Infinia Infinia worthiness

[VGisHere]

I went through Infinia Metal Card review and noted some points.

Pros -
1. Unlimited lounge access (domestic, international) for both primary, add-on (up to 3) card holders! (Big pro, need not keep track or multiple cards)!
2. Unlimited Golf games/coaching (not sure how many people actually claim, but would still keep it)!
3. Some ITC hotels tie-up benefits!
4. Insurance cover (definitely worthy)


Reward Rate Structure -
1. 3.3% RP on normal/every transaction.
Redemption - 1% for statement credit, 1.65% for smartbuy shopping, 3.3% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

2. 33% RP for flights/hotels on Smartbuy.
Redemption - 10% for statement credit, 16.5% for smartbuy shopping, 33% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

3. 16.5% RP for Smartbuy (Amazon, Gift voucher)
Redemption - 5% for statement credit, 8.25% for smartbuy shopping, 16.5% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

4. 9.9% RP for Smartbuy (Flipkart, Train booking)
Redemption - 3% for statement credit, 5% for smartbuy shopping, 9.9% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.


Cons -
1. High Fees (12.5k + GST) = Rs. 14750
2. Welcome/Renewal Benefit = 12.5k points (recovered only if used on Smartbuy for Apple/Tanishq/Flights/Hotels OR Airmiles conversion) (big con)
3. Capping of payment up to 70% of the price with RPs
4. Very high NRV eligibility criteria (filters out big chunk)
5. Capping for Smartbuy transactions (15k per month) (so if you book hotel/flights for 45k, that's it!)
6. Forex markup - 2% + GST (higher than bunch of cards in market)
7. High fee waiver criteria (10L)
8. Capping for insurance transactions (5k per day, i.e., 1.5L spend)
9. Rent payment RP (Not eligible) + charges 1% extra
10. Redemption capping - 1.5L RP for flights/hotels; 50k for Tanishq per month; 50k against statement balance


So, after all these Cons, I'm wondering why are some people still going for Infinia card?
Is it only the unlimited domestic/international lounge access for self and add on card holders?
Or am I missing something basic here?
What strategies do people use to maximise benefit out of this card?
For people holding Axis Magnus, does this card make sense at all (except for lounge access)?

 

[CC-Muncher]

thanks for this i wasn't aware of statement credit i will redeem few

You should uae axis flipkart to get 1.5% flat

 

[PavanPavan is verified member.]

You should uae axis flipkart to get 1.5% flat

sure think axis is not much use i was in FOMO so got that ..but work done might close before renewal

 

[PavanPavan is verified member.]

Redeeming for vouchers/statement credit is the most minimum value to extract from Magnus. If you are not into travel then you don't seem to have any option. Just try other ways like using it for your friends or family to extract maximum value.

Yes for the remaiing points

 

[jack333]

Yes for the remaiing points

One thing where dcb and infinia shine above magnus is you can book any hotel or flight via smartbuy. You don't have to rely on only itc which is quite expensive or accor which does not have any property in Hill stations in the north or Vistara which is expensive and don't fly on all the routes

 

[BVCBVC is verified member.]

One thing where dcb and infinia shine above magnus is you can book any hotel or flight via smartbuy. You don't have to rely on only itc which is quite expensive or accor which does not have any property in Hill stations in the north or Vistara which is expensive and don't fly on all the routes

There is a problem with Vistara towards South India. For Ex. Vistara uses Mumbai & New Delhi as their hubs and operate on Hub and spoke model, whereas Indigo operates on point to point model. This increases connectivity for Indigo compared to Vistara.

In this scenario HDFC smartbuy portal gives edge on redemption over Vistara.

 

[PavanPavan is verified member.]

One thing where dcb and infinia shine above magnus is you can book any hotel or flight via smartbuy. You don't have to rely on only itc which is quite expensive or accor which does not have any property in Hill stations in the north or Vistara which is expensive and don't fly on all the routes

Yep am newbie on to all these will for sure try these now thanks agaian

 

[Salvo08]

Axis magnus,axis reserve,amex platinum charge and Icici emralde give that if I am not wrong

They only give access to Primary card holder and not add on card holder.

 

[Salvo08]

I went through Infinia Metal Card review and noted some points.

Pros -
1. Unlimited lounge access (domestic, international) for both primary, add-on (up to 3) card holders! (Big pro, need not keep track or multiple cards)!
2. Unlimited Golf games/coaching (not sure how many people actually claim, but would still keep it)!
3. Some ITC hotels tie-up benefits!
4. Insurance cover (definitely worthy)


Reward Rate Structure -
1. 3.3% RP on normal/every transaction.
Redemption - 1% for statement credit, 1.65% for smartbuy shopping, 3.3% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

2. 33% RP for flights/hotels on Smartbuy.
Redemption - 10% for statement credit, 16.5% for smartbuy shopping, 33% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

3. 16.5% RP for Smartbuy (Amazon, Gift voucher)
Redemption - 5% for statement credit, 8.25% for smartbuy shopping, 16.5% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.

4. 9.9% RP for Smartbuy (Flipkart, Train booking)
Redemption - 3% for statement credit, 5% for smartbuy shopping, 9.9% for Smartbuy (Apple, Tanishq, Flights, Hotels) + AirMiles conversion.


Cons -
1. High Fees (12.5k + GST) = Rs. 14750
2. Welcome/Renewal Benefit = 12.5k points (recovered only if used on Smartbuy for Apple/Tanishq/Flights/Hotels OR Airmiles conversion) (big con)
3. Capping of payment up to 70% of the price with RPs
4. Very high NRV eligibility criteria (filters out big chunk)
5. Capping for Smartbuy transactions (15k per month) (so if you book hotel/flights for 45k, that's it!)
6. Forex markup - 2% + GST (higher than bunch of cards in market)
7. High fee waiver criteria (10L)
8. Capping for insurance transactions (5k per day, i.e., 1.5L spend)
9. Rent payment RP (Not eligible) + charges 1% extra
10. Redemption capping - 1.5L RP for flights/hotels; 50k for Tanishq per month; 50k against statement balance


So, after all these Cons, I'm wondering why are some people still going for Infinia card?
Is it only the unlimited domestic/international lounge access for self and add on card holders?
Or am I missing something basic here?
What strategies do people use to maximise benefit out of this card?
For people holding Axis Magnus, does this card make sense at all (except for lounge access)?

The pros you listed are huge for anyone to hold Infinia by affectively paying only the GST as the renewal points can be very well utilised for travel bookings without transferring any point to partner airlines. Add on card benefits is just unparalleled.

You missed out the benefit of using complimentary PP access at domestic lounges.

 

[Deleted member 11974]

plat charge axis reserve and magnus give to add on card holders icici doesnt

They only give access to Primary card holder and not add on card holder.

 

[jack333]

Only domestic for magnus addon

 

[Deleted member 11974]

reserve and plat charge as well right?

Only domestic for magnus addon

 

[jack333]

reserve and plat charge as well right?

Reserve gives priority pass for addon also. Don't know about Plat charge

 

[Deleted member 11974]

Reserve gives priority pass for addon also. Don't know about Plat charge

i have heard that plat charge has unlimited access maybe to add on as well

 

[eatpepsi]

@eatpepsi Can't agree more! The saying is "high risk = high rewards" and for credit cards it is more like "high risk and anxiety = high rewards". On one end of the spectrum are cashback cards that give the least amount of anxiety with fixed returns, while cards like Magnus on the other end not only make redemption complicated due to variable return rates where timing also plays a huge role, but they can also cause high levels of anxiety around hitting monthly milestones. It's for this reason only that the latter kind are more rewarding because their product managers know that they are super complicated for the vast majority of people to fully understand and extract max value out of, without doing a lot of hard work. It's only due to forums like these that people have really begun to understand the true potential of Magnus, which otherwise may not have been discovered, and that's why you see the large number of threads dedicated to dissecting how Magnus works.

But you'll hardly find such threads for Infinia because it's just so easy to use! Infinia sits comfortably between the above two ends and you can make it work either way depending on your needs. Even if you don't want to bother with gift vouchers and accelerated RP (and therefore monthtly Smartbuy caps), you can just keep using it as a cashback card with 3.3% flat returns (with very few exclusions) and redeem whenever you are ready. If you were to use Magnus this way without all the hassle and the bother, you'd only get 1.2% returns. So Infinia is a lot more rewarding for people who like to keep things simple.

I really like how you put the whole credit card game in the spectrum of cashback cards and Magnus.
And I also agree that Infinia comfortably sits right in the middle which for me is the Goldilocks-like perfect card.
Although I’m still accumulating a lot of Magnus points every month. Thanks to the milestones benefit, I will wait to judge the Magnus card and give my verdict just yet.

Although I have been using Infinia for long time and had many many points , I only started appreciating Infinia when I bought out all the tickets for my family trip to Kashmir with just the points … that feeling was nice !

I guess I will also start falling in love with Magnus also Once I really find its true value when I book a staycation or a holiday trip with my family some time… till then I will be sincerely collecting as many edge reward points as I can based on my expenditure.

My true anxiety comes from deciding when to use Infinia and when to use Magnus…

 

[Rushhh1010]

If I was booking hotels through smart buy using Infinia, I can only book max Rs.45k/calender month. After that I wont receive bonus reward points?

 

[bonheur]

My true anxiety comes from deciding when to use Infinia and when to use Magnus…

That may not be true for too long, Axis might itself put you out of all anxiety soon - https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/devaluation-w-e-f-12th-aug-2023.14935/.

 

[bonheur]

If I was booking hotels through smart buy using Infinia, I can only book max Rs.45k/calender month. After that I wont receive bonus reward points?

Technically 50k/calendar month for hotels since Smartbuy gives 9x points, the remaining 1x is base RP. The monthly Smarbuy caps only apply to accelerated rewards, not base rewards.

 

[Ace87]

That may not be true for too long, Axis might itself put you out of all anxiety soon - https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/devaluation-w-e-f-12th-aug-2023.14935/.

The King (Infinia) will reclaim it's rightful position, if the above turns out to be true

 

[PavanPavan is verified member.]

HI all there was a recent post on someone getting infinia at 4,50,000 please can you share that tweet or image ?

 

[bsc0008]

HI all there was a recent post on someone getting infinia at 4,50,000 please can you share that tweet or image ?

Infinia - Shocking info - Upgraded to FYF Infinia Metal only at 4.7L limit, on basis of 15 days NRV!

Dear TFC members, There is a very shocking insight that has come into picture today! A person named Mr. Aditya Raj has issued a Infinia Metal as an Upgrade for her wife, at a mere credit limit of Rs.4.7L and that too within a span of 15 days of maintaing good funds in Imperia banking by HDFC...

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