Infinia LTF Regalia GOLD is better than Paid Infinia | Reward Points Calculations/Maths | INFINIA is OVERHYPED

[Deleted member 26954]

Ref to my recent post, Thanks everyone for your suggestions on Infinia Metal. I considered all points and did some calculations...There are 2 scenarios

1. If Spend is around 7.5 Lac (In normal scenario, Infinia is offered with this much spend..I am not considering special cases of LTF Infinia):

(a) Regalia Gold:
RP's: 20,000
Bonus RP's: 10,000 (5 Lac milestone)
Bonus RP's: 5,000 (8 Lac milestone)
Total RP's: 35,000
A = Value of RP's @ 30 paise = Rs 10,500 (Considering average redemption and not special cases like Gold catalogue/smartbuy flight @ 1:0.5)
B = Quarterly vouchers of Rs 1,500 X 4 = Rs 6,000
C = Flight Vouchers of Rs 5,000 X 2 = Rs 10,000 (5k @ 5 lac and 5k @ 7.5 lac) (Not considering airport drop voucher)
Total Benefit = A + B + C = Rs 26,500

(b) Infinia Metal:
RP's: 25,000
RP's for annual fees = 12,500
A = Value of RP's @ 50 paise = Rs 18,750 (Considering average redemption and not special cases)
B = Annual Fees = Rs 14,750
Net Benefits = A - B = Rs 4,000
Infinia Metal is a BIG loser in this case

Even if you consider RP's value at 1:1 where you have very limited choice to redeem
A = Value of RP's = 25,000
B = Annual Fees RP's value = 12,500
C = Annual Fees incl GST = Rs 14,750
Net Benefits = A + B - C = Rs 22,750
Benefits of Infinia Metal is way below Regalia Gold despite the fact, you will be forced to you redeem infinia RP's only in flight booking or buying apple products

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2. If Spend is around 10 Lac

(a) Regalia Gold:
RP's: 26,666
Bonus RP's: 10,000 (5 Lac milestone)
Bonus RP's: 5,000 (8 Lac milestone)
Total RP's: 46,666
A = Value of RP's @ 30 paise = Rs 12,500 (Considering average redemption and not special cases like Gold catalogue)
B = Quarterly vouchers of Rs 1,500 X 4 = Rs 6,000
C = Flight Vouchers of Rs 5,000 X 2 = Rs 10,000 (5k @ 5 lac and 5k @ 7.5 lac) (Not considering airport drop voucher)
Total Benefit = A + B + C = Rs 28,500

(b) Infinia Metal:
RP's: 33,000
RP's for annual fees = 0 (Annual Fees Waived off)
A = Value of RP's @ 50 paise = Rs 18,750 (Considering average redemption and not special cases)
B = Annual Fees = 0
Net Benefits = A - B = Rs 18,750
Infinia Metal is a BIG loser in this case

Even if you consider RP's value at 1:1 where you have very limited choice to redeem
A = Value of RP's = 33,000
B = Annual Fees = 0
Net Benefits = 33,000
Only 4.5k benefit compared to Regalia Gold which is actually less (refer to point #2 in final conclusion)

MY FINAL CONCLUSION:
1. Infinia Metal is only beneficial if you redeem rewards to book flights through smartbuy or apple products else it is a BIG LOSER compared to Regalia GOLD.
2. 1:1 redemption is actually not a 1:1 as you buy the flight ticket or apple product at FULL value and forego discounts available..This ratio is 1:0.85 (As shared by other experts)
3. Infinia Metal will give you serious stress to spend only on Infinia metal card and you might miss out on other great offers on other cards. Example: Currently Amex is giving maximum offers on Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit etc.
4. Last but not the least, INFINIA is a OVERHYPED Card in my personal opinion. No offence to Infinia users.

I HAVE DECIDED TO DECLINE THE OFFER TO UPGRADE FROM LTF REGALIA GOLD TO PAID INFINIA.

I apologies if there is any error in my calculation...Kindly mention the same in the comments, I will correct it

 

[phoenix1386]

If ulip gives best case return of 6%... and nifty cagr is 12%...there is loss of 6%

If infinia return is 4% (apply all the best techniques gyfter etc) compared to 1% of regalia gold i.e. gain of 3%

So net loss of 3%

Also consider lock in, surrender value, gst etc on ulip premium

Infinia is used by hdfc bank to fool and sell 3rd class product to emotionally charged infinia fans

Now we’re talking.

 

[Lobogris]

If ulip gives best case return of 6%... and nifty cagr is 12%...there is loss of 6%

If infinia return is 4% (apply all the best techniques gyfter etc) compared to 1% of regalia gold i.e. gain of 3%

So net loss of 3%

Also consider lock in, surrender value, gst etc on ulip premium

Infinia is used by hdfc bank to fool and sell 3rd class product to emotionally charged infinia fans

Again, made up stuff without actual knowledge. Why would ULIP provide 6% vs 12% on NIFTY? ULIP is a mutual fund and its return would be equal to other MFs. There is no surrender charge on ULIP. In fact you get various bonuses for holding it. Yes, there are mortality charges but all these charges are paid back 2x if you hold it to maturity. At least do some proper research on the subject. Even a 6% return is fine as it is tax free and beats a FD. Most people investing would be moving funds from savings or FD and not selling mutual funds or stocks to buy a ULIP. Have you seen anyone who sells stocks to buy a ULIP? It's mostly people who buy it usually don't have any investments apart from savings or FDs or people with a lot of different investments who are trying to diversify their portfolio.

How is Infinia Gyftr return 4%? It is 16.5%. What about 33% on hotels?

You have made up your mind and want to invent things to justify your point of view. In any case, please leave ULIP alone. Most people don't get Infinia via ULIP. Focus directly on Infinia vs Regalia and show me how it is better.

 

[Lobogris]

I am over this already and asking about travel edge.

Ok. You are talking about Axis Traveledge. These points have to be transferred to a specific hotel or airline reward programme. Then you are dependent upon that programme and often it is expensive or unavailable. With Infinia, you can book any hotel or air ticket anywhere at the same price (often a little cheaper) as shown on MMT, Clear Trip and Yatra. Not limited to Marriott or Accor. Could be the Taj, Holiday Inn, Regenta, Oyo, even Airbnb type places. Obviously, there are plus and minus points with all cards. So sometimes you would be better off with Magnus Burgundy, especially if the purchase amount is substantially over 1 lakh but then you have to be a Burgundy member and pay 35k annual fee if seeking a fresh card.

 

[sloth2805]

OP has very clearly made up their mind to stick to their original point, even if this requires senseless and illogical arguments.

While there is a detailed calculation shared by OP, they clearly chose to overlook main infinia benefits (ie smartbuy and gyftr) and assumed ridiculously low value for infinia points. OP also chose to ignore pointed questions regarding these. I think this is because they had no reasonable answer.

I made smart use of my Infinia to fund two round trip direct air India tickets to US with one year of Infinia spends (admittedly with much higher spends than what the OP has considered in their calculations). But rest assured, I extracted much better returns (point% as well as value per point) on my spends than what OP has calculated and I am very sure even with 7.5 lakh or 10 lakh spends any half smart person can get much more value out of Infinia than what OP has calculated.

Considering the ridiculous bias and skew in the calculations share by OP, I believe they made a good choice in rejecting Infinia. The card would have been wasted on them.

 

[JAM]

If ulip gives best case return of 6%... and nifty cagr is 12%...there is loss of 6%

If infinia return is 4% (apply all the best techniques gyfter etc) compared to 1% of regalia gold i.e. gain of 3%

So net loss of 3%

Also consider lock in, surrender value, gst etc on ulip premium

Infinia is used by hdfc bank to fool and sell 3rd class product to emotionally charged infinia fans

Thank for providing evidence of your lack of financial knowledge.
Anybody who sees past performance as an indicator of future performance doesn't understand finance at all.
Even after all this while you are obtuse.
Theres no guarantee of nifty giving 12% cagr in the future. Low risk = low reward, high risk = high reward. There are many multiple markets which can go into a multi year bear market and not provide you any returns. If any market is guaranteed to give you a certain return for extended periods of time its more likely to be bubble.
India as an economy has now reached a level at which growth will ultimately slow down and this will reflect in the markets.

If we apply your 12% logic to anything we will all just hold our money and watch life pass us by.

 

[m4b]

If any market is guaranteed to give you a certain return for extended periods of time its more likely to be bubble.

The same goes for Infinia. Stop defending you all. Tired with this ULIP shit.

 

[JAM]

The same goes for Infinia. Stop defending you all. Tired with this ULIP shit.

Who is defending ? If you are tired you can put notifications off. Why are you defending him ? You are comparing a credit card to an investment ?
If somebody wants to do whatever with their money to get what they want they are free to do so.
There are many who are tired of people who promote referral links as well.
All these premium cards are not meant for penny chasers anyway.

 

[m4b]

Who is defending ? If you are tired you can put notifications off. Why are you defending him ? You are comparing a credit card to an investment ?
If somebody wants to do whatever with their money to get what they want they are free to do so.
There are many who are tired of people who promote referral links as well.
All these premium cards are not meant for penny chasers anyway.

Why are you getting hurt?

 

[phoenix1386]

All these premium cards are not meant for penny chasers anyway.

Oh, come now, that’s rough.

 

[m4b]

Who is defending ?

some people

If you are tired you can put notifications off.

No, I won't

Why are you defending him ?

I didn't

You are comparing a credit card to an investment ?

Ain't me

If somebody wants to do whatever with their money to get what they want they are free to do so.

that's what I want to hear

There are many who are tired of people who promote referral links as well.

don't look at my signature

All these premium cards are not meant for penny chasers anyway.

Indeed but don't look down upon others. Infinia is nothing but a piece of card.

 

[m4b]

Why do some Infinia bois behave like they hold black Amex?

 

[Sriim]

I made smart use of my Infinia to fund two round trip direct air India tickets to US with one year of Infinia spends (admittedly with much higher spends than what the OP has considered in their calculations).

Direct booking on smartbuy?

 

[Deleted member 26954]

Guys chill and relax...before someone comment " if u dont like infinia, go to Pakistan"... i rest my case

It is your money, you can spend the way u want. However, i understood that it is very easy to fool people in india on financial front

Ignorance is bliss !!!

 

[sloth2805]

Direct booking on smartbuy?

No. Converted to krisflyer miles

 

[sloth2805]

Guys chill and relax...before someone comment " if u dont like infinia, go to Pakistan"... i rest my case

It is your money, you can spend the way u want. However, i understood that it is very easy to fool people in india on financial front

Ignorance is bliss !!!

Ohh come on. Don’t hide behind fictitious nonsense. Nobody has asked you to go to any other nation so please dont be lazy and use that as an excuse.

Although it does seem it is easy to fool people on financial front. I am seeing a live example here.

Forget the fact that your calculations in opening post are absolute nonsense. You are comparing ULIP returns, equity returns and infinia reward % (again forget the fact that the numbers you quote don’t make a lot of sense). ULIP returns is on amount invested. Infinia rewards are on amount spent. The base amount is different for both. And you are simply subtracting ULIP return and infinia rewards %. This is laughable. Honestly I am scared for people who get their financial advise from you.

Are we sure this is not a troll thread?

 

[Deleted member 26954]

Ohh come on. Don’t hide behind fictitious nonsense. Nobody has asked you to go to any other nation so please dont be lazy and use that as an excuse.

Although it does seem it is easy to fool people on financial front. I am seeing a live example here.

Forget the fact that your calculations in opening post are absolute nonsense. You are comparing ULIP returns, equity returns and infinia reward % (again forget the fact that the numbers you quote don’t make a lot of sense). ULIP returns is on amount invested. Infinia rewards are on amount spent. The base amount is different for both. And you are simply subtracting ULIP return and infinia rewards %. This is laughable. Honestly I am scared for people who get their financial advise from you.

Are we sure this is not a troll thread?

Relax...ur BP will go high...dont get personal...have a nice weekend

 

[Lobogris]

Why do some Infinia bois behave like they hold black Amex?

We don't. We didn't start this thread. In any case, Infinia is actually better than all Amex India cards. I have 30 plus cards including Amex. Each has its good points. None of is here have criticised any other card.

 

[Lobogris]

Relax...ur BP will go high...dont get personal...have a nice weekend

Good excuse when one is unable to respond with concrete facts and figures.

 

[Avatar Aang]

Guys need help. I am having DCB LTF, Tata Neu LTF and Marriott Bonvoy. Aggregate limit is 5.67L. I have been trying to get LE from past one year but no luck.
My last 6 months spends are more than 9L. I contacted RM to upgrade my DCB to Infinia. He is telling me that as I don't meet the Limit criteria I should do an investment, he didn't specify any amount and told me that I can do any minimum investment whichever is possible for me. Alternatively he also told me that I can get Term plan. But I already have a term plan of 2Cr.

Coming to the ULIP, what % returns can I expect on my investment if I invest for 15-20 years? As he said minimum amount I am planning to make an investment of 1K per month and I can keep it for 20 years. If the returns are at par with Index funds in the long term I don't have any problem in getting ULIP.

P.S. while investing in ULIP I will ask him to upgrade my Marriott Bonvoy card to Infinia as I don't want to loose my DCB LTF.

 

[Lobogris]

Guys need help. I am having DCB LTF, Tata Neu LTF and Marriott Bonvoy. Aggregate limit is 5.67L. I have been trying to get LE from past one year but no luck.
My last 6 months spends are more than 9L. I contacted RM to upgrade my DCB to Infinia. He is telling me that as I don't meet the Limit criteria I should do an investment, he didn't specify any amount and told me that I can do any minimum investment whichever is possible for me. Alternatively he also told me that I can get Term plan. But I already have a term plan of 2Cr.

Coming to the ULIP, what % returns can I expect on my investment if I invest for 15-20 years? As he said minimum amount I am planning to make an investment of 1K per month and I can keep it for 20 years. If the returns are at par with Index funds in the long term I don't have any problem in getting ULIP.

P.S. while investing in ULIP I will ask him to upgrade my Marriott Bonvoy card to Infinia as I don't want to loose my DCB LTF.

For someone with DCB and a fair limit, I don't think you need to bother with a ULIP. DCB is almost as good and you have it LTF. 1k per month is just 12k per year. So ot won't make much difference if you decide to go ahead with the ULIP. You can choose from various funds in ULIP and they are basically mutual funds. However, there are fund maintenance and mortality charges. If you hold it for 20 years or whatever the term is, all these are refunded along with various bonuses. So it is sort of ok. Nevertheless, in your situation, I don't think you need to do it.