My HDFC credit card journey and the way forward

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

I am someone who spoiled many good chances of getting better cards early on. But HDFC has been overall good to me, and nothing went wrose.
When I started my credit card journey, I was not aware about core/cobranded problems of HDFC.
I have posted in different threads about these milestones but I thought a dedicated post will help to document everything in one place.
Here's a rough timeline of my journey with HDFC so far:

• April 2023: Applied and got Tata Neu Plus FYF (Limit 86k)
• July 2023: Closed Neu Plus permanently (Because I wanted Infinity)
• November 2023: Applied and got Swiggy (Paid 500 JF + 500 AF, Limit: 1.25L)
• September 2024: Credit limit of Swiggy card increased to 1.52L
• October 2024: Applied and got Neu Infinity. (FYF, same limit, 1.52L)
• November 2024: Got both Neu and Swiggy converted to LTF
• December 2024: Opened HDFC salary account (Preferred variant)
• January 2025 onwards: Salary started crediting in HDFC account (net monthly: 2L)
• March 2025: Limits of Neu Infinity and Swiggy enhanced to 7.63L (used these cards extensively in the last 2 months)
• May-end 2025: Waited for 2-3 months but no preapproved offers have come yet.
• May 26-29. 2025: Applied for Freedom card via Paytm, got it approved & received the physical card. Same limit as other existing cards.
• June 1 2025: Applied for Mariott Bonvoy card. got rejected. (will have to wait for cooling period to apply for a new card)
• June 2 2025: Wrote mail to greivence redressal and PNO to upgrade Freedom card. Waiting for their response.
• June 10, 2025: Mariott card approved. (VKYC, address verification etc completed last week)
• June 11, 2025: Upgrade request rejected by PNO/GRO (Freedom to RG/DCB)
• November 21, 2025: Credit limit on all cards increased to 7.93L
• December 16, 2025: Got approval to upgrade from Freedom to Regalia Gold (FYF)

As of now I am standing with 4 cards - HDFC Swiggy, Tata Neu Infinity, Mariott Bonvoy, and Freedom.
My future plan is to upgrade Freedom to a better core card - RG/DCB/Infinia and also to get the MB card.
I will also have to change/alter my spend patterns to align with the best case usage of these cards.
There is a long way to go in front of me. I will update my future journey here as and when it happens.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

What a beautiful day today is! Got upgraded from Freedom to Regalia Gold (FYF) 🎉 🎁 🎂
I am very happy.

At the outset, we wish to inform you that your card membership and patronage to HDFC Bank is extremely important to us. We assure you that at HDFC Bank, we are committed to resolve your queries in all earnestness.

We acknowledge the income documents shared in your recent email, and confirm that the same has been taken up for an appropriate review. We wish to clarify that your request for card upgrade has been reviewed in line with the bank’s internal review and policy guidelines. In view of the same, we are willing to offer an upgrade of your existing HDFC Freedom credit card to Regalia Gold credit card with the first year free and a partial transfer of your reward points (i.e., 30%).

Accordingly, the renewal fee of Rs. 2,500 plus GST is applicable from the second year onwards which shall be waived upon achieving the spend threshold of Rs. 400,000 or more in the previous 12 months.

We request you to refer to the link below to know about the features and benefits of Regalia Gold credit card.
Link: https://www.hdfc.bank.in/credit-car...organic_breadcrumb:link:regaliagoldcreditcard
To proceed further, we request you provide the below confirmation vide return e-mail address by December 20, 2025, for us to take it up for further review.
1. Your consent for card upgrade mentioning the last four digits of your current card number-
2. Credit Card variant to be upgraded-
3. Acceptance towards renewal membership fee (first year free and not life time free offer) -
4. Acceptance towards transfer of Reward points -
5. Acceptance to credit bureau verification-

 

[HumorSimpson]

What a beautiful day today is! Got upgraded from Freedom to Regalia Gold (FYF) 🎉 🎁 🎂
I am very happy.

At the outset, we wish to inform you that your card membership and patronage to HDFC Bank is extremely important to us. We assure you that at HDFC Bank, we are committed to resolve your queries in all earnestness.

We acknowledge the income documents shared in your recent email, and confirm that the same has been taken up for an appropriate review. We wish to clarify that your request for card upgrade has been reviewed in line with the bank’s internal review and policy guidelines. In view of the same, we are willing to offer an upgrade of your existing HDFC Freedom credit card to Regalia Gold credit card with the first year free and a partial transfer of your reward points (i.e., 30%).

Accordingly, the renewal fee of Rs. 2,500 plus GST is applicable from the second year onwards which shall be waived upon achieving the spend threshold of Rs. 400,000 or more in the previous 12 months.

We request you to refer to the link below to know about the features and benefits of Regalia Gold credit card.
Link: https://www.hdfc.bank.in/credit-car...organic_breadcrumb:link:regaliagoldcreditcard
To proceed further, we request you provide the below confirmation vide return e-mail address by December 20, 2025, for us to take it up for further review.
1. Your consent for card upgrade mentioning the last four digits of your current card number-
2. Credit Card variant to be upgraded-
3. Acceptance towards renewal membership fee (first year free and not life time free offer) -
4. Acceptance towards transfer of Reward points -
5. Acceptance to credit bureau verification-

I have been skipping this regalia gold upgrade from millenia for the past 6 months, as I can't sacrifice millenia card 💳.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

I have been skipping this regalia gold upgrade from millenia for the past 6 months, as I can't sacrifice millenia card 💳.

yes millenia is a great cashback card. As long as you are in the cashback ecosystem, do not lose it.

 

[HumorSimpson]

yes millenia is a great cashback card. As long as you are in the cashback ecosystem, do not lose it.

I get 1% cb for Edu fee and an extra 1% as milestone hit on millenia. On regalia gold the base reward rate on these spends is pathetic.

 

[Sree CC]

What a beautiful day today is! Got upgraded from Freedom to Regalia Gold (FYF) 🎉 🎁 🎂
I am very happy.

At the outset, we wish to inform you that your card membership and patronage to HDFC Bank is extremely important to us. We assure you that at HDFC Bank, we are committed to resolve your queries in all earnestness.

We acknowledge the income documents shared in your recent email, and confirm that the same has been taken up for an appropriate review. We wish to clarify that your request for card upgrade has been reviewed in line with the bank’s internal review and policy guidelines. In view of the same, we are willing to offer an upgrade of your existing HDFC Freedom credit card to Regalia Gold credit card with the first year free and a partial transfer of your reward points (i.e., 30%).

Accordingly, the renewal fee of Rs. 2,500 plus GST is applicable from the second year onwards which shall be waived upon achieving the spend threshold of Rs. 400,000 or more in the previous 12 months.

We request you to refer to the link below to know about the features and benefits of Regalia Gold credit card.
Link: https://www.hdfc.bank.in/credit-car...organic_breadcrumb:link:regaliagoldcreditcard
To proceed further, we request you provide the below confirmation vide return e-mail address by December 20, 2025, for us to take it up for further review.
1. Your consent for card upgrade mentioning the last four digits of your current card number-
2. Credit Card variant to be upgraded-
3. Acceptance towards renewal membership fee (first year free and not life time free offer) -
4. Acceptance towards transfer of Reward points -
5. Acceptance to credit bureau verification-

 

[Sree CC]

I get 1% cb for Edu fee and an extra 1% as milestone hit on millenia. On regalia gold the base reward rate on these spends is pathetic.

Members of Millennia family

 

[iamdhamo]

Members of Millennia family

How to redeem the milestone benefit in millenia

 

[Sree CC]

How to redeem the milestone benefit in millenia

I am also new to Millennia, Recently got upgraded to it.

 

[HumorSimpson]

How to redeem the milestone benefit in millenia

You get a detailed email with link to redeem

 

[Hemang]

Bh

You get a detailed email with link to redeem

Bhai millenia convert Kara kya rupay me ? Is there any added advantage over visa variant ?

 

[HumorSimpson]

Bh

Bhai millenia convert Kara kya rupay me ? Is there any added advantage over visa variant ?

I didn't do as I see no point in it for me as all my rupay spends are on kiwi

 

[nh124001]

main toh soch raha hu.. regalia gold se millenia karva lu

 

[Satyarthi]

😅 My Insane Credit Card Game with HDFC
My credit card journey started small: an HDFC MoneyBack card with a measly ₹80,000 limit. Once I learned that the Millennia upgrade needed a ₹1 Lakh limit, I figured, "Why not try?"
I emailed HDFC asking for the upgrade. They said no instantly. I replied, buttering them up with loyalty talk (even though all I had was a zero-balance account and that small card) and attached my ITR to look serious.
They blinked! They replied saying I needed the ₹1 Lakh limit first and asked if I'd accept a CIBIL hit. I immediately said yes. Boom—limit jumped to ₹1 Lakh. Then, they processed the Millennia upgrade, confirming it was First Year Free (FYF).
A few months later, I saw people switching to the Rupay variant. Sent one quick email, and the conversion was done—easy peasy.
Now for the real game: the Lifetime Free (LTF) status. My Millennia was only about 5-6 months old when I started pushing for this. I tried twice, but they denied it, sticking to the FYF agreement. On the third try, I sent a strongly worded email, basically complaining that they treated new customers better than old ones.
They took a week to think about it. Then, they replied, saying, "It's LTF now." I was confused since they had just denied it! After another email from me asking for final clarity, the Customer Care Head called me directly. He confirmed the card was officially LTF. I got the confirmation email a few hours later.
I basically took a small-limit, MoneyBack card and turned it into a Rupay Millennia that is Lifetime Free—all through stubborn emailing!