Regalia and Millennia credit cards are two of the most popular credit cards from HDFC Bank. While Regalia has been around for almost 10 years now, Millennia is a recent launch from 2019. The eligibility criteria for these two cards are also almost the same. Given that, HDFC Bank allows only one credit card per customer which one to go for when we have both options. Here is a detailed comparison of the HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia credit cards to help you decide.
Fees and Charges
| Regalia | Millennia | |
|---|---|---|
| Joining/Renewal Fee | Rs 2500 plus taxes or LTF | Rs 1000 plus taxes or LTF |
| Welcome Benefit | 2500 Reward Points if the joining fee is paid | 1000 CashPoints if the joining fee is paid |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Rs 3 Lakhs spend | Rs 1 Lakh spend |
| Renewal Benefit | 2500 Reward Points if the renewal fee is paid | None |
Though the product pages of Millennia and Regalia mention a joining/renewal fee, they are issued Lifetime Free in most cases. HDFC Bank is issuing these Lifetime Free currently as well.
Rewards
There is a key difference between Millennia and Regalia when it comes to rewards. While Millennia is a cashback credit card, Regalia is a reward point credit card.
| Category | Regalia | Millennia |
|---|---|---|
| Base Rewards | 4 RP/Rs 150 | 1% CashPoints. Max Rs 1000/calendar month |
| Transactions on Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber & Zomato | 4 RP/Rs 150 Some merchants are on Smartbuy where Regalia also gets accelerated reward points. | 5% CashPoints up to Rs 1000/calendar month |
| Wallet Loads | No Rewards | 1% CashPoints – Same Rs 1000 cap as base rewards |
| Milestone Rewards | A. Bonus 10,000 Reward Points on Rs 5 Lakhs spends in a membership year B. Additional 5,000 Reward Points on Rs 8 lakhs spends | Rs 1000 gift vouchers on spends of Rs 1 Lakh in each calendar quarter |
| Return on spends | 1.3% without milestone rewards 2.2% with milestone reward points | 3% to 4% |
Millennia is straightforward when it comes to earning rewards. We can earn base rewards with a cap of Rs 2000 across both categories plus another Rs 1000 as milestone rewards. On Millennia:
- u003cliu003eWe can spend Rs 20000 every month on the 5% cashpoints category before hitting the cap of 1000 cashpoints.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eIf we meet the Rs 1 Lakh spend in a calendar quarter, then the Rs 1000 GV is equivalent to another 1% in rewards.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eThe u003cstrongu003eoverall Return Rate on Millennia is around 3% to 4%u003c/strongu003e depending on the quantum of spending across the categories.u003c/liu003e
In contrast, Regalia gives a return of 2.2% only if we hit the milestone spend of Rs 8 Lakhs. Without milestone rewards, Regalia’s return on spends is 1.3%. So, is Millennia a better card than Regalia when it comes to rewards? Not exactly, because things change when Smartbuy comes into play.
Millennia reward redemption is assumed to be in statement credit.
Regalia reward redemption is assumed to be by booking flights/hotels on Smartbuy.
Smartbuy Rewards
HDFC Bank Smartbuy rewards tilt the scale in favor of Regalia if one is using the rewards for booking flights/hotels on Smartbuy. But, Regalia gets a higher cap of 4000 RP compared to Millennia which gets a cap of Rs 1000 per calendar month. Below is the table of Smartbuy rewards rates for Millennia and Regalia. Regalia return % is calculated without taking milestone rewards into account.
| Shopping Category | Rewards on Regalia | Return on Regalia at 1RP = 50p | Cashback on Millennia | Return for Millennia with addl. 1% CB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IGP.com | 10X | 13.3% | 10% | 11% |
| Amazon | 5X | 6.6% | 5% | 6% |
| Flights (Cleartrip and Yatra) | 5X | 6.6% | 5% | 6% |
| Hotels (Cleartrip and MakeMyTrip) | 10X | 13.3% | 5% | 6% |
| IRCTC | 3X | 3.9% | 5% | 6% |
| Redbus | 5X | 6.6% | 5% | 6% |
| Instant Vouchers | 5X | 6.6% | 5% | 6% |
| Apple Tresor | 5X | 6.6% | 5% | 6% |
| Flipkart | 3X | 3.9% | 1% | 2% |
Redemption Options
The redemption options will be the deciding factor for most people making a choice between Regalia and Millennia.
| Redemption Option | Regalia (Value of 1 RP) | Millennia (Value of 1 Cashpoint) |
|---|---|---|
| Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels) | 50 paise | 30 paise |
| Airmiles – Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara | 0.5 Airmiles | Not Available |
| Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers) | Up to 35 paise | Not Available |
| Cashback | 20 paise | Rs 1 |
Airport Lounge Access
| Regalia | Millennia | |
|---|---|---|
| Lounge Access | 12 complimentary lounge access within India every year 6 complimentary lounge access outside India every year | 8 complimentary lounge access within India every year (2 per quarter) |
Verdict: Which card is better – Regalia vs Millennia?
This is where we decide which card is better. Here is a summary of the comparison we did so far:
When to choose HDFC Bank Millennia credit card?
- u003cliu003eSpends at 5% cashback partners are significant.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022background-color: var(u002du002dhas-boxed, #ffffff); color: var(u002du002dcolor); font-family: var(u002du002dfontFamily); font-size: var(u002du002dfontSize); font-style: var(u002du002dfontStyle, inherit); font-weight: var(u002du002dfontWeight); letter-spacing: var(u002du002dletterSpacing); text-transform: var(u002du002dtextTransform);u0022u003eThe preferred reward redemption method is cashback/statement credit.u003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003e
When to choose HDFC Bank Regalia credit card?
- u003cliu003eSmartbuy spending is significant. Regalia has a 2X cap on cashback compared to Millennia.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eIf you are a high spender and can achieve the 5 lakhs and 8 lakhs milestone benefits.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eIf you travel more and can utilize the higher count of lounge access.u003c/liu003e
14 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia Credit Card”
This is a wonderful article that clearly summarizes the key differences between Regalia and Millenia. I am currently having Regalia Credit card based on my Imperia Tier. To be honest, both cards are great. SmartBuy is a hyped-up platform and is only meant to bring more business to HDFC. The listed price for flights are higher compared to the ones listed on the carrier website. I don’t use SmartBuy and the only benefit that I am interested in is domestic and international lounge access.
Thanks for the detailed comparison. Finally after reading this article decided to stay put with Millennia instead of upgarde to Regalia because the benefits of Regalia are not that attractive, Flights and Hotels you can get far better deals with other credit card offers in various travel websites which come from time to time. Upgrading to Regalia is like a downgrade in terms of rewards, practically speaking.
Hello CardMaven.in,
Really informing article on the 2 highest tier cards from HDFC.
Today, I received a request from my bank for a card upgrade from Millennia to Regalia (lifetime free) so I quickly Googled and found your article to be very very helpful. Such articles are never UPvoted but I am doing my part. Keep up the excellent work Dear Research team at Card Maven.
Want to understand which is better card at the end in context of rewards percentage in case of offline spends???
It all depends on what you want to do with those reward points.
If those are used for FlighHotels & Vouchers ts/-> Go for Regalia, Cashback -> Go for Millennia (check ‘Verdict’ section).
For offline spends also, Millennia gives 1% as cashback, Regalia gives 1.3% to use flights/hotels (for me flights/hotels no use due to less travel, so I prefer Millennia but for some those two categories gives extra benefit when they used on Regalia).
hi
after seeing these many comparisons, still not finalized.
right now I’m using Regalia Card.
is Millennia is best or Regalia itself
It is simple. If you plan to use rewards for flights/hotels, then go for Regalia. If you prefer cashback redemption, go for Millennia.
My case is similar to Abhilash. I donot use rewards for flights / hotels but look for the cashback in statement. The advantage of regalia is that number of visits to domestic lounge are more as compared to millenia. Also, complimentary visits to international lounge are missing in millenia.. So is regalia still better than millenia?
Hi Puneet. You can always use other credit cards for airport lounge access once you have exhausted Millennia’s free visits.
Hi card , thanks for the prompt reply but all other cards provide only domestic lounge access and not the international lounge access. So i am bit reluctant and confused to leave regalia and convert it to millenia…
Well written article sir.. just one doubt in rewards section flipkart is shown as 5% cb group of vendor but in smart buy its shown as 1%!! Am i missing something
Thank you! Yes, this is one of the cases where we are better off directly buying from Flipkart using Millennia instead of going through Smartbuy. Direct Flipkart purchases get 5% but Smartbuy clicks get you far less than that.
It is a well curated article and has the latest details. Most of the websites are still showing the old features for Millenia.
Thank you Sai!