Since its launch in 2011, the HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card has enjoyed tremendous success. As a result, many other banks launched products with comparable benefits in India. HDFC Bank has continued to restructure the Regalia’s benefits over time. When using reward points for travel, it offers a reward rate of 1.3%. Additionally, we get milestone benefits that boost the reward rate to 2.2%. When using SmartBuy rewards points, we get 10X accelerated rewards, which boosts our net reward rate considerably. Additionally, HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card has complimentary access to airport lounges both within and outside India.
Eligibility
For fresh applications, one needs to have a net monthly income of more than Rs 1 Lakh if salaried or an ITR of more than Rs 12 Lakhs for self-employed. But, HDFC Bank relaxes these criteria by quite a bit if one already has a savings account with them.
You can also upgrade to Regalia based on the limit of your existing HDFC Bank credit card. If your existing HDFC Bank credit card has a credit limit of more than Rs 3 lakhs, you can request an upgrade to Regalia. The salary requirements are fully relaxed in this case.
Fees and Charges
In most cases, Regalia is issued as Lifetime Free for C2C applications. You will get the fee options when you are applying for or upgrading to Regalia.
| Joining Fee | Rs 2500+GST/FYF/LTF |
| Welcome Benefit | 2500 Reward Points if the fee is paid |
| Annual Fee | Rs 2500+GST/LTF |
| Renewal Benefit | 2500 Reward Points if the fee is paid |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Rs 3 Lakhs spend in a membership year |
| Issued On | Visa, Mastercard, and Rupay |
Rewards
| Spend Category | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Retail Spends | 4 RP per Rs 150 ~1.3% return |
| EasyEMI, Wallets, Rent, Property Management, Packers & Movers, Government transactions | No rewards |
| Cap on Grocery spend rewards | 2000 RP per calendar month |
| Cap on Insurance spend rewards | 2000 RP per day |
HDFC Bank Regalia credit card earns 4 reward points for every Rs 150. Each reward is worth 20 to 50 paise depending on the redemption option. At 50 paise per reward point, the return on spending is 1.3%. But, we have milestone benefits and SmartBuy rewards where we earn up to 10X rewards. This increases the reward rate by quite a bit.
Milestone Benefits
- Bonus 10000 RP on spending Rs 5 lakhs in a membership year
- Bonus 5000 RP on spending Rs 8 lakhs in a membership year
Including the milestone reward points, the reward rate on the HDFC Bank Regalia credit card is a good 2.2%. But, it would have been good to see a standard 2% reward rate with extra milestone benefits.
HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card SmartBuy Rewards
The normal/milestone rewards on HDFC Bank Regalia credit card might seem less for a card in this segment. This is where SmartBuy is useful. For shopping on the below merchants through SmartBuy, we get accelerated rewards which increase the overall reward rate. The SmartBuy cap for Regalia is 4000 reward points per calendar month and 2000 RP per day.
| 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 Tresor | 5X | 6.6% |
| Flipkart | 3X | 3.9% |
| Zoom Car | 5X | 6.6% |
| Nykaa | 5X | 6.6% |
| Jockey | 10X | 13.3% |
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
- Airport lounges within India: 2 complimentary visits/calendar quarter within India (both at domestic and international terminals). This can be availed by swiping the Visa/Mastercard/Rupay credit card at the lounge. The eligible list of lounges is available at this link. Effective 1st December 2023, you will need to spend Rs 1 Lakh in a calendar quarter to get complimentary airport lounge access within India. On meeting the milestone, visit Regalia SmartBuy –> Lounge Benefits –> Lounge Access Voucher to get the access vouchers.
- Airport lounges outside India: 6 complimentary visits/calendar year. For Visa/Mastercard variants, the access is with Priority Pass. For Rupay, you can directly use the Regalia credit card to access airport lounges outside India as per the list at this link.
Other Benefits
- Foreign Currency Markup: 2%+GST ~2.36%
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver for transactions between Rs 400Â and Rs 5000. Maximum waiver of Rs 500 per statement cycle.
- 24/7 concierge
- Accidental air death cover worth Rs 1 Crore
- Emergency overseas hospitalization up to Rs. 15 lakhs​​​​​​​
- Lost Card Liability Cover up to Rs 9 lakhs
Rewards Redemption
HDFC Bank Regalia credit card provides multiple options for redeeming the reward points. The rewards can be redeemed on the Smartbuy redemption portal.
HDFC provides the option of redeeming products from its catalog, booking flights/hotels, gift vouchers, or even cash. What differs is the value offered for your rewards 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, if you travel the best option is to book flights on Smartbuy using reward points or transfer them to one of the Airmiles partners.
| Redemption Option | HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card (Value of 1 RP) |
|---|---|
| Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels) | 50 paise |
| Airmiles – Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara | 0.5 Airmiles |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | Up to 35 paise |
| Cashback | 20 paise |
Final Thoughts
HDFC Bank Regalia credit card rewards might seem too low among other credit card offerings. But, it is still very much a good entry-level travel credit card. SmartBuy rewards are also a good selling point as we get up to 10X rewards on spends. Plus, the Regalia credit card also sets you on the path to an Infinia credit card upgrade which is one of the most highly rewarding credit cards in India. 🙂
If you are not into travel and are looking for better cashback redemption cards, then the Millennia or SBI Cashback credit cards are better choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card
7 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card”
I had intermiles signature card. Now they are giving LTF regalia. I really don’t see any use since I have Axis Magnus.
Do you see any use case for Regalia card?
Take it up as it is LTF. Magnus is a great option now but getting Regalia will keep you in the HDFC eco-system in case a better credit card is launched by them.
If we pre- close a EMI for a ticket booked via makemytrip what charges are taken by hdfc on regalia? Also, will the flight discount on EMI transaction remain or get reversed?
There will be a pre-closure fee depending on how you converted the transaction to EMI whether from the MMT page or post-transaction.
The flight discount on EMI transaction should not have any impact.
Is there any cashyback for standing scheduled payments of insurance on regalia?
I have regalia Visa, can I change it to regalia RuPay (want to do it for UPI)
Want to make sure my eligibility for Infinia does get disturbed 🙂
Yes, you can change it to Rupay by emailing them. But, why not get Tata Neu Rupay credit card for UPI spends?