Regalia and Infinia credit cards are two of the most popular credit cards from HDFC Bank. Infinia is above the Regalia when it comes to rewards, benefits, and eligibility. So, most Infinia members would have held a Regalia at some point in their credit card journey. If you hold a Regalia and are looking or eligible for an upgrade to Infinia, then this article is for you. In this post, we compare HDFC Bank Regalia vs Infinia credit card. This post will include all aspects like fees, rewards, and redemption options. Read on to decide which is the right credit card for you when it comes to Regalia vs Infinia.
Fees and Charges
| Regalia | Infinia | |
|---|---|---|
| Joining Fee | Rs 2500/LTF | Rs 12500/FYF |
| Welcome Benefit | 2500 RP if the joining fee is paid | 1-year Complimentary Club Marriott membership 12500 RP if the joining fee is paid |
| Annual Fee | Rs 2500/LTF | Rs 12500 |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Rs 3 Lakhs spend | Rs 10 Lakhs spend |
| Renewal Benefit | 2500 RP if the renewal fee is paid | 12500 RP if the renewal fee is paid |
Though the product page for Regalia mentions a joining/renewal fee, it is issued Lifetime Free in most cases. The conditions to make it LTF are either a one-time 90 days spend condition or Smartpay biller registration.
Rewards
Both Infinia and Regalia are reward point credit cards. This makes it easy to compare both to see which is more rewarding.
| Category | Regalia | Infinia |
|---|---|---|
| Base Rewards | 4 RP/Rs 150 | 5 RP/Rs 150 |
| Milestone Rewards (Membership Year) | A. Bonus 10000 RP on Rs 5 Lakhs spends B. Additional 5000 RP on Rs 8 lakhs spends | None |
| Return on spends | 1.3% without milestone rewards 2.2% with milestone reward points | 3.3% |
While both Regalia and Infinia earn reward points, what makes the major difference is the value of 1 RP. If we redeem RP for flights, 1 RP = 50 paise for Regalia and 1 RP = Rs 1 for Infinia. Reward Redemption is assumed to be for Smartbuy Flights in the case of both Infinia and Regalia to calculate the reward rate in the above table.
Smartbuy Rewards
HDFC Bank Smartbuy rewards tilt the scale in favor of Infinia. Infinia has a higher earn rate and bonus RP cap on Smartbuy.
- Infinia gets up to 15000 bonus RP per month. The daily cap is 7500 RP.
- Regalia gets up to 4000 bonus RP per month. The daily cap is 2000 RP.
| Category | Rewards on Regalia and Infinia | Return on Regalia | Return for Infinia |
|---|---|---|---|
| IGP.com | 10X | 13.3% | 33% |
| Flights | 5X | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Hotels | 10X | 13.3% | 33% |
| IRCTC | 3X | 3.9% | 10% |
| Redbus | 5X | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Instant Vouchers | 5X | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Apple Tresor | 5X | 6.6% | 16.5% |
| Flipkart | 3X | 3.9% | 10% |
Reward Redemption is assumed to be for Smartbuy Flights in the case of both Infinia and Regalia to calculate the reward rate in the above table.
Redemption Options
| Redemption Option | Regalia (Value of 1 RP) | Infinia (Value of 1 RP) |
|---|---|---|
| Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels) | 50 paise | Rs 1 |
| Tanishq Vouchers/Apple Products | 35 paise | Rs 1 |
| Airmiles – Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara | 0.5 AirMile | 1 AirMile |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | Up to 35 paise | 20 paise to 50 paise |
| Cashback | 20 paise | 30 paise |
Airport Lounge Access
| Regalia | Infinia | |
|---|---|---|
| Lounge Access | 12 complimentary lounge access within India every year 6 complimentary lounge access outside India every year | Unlimited lounge access in and outside India. Priority Pass lounge access is free even within India. |
Verdict: Which card is better – Regalia vs Infinia?
Regalia is a stepping stone for the Infinia upgrade. As expected, it comes with better rewards and benefits.
If you have higher spending in the range of more than Rs 5 Lakhs, Infinia is a natural choice. We get 12500 RP in exchange for the annual fee, so we do not need to spend Rs 10 Lakhs to get the fee waiver. The effective payment in such cases is Rs 2250 for the GST component. For spending close to 10 Lakhs, getting the Infinia is a no-brainer. 🙂
If you like to travel, Infinia comes with unlimited complimentary airport lounge access both within and outside India. This can also be extended to add-on card members with their individual Priority Pass.
11 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Regalia vs Infinia Credit Card”
Thanks for this useful article.
My friend upgrade to ‘Millennia’ instead of ‘Regalia’ thanks to your comparison articles, it really helped because most of the sites won’t show how much we will get if we redeem for cashback/vouchers etc. you provided whole information, till now I thought ‘Infinia’ cashback value 0.50p/RP because of super-premium but it limited to only 0.30p even vouchers.
I hold times card for more than 8 years with 10L+ limit, still unable to upgrade to even ‘Millennia’ (at-least my friend got upgrade), I don’t know why they never consider my forms sent to Chennai or E-Mail requests to redressalcc mail Ids, they only say send documents to Chennai but that never works even branch people saying same.
After reading your other articles on upgrades are happening, I tried my luck with that Grievance mail id but they told same response saying ‘download form and sent to Chennai’.
Never had any issue with other banks except HDFC, even branch not helping other than closing and apply directly DCB based on income proofs but hesitated because of it’s long contribution in my credit report, so still trying upgrade (I mean who using times card these days that too with that 7 digits limit:))/
Thanks again for your articles, whenever I see ‘Infinia’, I often feel like favourite thing that we always want but rarely get.
1.Since how many years you are using this card?
2.What was your card limit when you got the card?
3.how much time did it take to reach 10lakh limit?
1. 8+ running
2. 24k
3. 7+ Years
See, I think Times card is co branded card so they wont be able to upgrade you to any other card. Also HDFC has one card policy so you can’t get another card.
So until you have a very high Net Relationship value with hdfc, your best bet would be to close this card and get a new non co branded card and slowly try to upgrade that.
Is it wise to upgrade to ‘Millennia’ instead of ‘Regalia’?
How difficult it is to upgrade to ‘Infinia’ in future from ‘Millennia’?
It depends more on the limit. Once you have the required 8L limit and meet other criteria set by HDFC Bank, you can request for an upgrade to Infinia.
But why Millennia? Because you do not plan to use the rewards on Regalia for flights etc.?
Yes, preferred cashback after reading your compared article.
Good to know the article helped. Keep using Millennia. We can check on DCB upgrade on crossing 5L limit.
Hi,
I have HDFC Bank’s Regalia credit card since quite some time. My current annual usage ranges between 2.5 to 5 lacs. Will it make sense for me to upgrade to Infinia credit card? Please help with explaining the same.
Best Regards
Please happy with whatever you have. Infinia is suitable for people who spends 8 to 10 lakhs in a year and frequent travelers