@Giyu-san this is a great plan . Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to know some things related to MobiKwik wallet load.
1. By wallet you mean their pocket UPI right?
2. I see that if we use amex plat travel it charges convenience fees of around 3.5%. Are you adding the money straight from Amex card or some other way?
3. Even after the convenience charge, is it still profitable?
4. After adding to Amazon pay wallet from bank, can we use that for UPI? What's the advantage of this?
5. Why not directly add to amazon pay wallet using amex card? Why going the mobikwik route?
started my clean up exercise...Today, closed my IDFC first select LTF to free up a limit of 3.5 lakh....Next will be Yes bank Kiwi neon with a limit of 4 lakh
started my clean up exercise...Today, closed my IDFC first select LTF to free up a limit of 3.5 lakh....Next will be Yes bank Kiwi neon with a limit of 4 lakh
started my clean up exercise...Today, closed my IDFC first select LTF to free up a limit of 3.5 lakh....Next will be Yes bank Kiwi neon with a limit of 4 lakh
@Giyu-san this is a great plan . Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to know some things related to MobiKwik wallet load.
1. By wallet you mean their pocket UPI right?
2. I see that if we use amex plat travel it charges convenience fees of around 3.5%. Are you adding the money straight from Amex card or some other way?
3. Even after the convenience charge, is it still profitable?
4. After adding to Amazon pay wallet from bank, can we use that for UPI? What's the advantage of this?
5. Why not directly add to amazon pay wallet using amex card? Why going the mobikwik route?
started my clean up exercise...Today, closed my IDFC first select LTF to free up a limit of 3.5 lakh....Next will be Yes bank Kiwi neon with a limit of 4 lakh
@Giyu-san this is a great plan . Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to know some things related to MobiKwik wallet load.
1. By wallet you mean their pocket UPI right?
2. I see that if we use amex plat travel it charges convenience fees of around 3.5%. Are you adding the money straight from Amex card or some other way?
3. Even after the convenience charge, is it still profitable?
4. After adding to Amazon pay wallet from bank, can we use that for UPI? What's the advantage of this?
5. Why not directly add to amazon pay wallet using amex card? Why going the mobikwik route?
So, the Mobikwik option (yes, the Pocket UPI) works like this.
I add money straight from the AMEX card and yes, there is a charge that varies from 2.5% to 2.95% (before GST) depending on their mood (I think) which gets included in the amount payable (and I get points on that). Also, you get Rs.50 back on loading using the CENTURY code. Yes it is profitable because there is no other way we could get decent rewards for rent payment. Something is better than nothing.
I don't want to use Mobikwik UPI for payments directly because their UI is godawful, response is slow and they have had multiple data breaches. I use Amazon because it is simple, easy to use and super fast. No PIN or thumb required. Amazon also gives rewards for wallet loading like a coupon or something once every couple of scans (that is actually useful unlike GPay).
However, since I am sure I will now achieve the 4L milestone in rent payments alone I have stopped using Amex-Mobikwik for wallet loads. I instead load Amazon Pay wallet directly from the bank account using UPI or debit card depending on what gives cashback, if any.
So, the Mobikwik option (yes, the Pocket UPI) works like this.
I add money straight from the AMEX card and yes, there is a charge that varies from 2.5% to 2.95% (before GST) depending on their mood (I think) which gets included in the amount payable (and I get points on that). Also, you get Rs.50 back on loading using the CENTURY code. Yes it is profitable because there is no other way we could get decent rewards for rent payment. Something is better than nothing.
I don't want to use Mobikwik UPI for payments directly because their UI is godawful, response is slow and they have had multiple data breaches. I use Amazon because it is simple, easy to use and super fast. No PIN or thumb required. Amazon also gives rewards for wallet loading like a coupon or something once every couple of scans (that is actually useful unlike GPay).
However, since I am sure I will now achieve the 4L milestone in rent payments alone I have stopped using Amex-Mobikwik for wallet loads. I instead load Amazon Pay wallet directly from the bank account using UPI or debit card depending on what gives cashback, if any.
Thanks for this. Really helps.
I just started using MobiKwik recently when PhonePe stopped accepting debit cards for cc bill payment. MobiKwik has been good so far. Maybe because I am a new user, they are giving lot of cashbacks. I am liking their overall way of things, especially the pocket UPI thing.
I have done the full KYC for MobiKwik wallet. Will try the credit card > wallet > bank account route if I need to meet some milestones. I had not eplored this yet, thanks for showing the path here.
I am expecing to reach 4L milestone on Plat Travel through vouchers and general spends. Most of the online sites, and some of the shops/ other establishments are accepting amex cards (atleast in Kochi). So that is helping me progress with it. Anyway, thanks for the detailed response.
Axis Atlas - 15 lakhs
Amex Plat Travel - 4 lakhs
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - 6 lakhs for FNA
Regalia Gold - 4 lakhs for fee waiver, 1.5 lakh/quarter and 5 or 7.5 lakh/year for milestones
I need to spend a minimum of 19 lakhs and a maximum of 29 lakhs in a year to reach the milestones or fee waivers for all these cards.
Among these, Atlas and Plat Travel are my primary cards for all spending, and I can easily achieve their milestones. Since they are my daily drivers, I don’t feel any pressure to use those cards; it happens naturally.
While I don’t typically spend much on the Marriott card, there are times when Marriott offers promotions that provide 5% more Marriott points for spending a certain amount during the offer period. As a result, I end up spending around 4-6 lakhs on that card each year. The base rate is not very rewarding. Only through offers or SmartBuy spends can I earn more than 5% on this card. I primarily use this card for Marriott points.
Next is Regalia Gold. The base rate here is also quite low. Although we can view it as the younger sibling of Infinia; it's a good card with minimal exclusions and many opportunities to earn points; the overall earning rate is still lower. With SmartBuy or spending in exception categories, I can manage to earn some points, but my plan is to contact customer care to request a lifetime free status after 6-8 months. This will eliminate any pressure to spend on that card, allowing me to keep it indefinitely. For now, I may plan to spend 1 lakh in 90 days to obtain the joining benefits, but there’s nothing particularly special about that.
Axis Atlas - 15 lakhs
Amex Plat Travel - 4 lakhs
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - 6 lakhs for FNA
Regalia Gold - 4 lakhs for fee waiver, 1.5 lakh/quarter and 5 or 7.5 lakh/year for milestones
I need to spend a minimum of 19 lakhs and a maximum of 29 lakhs in a year to reach the milestones or fee waivers for all these cards.
Among these, Atlas and Plat Travel are my primary cards for all spending, and I can easily achieve their milestones. Since they are my daily drivers, I don’t feel any pressure to use those cards; it happens naturally.
While I don’t typically spend much on the Marriott card, there are times when Marriott offers promotions that provide 5% more Marriott points for spending a certain amount during the offer period. As a result, I end up spending around 4-6 lakhs on that card each year. The base rate is not very rewarding. Only through offers or SmartBuy spends can I earn more than 5% on this card. I primarily use this card for Marriott points.
Next is Regalia Gold. The base rate here is also quite low. Although we can view it as the younger sibling of Infinia; it's a good card with minimal exclusions and many opportunities to earn points; the overall earning rate is still lower. With SmartBuy or spending in exception categories, I can manage to earn some points, but my plan is to contact customer care to request a lifetime free status after 6-8 months. This will eliminate any pressure to spend on that card, allowing me to keep it indefinitely. For now, I may plan to spend 1 lakh in 90 days to obtain the joining benefits, but there’s nothing particularly special about that.
Thanks bhai. Yes this was another perspective I wanted. I need to reshuffle the points I collect.
Need to get out of Marriott - you are right.
I think I am still not eligible for DCBM as per HDFC's criteria, will try after 6 months.
TravelOne - I was still thinking whether to take or not (only because I don't like HSBC)
Atlas - I will stop at 7.5 - 8 once I have the other cards. Will plan but overall your idea is fine. Thanks!
Axis Atlas - 15 lakhs
Amex Plat Travel - 4 lakhs
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - 6 lakhs for FNA
Regalia Gold - 4 lakhs for fee waiver, 1.5 lakh/quarter and 5 or 7.5 lakh/year for milestones
I need to spend a minimum of 19 lakhs and a maximum of 29 lakhs in a year to reach the milestones or fee waivers for all these cards.
Among these, Atlas and Plat Travel are my primary cards for all spending, and I can easily achieve their milestones. Since they are my daily drivers, I don’t feel any pressure to use those cards; it happens naturally.
While I don’t typically spend much on the Marriott card, there are times when Marriott offers promotions that provide 5% more Marriott points for spending a certain amount during the offer period. As a result, I end up spending around 4-6 lakhs on that card each year. The base rate is not very rewarding. Only through offers or SmartBuy spends can I earn more than 5% on this card. I primarily use this card for Marriott points.
Next is Regalia Gold. The base rate here is also quite low. Although we can view it as the younger sibling of Infinia; it's a good card with minimal exclusions and many opportunities to earn points; the overall earning rate is still lower. With SmartBuy or spending in exception categories, I can manage to earn some points, but my plan is to contact customer care to request a lifetime free status after 6-8 months. This will eliminate any pressure to spend on that card, allowing me to keep it indefinitely. For now, I may plan to spend 1 lakh in 90 days to obtain the joining benefits, but there’s nothing particularly special about that.
For such a high monthly spending [2.5L/month], other cards would really be helpful like M4B.
Cards like Regalia and marriott would not serve the purpose. Plus without smartbuy and only based on yearly offer hdfc doesn't provide much of a value.
Thanks @sunit123, @Kabir_1112 The most important thing is I am not eligible for M4B, Premier, Infinia, EPM etc.
Monthly salary is only 2L. Spends are high, income is not that much high 🙁
Thanks @sunit123, @Kabir_1112 The most important thing is I am not eligible for M4B, Premier, Infinia, EPM etc.
Monthly salary is only 2L. Spends are high, income is not that much high 🙁
We plan something but God decides different things for us.
First of all, sorry for coming back and forth again on this.
I was searching for a salary account and had tried and tested multiple banks. Started with Citi in 2012 - that was good till they closed down. I didn't opt to move to Axis.
Instead I moved to ICICI - I had a lot of bad experiences from the customer care and staff. Their products are just garbage, without any premium value.
Coming from Citi, I felt too mediocre with ICICI. Also, they juggled with previlege banking, wealth banking, and other such stuff. their credit cards were also below average, nothing exciting.
Then I closed ICICI and moved to HSBC - I had a very short stint with HSBC in 2011-12 and that time it was good. But this time I felt that their mobile app and tech are still stuck in 2012 and not moved forward. They were super slow and not transparent at all. I being impatient, was too diificult for me to work with them and decided to moved on.
I then opened a salary account with HDFC - surprisingly, it was too good for me. I had nothing but good experiences from HDFC throughout. Till now, I am happy with HDFC - even though I have only the preferred account. HDF being the leader of Indian credit card market, and having a bunch of very good cards, I am happy that I could get most of the cards that I wanted - HDFC Swiggy, Tata Neu Infinity, Marriott Bonvoy and Regalia Gold.
With their entry and retention conditions too high and becoming stricter for DCB and Infinia, I don't think I will be eligible for these cards anytime soon.
They are also bringing a lot of restrictions on getting the card, spend conditions for retaining the cards, avenues for earning points and transfer partners are good, but 70% golden handcuff for redeeming them via smartbuy.
As for my cards, yearly I am spending the majority on Atlas and Platinum Travel (~19L), a small portion on Swiggy and Tata Neu cards (~5L), and another small portion on Regalia Gold and Marriott cards (~5L). Howmuchever I disagree and resist, I need to accept the fact that my overall spends are around 30L per year. Some months heavier and some months lesser.
That's when some experienced people of this forum to suggested to move to Magnus for Burgundy from Axis - where the overall returns would be much higher compared to these smaller ones.
Today I visited three banks -
1. ICICI - To close my salary account. They accepted the request, They gave a form to sign. The BM tried to persuade me to continue as savings account, but I didn't want any more relationship with them.
2. HSBC - To give one more chance. Mainly because they are rising in the credit card market and coming up with good offers etc. That's when they told me that they are hiking the eligibility of Premier to 3.5L from Jan 2026 onwards. If I choose HSBC, I need to open their normal salary account and get going with that. I wil never reach Premier anytime. But I decided not to go with HSBC again.
3. Axis - I know that they offer Burgundy salary account for 2L+ salary credit as my company is in class A tier. Plus I spoke to the credit card RM and she told that I can get M4B soon after opening the account and first salary credit (directly as M4B and not magnus and upgrade). This seemed to light a bulb in my head. If I move my salary account to Axis, I would get Burgundy account + M4B card. The drawback is 30k fees which I feel is a little higher for me. The higest fee card that I have now is 5000+GST. Plus I am still not sure if M4B is really for me, or I can continue with the existing cards.
If I move to M4B, there are some things that I need to consider:
1. I will have to route all my spends on this card, leaving behind all the other cards - to meet 1.5L+ for AEP.
2. I will have to use the voucher route a lot because there are many exclusions for M4B and I need to cover for all of that.
3. See if the exclusions are same as Atlas, (I need points on education fees payment, rest is still fine)
4. Be prepared for frequent changes and devaluations, especially M4B deval is round the corner and can be expected any time.
5. Need to decide what to do with other cards. I may continue Atlas, Plat Travel, Regalia Gold, and Marriott but with reduced spends.
6. Current credit limit on Atlas is only 1.56L, I need to increase it heavily.
Two more things I need to consider:
1. Most importantly if I loose my job at any point, how do I continue with this? (I may close the account and card, and continue with lower cards)
2. What should I do with the existing HDFC preferred salary account? (I may mostly continue it because overall I had good experience with HDFC)
But it was surprising to me that I am eligible for M4B and can get it. I was thinking I was not eligible for the super premium cards in the same league (like EPM, Premier, Infinia, etc). I am overall happy with Atlas, ans I expect a similar experience with Burgundy and M4B as well.
There is only one big expense coming up this year - a house construction, and at this point, I am not sure how much will be the total cost, I expect it to be somewhere around 40L and I am not sure how much of that can be spent using the card. Because it is not a builder, and we still haven't decided whether to give as contract or pay as you go for construction, it's in the very early phase now.
I also need to know the point earning structure of M4B. I know it is 12ER/200 and 35ER/200 above 1.5L.
1. Like Atlas, does it give any accelerated points for direct flight bookings from airline website?
2. Like Atlas, does it give any accelerated points for direct hotel bookings from hotel website or offline swipes at hotels?
3. General search shows that it gives 60ER/200 for TravelEdge, is it still giving that? (I maynot use TravelEdge often)
4. Is education spends covered in M4B?
Lastly, after all this, if I am NOT going with M4B, I will continue with Atlas, Plat Travel, Regalia Gold, (and TravelOne).
