Shall I take HDFC diners black CC?

[sanjaynandi]

Hi, I have regalia card with high limit. thinking of getting DCB card. I might get it due to some specific condition. if i dont get it free then i will not accept.
i always prefer cashback card. but this is rewards. will this be useful? my expenses are less. i book cheap hotels. i dont play golf or dont require costly service which this kind card
holders usually do. my annual expense will be around 5 - 6 lakhs max or 4lakhs average..
my expense are electric bill, prepaid phone, internet, insurance, some flight tickets, big basket, some movie ticket, medicine purchase from 1mg etc. plz advice.

 

[Zacobite]

Hi, I have regalia card with high limit. thinking of getting DCB card. I might get it due to some specific condition. if i dont get it free then i will not accept.
i always prefer cashback card. but this is rewards. will this be useful? my expenses are less. i book cheap hotels. i dont play golf or dont require costly service which this kind card
holders usually do. my annual expense will be around 5 - 6 lakhs max or 4lakhs average..
my expense are electric bill, prepaid phone, internet, insurance, some flight tickets, big basket, some movie ticket, medicine purchase from 1mg etc. plz advice.

fee reversed only after 5 L spends p. a.. good card if LTF.. if u don't spend high amounts then don't take paid DCB

 

[PiperatGatesofDawn]

While I have no idea about the Regalia card... your spending seems largely standard household expenditures without being particularly skewed to any one thing.

More importantly, it's what kind of rewards you're seeking that's important. I don't think the cashback on DCB is great. Then again, I have no idea how well it compares against Regalia. Unless you're looking at building miles I can't imagine there's significant benefit in moving to DCB.

Of course if you're only going to take it if it is free - then I guess there's very limited downside unless the cashback vs Regalia is dismal! That's the only thing to consider.

 

[sanjaynandi]

fee reversed only after 5 L spends p. a.. good card if LTF.. if u don't spend high amounts then don't take paid DCB

i will apply based on alumni of IIT. regalia limit is 490,000. i wont take it if not LTF.

 

[sanjaynandi]

While I have no idea about the Regalia card... your spending seems largely standard household expenditures without being particularly skewed to any one thing.

More importantly, it's what kind of rewards you're seeking that's important. I don't think the cashback on DCB is great. Then again, I have no idea how well it compares against Regalia. Unless you're looking at building miles I can't imagine there's significant benefit in moving to DCB.

Of course if you're only going to take it if it is free - then I guess there's very limited downside unless the cashback vs Regalia is dismal! That's the only thing to consider.

Yes, expense are standard household expense. Is there particular benefit of buying flight ticket using DCB? I usually book flights from MMT or cleartrip or airasia just by checking which ever is having some deal by some credit card. I do international travel twice a year. Total flight travel 5-6 times max a year. Sometimes flight provided by company...

 

[NOOBY]

my expense are electric bill, prepaid phone, internet, insurance, some flight tickets, big basket, some movie ticket, medicine purchase from 1mg etc. plz advice.

maybe go with Tata Neu card as you use BB and 1mg (if you don't have)

If you have that, then go with DCB (LTF preferred) for unlimited lounge access (as its offline acceptance is still low)

 

[PiperatGatesofDawn]

Is there particular benefit of buying flight ticket using DCB?

Since you asked that question. For you the answer is "No". 🙂

Unless you're interested in the miles game. I.e. acquiring miles for Business & First class redemption there's little value in DCB for others.

 

[smuff]

Booking flights using hdfc smartbuy portal with DCB card has 16% rewards of accelarated at 5x points (3.3% base reward point), train ticket gives 2x, hotel booking gives 10x reward point which is 33%.
Redeem these points at smartbuy for flight and hotel booking at value of Rs 1 for each point which is great.

 

[gurubhai]

i will apply based on alumni of IIT. regalia limit is 490,000. i wont take it if not LTF.

If your salary satisfy DCB criteria(net salary > 1.75L pm), you will get it LTF.
You don't have to worry at all.
.
And if you book some flight tickets(at least 5-6 in a year), you will be able to take full advantage of this card.
Been using it for last 8 months and it totally worth it.

 

[sanjaynandi]

If your salary satisfy DCB criteria(net salary > 1.75L pm), you will get it LTF.
You don't have to worry at all.
.
And if you book some flight tickets(at least 5-6 in a year), you will be able to take full advantage of this card.
Been using it for last 8 months and it totally worth it.

I went to hdfc branch and asked about it. the bank guy does not know alumni offer on DCB. I told my salary reaching 175k. he said still need to pay 10K annual fees. I am sure that guy does not know this. this is the problem with banks. he also said to open an account to process it easier against the existing account.

 

[sanjaynandi]

If your salary satisfy DCB criteria(net salary > 1.75L pm), you will get it LTF.
You don't have to worry at all.
.
And if you book some flight tickets(at least 5-6 in a year), you will be able to take full advantage of this card.
Been using it for last 8 months and it totally worth it.

Yes I have average 2 international trips a year. 2-3 domestic travel a year. If i buy using tickets from smartbuy, are the ticket prices higher than other sites? I usually check google flights and which website shows lower price i go with that, mostly there are offers in MMT, so I buy from MMT.

 

[hello11]

You can use smartbuy for flights(5X) and hotels(10X) - but it's capped at 2500 reward points per day for DCB.

DCB is better than Regalia if you get it LTF - you also get unlimited lounge access. Get it with Alumni offer if you have a backup card where diners isn't accepted.

 

[hello11]

I went to hdfc branch and asked about it. the bank guy does not know alumni offer on DCB. I told my salary reaching 175k. he said still need to pay 10K annual fees. I am sure that guy does not know this. this is the problem with banks. he also said to open an account to process it easier against the existing account.

Send mail to grievance.redressalcc@hdfcbank.com - they will process alumni offer

 

[sanjaynandi]

You can use smartbuy for flights(5X) and hotels(10X) - but it's capped at 2500 reward points per day for DCB.

DCB is better than Regalia if you get it LTF - you also get unlimited lounge access. Get it with Alumni offer if you have a backup card where diners isn't accepted.

I have multiple back up cards, like axis FK LTF, hdfc tata neu LTF. I am wondering how I did not know about DCB all these years.

 

[gurubhai]

Yes I have average 2 international trips a year. 2-3 domestic travel a year. If i buy using tickets from smartbuy, are the ticket prices higher than other sites? I usually check google flights and which website shows lower price i go with that, mostly there are offers in MMT, so I buy from MMT.

For Domestic I can confirm that it is always same what is shown on other sites. But still many users complain the price on smart buy is higher. So there is little possibility that it might depend on source and destination.

the bank guy does not know alumni offer on DCB.

Yes even in my brothers case they were unsure so we ask them to confirm with higher authority. Then they agreed but ask him to open savings account. Now as he was on work from home, his application still got rejected because of office was in different city.
So point is hdfc guys are weird and they might reject for any reason... example - if your work place is not in 200km range from your address.
Just follow the steps mentioned here, it might help

DCB - How to get HDFC Diners Club Credit Card Life Time Free

Hello Everyone, HDFC Bank runs a special Diners Institute Program for the people who have either completed their education from the list of institutes mentioned below link or are part of the Club mentioned in the below link: List of Eligible Institute & Club Link: Link Under this program, you...

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[ankitfintech]

Can we get add-on card for HDFC DCB acquired under alumni program? Also who is allowed to be added for add-on card? Wife/children/parents/brother?

 

[gurubhai]

Can we get add-on card for HDFC DCB acquired under alumni program? Also who is allowed to be added for add-on card? Wife/children/parents/brother?

Yes All of them are eligible 🙂 but max limit is 3 or 4 addon cards.
if they have hdfc account, process is very smooth otherwise you need to visit bank to get addon.

 

[NewUser]

my expense are electric bill, prepaid phone, internet, insurance, some flight tickets, big basket, some movie ticket, medicine purchase from 1mg etc. plz advice.

You can purchase GYFTR vouchers from Smartbuy for all these items(if some item in unavailable, you can purchase Amazon voucher and pay via Amazon Pay during checkout). While Regalia will also give you points on these, DCB will give higher accelerated points.

Last checked, DCB gives 1:1 reward option against flight and hotels(please verify this information once). So, you can book flights and redeem the points. As you said you travel international, 70% points will easily be redeemed in booking tickets for just one round trip.

I'd suggest you to take DCB. The only caveat is Regalia's acceptance being more than DCB, but you already mentioned you have other cards for that purpose.

 

[rkg]

DCB is far ahead of Regalia in all aspects except acceptance. Default reward rate on DCB is 3.3% for flights and hotels.
Smartbuy flight rates are same as other portals. But hotel rates are inflated.
5X on DCB makes it leagues ahead of Regalia

DCB has unlimited lounge access for both primary and add on card holders . Both domestic and international lounges

 

[gurubhai]

But hotel rates are inflated.

I tried smartbuy only once till now. Hotel rates were just 300-500 costly but after the 10x Reward points, it was still a better deal for me so I go for it.