HDFC Bank has launched a new co-branded credit card with IRCTC on the Rupay platform. With this launch, now we have three issuers with IRCTC co-branded credit cards – SBI Card, BoB, and HDFC Bank. But, is the new HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC Credit Card better in rewards and benefits than the ones from SBI Card and BoB? Let’s find out. In this article, we review the HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC Credit Card and compare it against the existing IRCTC cards.
Fees & Charges
| Joining Fee | Rs 500+GST |
| Welcome Benefit | Rs 500 Amazon GV on 1st transaction within 30 days |
| Annual Fee | Rs 500+GST |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 1.5 Lakhs in a membership year |
The HDFC Bank IRCTC credit card has the same joining fee as the IRCTC BoB and IRCTC SBI Platinum credit cards. But, the annual fee is higher by Rs 150 than the other two.
Rewards
Rewards are where the new HDFC Bank IRCTC card is very different from the SBI and BoB IRCTC cards.
- Railway Bookings: 5 CashPoints/Rs 100 and 5% savings with Smartbuy ~10% Value
- Other Purchases: 1 CashPoint/Rs 100 ~1% Value
- No rewards on fuel purchases
We also get a transaction charges waiver on the IRCTC website for transaction amounts between Rs 400 and Rs 5000. This is capped at Rs 250 per month.
Complimentary IRCTC Railway Lounge Access
- 4 complimentary visits per year to IRCTC railway lounges (1 per quarter)
Rewards Redemption
The earned CashPoints are valid for three years. Each CashPoint can be redeemed at Rs 1 on the IRCTC website.
- Redemption is allowed from the cardholder’s IRCTC account
- Tickets purchases with redemption should have the cardholder as a passenger
We can also redeem the CashPoints for flights, hotel bookings, and statement redemption at 30 paise for 1 CashPoint. But, these options do not make sense. The redemption should be on IRCTC for getting maximum value.
Final Thoughts
We would rate the HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC credit card higher than the SBI and BoB IRCTC cards. The simple reason is it offers a 10% value on all classes of railway booking including sleeper class. The SBI and BoB IRCTC cards have good rewards only for AC bookings.
Smartbuy is a key differentiator for this card. We get other benefits through Smartbuy as well.
So, if you are looking for an IRCTC co-branded credit card then get this one.
HDFC Bank Rupay IRCTC Credit Card
