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Pathetic HDFC Bank Experience

vishp

TF Select
VIP Lounge
I have been a longtime HDFC customer from past 8 years. I have studied from a premium college and now earn approx 2 LPA net in-hand.
I just started my credit card journey this year and after going through many posts in this forum, asked my RM if I can get DCB Lifetime free. If not, then atleast Regalia Gold. He said I can't get them Lifetime free. I asked whether I can get atleast Millenia Lifetime free. He said I can't get any card as LTF! And then started talking about ULIP and I can get even Infinia with ULIP itseems. Bl**dy salesmen.
Complained on Twitter, Email, Escalated, but nothing. Got one mail from grievance that all cards are paid and thats it. No replies to further mails. Such horrible experience.
Was an advocate of HDFC Bank till now but not anymore. Thinking of switching salary account and all funds out.
 
Speaking of HDFC experiences.. I have been into a little financial consolidation, with respect to my bank accounts and credit cards, to make some room for Infinia, just to ensure that under no situation does it get rejected even after a ULIP. Hence have not been logging in here for some days, too!

So, I wanted a choice number for an HDFC account, and paid them an IP of 5 lakh. Cheque was encashed on 15th. Today is 17th and the account is not yet opened. I am not worried about account not opening, I am just a little miffed thinking about the loss of interest, however small.

Per day that HDFC does not show 5 lakh in my account, I lose INR 41. It is 2 days now. My query is simple: will the bank start my interest tally from the day I see the new account in my customer ID or will they start my interest tally from the day they enchased the cheque?

I do not want to talk to the branch or write a mail, because I know this is going to be a fruitless exercise. Not even RBI will likely entertain this simple query if I tell them that the bank is not telling me about it. Asking any financial person or banker here, how it goes. 🙂
U will get 750 a month dw 😅
 
What would it be like , if @kunal.exe had referred his RM as " She ghosted him" 😉 ..
Would the passport photo had worked in his favour??
You want LTF card.

HDFC wants ULIP sales.

Meet them somewhere in the middle, ranting to Grievance won't help with random LTF card requests.
Haha...😂 both are part of same analogy - Quid pro quo, you give me something I give you something, only difference is @coolguy1's example can can be explained and well @S S V's comment is explicit.😆
 
In nutshell, the choice is simple.


Haggle For Infinia
- spend lakhs per year to show eligibility,​
- show ITR,​
- keep balances.​

This takes a long time and involves spending lakhs that may or may not have been necessary expenditure, and you still may not get it. You are also seen as desperate to the bank, and in your own eyes.


Purchase Infinia
- take a ULIP,​
- get upgraded to Imperia and use its benefits if you need (locker and others, if you are not Classic/ Preferred already),​
- relatively surer route to Infinia with a lot less hassle.​

This route also keeps you on top of the bank as you are buying the darned thing, and are choosing not to spend lakhs to get it and spend years for it. It helps with your own sense of worth, as you are simply using your own money to get the most value from it where you see fit. You do not spend lakhs on things you do not need, but are investing your money and getting returns and tax benefits on it (ULIP).

So, considering all 'expenses' to get Infinia, you are truly better off with a ULIP-based Infinia approach, that is, for those who do not fulfil the criteria otherwise.


As @S S V said, no use continuously repeating and explaining themselves for their choices and the routes they take in life for what they want. Everything is about perspective, anyway.
You have just reinforced what I was saying with regard to ULIP and "paying for infinia". See your own HDFC bank experience. Now will you still just trust some RM and open an ULIP and endlessly wait for infinia (especially relevant as no one if committing it in writing)?

Also soon you will realize Imperia as useless as it gets in premium banking. All those benefits are all on paper and you will have to run around to actuallly get those - especially locker.
 
So I go to buy a car. There is a Hyndai Creta for 20 lakhs but I like a Mercedes E class better at 70 lakhs. Now you ask me, would I have still paid 70 lakhs for the car if that E Class had not been a Mercedes? This is the kind of logic you are discussing. Everyone understands that this investment is just a means of getting the Infinia. Whether is makes less returns, goes negative or even if the return is zero, is completely immaterial to me. Just like a customer is happy to pay an extra 50 lakhs to enjoy a higher quality Mercedes even though it won’t make sense from a financial perspective, similarly, having their highest card without hassle is absolutely worth this extra cost to me. Even if I knew that I would lose 50% of my investment, I would still do it as it would be completely worth it. After all, people pay 1 lakh as fee on some cards. They know it is a bad investment. That’s why they are dangling their most desired product with it. That’s how things work. You pay something to get something.
Finally, it really isn’t a bad investment but that isn’t the point. Just assume they charged an extra fee. They said that customers who were not eligible otherwise could get it by paying 50k extra per year. I would have been completely fine with it.

Once again, I repeat that if a person has only 2 lakhs a year to invest or if thier total amount available to invest is small, like say 5 lakhs and thus this 2 lakhs is a significant portion of it and if their future retirement and investment plans depend on how well this 2 lakhs invested per year fares, then they should look for better investment options. Just like a person on a 10 lakhs per annum salary should avoid buying a Mercedes. For me, this amount is comparatively minor and if the return generated after 10 or 20 years is 10 or 20 lakhs less, it would make no practical difference to my financial situation.
Didnt I say the same thing in my earlier posts? However with banks, idiotic RMs will push ppl with 10 lakh income to invest 2.5 L in ULIPS by showing carrot of infinia (which will soon be devalued once reserve is launched). The whole point of my posts were to highlight to not get trapped in ULIPs unless you really know what you are doing.
 
Okay, point noted .. you are correct..
Let’s move on…
Why stop discussions on ULIP for Infinia, it is what providing me masala daily on this forum. Just type ULIP somewhere in the forum in any unrelated thread we will have investment police appear before us. Jokes aside, it is fine until the discussions are healthy and you get to know new things. Apart from that it your money, you choose what to do, spend it to get Infinia or burn it to get some heat.
 
Didnt I say the same thing in my earlier posts? However with banks, idiotic RMs will push ppl with 10 lakh income to invest 2.5 L in ULIPS by showing carrot of infinia (which will soon be devalued once reserve is launched). The whole point of my posts were to highlight to not get trapped in ULIPs unless you really know what you are doing.
And the whole point of my post was that some people see value in things that others don't. There are too many variables. Let's say a person is making 15 lakhs a year. He has some fixed deposits but no investment in equity. His fixed deposits are earning 7% (around 5.5 after tax). He wants an Infinia for whatever reason. Now he ends up buying a ULIP which as per some people here is a terrible investment. His ULIP earns him 12% tax free in 10 years. Let's accept it is less than 15% he would have earned in some other investment. Still, isn't he better off getting a tax free 12% on the ULIP rather than 5.5% on FDs he would have otherwise kept his money in? So there are a lot of variables.
 
While pouring money into ULIPs to get in return an infinia, never forget that INFINIA is not forever. They can devaluate it or even scrap it next week (never forget what they did to Magnus), if they want to, while your ULIP is pretty much carved on stone and you are obligated till the maturity period.

Understand the difference between RIGHTS and OBLIGATION before trading ULIP for an INFINIA. There is a reason why banks make money, even when we don't feel like losing our money to banks.
 
While pouring money into ULIPs to get in return an infinia, never forget that INFINIA is not forever. They can devaluate it or even scrap it next week (never forget what they did to Magnus), if they want to, while your ULIP is pretty much carved on stone and you are obligated till the maturity period.

Understand the difference between RIGHTS and OBLIGATION before trading ULIP for an INFINIA. There is a reason why banks make money, even when we don't feel like losing our money to banks.
Makes no difference. At least you are holding their premium card with a high limit along with Imperia banking. What you pay for the ULIP is such a tiny amount that I am surprised people keep obsessing over it. Don't people take a trip to Europe or Singapore and spend lakhs? What financial value is there in it? Don't people buy a more expensive car and spend lakhs? It's just 2 odd lakhs per year and that is not being spent. It is being INVESTED. Why worry so much?
 
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Didn't you just say you dont want to provide masala 😉😉?
The real masala is here:..
 
we are all expecting too much from banks.. they are all the same.. go with the flow.. banks will themselves contact you with good options.. the more you chase the more frustrating it is...
True !! Its better to focus on other important things or more productive things in life rather than chase for these petty cashbacks. In this competitive world everyone wants to do business & it has become a give & take relationship !! so just don't waste your precious brain in these silly things. Jaisa chal raha hai waisa chale do agar kuch hoga toh samne se ayega ..In last 1 year I got upgrade to Classic -> Preferred -> Infinia & LTF Regalia Gold without chasing anyone. My RM also doesn't SPAM me
 
True !! Its better to focus on other important things or more productive things in life rather than chase for these petty cashbacks. In this competitive world everyone wants to do business & it has become a give & take relationship !! so just don't waste your precious brain in these silly things. Jaisa chal raha hai waisa chale do agar kuch hoga toh samne se ayega ..In last 1 year I got upgrade to Classic -> Preferred -> Infinia & LTF Regalia Gold without chasing anyone. My RM also doesn't SPAM me
How you got the Regalia Gold LTF? Through Netbanking or RM?
 
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