HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card is a premium offering from HDFC Bank. The Diners Club Privilege credit card earns 4 reward points for every Rs 150 spend and also offers accelerated rewards for Swiggy and Zomato. We get complimentary annual memberships to Swiggy One and Times Prime as a welcome benefit. The benefits of the HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card include complimentary domestic and international airport lounge access and a BookMyShow BOGO offer. The Diners Privilege is also eligible for HDFC Bank SmartBuy program which can get you a reward rate of 13% on partner spends. Check out our detailed review of the HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card features and benefits.
Eligibility
HDFC Bank has set a high eligibility criteria for the Diners Club Privilege credit card. But, these criteria are relaxed by quite a bit if one already has a savings account or some other relationship with HDFC Bank. If you already have another HDFC Bank credit card with Rs 3 Lakh limit, you can upgrade to the Diners Club Privilege by writing to customer care.
The same limit criteria also applies for C2C applications. You can apply for the Diners Club Privilege on a C2C basis with any other credit card having at least Rs 3 Lakh credit limit.
| Salaried | Net Monthly Income > Rs 70,000 |
| Self Employed | ITR > Rs 8.4 Lakhs/Annum |
Fees
For the welcome benefit, HDFC Bank has gone in favour of annual memberships of Swiggy One and Times Prime instead of the usual reward points benefit.
| Joining Fee | Rs 1000+GST or FYF |
| Welcome Benefit | Complimentary annual memberships of Swiggy One and Times Prime on spending Rs 75,000 in first 90 days of card issuance |
| Annual Fee | Rs 1000+GST or LTF |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 3 Lakh in card anniversary year |
| Renewal Benefits | None |
To get the welcome benefits, we need to spend Rs 75,000 within 90 days of card issuance. The benefits can be redeemed on this SmartBuy link.
Rewards
HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card earns 4 reward points for every Rs 150 spend. Each reward is worth between 20 paise to 50 paise based on redemption options.
| Spend Category | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Retail Spends | 4 RP/Rs 150 ~1.3% return |
| Swiggy and Zomato Spends | 20 RP/Rs 150 ~6.5% return 4X bonus RP capped at 2500 RP/calendar month |
| EasyEMI, Fuel, Wallets, Rent, Property Management, Packers & Movers, Government transactions | No Rewards |
| Education spends through college/school websites or POS | 4 RP/Rs 150 ~1.3% return |
| Education spends through third-party apps | No Rewards |
| Cap on Grocery spend rewards | 2000 RP/calendar month |
| Cap on Insurance spend rewards | 2000 RP/day |
| Cap on Telecom spend rewards | 2000 RP/day |
| Cap on Utility spend rewards | 2000 RP/day |
Milestone Benefit
The HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege credit card gets a quarterly milestone benefit. Spend Rs 1.5 Lakh in a calendar quarter and get Rs 1500 worth of gift voucher from any of the below brands.
- Marriott Experience
- Decathlon
- Barbeque Nation
- O2 Spa
- Lakme Salon
You can track the milestone spends and redeem these benefits on SmartBuy Diners –> Click on ‘Diners Club Benefits’ tab –> Select ‘Diners Club Privilege Milestones’ –> Check Quarterly Benefits
SmartBuy Rewards
The normal and milestone reward rates on HDFC Diners Club Privilege credit card may seem a little low for a card in this segment. This is where SmartBuy is useful. For shopping on SmartBuy merchants, we get accelerated rewards that increase the overall reward rate. The SmartBuy cap for Diners Club Privilege credit card is 4000 reward points per calendar month.
| Shopping Category | Rewards | Value at 1RP = 50 paise |
|---|---|---|
| IGP.com | 10X | 13.3% |
| Flights | 5X | 6.6% |
| Hotels | 10X | 13.3% |
| IRCTC | 3X | 3.9% |
| Redbus | 5X | 6.6% |
| Instant Vouchers | 5X | 6.6% |
| Apple Imagine Tresor | 5X | 6.6% |
| Zoom Car | 5X | 6.6% |
| Nykaa | 5X | 6.6% |
| Myntra | 5X | 6.6% |
| Jockey | 10X | 13.3% |
| MMT Holiday Packages | 5X | 6.6% |
| Pharmeasy | 10X | 13.3% |
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
- Diners Club Privilege credit card gets 8 complimentary visits per year to domestic and international airport lounges.
- The access is directly through the credit card – no separate pass is required.
- Complimentary airport lounge access is available for both primary and add-on card members.
- Complimentary lounge access on the Diners Club Privilege is available only if spends are more than Rs 15,000 in the previous calendar quarter.
- Check this list of domestic airport lounges eligible for access through Diners Club Privilege credit card.
- Check this list of international airport lounges eligible for access through Diners Club Privilege credit card.
HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege Credit Card BookMyShow BOGO Offer
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free on movie/non-movie weekend tickets via BookMyShow
- Offer is applicable for shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (irrespective of booking day)
- Maximum discount is Rs 250 per ticket and we can get up to 2 free tickets every calendar month.
Other Key Benefits and Charges
- Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5% + GST ~4.13%
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Not Available
Rewards Redemption
Diners Club Privilege reward points can be redeemed on the SmartBuy redemption portal. HDFC Bank provides the option of redeeming for products from its catalog, booking flights/hotels, gift vouchers, or even cash. What differs is the value offered for your reward points for these redemption options. If booking a flight or hotel, each reward point has a value of 50p.
However, if we go for products, gift vouchers, or cash the value of each reward point drops to 20p. So, the best option is to book flights on SmartBuy using reward points or transfer them to one of the Airmiles partners.
| Redemption Option | Value of 1 RP |
|---|---|
| Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels) | 50 paise |
| Airmiles – Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara | 0.5 Airmiles |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | 20 to 35 paise |
| Cashback | 20 paise |
Final Thoughts
HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege is similar to the Regalia on many levels. But, Diners Club Privilege scores over the Regalia in some areas. But, acceptance at offline stores is something that is an issue for the Privilege card. Though, this has improved to a large extent thanks to the tie up with RuPay.
HDFC Bank credit cards are generally more rewarding than others. The Diners Club Privilege does not disappoint on this front as well. With the quarterly milestone and SmartBuy, the reward rate would be between 2% to 4% on spends which is good! Another reason to get this card will be the potential to upgrade to Diners Club Black or Infinia in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege Credit Card
24 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Diners Club Privilege Credit Card Review”
I am using millennia LTF, mainly used for shopping on Amazon and Flipkart and redeem points to statement. Now I am getting privilege card upgrade offer, is it worth upgrading for my usage pattern? Pls guide.
No, stick to Millennia.
In the begging it is written that joining and renewal are 2500 but in the middle it is written 1000. So which one is accurate
It is Rs 1000. That typo is fixed.
Hi,
1. Forex markup seems to be 3.5% + GST. Please check
2. Is it 8 Domestic + 8 international lounge access or 8 combined?
The forex markup is now updated in the review. It is 8 in total for both domestic and international lounges as per our knowledge.
Do I have to wait until a full calendar quarter is completed before I can get lounge access? So if I get this card in mid October, I have to wait until April for lounge access?
If you get it in October, you should be eligible for lounge access in January provided spends are met.
Can rewards points be transferred to KrisFlyer? I tried to do it over Diners Smartbuy portal but it says that this card is not eligible for miles transfer.
The older Diners Privilege card had this feature. The ones that are being issued now don’t have it.
Are you sure that airmiles option is available in privilege card. I don’t see that .. please advise
You can access it in Netbanking when you go to redeem credit card rewards page.
Currently getting this card as an option of upgrade over my LTF Millennia Diners.
But have to pay 2500 annual fee.
Is there a way to make it LTF like my Millennia Diners?
HDFC Bank is now issuing upgrades with fee. No way to upgrade as LTF unless you get the pre-approved offer.
2x reward points on weekend dining are no longer available post devaluation.
Thanks! It is now removed.
Hi! Regarding the cap of 4000 RPs per calendar month on Smartbuy purchases,
1. Is the 4000 calculated on the entire rewards (10x, 5x, 3x) or the accelerated rewards (9x, 4x, 2x)?
2. Say, we have achieved the cap of 4000 RPs, will further transactions through Smartbuy earn base rewards?
1. Accelerated rewards only
2. Yes
Dear Sir/Madam,
Have the limit to the tune of Rs 6 lacs in other bank Card. Interested in Diners Club Black Card.
You need to request your RM to upgrade you to DCB based on credit card limit or email grievance helpdesk.
I applied for this card upon getting a notification from Payzapp. HDFC declined my application without stating any reason (my CIBIL: 840, annual income above 14 lacs, have three cards with a combined CL of 3.15 lacs, oldest since May 2019).
I reapplied through Payzapp on another notification. This time the customer care executive on first round of telephonic verification asked me, if my current location is at least 50 km from my Aadhar and i was told that is their internal policy.
So I changed my Aadhar address to current address.
Now I’m trying to apply from HDFC banks site, but it shows “you’ve already applied, please check the status”, the status is the same one as that of my first application.
Any other way to get through this? How do I get this?
Hi DP. Please follow up with HDFC Bank with the old application number. You can drop an email to PriorityRedressal.CreditCards@hdfcbank.com with the application details. They will get in touch with you.
Joining/Annual fees is reduced to 1k
Thanks! This is updated.