HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia Credit Card

HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millenia Credit Card

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

RegaliaMillennia
Joining/Renewal FeeRs 2500 plus taxes or LTFRs 1000 plus taxes or LTF
Welcome Benefit2500 Reward Points if the joining fee is paid1000 CashPoints if the joining fee is paid
Renewal Fee WaiverRs 3 Lakhs spendRs 1 Lakh spend
Renewal Benefit2500 Reward Points if the renewal fee is paid None
HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia Credit Card – Fees and Charges

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.

LTF IndusInd Bank Credit Cards

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.

CategoryRegaliaMillennia
Base Rewards4 RP/Rs 1501% CashPoints. Max Rs 1000/calendar month
Transactions on Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber & Zomato4 RP/Rs 150

Some merchants are on Smartbuy where Regalia also gets accelerated reward points.
5% CashPoints up to Rs 1000/calendar month
Wallet LoadsNo Rewards1% CashPoints – Same Rs 1000 cap as base rewards
Milestone RewardsA. 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 spends1.3% without milestone rewards

2.2% with milestone reward points

3% to 4%
HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia Credit Card – Rewards

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:

  • We can spend Rs 20000 every month on the 5% cashpoints category before hitting the cap of 1000 cashpoints.
  • If we meet the Rs 1 Lakh spend in a calendar quarter, then the Rs 1000 GV is equivalent to another 1% in rewards.
  • The overall Return Rate on Millennia is around 3% to 4% depending on the quantum of spending across the categories.

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.

LTF IDFC First Bank Credit Cards

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 for Regalia and Millennia

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.

AU Bank Xcite Ace
Shopping CategoryRewards on RegaliaReturn on Regalia at 1RP = 50pCashback on MillenniaReturn for Millennia with addl. 1% CB
IGP.com10X13.3%10%11%
Amazon5X6.6%5%6%
Flights (Cleartrip and Yatra)5X6.6%5%6%
Hotels (Cleartrip and MakeMyTrip)10X 13.3% 5%6%
IRCTC3X3.9%5%6%
Redbus5X 6.6% 5%6%
Instant Vouchers5X6.6%5%6%
Apple Tresor5X 6.6% 5%6%
Flipkart3X3.9% 1%2%
HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia – Smartbuy Rewards

Redemption Options

The redemption options will be the deciding factor for most people making a choice between Regalia and Millennia.

Redemption OptionRegalia (Value of 1 RP)Millennia (Value of 1 Cashpoint)
Smartbuy (Flights/Hotels)50 paise30 paise
Airmiles – Intermiles, Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer), Club Vistara0.5 AirmilesNot Available
Rewards Catalogue (Including Vouchers)Up to 35 paiseNot Available
Cashback20 paiseRs 1

Airport Lounge Access

RegaliaMillennia
Lounge Access12 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?

  • Spends at 5% cashback partners are significant.
  • The preferred reward redemption method is cashback/statement credit.

When to choose HDFC Bank Regalia credit card?

  • Smartbuy spending is significant. Regalia has a 2X cap on cashback compared to Millennia.
  • If you are a high spender and can achieve the 5 lakhs and 8 lakhs milestone benefits.
  • If you travel more and can utilize the higher count of lounge access.
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14 thoughts on “HDFC Bank Regalia vs Millennia Credit Card”

  1. 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.

  2. Kabir Khan

    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.

  3. 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.

  4. Sahil Gupta

    Want to understand which is better card at the end in context of rewards percentage in case of offline spends???

    1. 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).

  5. hi
    after seeing these many comparisons, still not finalized.
    right now I’m using Regalia Card.
    is Millennia is best or Regalia itself

    1. Card Maven

      It is simple. If you plan to use rewards for flights/hotels, then go for Regalia. If you prefer cashback redemption, go for Millennia.

      1. 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?

        1. Card Maven

          Hi Puneet. You can always use other credit cards for airport lounge access once you have exhausted Millennia’s free visits.

          1. 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…

  6. 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

    1. 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.

  7. Sai Satheesh

    It is a well curated article and has the latest details. Most of the websites are still showing the old features for Millenia.

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