Infinia What's the big deal about the Infinia?

[d3rvish]

I'm not trying to be provocative, just genuinely puzzled about why this card is held in such high regard and so many people seem to think it's some kind of endgame card.

Just to break the benefits down:

1. 3.3% reward rate on regular spends (with a whole bunch of exclusion categories). This is hardly best in class, even if you take the Magnus party to be over.

2. Unlimited Priority Pass. Meh. Been there, got that.

3. Get one night's stay free on a two-night paid stay (at best available rate, I assume). Decent, but limited to ITC hotels. Ditto for the buy one-get one on buffets. Also, few five-star buffets are all that great, and I don't think most ITC restaurants make that cut. I'd rather take the Magnus Eazydiner 40% off up to Rs 1000 at a large number of restaurants (of which a large number are very good) once a month instead.

4. Club Marriott membership. Overrated and you end up spending a fair amount if you try to optimise this membership. And its for just the first year.

5. "Global Personal Concierge". Yeah, right. Bollocks. I think just about every so-called credit card concierge available in India below the level of the Amex Centurion one, probably, is rubbish.

6. "Metallic card". Ergo, a heavier wallet. A truly stunning benefit.

7. Forex mark-up of just 2%. Cancelled out by the lack of a points accelerator on forex spends.

8. Good Food Trail Programme. I do not know what this is and don't care enough to find out.

9. Overseas travel insurance. Appreciated, but you need to yell at them to actually get a valid policy document

10. Smartbuy travel portal for accelerated rewards. I'd rather book directly with airlines and hotels because when things go wrong, you're most likely screwed if you've booked with an OTA, particularly those like Yatra and whoever, who are Smartbuy's vendors. But yeah, I can see this is a solid benefit for those who don't mind booking via OTAs. Though with the caps on points earning per day/transaction, the rewards are not as good as they used to be.

11. Gyftr vouchers whatever blah. Okay. A valuable benefit.

I don't know if I've missed something major, but if you look at that list, it's wildly disproportionate to the awestruck talk this card inspires. Truly a marketing case study of demand created by artificial scarcity and social media buzz. If the restrictions about how many points you can earn a day did not apply and the terms and conditions were the same as they were some 3 years ago, this card would be a clear winner, but the way it is now, I don't think it is quite that?

 

[deepcards]

My dear sir I'm convinced of your genuine curiosity. I assure you, the amount of efforts you've put to analyse the two cards itself seems more than the efforts some people replying here are putting to read the thread properly.

I'm sure Citi wouldve been a very strong underdog, and something the newer card collectors would've aimed and promoted.

i am a bit apprehensive about the way you are writing 😀.

Citi is dead bro/sis. have some LIIT and chill, and if you get too much LIIT, puke on some Axis card if u have one.

 

[LIIT]

i am a bit apprehensive about the way you are writing 😀.

Citi is dead bro/sis. have some LIIT and chill, and if you get too much LIIT, puke on some Axis card if u have one.

"Would've" is past perfect. Hindi me bole toh "होता". Hope that clears your apprehension.

Pro tip - LIITs are an excellent way to instantly get better at English 😉
Well ofcourse, if you've got the stomach for it

Cheers 🥂

 

[helloworld]

Have had it for three years. Seriously considering giving it up. Shall I ask them to issue you one in lieu of it? You seem to be a keen fan.

maybe. but just understanding your reasoning with the card you like.

you excluded all points saying nada, meh, been there even with 3 years, after using much better, average, and ok multipliers in smartbuy (16% is just blah..)

15% discount then and now with Swiggy Dineout along with platform offers.

1% extra with global value program to get positive rewards with forex spends even after markup.

1 RP = 1Rs. even with Tanishq just incase in 3 years points validity not able to plan for travel or sufficient points for apple products.

You liked and hope saw best and worst phases in Prestige and still thinks better than other cards (even atlas better).

Travel, not everyone likes or patience to understand, wait and postpone their plans because of award seats. Some needs simple option, just book (after discount and rewards it should be lesser than other platforms) revenue bookings and go.


Even all these I'm not saying this is the best card or worth big deal with bank to get this card. There is a better card for everyone, depends on specific categories of spending, rewards, redemption options.


If I just say, "whats the big deal about apay card?" with

5% cashback on amzn, only with 1500rs. prime - Meh. Been there. got that.

1% on others - whatever blah, okay.

means, it never is a big deal for me.

But this card designed for new to card who has simple cashback for their normal spends, who doesn't know whether they can handle rewards, miles etc.

I'm a keen fan of APay card too.

I took Manhattan to get 5% on Offline groceries, Supermarket, no voucher allowed shopping stores. Which simply no other card provides 5% as cashback even Infinia or Prestige.

If the card features not beneficial to you then its not a big deal card to you.

Note: even big fans also switched to magnus because that provides better value than this and moved back when its not, because those people value and see these features in different way.

There are big deal cards for Cashback, big deal cards for Miles, big deal cards for revenue bookings, big deal cards for voucher. Each fan has their own favvourite cards.

Still would like to know which card is a big deal to you and preferred redemption?

 

[d3rvish]

So it's across all grocery spends whether done online or at supermarkets. You have a capping of 2k for this.

So this is a 2X on grocery spends? And 2k points in a calendar month?

Don't know why they don't mention stuff like this in the list of benefits.

 

[d3rvish]

maybe. but just understanding your reasoning with the card you like.

you excluded all points saying nada, meh, been there even with 3 years, after using much better, average, and ok multipliers in smartbuy (16% is just blah..)

15% discount then and now with Swiggy Dineout along with platform offers.

1% extra with global value program to get positive rewards with forex spends even after markup.

1 RP = 1Rs. even with Tanishq just incase in 3 years points validity not able to plan for travel or sufficient points for apple products.

You liked and hope saw best and worst phases in Prestige and still thinks better than other cards (even atlas better).

Travel, not everyone likes or patience to understand, wait and postpone their plans because of award seats. Some needs simple option, just book (after discount and rewards it should be lesser than other platforms) revenue bookings and go.


Even all these I'm not saying this is the best card or worth big deal with bank to get this card. There is a better card for everyone, depends on specific categories of spending, rewards, redemption options.


If I just say, "whats the big deal about apay card?" with

5% cashback on amzn, only with 1500rs. prime - Meh. Been there. got that.

1% on others - whatever blah, okay.

means, it never is a big deal for me.

But this card designed for new to card who has simple cashback for their normal spends, who doesn't know whether they can handle rewards, miles etc.

I'm a keen fan of APay card too.

I took Manhattan to get 5% on Offline groceries, Supermarket, no voucher allowed shopping stores. Which simply no other card provides 5% as cashback even Infinia or Prestige.

If the card features not beneficial to you then its not a big deal card to you.

Note: even big fans also switched to magnus because that provides better value than this and moved back when its not, because those people value and see these features in different way.

There are big deal cards for Cashback, big deal cards for Miles, big deal cards for revenue bookings, big deal cards for voucher. Each fan has their own facourite cards.

Still would like to know which card is a big deal to you and preferred redemption?

1. I did not "exclude all points" of the Infinia.

2. I did not say Infinia is not a good card, just that the hype around it is out of proportion to its features.

 

[CC-Muncher]

1. I did not "exclude all points" of the Infinia.

2. I did not say Infinia is not a good card, just that the hype around it is out of proportion to its features.

But then which card is better?
U are not saying anything! Keeping mum

 

[d3rvish]

But then which card is better?
U are not saying anything! Keeping mum

Clearly, there's a comprehension problem here. I did not make this post saying x, y or z card is "better" and everyone needs to get it instead of the Infinia. It was merely to say the features of the Infinia do not seem to be in proportion with the hype around it and to see if others felt the same.

 

[d3rvish]

Having said which, I should withdraw my initial comment about the Gyftr vouchers feature being a dud. It's pretty much the most attractive feature of the card - for me, at least. Though, as I said, there's limits to how much Amazon cash a person can stockpile because Amazon Pay is probably not even half as widely accepted as UPI, for instance, as a payment method.

 

[rohitpgarg]

Clearly, there's a comprehension problem here. I did not make this post saying x, y or z card is "better" and everyone needs to get it instead of the Infinia. It was merely to say the features of the Infinia do not seem to be in proportion with the hype around it and to see if others felt the same.

So you don't know of any card which you think is better than infinia, and yet find infinia over-rated.

Understood.

 

[d3rvish]

So you don't know of any card which you think is better than infinia, and yet find infinia over-rated.

Understood.

Like I said, if you have a problem understanding reasonably clearly framed sentences, that's a you problem. Cheers.

 

[CC-Muncher]

Like I said, if you have a problem understanding reasonably clearly framed sentences, that's a you problem. Cheers.

Similarly feeling infinia overrated is a you problem. Cheers 🥂

 

[bsc0008]

Just my thoughts on this:
Primary reason for this hype is human psychology. When something is very difficult to get we desire it more. Those who're old enough might remember the Oneplus invite saga or else when Gmail launched first with invite only mode.
So once something becomes near impossible to get, it becomes famous just for the sake of that reason. Then we try to achieve that to prove to that we did it, or to say to the world I've achieved what others can't do. For some it becomes a life goal, they do everything possible to get that.

And the second reason it was getting hype was the initial reward structure of the card before recent devaluations. It was THE perfect card for someone who's into travel or for business people who are constantly traveling and need a no non sense card.

 

[bonheur]

Objectively speaking, the hype may or may not be real but it has been used to a great effect by HDFC. By not doling Infinia out to everyone, they have been able to sustain the core value prop for this product for over a decade (never mind the regular devaluations, but also not discounting the recent revaluation by removing daily caps). Axis was on a high with Magnus when they thought they could sustainably trounce the market by draining their coffers, while HDFC has been silently watching the whole drama unfold all along — first perhaps with some genuine concern (can't say they wouldn't have been worried) and finally with a smirk on their face. But I do hope at least HDFC saw it coming, if not Axis themselves, since they have been through the full hype cycle themselves already.

Anyway, so what's the big deal with Infinia you ask? I'll let my numbers speak:



These are my spends and rewards per card in my portfolio so far this calendar year as % of my net spends (a 7-digit figure) and rewards (a 6-digit figure as ₹ equivalent) from Jan-Aug. Except for the brief yet super timely and highly exhilarating encounter with Magnus over literally just a couple of months (now replaced by the more stable Amex Plat Travel), it's hard to find another card that can consistently give me such high returns for my usage patterns.

So speaking for myself, the core value of a credit card is derived from returns first and other benefits second, and for that reason I don't have a better all-round card than Infinia. It's like the desert island card for me, except there are most likely no POS machines or online delivery either on said island. 🙂

Edit: Updated spreadsheet with more accurate data.

 

[navam]

Objectively speaking, the hype may or may not be real but it has been used to a great effect by HDFC. By not doling Infinia out to everyone, they have been able to sustain the core value prop for this product for over a decade (never mind the regular devaluations, but also not discounting the recent revaluation by removing daily caps). Axis was on a high with Magnus when they thought they could sustainably trounce the market by draining their coffers, while HDFC has been silently watching the whole drama unfold all along — first perhaps with some genuine concern (can't say they wouldn't have been worried) and finally with a smirk on their face. But I do hope at least HDFC saw it coming, if not Axis themselves, since they have been through the full hype cycle themselves already.

Anyway, so what's the big deal with Infinia you ask? I'll let my numbers speak:

View attachment 28771

These are my spends and rewards per card in my portfolio so far this calendar year as % of my net spends (a 7-digit figure) and rewards (a 6-digit figure as ₹ equivalent) from Jan-Aug. Except for the brief yet super timely and highly exhilarating encounter with Magnus over literally just a couple of months (now replaced by the more stable Amex Plat Travel), it's hard to find another card that can consistently give me such high returns for my usage patterns.

So speaking for myself, the core value of a credit card is derived from returns first and other benefits second, and for that reason I don't have a better all-round card than Infinia. It's like the desert island card for me, except there are most likely no POS machines or online delivery either on said island. 🙂

Numbers don't lie, thanks for sharing @bonheur

 

[deepcards]

Objectively speaking, the hype may or may not be real but it has been used to a great effect by HDFC. By not doling Infinia out to everyone, they have been able to sustain the core value prop for this product for over a decade (never mind the regular devaluations, but also not discounting the recent revaluation by removing daily caps). Axis was on a high with Magnus when they thought they could sustainably trounce the market by draining their coffers, while HDFC has been silently watching the whole drama unfold all along — first perhaps with some genuine concern (can't say they wouldn't have been worried) and finally with a smirk on their face. But I do hope at least HDFC saw it coming, if not Axis themselves, since they have been through the full hype cycle themselves already.

Anyway, so what's the big deal with Infinia you ask? I'll let my numbers speak:

View attachment 28771

These are my spends and rewards per card in my portfolio so far this calendar year as % of my net spends (a 7-digit figure) and rewards (a 6-digit figure as ₹ equivalent) from Jan-Aug. Except for the brief yet super timely and highly exhilarating encounter with Magnus over literally just a couple of months (now replaced by the more stable Amex Plat Travel), it's hard to find another card that can consistently give me such high returns for my usage patterns.

So speaking for myself, the core value of a credit card is derived from returns first and other benefits second, and for that reason I don't have a better all-round card than Infinia. It's like the desert island card for me, except there are most likely no POS machines or online delivery either on said island. 🙂

interesting. Keeping the nostalgia about magnus aside, its clear that infinia gives almost 8% returns. Generally, the % decreases as we move to higher spends. Eg do the calculation for mrcc, its sweetspot is 20k pm, for idfc club vistara the sweetspot is to take the card and use it only for the first 4 months and a less sweetspot is till 5-6 lacs (need to check).
Same goes for any other rational card.

 

[deepcards]

Objectively speaking, the hype may or may not be real but it has been used to a great effect by HDFC. By not doling Infinia out to everyone, they have been able to sustain the core value prop for this product for over a decade (never mind the regular devaluations, but also not discounting the recent revaluation by removing daily caps). Axis was on a high with Magnus when they thought they could sustainably trounce the market by draining their coffers, while HDFC has been silently watching the whole drama unfold all along — first perhaps with some genuine concern (can't say they wouldn't have been worried) and finally with a smirk on their face. But I do hope at least HDFC saw it coming, if not Axis themselves, since they have been through the full hype cycle themselves already.

Anyway, so what's the big deal with Infinia you ask? I'll let my numbers speak:

View attachment 28773

These are my spends and rewards per card in my portfolio so far this calendar year as % of my net spends (a 7-digit figure) and rewards (a 6-digit figure as ₹ equivalent) from Jan-Aug. Except for the brief yet super timely and highly exhilarating encounter with Magnus over literally just a couple of months (now replaced by the more stable Amex Plat Travel), it's hard to find another card that can consistently give me such high returns for my usage patterns.

So speaking for myself, the core value of a credit card is derived from returns first and other benefits second, and for that reason I don't have a better all-round card than Infinia. It's like the desert island card for me, except there are most likely no POS machines or online delivery either on said island. 🙂

Edit: Updated spreadsheet with more accurate data.

One point i want clarification about, if ur reward % on infinia is 49%, why is the returns so low. I want to know whats happening there.

 

[navam]

@bonheur quick question on the updated sheet what's does rewards % mean vs returns %?

 

[bonheur]

@bonheur quick question on the updated sheet what's does rewards % mean vs returns %?

Perhaps poor choice of words, but Rewards % is the reward on a specific card as % of my total annual rewards. Returns % is the reward rate on that specific card over the same duration.

 

[bonheur]

One point i want clarification about, if ur reward % on infinia is 49%, why is the returns so low. I want to know whats happening there.

Please see my reply above for clarification. The absolute reward rate on Infinia is 9%, but when spread out over the year, Infinia's contribution to my net rewards is 49%.

 

[PavanPavan is verified member.]

Not sure how many of you agree with me 🙂
But as per latest calculation if you have following card you will can earn more than infinia
->HDFC DCB
->AMEX MRCC + GOLD or Smartern
->Airtel Axis or ACE
->SBI Cashback or Swiggy (5% on all shopping)
->One for UPI
Remember you can even book vistara ticket for 24000 MR points 🙂t

At the end of the day inifina can replace all of the above

@S S V