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Thoughts- Should I upgrade to HDFC Dinner black or Get Axis Magnus?

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NikTravelEnthusiast

NikTravelEnthusiast

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Hi, everyone.

Currently I am using HDFC Regalia LTF and Amex platinum travel credit card. I spend roughly around 80k per month(including rent) on credit cards.

Usually I spends as follows,,

1. Rent 24000 p.m. by regalia(no rewards points earned). Reason Amex is not suppported or too expensive.
2.Around 35 to 40000 on amex. For online spends such as Amazon, groceries, medicines etc. Goal is to complete 4 lacs spend milestone to earn maximum bonus rewards points this year.
3. Remaining around 15000,I use regalia ,whenevever Amex is not supported such as local shops.

Now I am thinking to get Magnus.
Reasons to consider Magnus
1.Pay rent and earn rewards.
2. After 4lacs milestone on amex, shift all expenses to Magnus. Some months I may cross 1 lac limit as I have to buy new things.
3.Travel planning. As I love to travel.


Reasons not to consider Magnus
1. Got an upgrade offer to DCB. 1st year free.
2. Spend 5 lacs on DCB (which is easily achievable) and get renewal free waived off.
3. May not get maximum benefits of Magnus as my expenses are under 1 lacs.
4.Renewal fees is expensive.
4.Difficult to get add on card.

Reasons to consider DCB
1. Unlimited lounge access to primary and add on card
2.Future hope of Infinia upgrade.
3.Miles transfer(as recently HDFC has increased miles partner) and Smartbuy travel to book flights and hotels.

Reasons not to consider DCB
1.Not much rewarding.
2. Acceptance issue.

So guys please help and guide me.Should I get DCB or Magnus.
 
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dr.nikhilkamble said:
Reasons not to consider Magnus
1. Got an upgrade offer to DCB. 1st year free.
2. Spend 5 lacs on DCB (which is easily achievable) and get renewal free waived off.
3. May not get maximum benefits of Magnus as my expenses are under 1 lacs.
4.Renewal fees is expensive.
4.Difficult to get add on card.
Click to expand...
1 & 2 should not be in this list as it has got nothing to do with magnus and are just reasons for you to take DCB.
3 is irrelevant because even without the 1 lakh milestone bonus, the base reward rate of Magnus (for airmiles) is more than DCB.
4 is silly because you get vouchers worth the joining/renewal fee and so the renewal fee is just the GST component, 1800Rs.
regarding 5, you get 8 guest accesses per year in international lounges with priority pass and so it will be a con only if you're gonna use more than that. For domestic, there are so many LTF cards with lounge accesses you can get, if you're unable to get an add-on for Magnus.

dr.nikhilkamble said:
Reasons not to consider DCB
1.Not much rewarding.
2. Acceptance issue.
Click to expand...
1 is just ignorance. It is still among the top 3 best rewarding cards in the country.
2 is a problem, especially since you mentioned the usage will be in local shops where Amex isn't supported. While Diners Club acceptance is a lot better than Amex, it's not comparable with Visa/MasterCard. If you've just two cards - one on Amex and one on Diners Club, you will definitely run into acceptance issues at some places.
 
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vysakh said:
1 & 2 should not be in this list as it has got nothing to do with magnus and are just reasons for you to take DCB.
3 is irrelevant because even without the 1 lakh milestone bonus, the base reward rate of Magnus (for airmiles) is more than DCB.
4 is silly because you get vouchers worth the joining/renewal fee and so the renewal fee is just the GST component, 1800Rs.
regarding 5, you get 8 guest accesses per year in international lounges with priority pass and so it will be a con only if you're gonna use more than that. For domestic, there are so many LTF cards with lounge accesses you can get, if you're unable to get an add-on for Magnus.


1 is just ignorance. It is still among the top 3 best rewarding cards in the country.
2 is a problem, especially since you mentioned the usage will be in local shops where Amex isn't supported. While Diners Club acceptance is a lot better than Amex, it's not comparable with Visa/MasterCard. If you've just two cards - one on Amex and one on Diners Club, you will definitely run into acceptance issues at some places.
Click to expand...
Points noted. Thank you.
 
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I think you should go with Magnus , for rent you still get base reward points but won’t be considered on milestone , you can make good use of gyftr and grabdeals through various vouchers

If you want to take addon with Magnus , make sure to take it with joining application, even if agent says you can get it later , Magnus add on gets domestic access and you have 8 international access for guest too
 
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dr.nikhilkamble said:
Hi, everyone.

Currently I am using HDFC Regalia LTF and Amex platinum travel credit card. I spend roughly around 80k per month(including rent) on credit cards.

Usually I spends as follows,,

1. Rent 24000 p.m. by regalia(no rewards points earned). Reason Amex is not suppported or too expensive.
2.Around 35 to 40000 on amex. For online spends such as Amazon, groceries, medicines etc. Goal is to complete 4 lacs spend milestone to earn maximum bonus rewards points this year.
3. Remaining around 15000,I use regalia ,whenevever Amex is not supported such as local shops.

Now I am thinking to get Magnus.
Reasons to consider Magnus
1.Pay rent and earn rewards.
2. After 4lacs milestone on amex, shift all expenses to Magnus. Some months I may cross 1 lac limit as I have to buy new things.
3.Travel planning. As I love to travel.


Reasons not to consider Magnus
1. Got an upgrade offer to DCB. 1st year free.
2. Spend 5 lacs on DCB (which is easily achievable) and get renewal free waived off.
3. May not get maximum benefits of Magnus as my expenses are under 1 lacs.
4.Renewal fees is expensive.
4.Difficult to get add on card.

Reasons to consider DCB
1. Unlimited lounge access to primary and add on card
2.Future hope of Infinia upgrade.
3.Miles transfer(as recently HDFC has increased miles partner) and Smartbuy travel to book flights and hotels.

Reasons not to consider DCB
1.Not much rewarding.
2. Acceptance issue.

So guys please help and guide me.Should I get DCB or Magnus.
Click to expand...
i would suggest DCB ( given that you will cross 5 lac per year and get renewal fee relaxed).

magnus gives you renewal fees as points, but you have to forcefully spend that huge amount on vouchers. and one fine day, axis might devalue and stop giving renewal points.

i don't know much about magnus, but see this post for all the benefits of dcb that i know, and compare it with magnus: Post in thread 'DCB - Details of all possible benefits' https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/dcb-details-of-all-possible-benefits.5127/post-85794

based on your spend, i dont think any spend is magnus or dcb specific, so really a tough choice for you.
 
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dr.nikhilkamble said:
Hi, everyone.

Currently I am using HDFC Regalia LTF and Amex platinum travel credit card. I spend roughly around 80k per month(including rent) on credit cards.

Usually I spends as follows,,

1. Rent 24000 p.m. by regalia(no rewards points earned). Reason Amex is not suppported or too expensive.
2.Around 35 to 40000 on amex. For online spends such as Amazon, groceries, medicines etc. Goal is to complete 4 lacs spend milestone to earn maximum bonus rewards points this year.
3. Remaining around 15000,I use regalia ,whenevever Amex is not supported such as local shops.

Now I am thinking to get Magnus.
Reasons to consider Magnus
1.Pay rent and earn rewards.
2. After 4lacs milestone on amex, shift all expenses to Magnus. Some months I may cross 1 lac limit as I have to buy new things.
3.Travel planning. As I love to travel.


Reasons not to consider Magnus
1. Got an upgrade offer to DCB. 1st year free.
2. Spend 5 lacs on DCB (which is easily achievable) and get renewal free waived off.
3. May not get maximum benefits of Magnus as my expenses are under 1 lacs.
4.Renewal fees is expensive.
4.Difficult to get add on card.

Reasons to consider DCB
1. Unlimited lounge access to primary and add on card
2.Future hope of Infinia upgrade.
3.Miles transfer(as recently HDFC has increased miles partner) and Smartbuy travel to book flights and hotels.

Reasons not to consider DCB
1.Not much rewarding.
2. Acceptance issue.

So guys please help and guide me.Should I get DCB or Magnus.
Click to expand...
I personally think that at your stage you should opt for Magnus right now and use it to gain maximum rewards while you can. Magnus is not going to be as rewarding as it is today after a year may be. So, maximise returns ASAP on it. It should be noted that DCB and AMEX is a deadly (literally) combination because DCB and AMEX are not accepted everywhere and you would need a VISA or Mastercard in hand for convenience.

Considering the above, opt for Diners upgrade after 6-8months or once Magnus is devalued. Diners upgrade is not going anywhere and you should get limit enhancement done every 6 months. You can probably skip Diners altogether and get an upgrade to Infinia if your Regalia crosses 10L limit.
 
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As a Magnus and DCB holder, I can suggest go with DCB. Opt for magnus only if you think you can get 3-4 monthly milestones.

DCB reward rate is 3.33 when redeemed for any flight and 1.67 when redeemed for vouchers.

Magnus reward rate is 4.8 for vistara or international flights. Other domestic are not as reliable. And it is 1.2 for vouchers.

If you hold HDFC account then paying bills for magnus will give you 1% via billpay but that can be achieved for DCB too via Mobikwik (I confirm mobikwik also gives 1% similar to billpay)

If you can’t go beyond 15L in Magnus excluding rent then you will have to pay 11.8k too whereas DCB will be free for you as you said you can easily achieve 5L.
 
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WhoU said:
As a Magnus and DCB holder, I can suggest go with DCB. Opt for magnus only if you think you can get 3-4 monthly milestones.

DCB reward rate is 3.33 when redeemed for any flight and 1.67 when redeemed for vouchers.

Magnus reward rate is 4.8 for vistara or international flights. Other domestic are not as reliable. And it is 1.2 for vouchers.

If you hold HDFC account then paying bills for magnus will give you 1% via billpay but that can be achieved for DCB too via Mobikwik (I confirm mobikwik also gives 1% similar to billpay)

If you can’t go beyond 15L in Magnus excluding rent then you will have to pay 11.8k too whereas DCB will be free for you as you said you can easily achieve 5L.
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate this point , where you mentioned dcb reward rate is 3.3% for any flight and Magnus gives 4.8% for international and vistara domestic .
Just wanted to check what all options can DCB points be converted to domestic air miles ?
 
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anirban.choudhury said:
Can you elaborate this point , where you mentioned dcb reward rate is 3.3% for any flight and Magnus gives 4.8% for international and vistara domestic .
Just wanted to check what all options can DCB points be converted to domestic air miles ?
Click to expand...
i have heard club vistara gives 1:1 points to miles conversion.
downside: fewer routes available on vistara and slightly costly flights.
 
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ltf4ever said:
i have heard club vistara gives 1:1 points to miles conversion.
downside: fewer routes available on vistara and slightly costly flights.
Click to expand...
Ok
But if we calculate the the reward, then also I think Magnus will be better than dcb

As per my undertakes , dcb gives 5 points per 150 rs spend

And Magnus gives 12 points on 200 Rs spend

So for a spend of 5 lakhs without any accelerated or milestones

We can get 30k RP for magnus and 16667 and is converted to Air milestone for Magnus we get straight 24k miles

And in DCB best case will be 1 RP = 1 miles , max that can be 16,667 miles

Also the annual charge we pay for Magnus is well compensated by the 10k voucher , which makes effective annual charges of some 3k .


Let me know if my understanding is correct
 
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anirban.choudhury said:
Can you elaborate this point , where you mentioned dcb reward rate is 3.3% for any flight and Magnus gives 4.8% for international and vistara domestic .
Just wanted to check what all options can DCB points be converted to domestic air miles ?
Click to expand...
You don’t have to convert to miles for dcb points. You can directly redeem flights for the reward points you have with 1 point = 1re. You need to pay 30% in cash and 70% in points but that 30% will get you 5x points too.

Only vistara gives 1:1 ratio for mile: price. That might not be true always though. For example, bangalore to hyderabad flights are for rs 2500 and vistara points are 4000.
If you were to redeem it via DCB, you would require 1750 points and pay 750 on top of it and get 125 rp for that 750 too.
If you were to redeem via Magnus by converting to CV points, you would require 5000 points (5:4 ratio) and pay 500 over it for which you will get 24 points.

Magnus airmiles is only for you if you have a vistara flight in your regular route and the flight is relatively expensive, more than 5k.
 
Last edited:
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WhoU said:
You don’t have to convert to miles for dcb points. You can directly redeem flights for the reward points you have with 1 point = 1re. You need to pay 30% in cash and 70% in points but that 30% will get you 5x points too.

Only vistara gives 1:1 ratio for mile: price. That might not be true always though. For example, bangalore to hyderabad flights are for rs 2500 and vistara points are 4000.
If you were to redeem it via DCB, you would require 1750 points and pay 750 on top of it and get 125 rp for that 750 too.
If you were to redeem via Magnus by converting to CV points, you would require 5000 points (5:4 ratio) and pay 500 over it for which you will get 24 points.

Magnus airmiles is only for you if you have a vistara flight in your regular route and the flight is relatively expensive, more than 5k.
Click to expand...
Got it , thanks for the clarification.

But I think Magnus points can be redeemed against SpiceJet spiceclub also which can be used in domestic , prices are cheaper and has better network than vistara
 
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