Switch Salary account from ICICI to HDFC for better credit cards

[exo]

Hi everyone,

I currently hold several credit cards, most of which are Lifetime Free (LTF):

• ICICI Cards: Rubyx Dual, Sapphiro Dual, Coral UPI, and Amazon Pay with a combined limit of ₹15L (all LTF).
• HDFC Cards: Regalia First (paid but never incurred any fees), Swiggy (LTF), and Tata Neu Infinity (FYF; acquired 2 days ago) with a combined limit of ₹6.5L.
• Others:
  • Amex MRCC (LTF)
  • IDFC Wealth (LTF)
  • SBI SimplyClick (paid)
  • OneCard (LTF)
  • Axis Flipkart and Axis Airtel (both paid)
  • RBL Shoprite (LTF)

Our expenses are fairly distributed across:

• Amex MRCC (~₹6K/month for rewards),
• ICICI cards,
• HDFC Swiggy,
• Axis Flipkart, Airtel (for bills), and Ace (spouse's card for offline expenses).

However, some cards remain underutilized:

• Regalia First: Rarely used,
• IDFC Wealth: Stopped after devaluation,
• SBI SimplyClick and OneCard: Minimal usage in the last year.

Current Situation:
Last year, I was offered an upgrade from Regalia First to Regalia Gold (FYF), and now I have an offer to upgrade to Millennia (FYF). I want to retain an HDFC core card primarily for sale offers but prefer not to pay the annual fee since I’ve used it sparingly in the last two years due to its low reward rate.

I believe moving my salary account from ICICI (currently Wealth Management) to HDFC could help me get Regalia Gold as LTF and potentially increase my chances of upgrading to premium cards since I could redirect all major expenses there.

Questions:

1. Should I upgrade to Millennia (FYF) and retain my salary account with ICICI?
2. Should I consider moving my salary account to HDFC?
3. Would ICICI downgrade my WM status?
4. If ICICI downgrades my WM status, is there a risk they might close my credit cards or start charging fees on them?
5. Is it better to directly open an HDFC Salary Account or start with a SavingsMax account and then convert it to a Salary Account?

Looking forward to your insights and advice based on your experiences.

 

[HumorSimpson]

Just go with point no 1

 

[Talkwithfino]

Questions:

1. Should I upgrade to Millennia (FYF) and retain my salary account with ICICI?

Thread 'Year End Offer: Lifetime Free HDFC Bank Credit Cards'

Dec 20, 2024

HDFC Bank is offering select credit cards as lifetime free under a limited-period offer.

Offer valid until 31st December 2024.

The offer has been extended until 16th January 2025.
Grab your lifetime free HDFC Bank credit card today!



Here are the credit cards available under the lifetime free offer:

• Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card (FYF)
• Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card (FYF)
• Diners Club Privilege Credit Card
• Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card (Offer Withdrawn)
• PIXEL Play Credit...

• TechnoFino
• cards credit cards free hdfc hdfc bank lifetime free hdfc bank credit card new offer
• Replies: 524
• Forum: Festive Offers

• 
• 
• 

Try this first. Some have reported it is not working for ETB customers. There's no harm in giving a try.

Post in thread 'Year End Offer: Lifetime Free HDFC Bank Credit Cards'

Dec 21, 2024

ETB, NTB both are eligible... but it depends on HDFC Bank, not all ETB customers can apply, if they have applied for a card recently.

• TechnoFino

 

[exo]

Thread 'Year End Offer: Lifetime Free HDFC Bank Credit Cards'

Dec 20, 2024

HDFC Bank is offering select credit cards as lifetime free under a limited-period offer.

Offer valid until 31st December 2024.

The offer has been extended until 16th January 2025.
Grab your lifetime free HDFC Bank credit card today!



Here are the credit cards available under the lifetime free offer:

• Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card (FYF)
• Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card (FYF)
• Diners Club Privilege Credit Card
• Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card (Offer Withdrawn)
• PIXEL Play Credit...

• TechnoFino
• cards credit cards free hdfc hdfc bank lifetime free hdfc bank credit card new offer
• Replies: 524
• Forum: Festive Offers

• 
• 
• 

Try this first. Some have reported it is not working for ETB customers. There's no harm in giving a try.

Post in thread 'Year End Offer: Lifetime Free HDFC Bank Credit Cards'

Dec 21, 2024

ETB, NTB both are eligible... but it depends on HDFC Bank, not all ETB customers can apply, if they have applied for a card recently.

• TechnoFino

Yes, I tried that last month. I got an error saying I recently applied for a card. I got Swiggy LTF in Aug. That's why I applied for Tata Neu FYF from Tata Neu app a few days ago.

 

[exo]

I wanted to ask 5th question primarily in Bank Forum but then I expanded the post.

 

[Talkwithfino]

I wanted to ask 5th question primarily in Bank Forum but then I expanded the post.

It's not a guarantee that salary Acc will give you LTF. You will unnecessarily end up going through Acc changing hassle.

I got Swiggy LTF in Aug

Why do you want Millenia then? Swiggy pretty much is similar. ( except for the Lounge Access and ₹1k voucher on quarterly spends over 1L )
In fact, Swiggy has a capping of 1500 points on its 5% merchant list >List
for Millenia it is 1000 Merchant List So you can get 500 more with Swiggy...

If you still want Millenia, go with point 1. of your post.

Btw, how did you manage to get AmEx MRCC ltf ? was it that 2019 year offer..?

 

[exo]

Regalia First was my first and one of my oldest credit cards. It is an HDFC core card, but I don’t use it anymore. Last year, I was charged a fee of ~₹1,200, which I managed to get reversed. However, I haven’t used the card this year either, and they are set to charge the same fee again in January 2025. I don’t want to pay for a card I’m not using.

The Swiggy and Tata Neu cards are co-branded and share the same credit limit as Regalia First. I’m unsure about the potential impact of closing Regalia First on these cards—whether it would affect my eligibility for a new core card later or limit enhancement on these two cards.

Hence, upgrading from Regalia First makes sense.

My company has a corporate tie-up with HDFC, so I’m confident I could get Regalia Gold as an LTF card—if not immediately, then within a few months.

Millennia, while not LTF, comes with a ₹1,000 annual fee, but it’s a better card than Regalia First. I’m certain I can meet the ₹1L annual spend required to get the fee waived. So, upgrading to Millennia appears to be a better option than sticking with Regalia First.

Do we get an upgrade from Millenia to DCB and or higher limit enhancements?

I got my Amex MRCC as LTF back in 2017 at a mall.

 

[HumorSimpson]

Millennia, while not LTF, comes with a ₹1,000 annual fee, but it’s a better card than Regalia First. I’m certain I can meet the ₹1L annual spend required to get the fee waived. So, upgrading to Millennia appears to be a better option than sticking with Regalia First.

Millenia compensates the fee with equivalent cash points. So you only pay 180rs towards Ginger Special Tea

Do we get an upgrade from Millenia to DCB and or higher limit enhancements?

Don't bother. Millenia is the best for low spenders.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

I was mostly in your position last year. Hence replying.

I was holding ICICI Previlege salary account last year and one day they upgraded to wealth management variant. It lasted for about 6 months but then silently downgraded to Previlege again. (Maybe because I didn't meet their TRV criteria). At that time, I got Sapphiro CC LTF.
After downgrade, I closed ICICI salary account. CC remains LTF, it is not linked to salary account.

Today I opened an HDFC salary account and the KYC verification is still in progress.

So to answer your questions:

Should I upgrade to Millennia (FYF) and retain my salary account with ICICI? - Maybe yes, if you want to continue with ICICI salary account.

Should I consider moving my salary account to HDFC? - Both are different ecosystems. Better to stick to one of them for longer term, so that you won't have to change frequently.

Would ICICI downgrade my WM status? - Yes they can, if you don't maintain AMB/TRV.

If ICICI downgrades my WM status, is there a risk they might close my credit cards or start charging fees on them? No. ICICI CC are not linked to salary accounts. If you want, confirm with customer care 18001080.

Is it better to directly open an HDFC Salary Account or start with a SavingsMax account and then convert it to a Salary Account?
Direct 0 balance salary account is better.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

@exo what's the update?

 

[exo]

I was mostly in your position last year. Hence replying.

I was holding ICICI Previlege salary account last year and one day they upgraded to wealth management variant. It lasted for about 6 months but then silently downgraded to Previlege again. (Maybe because I didn't meet their TRV criteria). At that time, I got Sapphiro CC LTF.
After downgrade, I closed ICICI salary account. CC remains LTF, it is not linked to salary account.

Today I opened an HDFC salary account and the KYC verification is still in progress.

So to answer your questions:

Should I upgrade to Millennia (FYF) and retain my salary account with ICICI? - Maybe yes, if you want to continue with ICICI salary account.

Should I consider moving my salary account to HDFC? - Both are different ecosystems. Better to stick to one of them for longer term, so that you won't have to change frequently.

Would ICICI downgrade my WM status? - Yes they can, if you don't maintain AMB/TRV.

If ICICI downgrades my WM status, is there a risk they might close my credit cards or start charging fees on them? No. ICICI CC are not linked to salary accounts. If you want, confirm with customer care 18001080.

Is it better to directly open an HDFC Salary Account or start with a SavingsMax account and then convert it to a Salary Account?
Direct 0 balance salary account is better.

Thank you for your inputs!

I went with Millenia upgrade. Keeping salary account with ICICI and will open HDFC savings account in Q1 this year and keep some funds in FDs.
Yet to figure out which expenses to move to Millenia for increasing spends on it and chance of further upgrade.

 

[sravanbrahma]

Hi everyone,

I currently hold several credit cards, most of which are Lifetime Free (LTF):

• ICICI Cards: Rubyx Dual, Sapphiro Dual, Coral UPI, and Amazon Pay with a combined limit of ₹15L (all LTF).
• HDFC Cards: Regalia First (paid but never incurred any fees), Swiggy (LTF), and Tata Neu Infinity (FYF; acquired 2 days ago) with a combined limit of ₹6.5L.
• Others:
  • Amex MRCC (LTF)
  • IDFC Wealth (LTF)
  • SBI SimplyClick (paid)
  • OneCard (LTF)
  • Axis Flipkart and Axis Airtel (both paid)
  • RBL Shoprite (LTF)

Our expenses are fairly distributed across:

• Amex MRCC (~₹6K/month for rewards),
• ICICI cards,
• HDFC Swiggy,
• Axis Flipkart, Airtel (for bills), and Ace (spouse's card for offline expenses).

However, some cards remain underutilized:

• Regalia First: Rarely used,
• IDFC Wealth: Stopped after devaluation,
• SBI SimplyClick and OneCard: Minimal usage in the last year.

Current Situation:
Last year, I was offered an upgrade from Regalia First to Regalia Gold (FYF), and now I have an offer to upgrade to Millennia (FYF). I want to retain an HDFC core card primarily for sale offers but prefer not to pay the annual fee since I’ve used it sparingly in the last two years due to its low reward rate.

I believe moving my salary account from ICICI (currently Wealth Management) to HDFC could help me get Regalia Gold as LTF and potentially increase my chances of upgrading to premium cards since I could redirect all major expenses there.

Questions:

1. Should I upgrade to Millennia (FYF) and retain my salary account with ICICI?
2. Should I consider moving my salary account to HDFC?
3. Would ICICI downgrade my WM status?
4. If ICICI downgrades my WM status, is there a risk they might close my credit cards or start charging fees on them?
5. Is it better to directly open an HDFC Salary Account or start with a SavingsMax account and then convert it to a Salary Account?

Looking forward to your insights and advice based on your experiences.

I can tell one definite thing, having salary account has 0 impact to get better credit card.

In my case, I fought a lot with hdfc grivience, my BM, RM for infinia but didn't get it when I had my salaried account with them. I was angry and due to an onboarding offer and my ego I left hdfc and joined kotak for salary account.

After 3 months, I made significant spend on hdfc credit card (as it was highest reward rate card among what I have) and just requested for infinia for one last time. And it got approved today.

Verdict is that never mix salary account with credit card. They don't care about overall relationship with the bank.

 

[exo]

Hi Folks,

Could you help me figure out what would be the best expenses for Millennia given I already have other cashback cards?
I have not made a single spend on it yet.

TIA