HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card and Infinia credit card are two of the most sought-after cards in India. While there have been devaluations over the last few years, they still provide a reward rate that very few can match. The Diners Club Black gets 5 reward points per Rs 150 with SmartBuy upping the reward rate to up to 50 RP per Rs 150. We also get a nice monthly milestone benefit with unlimited airport lounge access for both primary and add-on card members. With excellent reward and benefits, the HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card is a must have option if you cannot get the Infinia. Read on for a detailed review of the HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card.
Fees and Charges
HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card has one of the stringent eligibility criteria among all credit cards. If you are applying for a new card, you need a net monthly income of Rs 1.75 Lakhs if salaried or Rs 21 Lakhs/annum if self-employed.
HDFC Bank relaxes the eligibility in case of card upgrades or on the basis of the customer’s NRV. For upgrades to DCB, the limit needs to be upwards of Rs 5 Lakhs to be eligible for a chance at approval. So, if you have an existing HDFC Bank credit card with a Rs 5 Lakh+ limit, do try your luck by asking for an upgrade.
| Joining Fee | Rs 10000+GST |
| Annual Fee | Rs 10000+GST |
| Welcome Benefit | Complimentary annual memberships of Club Marriott, Forbes India, Swiggy One (3 months), Amazon Prime, MMTBlack |
| Annual Fees Waiver | Rs 5 Lakhs Spend |
The welcome benefits are applicable on spending Rs 1.5 lakhs within the first 90 days or upon first year fee realization on your HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card.
LTF Diners Club Black Offer
Card Acceptance
Diners Club card acceptance is a challenge in some areas. Online acceptance of DCB is ok with a few exceptions. It is the offline stores where there will be a challenge in using this card. But the Discover Rupay tie up, acceptability has improved a lot.
| Network | Diners Club |
| Domestic PoS Acceptance (Metro/Tier 1 Cities) | Very Good – Around 80% |
| Domestic PoS Acceptance (Tier 2/Other cities) | Good (Around 60%) |
| International Acceptance | Fair (Around 50%) |
Rewards
HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card earns 5 reward points for every Rs 150. Each reward point is worth Rs 1 on redeeming some rewards (more on it later), so this translates to an excellent 3.33% return on your regular spending. The maximum reward points that can be earned in a statement cycle for Diners Black is 75000.
| Category | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Base Rewards | 5 RP per Rs 150 |
| Weekend Dining | 10 RP per Rs 150 Maximum 1000 RP per day |
| Insurance Transactions | 5 RP per Rs 150 Maximum 5000 RP per day |
| Grocery Transactions | 5 RP per Rs 150 Maximum 2000 RP per calendar month |
| Wallet Loads, Fuel, Rent and Government Services | No Rewards |
Milestone Benefits
The 3.3% base reward rate is nice and the milestone benefits add more value to it.
- 2 monthly vouchers from cult.fit Live 1-month membership or BookMyShow or TataCLiQ or Ola Cabs GV worth Rs 500 each every month on spends of Rs 80000.
- Complimentary annual memberships of Club Marriott, Forbes, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One and MMT BLACK upon achieving an annual spend of Rs 8 Lakhs in a membership year
10X SmartBuy Rewards
This has always been the attraction of HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card. The rewards used to be great till last year but have been devalued a bit now. HDFC Bank runs a SmartBuy platform where we can get up to 10X rewards for shopping. The cap on bonus reward points is 7500 every calendar month and 2500 per day.
| Shopping Category | Rewards | Value at 1RP = Rs 1 |
|---|---|---|
| IGP.com | 10X | 33% |
| Flights | 5X | 16.5% |
| Hotels | 10X | 33% |
| IRCTC | 3X | 10% |
| Redbus | 5X | 16.5% |
| Instant Voucher | 3X | 10% |
| Apple Imagine Tresor | 3X | 10% |
| Flipkart | 2X | 6.6% |
| Zoom Car | 5X | 16.5% |
| Nykaa | 5X | 16.5% |
| Jockey | 10X | 33% |
Unlimited Airport Lounge Access
HDFC Diners Club Black credit card also gives unlimited domestic and international airport lounge access at 700+ locations in India and worldwide. There is no cap on the number of visits. The list of lounges where this is valid is available at the official website over here. The point to be noted here is, the credit card itself doubles up as the access card – there is no separate card unlike Priority Pass.
The unlimited access is valid for add-on card members as well.
Other Charges and Benefits
- 24/7 Concierge Services
- Foreign Currency Markup: 1.99% + GST
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India (Minimum transaction of Rs 400. Maximum cashback Rs 1000 per statement)
- Charges on rent payment: 1% of the total transaction amount will be levied from the second rental transaction of the calendar month
Rewards Redemption
HDFC Bank provides multiple ways to redeem the accumulated reward points. Reward points are valid for three years from the date of credit. The best value would be to redeem the points for booking flights/hotels on SmartBuy or transfer miles to one of the transfer partners.
Flights/Hotels Booking on SmartBuy
The redemption option that provides the best value for the reward points is booking flights and hotels on SmartBuy. In this case, each reward point is valued at Rs 1. SmartBuy allows using up to 70% of the booking amount to be paid by reward points while the rest has to be paid by credit card. However, the good part is the amount paid by credit card accrues 5X reward points. 🙂 We can redeem up to 75000 RP per calendar month towards flights and hotels redemption.
Cash/Gift Vouchers Redemption
The Diners Club Black is not for someone who redeems the points for cash/vouchers. The effective standard reward rate when redeeming vouchers and cash drops to 1.65% (1000 RP = Rs 500 Amazon voucher) and 1% (1 RP = 30p) respectively! We now have plenty of cards in the market that provides a 2% or more direct cashback on transactions. SmartBuy allows using up to 70% of the voucher amount to be paid by reward points while the rest has to be paid by credit card.
Transfer as Airmiles
Last but not the least, we do have the option to transfer reward points to one of the Airmiles partners.
Reward Points Redemption Value Chart
| Redemption Option | Value of 1 RP |
|---|---|
| SmartBuy (Flights/Hotels) | Rs 1 |
| Airmiles | 0.5 to 1 Airmiles |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | 20 paise to 50 paise |
| Cashback | 30 paise |
Transfer Partners
HDFC Bank DCB gets a whole new set of transfer partners now. Etihad Guest, British Airways, United MileagePlus and AeroPlan get a 2:1 ratio. So, two RP become 1 mile. Everything else is 1:1.
| Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio RP:Miles |
|---|---|
| Air Canada – AeroPlan | 2:1 |
| Air Asia – airasia rewards | 1:1 |
| ALL – Accor Live Limitless | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 2:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 2:1 |
| Finnair Plus | 1:1 |
| Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| Hainan Airlines – Fortune Wings Club | 1:1 |
| IHG One Rewards | 1:1 |
| Vietnam Airlines – Lotusmiles Program | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines – Miles&Smiles | 1:1 |
| United MileagePlus | 2:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines – KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
| Vistara Airlines – Club Vistara | 1:1 |
| InterMiles | 1:1 |
Final Thoughts
There are very few credit cards that offer 3.3% as the standard reward rate on all transactions. But, the extra benefits offered by HDFC Diners Club Black credit card like 10X rewards and unlimited lounge access are what make it one of the better credit cards in India at this moment.
HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card
36 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card”
I have IDFC wealth, HSBC Premium and couple more cards ( all with ~6L limit each). So far majority of transactions are on IDFC wealth. Getting around 1.5-2%. This looks like a good switch. I spend around 4-5L / year on card.
How should I apply ? Their website after giving all details gives me some basic card. No option to choose this
Diners Club Black and Infinia are invite only. But you can upgrade to these if you have some other HDFC Bank credit card and meet the eligibility criteria. Please check this forum thread.
A great post! Although, you have listed a bunch of airlines FF programs for miles transfer options. But the official HDFC website only list Singapore airlines, Intermiles and Vistara for miles transfer (similar to Regalia!):
https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/pay/cards/credit-cards/diners-club-black
Am I missing something?
You can use the SmartBuy portal for other transfer partners.
How are the points deducted from Diners Black Card? For example: Now we have to pay 30% from our pocket for each flight ticket. So, the points that I will get will be 30% or the whole 100%? My IDFC card asks me to pay 100% even if I have used points, but later in the statement, it will show a new credit on my account. So, I earn on the 100% of the amount.
Yes, 30% of the ticket amount has to be paid with the card.
Do you get milestone benefits of 5 lac (fees exemption) or 8 lac (other benefits) on paying rent through diners club black ?
Yes, no such T&C excluding it for now.
I have used my diners black card to do my insurance payment using the payzapp app. Insurance premium paid was above Rs.1 lakh. Will the points i get be 2x , 5x or the standard 5points for 150? Besides what is the maximum points i can get in a calendar month for insurance payments using payzapp?
Because I have another insurance premium payment of Rs. 1lakh plus to be paid in the same billing cycle.
Standard reward rate of 5 RP/Rs 150 capped at 5000 RP per day
What is the max. daily and monthly limit for Regular Reward Points and Bonus Rewards for HDFC DCB card ? Also, where are these details mentioned ?
This is in the review. Please check.
If I buy something online on No-Cost EMI, Will I still get Rewards Points on Diners Black card?
If it is a no-cost EMI from the retailer, then yes you should get them.
I hold DCB as my primary card. Can you suggest if I should continue using this for insurance and NPS transaction, not exceeding 40k per month? Is there an alternate card I should look at
If you are redeeming your RPs for flights and points transfer, then yes. If not, look at SC Ultimate as well.
I am holding DCB for more than 5 yrs now.
I remember there used to be renewal benefit of 10k rp on payment of renewal fee.
Is that removed?
Yes, that benefit is discontinued now.
Rent does not accrue any points now on any HDFC CC. You may want to update the article.
Thank you Ajay. I have updated it now. Had missed out on it thanks to the frequent changes from HDFC.
Hey
Can you do a post on how to best use airmiles? It’s becoming an important aspect of deriving maximum out of CC but many (probably like me) don’t understand on how to best utilise it.
Another round of restrictions
https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/service-communication
DCB has lost its attractiveness with caps and devaluations.
Hi,
You’ve written ‘amount paid by credit card accrues 10X reward points’ when paying 70% in points and 30% in cash. Is this a typo? Shouldn’t this be 5x points since flights via smartbuy offer 5x points
It will be 5X. I have updated the article to reflect the latest changes and devaluations.
This is super helpful. You can add one more piece of information that students of premium colleges like IITs/IIMs can get a lifetime free Diners club black credit card. A lot of people are not aware of it.
I have got it that’s why I can vouch for it.
Hi, Are Fuel transactions considered for milestone benefits? Like for Annual Fees Waiver?
Yes, they are.
Thanks!
Hi, I can see an offer to upgrade my current Diner Privilege to DCB (not LTF though) but the upgrade offer lists it as – “New HDFC Diners Black Dom” , where Dom indicates Domestic. I am curious if there are separate versions of Diners Black (Domestic/International) being issued by HDFC? Any one else experienced any such thing ?
Hi Ashish. I have the same variant and have used it for international transactions.
I am holding diners privilege LTF. I got officer in net banking to upgrade Diners Black DOM with first year fee waiver. Should I go for it of not?
Yes! DCB still provides good rewards even after the devaluation. If you can spend 5 Lakhs to get the annual fee waiver, then it is an even better deal.
Which is a better option DCB or Axis Magnus. I have an option to upgrade from LTF Regalia to paid DCB. Should I go for it or take Magnus instead and keep LTF Regalia.?
If you are redeeming rewards for travel, then DCB is still better than Magnus. If you are spending over 1L per month and redeeming for vouchers, then Magnus. I have added a rewards calculator to this post now. Please have a look at that too. https://cardmaven.in/hdfc-bank-diners-club-black-credit-card-review/#12-axis-bank-magnus-vs-hdfc-bank-diners-club-black
You can enter your approximate monthly spends in each category to see whether DCB or Magnus will give better rewards. Hope it helps.
How to redeem Tanishq Voucher as mentioned i blog. (70% by points + 30% by card)
Please use https://offers.smartbuy.hdfcbank.com/infinia
Log in using mobile number/email and add the card in preferences.