Earn 10X Points on International Spends with HDFC Diners Cards

By | April 4, 2018

Amidst all the recent devaluations with HDFC Diners Rewardz and HDFC Diners Premium, the benefits of owning a Diners Club International Cards was slowly fading away. Not that HDFC has been kind with the other credit cards they offered. They have devalued almost all the major credit cards they offer barring the HDFC Infinia, Diners Black and JetAirways Diners.

But then it seems, HDFC Bank is again playing it’s cards right and this is sure to bring relief to a few disgruntled customers who love to do foreign transactions. HDFC is now throwing an earning capability of upto 10,000 points under the 10X program for all international spends that will be done on their  Diners Club cards.

10X RPs on all International Spends with Diners Cards

Earn 10X RPs on all International Spends with Diners Cards:

  • Offer Validity: 1st September 2017- 31st December 2017
  • Earning Cap per statement cycle:
    • HDFC Diners Black: 10,000 RPs (1RP= ₹1)
    • HDFC Diners Premium: 5,000 RPs.(1 RP= ₹0.50)
    • HDFC Diners Rewardz: 2,500 RPs, the terms and condition PDF says Max 2000 RPs though. (1 RP= ₹0.30)
  • Offer only valid on Foreign transactions done (They haven’t mentioned whether the offer is valid on both Online and PoS transactions or not, but in my view, it’s safe to assume that both txns will qualify.)
  • Incremental RPs will be posted within 90 days from statement cycle.
  • The 10X points Cap under this offer is over and above the 10X conventional offer with preferred partners like Amazon.in, Uber etc.

You can earn even more through their Global Value Program at Rs.199 Annual Fee.

  • Under this scheme, any HDFC Bank Credit Cards can activate the Global Value Program by calling Phonebanking.
  • The Service Program will be activated for your credit card within 5 days of placing the request and you’ll receive a confirmation SMS for the same.
  • You will be billed ₹199 for a year.
  • You’ll get 500 bonus RPs within 60 days after 1st International Transaction is done.
  • You’ll get a cashback benefit of 1% on all transaction upto ₹1000/statement cycle.
  • Within 30 days of reaching ₹1.5 lakh International spends in a year, you’ll get a Yatra Voucher worth ₹2000!!

Apart from this there are few merchant specific discounts for International Spends made in USA that you can check out on their official Diners Privilege Page.

So this like raining cashback and reward points, specially for HDFC Diners Club International Credit Card Holders. This makes sense because, the mark up fees for Diners Rewardz is 3% and for Premium and Black it is 2%. At the same time, you’ll get 1% cash back too.

On top of this you’ll earn 10X RPs based on your card type. It’s true that Diners Credit Cards provide the worst foreign exchange rates but here the benefits far outweigh the loss.

You save as good as ~30% on all international spends with Diners Black!!!

I am sure going to rack up a few points through this new scheme. Many people, specially who deal a lot in foreign transactions will definitely find these offers lucrative. Do let us know how you are planning to benefit from these new offers in the comments below.

85 thoughts on “Earn 10X Points on International Spends with HDFC Diners Cards

      1. Jatin

        Are you sure because it specifically lists the following cards:
        This program is available for the following retail credit cards – Gold, Titanium, Platinum Plus, Signature, World, Titanium Edge, Platinum Edge, Solitaire, Solitaire Premium, Superia, Regalia and Infinia.

        Reply
      2. Chaitanya

        Hi

        If i book hotel through online & pay the amount in Euros Expedia website will I be eligible for 10x reward points , or is it only for retail , please do let me know

        Reply
        1. Abhishek Roy Post author

          You will get 10X points on any international spends. Online or PoS txn.

          Reply
  1. Sivateja

    Hi Guys,
    I have a regalia first with hdfc, which I have used for large amounts for a while but as of few months I’m using my yes first preferred and amex cards more.
    Now I want to move to dinersclub cards but hdfc doesn’t allow it. I even sent a paper application and still no response from then. Tried the email for “talk to us” as well as support to no avail.
    Do you suggest I close this card and apply fresh for a dinersclub.
    Response much appreciated ☺️.

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      It depends. If you are not allowed to swap cards then you don’t have much choice. But I’ll still say talk to the. Branch Manager if required. If it still doesn’t work out, close the card, wait for 4-6 months and then apply for Diners Card

      Reply
    2. Rajesh

      I just got a Jet Diners, was holding All Miles earlier. They took the All Miles closure request and Jet Diners application together. So, you need not wait before you apply for the new card. I’d suggest you place the closure request first as they process the new card application very fast (read same day or next day) but the closure form has to travel to Chennai for processing and they put my application on hold stating that I already held a card.

      Reply
  2. Mihir

    About your point on the worst exchange rate, I had noticed it too but since last month or so, I am noticing positive change. It seems exchange rate is improved a lot.

    Yesterday I did a transaction of $0.86. I was charged 55.02 INR, which translates to 63.97, seems very close to XE’s rate. Understandably, this rate doesn’t include markup fees.

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      Whenever you do transaction with Diners Card, it’s always advisable to do a parallel transaction with MasterCard to come to a conclusion. Since I don’t prefer doing foreign transaction, I won’t be able to comment on this finding. We will know soon though as I’ll be using this new benefit.

      Reply
      1. Prashant Gupta

        I have noticed that diners is now giving the same rate as that on xe. Did couple of transaction. I did one with mastercard also, but found diners to be better.

        Reply
  3. Jatin

    So let me know if my below calculations are correct:

    If I spend Rs18,750 (in foreign currency) using my Diners Premium:
    I will benefit: ~13% (10x international) + 1%(cashback) – 2% (Foreign exchange markup) – GST – 199 (global value fees) and all these calculations come out to be: + ~Rs2000.

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      Yes correct.₹199 is a one time fees that you pay. Not with every transaction. That is compensated by getting 500 RPs after the 1st international transaction.

      Reply
  4. valliappan

    Apart from rewards, considering only the mark up charges and the exchange rate, are credits cards a better value option when compared to forex cards?

    Reply
    1. RAHUL BANSAL

      Yes, they are. Most of the forex card charge a loading and most of them lock you with a single foreign currency. But credit cards although might be 0.5-1% costlier provide you lots of convinience and don’t lock you in a single currency. They don’t need to be reloaded and you get a payment period of 30-50 days, also chargeback / fraud protection feature exist with CC. None of these are available on forex card. In all it is a person choice and trade off between convinience, protection, insurance and saving 0.5-1%.

      I would any day prefer to spend on CC than forex because of added safety and convinience.
      And if you take rewards into account than even this extra charge becomes irrelevant.

      Reply
  5. Ashutosh

    This was very good news since I am travelling with family to Malaysia in Diwali and HK in Christmas. That means every 30000 i spend in these places I get 10000 back. Thats the max.
    Now the bad news – Malaysia has stopped accepting Diners and stopped issuing Diners all together since 2015.
    HK too does not accept Diners everywhere except some high end hotels and shopping establishments.
    Diners is good for Europe and America.
    You could however go on a spending spree for Black Friday on Amazon.com and Ebay and buy some good stuff which you could ask friends to bring back.

    Reply
    1. Mihir

      I don’t believe you will benefit from that. This government has increased import duty to 42% on all consumer imports. There is also additional penalty if it crosses 50,000. So for costlier items, the import duty will cross 50%.

      In short, you can’t save a penny. You will end up paying a lot to the government. I guess that’s our contribution to bullet train and foreign tours 😀

      Reply
      1. Abhishek Roy Post author

        Does import duty apply if you buy the item yourself and bring it with you? I don’t think so. If anyone has any knowledge, let me know.

        Reply
        1. Amex Guy

          Import duty applies on everything that crosses border. Even on reimports. If you buy 2 laptops in India, go abroad, and come back, you will have to pay import duty on one extra laptop you’re bringing, even if you bought it in India. Reason? Because only 1 laptop is duty free.

          So anything brought over the prescribed limits of article, you have to pay duty. Most people hide things like these (2 laptops, 2 DSLRs, small electronics), but if they find out that you had dutiable stuff and walked through green channel, you are in for a fine or confiscation, or both.

          Reply
          1. Abhishek Roy Post author

            Ok. What if the users like professional photographers who may use 3 DSLRs attached a time. I have seen it myself. Can’t they carry their own stuff? It sounds very strange if this is the rule which is followed.

          2. Gaurav

            I am sure this is not true. I go to france every month for a week due to office meetings. I always carry two laptops. One is official amd other being personal.

            The customs have many time checked them. But nothing was charged on me for that.

          3. Niranjan

            The duty free allowance I believe is 1 laptop, 35k worth electronics (or dutiable items), 2 lts of alcohol, 1 pack of cigarette. If you carry 2 laptops from India, after your customs check at Indian airport while flying abroad, you need to declare the goods that you are carrying abroad and bringing back. You can then bring more items like extra laptop and above mentioned things, on top of you existing 2 laptops.
            That is how it works for professional photographers also who declare everything they take from India and bring back everything without duty.

          4. Amex Guy

            Abhishek — In cases on photographers, you can make a note of what you’re bringing in on passport, if you don’t carry those things back when you leave the country, you pay taxes on exit.

            This is common law in most countries.

            Gaurav — Tell the customs officer that you have 2 laptops and see if he taxes you. 🙂 If you always carry 2 laptops, consider making a note on passport, in case you get caught. I have gotten caught before, so I know. It really depends on what kind of customs officer is on duty. Sometimes you get assholes. The law clearly says maximum 1 laptop.

          5. M-one

            @ amex guy In case of 2 laptops or expensive items which are with you before leaving india you can go to coustom department and fill the declaration form and get it signed by coustom department and keep the form with you and when you return india show them the form so they will not charge any duty on it.

    2. Shreya Sood

      Hi Mihir,

      Any tips on how best to do a purchase from sites like gearbest, banggood, AliExpress etc.? 42% on imports is a lot. Is there any way around it?

      Shrey

      Reply
      1. Abhishek Roy Post author

        You can do purchases. I have bought many times. In most cases you don’t have to pay taxes. So go ahead and buy something and see it for yourself.

        Reply
      2. Amex Guy

        That 42% is not on everything, most things are still under same rate. It’s really a move to deincentivize organised import and resell companies. Besides, for small purchases the duty is waived off in new regime. As Abhishek said, order and try. 🙂

        Reply
        1. Mihir

          It’s 42% on everything for order value above Rs 2000. And the order value also includes shipping charges. So, simply, everything.

          However, if you are importing as business, with import license, then the individual import duty as per category applies.

          Reply
      3. M-one

        @ shreya soods before buying the product ask the seller ” can you mark it as a gift in coustom declaration , if he says yes then you will not have to pay the taxes and while ordering the item also mention to mark it as a gift in coustom declaration
        Note ÷ this trick will only apply when the value of product is 5000 or 10000 inr and this will not work on gearbest It will surely work on aliexpress.

        Reply
        1. Shrey

          I actually plan to get a laptop from gearbest or banggood which will cost around USD750. Any way to not end up paying 42% tax on that?

          Reply
          1. Abhishek Roy Post author

            Probably Mi Notebook I guess. It’s difficult to say if they’ll charge or not. I had got myself a MiPad 2 without any customs charges. So it’s really difficult.

          2. Sanemate

            I am in same boat as you. Researched a lot. Even talked to guys who work in customs. You will have to pay 42%. You can ask banggood to declare it as lower value, say 150$ but even then its a damn laptop. So customs guys will catch it mostly and you will have to pay.

  6. Sourav

    I have an AllMiles credit card (credit limit 4.3L) that is expiring first quarter of next year. I have been contemplating upgrading to a Diners, but scared by the little acceptance rate, considering this being my primary card, and is used for fuel purchases too. What card should I upgrade to, considering I’d need good reward benefits. Any pointers would be highly appreciated.

    P.S. My other cards are an Amex Platinum travel and a Citibank Shoppers stop

    Reply
    1. Amex Guy

      If you’ve been happy with AllMiles style reward system, try asking Citi to upgrade you to PremierMiles. Then upgrading to Diners will ensure that you have a pretty complete CC stack.

      Reply
  7. Anirban Sen

    I have lost trust with HDFC cards actually.
    The fine print is the bonus points come 90 days after a transaction. However, with a 30 day notice, they can devalue points. I lost some major points because of my Amazon.in shopping in July 2017 and right after that, they announced the devaluation from 15.8.17 with one month’s notice. My bonus points were received in September, but aren’t worth much.
    Note that Paypal transactions don’t get bonus points since its a “wallet” in HDFC’s parlance. Because I have a Yes Bank Exclusive, I am going to shift to them directly. For Amazon.in purchases, my Diners Premium is still good till 31.10.17 due to its 10x program.

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      Are you talking about PayPal? I don’t think HDFC considers it as wallet. As far as my knowledge goes, you should be getting regular points as you are supposed to get with any other foreign websites. The rule for wallets only apply on domestic wallets

      Reply
    2. Mahesh NRK

      Another trick here is, they never credit the 10X points in 90 days. So we have to contact the customer care and ask them to credit it. Happened to me the last 3 times. If you ask for it then only they credit it for you. I dont think the 90 days rule is worth. You have to keep track of those spents some where and monitor your points credited regularly.

      Reply
  8. Clifton Tuscano

    Hi Abhishek, it is nice to know such updates regularly and at one place..cardexpert.! Just wanted to reconfirm if 10x on international spend and 1% cashback through global program can be clubbed together. Ideally their website says no two offers can be combined. Thanks.!

    Reply
  9. M Muralidhar

    Just saw this post today, cardexpert was down few days back or my server was not a allowing. Activated the global program today, need to do a transaction tomorrow. Hope it gets activated within a day compared to five days as generally hdfc diners services are pretty quick.

    Reply
  10. S&S

    ‘The 10X points Cap under this offer is over and above the 10X conventional offer with preferred partners like Amazon.in, Uber etc.’

    Just wanted to share this info I got from CC
    (not sure if it was ‘public’ enuf)

    Apparently 10x buckets for partners, smart buy and intl. spends are standalone benefits and not clubbed together.
    That would mean (for diners black) –
    1. 25K points per cycle from partners.
    2. 25K points per cycle from smart buy.
    3. 10K points per cycle.

    #HDFCSalvagingDinersAfterBattering 🙂

    s&s

    Reply
    1. Sanemate

      Have you tried the smartbuy on top of Diners 25k and got it? Because it comes after 90 days so I have no clue. I spent 75k on Amazon and 75k on flipkart using smartbuy, God only knows if the smartbuy 10x will come.

      Reply
      1. Mahesh NRK

        I have never got it automatically. Have to mail the customer care. Regular 10x points will be credited.

        Reply
    2. M Muralidhar

      Just confirmed, both are seperate. I just lost out on 100k points in last four months.

      Reply
        1. M Muralidhar

          Ya, but it still is very confusing. The smartbuy website still shows Diners Club Card customers cannot club the 10X benefit with any of the existing programs with the Diners. Like sometime said we don’t know until 90 days.

          Reply
          1. Sanemate

            Only hope is they don’t devalue. Else I am stuck with so many points that I will have to start offering others discount to use my points 😛

  11. Sulabh Gupta

    Hi,
    HDFC Credit card customer care over email isnt giving RP breakup. I used to get it the same way every month, but this month they are saying they will not be able to give it anymore, i tried email 2-3 times, same response.

    Any solutions?

    Reply
  12. M Muralidhar

    Can someone tell me how to buy through smartbuy on Flipkart? It is simple redirecting to flipkart mobile lite page. Is shopping directly through app not valid?

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      No, you have buy on Flipkart only after you visit their website through the link available on Smartbuy. I am personally yet to witness the 10X points through this scheme. If I get to know, I’ll update all the users here.

      Reply
  13. Sanemate

    I clicked on Flipkart on Smartbuy page, takes me to store.flipkart.com

    This page also has a smartbuy logo so it gives some confidence. I bought Flipkart Gift vouchers, do you think they will be eligible for 10x points?

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      They MIGHT. Till now I haven’t got my bonus points from Flipkart after visiting through Smartbuy, once I know, I can confirm.meanwhile if someone knows, they can help.

      Reply
      1. Sanemate

        Assuming you started 4 months, you should have got no as it was said 90 months is the wait time. Did you check with the bank?

        Of course ignore if my assumption is wrong!

        Reply
        1. Abhishek Roy Post author

          Well, no. I didn’t use to buy much from Flipkart. After this Smartbuy offer I have started purchasing a bit. If you buy directly from Smartbuy, say for eg Flights and Hotels, you will get the bonus points in the next cycle itself. But if you buy from Flipkart via Smartbuy, it takes upto 3 months to track those points. Let’s see. This is what I was told by the CC. Let’s wait and watch.

          Reply
          1. Sanemate

            Is there any way to track points, like a statement of points which says which transaction got how many points. And that these points are from smartbuy and all.

            Cause in the end, we have to do mental maths and connect the dots. I remember StanC has this feature where we can get day wise statement of points too.

  14. Prashant Gupta

    No there is no other way. In every statement i have less points and i will be lucky to get those points as hdfc sysytem is not good until you esclate it.

    Reply
  15. Guru

    Abhishek, many Indian sites such as some hotels and even MakeMyTrip allows you to pay via PayPal. Does that mean it will be considered an international transaction and you get 10x on that?

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      Anything that is charged in foreign currency will be considered for 10X as per their rule. So if you pay through PayPal in say US Dollars, I’m quite sure you should get 10X points for the same.

      Reply
  16. Garima

    I had one doubt if some one can clear. What will happen if we spend on uber on international trip?
    Will 10x be counted in limit of 75000 or 10000 points?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth

      Only Uber India ia for 10x.
      Uber intl may fall under 10k intl promo

      Reply
      1. Garima

        Is it written in terms and conditions that 10 x applicable for Uber India only as I am unable to find anywhere.

        Reply
        1. Abhishek Roy Post author

          No, it is not written anywhere whether international spends on Uber, say when you visit the states will be under 10X program or not. However, till 31st December, you will be able to reap the benefits of the 10X points for International Spends. But beyond that whether International Uber Spends also come under 10X purview or not only time will tell. Do keep us updated.

          Reply
  17. Biby

    The Diners forex rate was same as XE rate . Did 2 transactions in Abudhabi duty free. Spend 1600AED & 28309Inr was charged on the card

    Now waiting for my 10x points. Since it was an unplanned spend, couldn’t activate the global value program.

    Reply
    1. Suresh

      Hi, the forex rate conversion fee is charged seperated for diners. check once your statment is ready.

      Reply
  18. SV

    Guys, Just a word of caution – International PoS acceptance of DCB seems to be a challenge. I experienced this in China, Malaysia and Germany. Delhi / Mumbai Duty Free stores didn’t accept Diners.

    Even after activating their global program and multiple travels and – I still await my first international PoS transaction! 🙂

    PS: Lounge access works seamlessly I used it twice in China.

    Reply
  19. vicky

    does it make sence you add money to paypal wallet and then trasnfer to your bank account?
    Arbitrage possible as HDFC will give 13% cashback on diners premium vs 3-4% charged by paypal in conversion?

    Reply
  20. shishir

    What if you buy on makemytrip and pay in dollars (they have that option to change the currency) does it entitle you to 10X points for international spends?

    Reply
    1. Ashwin

      No. Please read the T&C. 10x points on international POS transactions only. ICICI gives bonus points on online international spends too.

      Reply
      1. Siddharth Mehta

        Don’t think that is true. Any online transaction in foreign currency is also eligible.

        Reply
    2. Prashant Gupta

      Yes….but the offer has not been renewed as of now.

      Reply
  21. Sanjay

    International spend 10x offer renewed till 30th Sept 2018

    Reply
  22. Anil Singh Bhati

    10x on international spend extended upto 30th September

    Reply
  23. SV

    Is there any other HDFC card that offers 33% cashback on Intl. spends. I spoke with a branch manager about getting the Diners Black card and he mentioned that NRIs cannot apply for the Diners cards. He can get me the Regalia or Infinia card but I don’t think they offer this 10x on Intl spends. Any ideas how I avail this benefit as it is main reason I want to get an Indian credit card. Also, is it a fact that NRIs cannot get Diners credit card or the Branch manager just does not know the rules. Would very much appreciate some guidance.

    Reply
    1. Abhishek Roy Post author

      Everywhere they have criteria for getting credit cards for NRI, they only show Regalia and Infinia options. So I guess that will be it.

      Reply
  24. Sanjay V

    I am an NRI interested in getting an Indian CC. Based on my research it seems like HDFC Diners Black is the best card for my needs. I really like their 10x cashback on their Smartbuy and Intl spend program. However when i spoke with a branch manager he told me that NRI can only get Regalia and Infinia cards. Can anybody please confirm the policy for NRI in terms of getting HDFC cards? Does any other card offer 10x on Intl Spend similar to Diners Black?

    Any help/guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
      1. Sanjay V

        Thank You. Is there any other card that offers cashback on Intl Spend even if it is not as geed as Diners Black from any Indian bank?

        Reply

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