₹18L every year or park ₹1 Cr with us.

Jokes aside, this is a very serious signal from the bank.

Will HDFC Really Enforce ₹18L Strictly?​

My honest assessment:

• Yes, HDFC will enforce this
• Maybe not aggressively from Day 1
• But ₹10–12L unofficial minimum spends will become standard practice

₹18L will remain the official benchmark, even if flexibility exists initially.

And once HDFC normalises this behavior, other banks will follow, silently first, officially later.

The Bigger Picture: This Is Not Just About Infinia​

This move hints at a larger shift in the Indian credit card ecosystem:

• Premium cards will slowly become relationship-locked products
• Holding multiple top-end cards across banks will get extremely difficult
• Banks will push customers to choose one primary ecosystem
• "Card collectors" will feel the heat first

In short:
Top-end credit cards will no longer be lifestyle products —
They will become loyalty contracts.

Final Thoughts​

This is not panic news.
But it is early warning news.

If you hold Infinia, plan your spends wisely.
If you aspire for Infinia, understand what you’re signing up for.
And if you hold multiple premium cards across banks - the coming years will demand hard choices.

We’ll keep tracking developments closely.
More updates soon - only on TechnoFino Community.

Original thread credit: @kumarvishwas

 

[msankadi]

We will see there is always going to be a limit on the number of high net worth or earning individuals in the country. to control their risk and grow their balances all us(usa) banks till this day target super prime (low risk high risk score - transactors) knowing very well that they wont revolve.

End of the day they cannot just give the cards to credit hungry (sub prime - high risk low risk score) customers,

So ALL banks that want to grow their credit card portfolios will need to compete for the top 1%. It is a cat and mouse game where depending on market situation some party (customer or bank) will be up for a few years and down otherwise.

Please remember these are publicly listed companies so they have to grow every year and if the usa market is anything to go by, credit card portfolios are a big part of a profitable bank's portfolio.
So there will always be competetion for the top 1% of customers, dont think that this is the end and now banks can armtwist the super prime customers into whatever product they design

 

[Maxsteel]

The story of the two GOAT cards in Indian market tell a similar tale. SBI won't give CB to seasoned card holders and HDFC won't give Infinia to non high spenders. As always, the loser is the middle to upper middle financially-informed guy who has > 4-5 cards for optimizing different spends yet nowhere near 18 lakh annual spends.

Makes sense though, I mean why would any for-profit business want to be exploited by this sect of smart customers? No bank is out there to do charity.

I have SBI CB with 3 lac limit. Salary criteria wise I'm eligible for DCB but they aren't even offering Regalia Gold as LTF.

Their CC spammers are offering DCP as free which isn't useful as such.

 

[Aniket Sharma]

I have SBI CB with 3 lac limit. Salary criteria wise I'm eligible for DCB but they aren't even offering Regalia Gold as LTF.

Their CC spammers are offering DCP as free which isn't useful as such.

Currently they increased salary criteria for dcbm to 2.5 lakhs inhand, if you satisfy then mail grievance

 

[Manav24]

Received a Call from my RM regarding the same, I am spending around 12 LPA on Infinia so spending is not an issue but as per him I have to keep the ideal funds in savings account which is preferred account to keep using Infinia and I barely keep anything in it.

 

[kunal05]

Received a Call from my RM regarding the same, I am spending around 12 LPA on Infinia so spending is not an issue but as per him I have to keep the ideal funds in savings account which is preferred account to keep using Infinia and I barely keep anything in it.

Sounds like Infinia is being used like a carrot to turn donkeys (us) the way they want. Next time any RM calls, ask them to shut the f*ck up and stick the carrot in their a**es.

 

[Aniket Sharma]

Received a Call from my RM regarding the same, I am spending around 12 LPA on Infinia so spending is not an issue but as per him I have to keep the ideal funds in savings account which is preferred account to keep using Infinia and I barely keep anything in it.

Bro, i kept funds but they aren't even hearing for upgrade to infinia now, they are sticking with there criteria of salary, no spends matters for them now on cards.

 

[Sobirvs]

Infinia now showing up target of 18L on netportal cc only login under spend promo rewards, Scary.

 

[Aniket Sharma]

Infinia showing up target of 18L on netportal cc only login under spend promo rewards now, Scary.

View attachment 116432

Its showtime, now they will eliminate user's on the basis of this data

 

[HumorSimpson]

Infinia now showing up target of 18L on netportal cc only login under spend promo rewards, Scary.

View attachment 116432

Looks like this is a maha mangalam to many

 

[ash_m]

Honestly speaking, this is just peak arrogance from HDFC. What is the point of that "10L fee waiver" when you've the liberty to close someone's card.

These idiots offered me DCP, not even DCB and requested me to spend 1L+ a month for upgrade on such a poor card (which btw isn't even accepted at all places). And this is after I told them I already hold a couple of similar premium cards from other banks, so I cannot transfer my spends from there to DCP unless HDFC offers Infinia or, atleast DCBM which have similar kind of benefits. I understood a year back that these people are just not interested in selling their cards or earning new customers.

 

[Aniket Sharma]

Honestly speaking, this is just peak arrogance from HDFC. What is the point of that "10L fee waiver" when you've the liberty to close someone's card.

These idiots offered me DCP, not even DCB and requested me to spend 1L+ a month for upgrade on such a poor card (which btw isn't even accepted at all places). And this is after I told them I already hold a couple of similar premium cards from other banks, so I cannot transfer my spends from there to DCP unless HDFC offers Infinia or, atleast DCBM which have similar kind of benefits. I understood a year back that these people are just not interested in selling their cards or earning new customers.

True they aren't listening from last year, I told them many times for upgrade from dcb to infinia but they are asking for salary slips and after that denying that you don't meet the criteria

 

[Maxsteel]

Currently they increased salary criteria for dcbm to 2.5 lakhs inhand, if you satisfy then mail grievance

That's for private employee. I meet the government employee salary criteria.

 

[Sobirvs]

Its showtime, now they will eliminate user's on the basis of this data

the data isn't even accurate btw. Got this card in May and surely I have spent more than 9L not 5L, so even the data is wrong here.

 

[ash_m]

That's for private employee. I meet the government employee salary criteria.

I fear there is no such separate criteria for private & public sector employees, atleast or DCBM.

 

[Aniket Sharma]

That's for private employee. I meet the government employee salary criteria.

If they aren't offering to govt. Employees then really its been challenging

 

[Aniket Sharma]

I fear there is no such separate criteria for private & public sector employees, atleast or DCBM.

It is there but they aren't considering due to 8th pay commission

 

[pranjal1984]

Infinia now showing up target of 18L on netportal cc only login under spend promo rewards, Scary.

View attachment 116432

Only 18 lakhs ha ha

I fear there is no such separate criteria for private & public sector employees, atleast or DCBM.

It is there 2.5+ for Private and 1.75+ for govt.

 

[theXfactor]

Received a Call from my RM regarding the same, I am spending around 12 LPA on Infinia so spending is not an issue but as per him I have to keep the ideal funds in savings account which is preferred account to keep using Infinia and I barely keep anything in it.

Some RMs are reading these threads, posts on X and calling folks. There's no official communication from the bank...nothing. The last update/changes communicated to me by the bank was around my debit card Lounge Access. Such changes are communicated in advance.
Next time, you RM calls ask him to shut the f**k up.

Infinia is not something for which anyone should keep 1Cr in their savings/deposits or force spend 18L...opportunity cost will be huge. HNI/UHNI would never keep their money lying around which doesn't fetch them returns, they invest into their businesses, real estate, stocks or something else whatever works that's why they are HNI/UHNIs.

I'm not sure why envy ppl who have the card. Not their fault...Bank has approved/offered the card basis their internal parameters...and the very same bank has rejected thousands citing the same internal parameters....so what's the fuss about. If card holders ain't spending enough, they are paying the fees and that's the whole purpose of having a spend criteria for fee waiver. It's bank's way of saying if you don't spend min. this much, you pay fees and that's fair.
For me, Infinia was approved 3-4 times in last 6 years but I finally had it only last year... despite having Imperia relationship, salary account, decent spends etc. etc. I'm confident of getting any card available around, just that I choose what I need. I will continue to split my expenses across different cards in the best way that works for me. A bank has to make its offering lucrative enough for holders to move their expenses on the card and not by keep on increasing processing fee like in case of Apay and other vouchers every now and then...it's at 4.13% which renders DCB sort of card useless for vouchers. Naturally, people will move to EPM, Premier sort of cards.

Lastly, the termination clause in MITC. It doesn't say that the card can be downgraded or terminated based on the RLV/Spends etc. If spends defined by the bank itself aren't met, charge the fee, that's all. If at all the change happens, this will be contested with RBI and may lead to litigations. Also, HDFC bank will not only lose their premium customer base but also be rendered unreliable.

 

[theXfactor]

Infinia now showing up target of 18L on netportal cc only login under spend promo rewards, Scary.

View attachment 116432

which portal is this?

 

[Deleted member 37169]

the data isn't even accurate btw. Got this card in May and surely I have spent more than 9L not 5L, so even the data is wrong here.

Yes data is inaccurate i have spend around 14 Lakhs as confirmed by HDFC Customer care, but its showing 3.3 lakhs, also on that I have received card 7 months ago.