After Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank is here to surprise us. Although IDFC First Bank hasn't communicated anything yet, they have silently updated their MITC, which will be effective from May 1st, 2024. Since today is April 1st, IDFC First Bank must communicate any product charges today to make them effective from May 1st, 2024, as per RBI guidelines. Therefore, we can expect official communication from IDFC First Bank soon.
The Devaluation: Effective from May 1st, 2024, aggregate utility spends above ₹20,000 in a statement cycle will incur a 1% surcharge. This means if your total utility bill payment is less than Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle, you won't be charged anything extra. However, if you spend more than Rs. 20,000 in total on utilities in a statement cycle, you'll be charged an additional 1% on the total utility spends.
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#Utility surcharges do not apply to the FIRST Private Credit Card, LIC Classic Credit Card, and LIC Select Credit Card.
My Opinion: After rent, imposing a surcharge on utility spends is becoming a trend among all credit card issuers. Don't be surprised to see all banks following this same option to reduce business spends on personal credit cards. Actually, this is a much better step than Yes Bank's approach. Allowing Rs. 20,000 per statement for utility spends without any fees is a decent cap for most credit card holders. This is the right way to tackle business spenders who pay factory/business utility bills using their personal credit cards.
Update: 1st April, 2024 at 7:45 PM
So, IDFC First Bank is sending official communication to all their credit card holders this evening. There are some changes in IDFC First Bank's credit card reward system. All credit cards are affected except the First Private Credit Card.
Reward and Product Feature Changes:
IDFC First Millennia Credit Card:
Reward Points:
Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
You will continue to earn 10X Reward Points on incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 per month.
Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
3X = 3 Reward point per ₹150 spent.
Reward Rate:
1X Category: 0.17%
3X Category: 0.50%
10X Category: 1.67%
IDFC First Classic Credit Card:
Reward Points:
Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
You will continue to earn 10X Reward Points on incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 per month.
Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
3X = 3 Reward point per ₹150 spent
Reward Rate:
1X Category: 0.17%
3X Category: 0.50%
10X Category: 1.67%
IDFC First Select Credit Card:
Reward Points:
Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
3X = 3 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent
Reward Rate:
1X Category: 0.17%
3X Category: 0.50%
10X Category: 1.67%
Buy One Get One Free Movie Offer:
Discount per ticket will be revised up to Rs.125 off twice per month.
Airport Lounge Access:
Total number of visits will be revised to 2 per quarter.
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Wealth Credit Card:
Reward Points:
Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation
3X = 3 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent
Reward Rate:
1X Category: 0.17%
3X Category: 0.50%
10X Category: 1.67%
Buy One Get One Free Movie Offer:
Discount per ticket will be revised up to Rs.250 off twice per month.
Airport Lounge & Spa Access:
Total number of visits will continue to be 4 per quarter
Domestic airport lounges & spas visits will be capped to 2 per quarter
International airport lounges visits will be capped to 2 per quarter
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge & spa benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Club Vistara Credit Card:
Airport Lounge Access:
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Power Credit Card:
Fuel Rewards:
21X Reward Points on HPCL Fuel up to 700 Reward Points (= ₹175) in a statement cycle
Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
Not Applicable (Equivalent Reward Points included in the Fuel Rewards category)
UPI Rewards:
UPI transactions will earn 2X Reward Points across all categories. [Excluding Fuel, Insurance, EMI]. There is no capping on UPI Reward Points.
IDFC First Power Plus Credit Card:
Fuel Rewards:
30X Reward Points on HPCL Fuel up to 2400 Reward Points (= ₹600) in a statement cycle
Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
Not Applicable (Equivalent Reward Points included in the Fuel Rewards category)
UPI Rewards:
UPI transactions will earn 3X Reward Points across all categories. [Excluding Fuel, Insurance, EMI]. There is no capping on UPI Reward Points.
Airport Lounge Access:
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
Changes That Applicable On All IDFC First bank Credit Cards Except IDFC First Private Credit Card:
Rent and Property Management Fee:
1% of transaction value will remain the same
It will be subject to a minimum fees of Rs. 249 per transaction.
Fair usage on Utility Spends:
1X Reward Points on Utility spends will remain the same
1% of transaction value will be levied as Utility fee on commercial usage.
Commercial usage is defined as aggregate Utility spends > Rs.20,000 in a billing cycle
Illustration 1: Utility spends of Rs. 10,000 in a statement cycle will not attract a fee as it is below the threshold
Illustration 2: Utility spends of Rs. 30,000 in a statement cycle will attract a fee of Rs. 300 (1% fee) + GST
This is a significant devaluation for IDFC First Bank Select & Wealth credit card holders. Now, after this devaluation, a Select or Wealth card holder will earn the same reward as a Millennia or Classic card holder. Earlier, IDFC First Wealth card was offering the highest reward, followed by IDFC First Select. However, after May 1st, 2024, all IDFC First LTF cards will earn the same reward. This is a somewhat harsh step in my opinion. Premium cards should earn more rewards than the bank's basic cards; that should be the standard rule.
Almost all banks are now requiring their customers to spend some money before they get free airport lounge access. Well, IDFC First Bank is no different. Earlier, they were asking customers to spend Rs. 5000 per month. Now, they are asking them to spend Rs. 20000 per month to get free lounge access. This seems like a decent requirement, in my opinion, considering that some banks have started asking their customers to spend almost Rs. 1 lakh to get free lounge access.
Overall, it's a significant devaluation, especially for IDFC First Bank Select & Wealth Credit Card holders.
(All PDF Copies Are Attached).
