Hey everyone!
I’ve been seeing so many people enjoying free airport lounge access, and I really wanted to try it too — but I didn’t have any credit card that offered it.
I had my flight from Delhi to Hyderabad on October 24th, so about two weeks before that, I started researching how I could get free lounge access. I checked all my cards — Swiggy HDFC, SBI Cashback, AU LIT, IndusInd Legend, and Slice. Unfortunately, IndusInd Legend had stopped lounge access months ago, and AU LIT was offering only one airport lounge for ₹399. I wanted it completely free, so I kept searching… but no luck.
Then I found out that some debit cards also offer airport lounge access! I had a regular savings account with HDFC, and saw that the HDFC Platinum Debit Card gives free lounge visits. So, on October 13th, I upgraded my account to Savings Max through the HDFC online portal. Within two hours, I got a confirmation message, and later a call from a local bank employee explaining the benefits.
I asked him about the debit card, and he told me to apply from MobileBanking. It showed some card charges, but he said that since I have a Savings Max account, the amount wouldn’t actually be deducted — and even if it was, they’d refund it. I went ahead and applied, and got the card on October 20th.
While checking how to use it for lounge access, I found out that you need to spend ₹5,000 per calendar quarter to activate this benefit. That made me a little sad 😅… but then I saw in the terms and conditions that for new cards, this spending requirement doesn’t apply for the first calendar quarter! That made me really happy again.
Meanwhile, I also wanted to apply for the HDFC Millennia Credit Card, so I called the same bank employee who had helped me before. He suggested closing my HDFC Swiggy Credit Card and updating my annual income to at least ₹5 lakhs (apparently, it was incorrectly entered as ₹2 lakhs earlier).
My HDFC Swiggy Card was already more than one year old, with an initial limit of ₹50,000 — and during that entire time, I never received any limit increase offer. But after upgrading my account to Savings Max and/or updating my annual income, I finally got a pre-approved limit increase to ₹67,000 on October 22nd. That was a nice surprise!
Finally, on October 24th, I reached Delhi Airport (Terminal 3) and went straight to the Encalm Lounge. I gave them my HDFC debit card — they did a ₹2 transaction — and I got access! I can’t describe how happy I was at that moment. I ate a lot… seriously, a lot 😄. The food was amazing and the overall experience was just great.
And then, the free meal on my Air India flight made me even happier. Even though I was already full, I still ate — haha! Now, I’ll be flying back from Hyderabad in about two weeks and plan to try the lounge there too, since this card offers two free airport lounge visits per quarter.
Overall, I’m super happy with this experience and really impressed with HDFC’s services. Totally worth it! 🙌
Edit:
Also, should I close the HDFC Swiggy card or wait for Paytm to show some HDFC card offers? Or any other working method is there?
I’ve been seeing so many people enjoying free airport lounge access, and I really wanted to try it too — but I didn’t have any credit card that offered it.
I had my flight from Delhi to Hyderabad on October 24th, so about two weeks before that, I started researching how I could get free lounge access. I checked all my cards — Swiggy HDFC, SBI Cashback, AU LIT, IndusInd Legend, and Slice. Unfortunately, IndusInd Legend had stopped lounge access months ago, and AU LIT was offering only one airport lounge for ₹399. I wanted it completely free, so I kept searching… but no luck.
Then I found out that some debit cards also offer airport lounge access! I had a regular savings account with HDFC, and saw that the HDFC Platinum Debit Card gives free lounge visits. So, on October 13th, I upgraded my account to Savings Max through the HDFC online portal. Within two hours, I got a confirmation message, and later a call from a local bank employee explaining the benefits.
I asked him about the debit card, and he told me to apply from MobileBanking. It showed some card charges, but he said that since I have a Savings Max account, the amount wouldn’t actually be deducted — and even if it was, they’d refund it. I went ahead and applied, and got the card on October 20th.
While checking how to use it for lounge access, I found out that you need to spend ₹5,000 per calendar quarter to activate this benefit. That made me a little sad 😅… but then I saw in the terms and conditions that for new cards, this spending requirement doesn’t apply for the first calendar quarter! That made me really happy again.
Meanwhile, I also wanted to apply for the HDFC Millennia Credit Card, so I called the same bank employee who had helped me before. He suggested closing my HDFC Swiggy Credit Card and updating my annual income to at least ₹5 lakhs (apparently, it was incorrectly entered as ₹2 lakhs earlier).
My HDFC Swiggy Card was already more than one year old, with an initial limit of ₹50,000 — and during that entire time, I never received any limit increase offer. But after upgrading my account to Savings Max and/or updating my annual income, I finally got a pre-approved limit increase to ₹67,000 on October 22nd. That was a nice surprise!
Finally, on October 24th, I reached Delhi Airport (Terminal 3) and went straight to the Encalm Lounge. I gave them my HDFC debit card — they did a ₹2 transaction — and I got access! I can’t describe how happy I was at that moment. I ate a lot… seriously, a lot 😄. The food was amazing and the overall experience was just great.
And then, the free meal on my Air India flight made me even happier. Even though I was already full, I still ate — haha! Now, I’ll be flying back from Hyderabad in about two weeks and plan to try the lounge there too, since this card offers two free airport lounge visits per quarter.
Overall, I’m super happy with this experience and really impressed with HDFC’s services. Totally worth it! 🙌
Edit:
Also, should I close the HDFC Swiggy card or wait for Paytm to show some HDFC card offers? Or any other working method is there?
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