HDFC Bank MoneyBack Plus Credit Card Review

HDFC Bank MoneyBack Plus credit card is an upgrade for the basic entry-level MoneyBack offering. MoneyBack+ is a cashback card that is similar to Millennia but with lower rewards. HDFC Bank MoneyBack Plus credit card is available at a joining and annual fee of ₹ 500+GST but is mostly issued LTF for new applicants. The card offers accelerated rewards for e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket and Swiggy. We also get a milestone benefit that adds 1% return on reaching the target spends in a calendar quarter.

Fees

Joining Fee	₹ 500+GST or LTF
Welcome Benefit	500 CashPoints (only if fee is charged)
Annual Fee	₹ 500+GST or LTF
Renewal Benefit	500 CashPoints (only if fee is charged)
Annual Fee Waiver	On spends of ₹ 50,000 in a membership year

Cashback

We earn CashPoints for transactions on MoneyBack+. These cashpoints are equivalent to cashback and can be redeemed as statement credit. Each CashPoint is equal to 25 paise for MoneyBack+ credit card. We get an accelerated reward rate of 3.3% on Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart, Reliance Smart and Swiggy. But, the overall cap is quite low.

Category	Reward Rate	Return	Maximum CashPoints per calendar month
Spends on Amazon, BigBasket , Flipkart, Reliance Smart SuperStore & Swiggy	20 CP/₹ 150	3.3%	2500
Merchant EMI Spends	10 CP/₹ 150	1.7%	2500
Retail spends	2 CP/₹ 150	0.3%	No Cap
Grocery spends	2 CP/₹ 150	0.3%	1000
EasyEMI, Fuel, Wallets, Rent, Property Management, Packers & Movers, Government Transactions	No Rewards

Milestone Rewards

• Gift vouchers worth ₹ 500 on spends of ₹ 50000 in a calendar quarter
• Gift voucher options: Big Basket, BookMyShow, Uber, Pizza Hut and PVR
• Extra return with milestone benefit: 1%

SmartBuy Rewards

MoneyBack+ is also eligible for SmartBuy platform cashback like other HDFC Bank credit cards. The cap for SmartBuy cashback is ₹ 1000 per calendar month. For a low reward rate card like MoneyBack+, using SmartBuy is one of the best ways to get a higher reward rate.

Shopping Category	Cashback
IGP.com	10%
Flights	5%
Hotels	5%
IRCTC	5%
RedBus	5%
Instant Vouchers	5%
Apple Tresor	5%
Zoom Car	5%
Nykaa	5%
Jockey	10%
MMT Holiday Packages	5%

HDFC Bank MoneyBack Plus Credit Card Rewards Redemption

The minimum cashpoints required for redemption are 2000. Cashpoints are valid for 2 years from accumulation. We can redeem the accumulated cashpoints from HDFC Bank Netbanking portal. The amount gets credited as statement credit.

We can also redeem the cashpoints for statement credit or flights/hotel booking on SmartBuy. Redemption for flights/hotels on SmartBuy is not worth going for when we get same value on statement credit.

Redemption Option	Value
Statement Credit	1 Cashpoint = ₹ 0.25
Flights/Hotels on SmartBuy (Max 50% of booking amount)	1 Cashpoint = ₹ 0.25

Airport Lounge Access

For a ₹ 500 annual fee credit card, missing out on airport lounge access as a feature is not surprising.

• Domestic Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
• International Airport Lounge Access: Not Available

Other Key Benefits & Charges

• Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver for transactions from ₹ 400 to ₹ 5000. Maximum waiver of ₹ 250 per statement cycle.
• Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5%+GST ~4.1%
• Interest Rate: 3.6% per month
• Reward Redemption Charges: ₹ 99+GST

Final Thoughts

This is where we would evaluate if one should you get the MoneyBack+ credit card. If this is the only HDFC Bank card that you are eligible for, then yes. The reason is for HDFC Bank, one can get start with any of the cards and then upgrade to a better card in the future. If you already have MoneyBack+, then the next upgrade would be take the Millennia credit card when available.

Comparing with other entry-level cards, we have better options in Amazon Pay ICICI, Flipkart Axis and Axis Ace credit cards. These offer better rewards on all spends that make them more suitable. The 0.3% reward on ‘other spends’ on MoneyBack+ credit card is a little too low. But, if you can spend ₹ 50,000 in a calendar quarter to get the milestone benefit, then the MoneyBack+ card gets a bit better.