HDFC Bank’s Infinia Credit Card, a dream card for every credit card enthusiast, is an evergreen super-premium credit card in India that has stood the test of time. If there is a single credit card that remains relevant even a decade after its launch, it would be HDFC Bank’s Infinia Credit Card.
The bank has recently launched a metal variant of the Infinia, named Infinia Metal Edition, featuring a metal form factor, while all other features remain the same. Here’s everything you need to know about the HDFC Infinia Credit Card in its current form.
Table of Contents
Overview
| Type | Super Premium Credit Card |
| Reward Rate | 3.3% – 33% |
| Annual Fee | 12,500 INR + GST |
| Best for | Regular spends, lounge access |
| USP | 5X/10X Rewards on Smartbuy Spends |
HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card is a feature-packed credit card offering multiple benefits including a good reward rate, lounge access, low forex markup fee & accelerated rewards on Smartbuy spends that can get you crazy returns, as high as 33% on select spends.
Joining Fees
| Joining / Annual Fee | Rs.12,500+GST |
| Welcome Benefit | 12,500 Points (12,500 INR value) |
| Renewal Fee | Rs.12,500+GST |
| Renewal Benefit | 12,500 Points (12,500 INR value) |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Spend Rs.10L in the card anniversary year |
The good thing with HDFC Infinia Credit Card as compared to other super premium cards within the bank like Diners Black is that even if you don’t spend 10L a year, you’ll get the renewal benefit for the fee paid, which is good enough for all the benefits it comes with.
Design
Let’s talk about both the old and new designs, as shown in the above image: old(plastic) and new(metal), respectively.
When the bank transitioned to the metal variant a year ago, they introduced a new design, which, in my opinion, was one of the worst decisions ever made.
While designs are subjective, I don’t know anyone who likes the new design. It’s dark and dull, lacking any creative elements.
That being said, their old design is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The golden numbers and name embossed on the card used to look stunningly beautiful, just as you can see above.
Reward Points
| SPEND TYPE | REWARDS | REWARD RATE | MAX. CAP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Spends | 1X 5 RP / 150 INR | 3.3% | 2L RP / Stmt Cycle |
| Hotels (Via Smartbuy) | 10X 25 RP / 150 INR | 33% | 15,000 RP / Shared (Max: 50K INR spend) |
| Flights / eVouchers (Via Smartbuy) | 5X 15 RP / 150 INR | 16.5% | 15,000 RP / Shared (Max: 1.14L INR spend) |
- Points Validity: 3 Years
- RP Capping on Grocery: 2000 RP / Calendar month
- RP Capping on Insurance: 5000 RP / day
- Capping on Smartbuy is on 9X/4X bonus points.
- EMI, Tax, Fuel, Rent & Wallet txns are excluded for Reward Points
- 1% fee on Rent Payments (Redgirraffe works differently)
While flights, hotels, and e-vouchers are popular areas of spends under SmartBuy, you can also earn accelerated 3X/5X/10X rewards on many other categories, as mentioned here.
If you’ve business spends like taxes on which you don’t earn rewards on Infinia, you might explore the newly launched HDFC BizBlack Credit Card as it not only gives you rewards on taxes but also offers attractive bonus points on select business spends.
Not to forget that HDFC Smartbuy T&C keeps changing quite often but have been largely stable in the past year or so.
Redemption
| Redemption Type | Redemption Ratio | MAX. Redemption (Calendar month) |
|---|---|---|
| Flights / Hotels | 1:1 | 1,50,000 RP (Shared Max. Cap) |
| Apple Products | 1:1 | 1,50,000 RP (Shared Max. Cap) |
| Tanishq Vouchers | 1:1 | 50,000 RP (part of 1.5L max cap) |
| Airmiles (airlines/hotels) | 1:1 | 1,50,000 RP (Shared Max. Cap) |
| Products/Vouchers | 1:0.5 | – |
| Cashback | 1:0.3 | – |
- Redemption Rule: 70% from reward points, 30% from Credit Card.
- You get 5X/10X points on the remaining 30% paid on card.
Usually flights & hotels are the best options to redeem HDFC Infinia Credit Card reward points.
For a short time however, airmiles used to be an amazing option as it allows one to transfer points at 1:1 for most partners including Accor/lifemiles. I hope that returns to Infinia or at-least Infinia Reserve in future.
Forex Markup Fee
- Foreign Currency Markup Fee: 2%+GST = 2.36%
- Rewards: 3.3% + 1%
- Net Gain: 4.3% – 2.36% = ~2% (gain)
Just like most other super premium credit cards, HDFC Infinia Credit Card also comes at a discounted forex markup fee of 2%.
And if you activate the Global Value Program you get 1% additional cashback thereby getting you a net 2% gain on forex spends.
Airport Lounge Access
| ACCESS TYPE | VIA | LIMIT | GUEST ACCESS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Lounge Access | Visa/MC | Unlimited | – |
| International Lounge Access | Priority Pass | Unlimited | – |
The Domestic & International airport Lounge access benefit is not only for the primary cardholder but also extends to all Add-on cardmembers as well.
Not to forget that the Priority Pass on HDFC Infinia is one of the very few cards in the country that can also give complimentary access to domestic lounges. It comes handy at times when other cards are not accepted in select lounges, like Mumbai Arrival lounge or even the new Priority Pass Lounge in Chennai.
Golf Benefit
- Complimentary Games/Lessons: Unlimited
- Coverage: 20 domestic / 140 international Golf Courses
- Only 1 booking can be held at a time
- Min. / Max. Advance Booking Period: 4 Days / 14 Days
The Golf benefit on HDFC Infinia Credit Card is quite decent as it not only covers most golf curses in India but also a good number of International Golf Courses.
Other Benefits
- Stay for 3-nights and pay for two at participating ITC hotels.
- 1+1 complimentary buffet at participating ITC hotels.
- Complimentary Club Marriott membership for first year that offers up to 20% discounts for Dining and stay across Asia – Pacific region
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: on transactions between Rs.400 and Rs.1,00,000
Infinia vs Infinia Metal
In the above image you can see: Infinia(plastic, old design), Infinia(plastic new design) and Infinia(Metal Edition), respectively
The primary difference between Infinia plastic & metal is it’s metal form factor that comes with an additional fee of 2,500 INR and a slightly higher eligibility requirement. All else remain the same.
If you’re on the plastic Infinia with old design and replace the card, you will get the plastic Infinia with new design as shown above.
If you need the Infinia Metal Edition, You’ll need to request your RM for an upgrade.
Is Infinia good in 2024?
It depends on who’s asking that.
- Airmiles fanatic? Then No!
- Prefer simple redemptions? Then Yes!
Their legendary Smartbuy 10X program is one of the best in the industry which has now become a standard feature across many super premium cards.
However, in 2024 it lacks the wow factor because the competition has been aggressive, like, Axis Magnus Burgundy Credit Card with sky high reward rates on high regular spends and Yes Bank’s Marquee Credit Card that has generous rewards on online spends.
However, the downside with Axis/Yes Bank cards are that they can’t be trusted for a long time as they keep devaluing often, which isn’t the case with HDFC Infinia.
My Experience
I’ve been holding HDFC Infinia Credit Card for well over half a decade and it’s certainly one of the best credit cards out there without a doubt.
While I’ve not been using Infinia much lately because of much higher returns on Axis Magnus, things are getting back to normal and I’ve started using HDFC Infinia again especially when I don’t prefer to look at Axis Bank’s long list of exclusions.
Eligibility
- Fresh Card: ITR: >45L p.a. (or) Imperia/Infiniti banking relationship with ITR close to what’s required.
- Upgrade: >8L Credit Limit with >7.5L spends in last 6 months
Above are the usual ways by which most get their HDFC Infinia Credit Card. Though, there are other ways like getting one through FD, by taking investment products, etc which keeps changing from time to time.
Overall, it’s not that tough to get HDFC Infinia in 2024 compared to how tough it used to be some 5 years ago.
How to Apply?
You may apply online if you’re applying for a fresh card and eligible via ITR route. Otherwise, you may visit the branch and apply with the help of RM/BM.
Bottomline
- Cardexpert Rating: 4.8/5
The HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card is undoubtedly one of the best credit cards available in the country for wealthy Indians.
From unlimited lounge access for the entire family to attractive rewards, low forex charges and golf benefits, it’s a must-have credit card in your wallet as long as you’re eligible for it.
That said, there is room for improvement, especially for reward seekers who have experienced the mind-blowing value of air miles. So, a 1:1 transfer ratio with points transfer partners like Accor and Aeroplan would be good to have, perhaps on the upcoming HDFC Infinia Reserve.
Thanks Sid for bringing Infinia review, I’m holding it since Aug’2019, upgraded to metal (Complementary) in Oct’21.
But it’s more than 4 years now that no LE happened on the card. 6 months prior to that, LE was 250% in 4 steps.
Also like to add 1 point.
Domestic lounge access is also unlimited with Primary & add-on Priority Pass holders.
From what I see with many cardholders, auto LE stops as soon as you get into the 10L-15L credit limit zone.
Beyond that you would need much more spends to request for LE which I think is fair.
Oh ya, PP for domestic use is one of the wonderful benefit. Updated, thanks. But given the no. of Infinia users these days, I wouldn’t expect it to last long.
With recent changes, now domestic Longue access is also thru Priority Pass possible. After 1st April, at Ahmedabad airport international terminal, my Infinia master card was not eligible for longue access, but PP was valid. In infina, Domestic and International all Longue can be accessed thru PP without any charges.
Curious, why you upgraded to Metal Sid? Any FYF or so?
I was inclined, didn’t do though, even customer care discouraged. Only concern, if they come up with next variant, will Metal folks be first in line in preference to PVC?
Yes, for all the reasons mentioned.
+
I did the upgrade when plastic came for renewal with fee (as spend for waiver was not met, thanks to Magnus). So essentially I saved 10K in the process by upgrading at the right time. 🙂
Awesome
The super premium card users ( Assuming they are high spenders and have decent net worth) seeks one of the most important aspect when they invest in something, that is reliability and being consistent. That’s where the whole Infinia program succeed because still after some devaluation on the eyes of credit card benefit hunters, for average users, rewards are still good. Whereas other pop up super premium card issuers are whimsical on how to position and hold the status of a card. Users don’t know when the card program will become useless, the whole point of getting the card will feel redundant in few months (read Axis).
Infinia is one of the very few example when a flagship program remains flagship after so many year.
Hai Sid,
Thank you for the beautiful and simple crisp review, it become a habit to start my day with visiting ur blog for all my doubts. Happy to see the most awaited review on infina metal. Thank you for the insights and always grateful for your admiring efforts.
I am currently hold infina plastic, tata neu infinity and SCB ultimate and SBI simply save and SBI offered me a paid upgrade to Elite. please suggest is it worth taking or not keeping 10lakh annual spend
Glad to know that you’re loving the content. 🙂
SBI Elite is not worth it but SBI Cashback is LOT better. If they can’t upgrade to Cashback, then SimplyClick is relatively better. Pls do have a look at the review and decide.
Thank u
Hi Sid,
Great review post, as usual. Can you elaborate what you mean by “Redgirraffe works differently”. Do we get reward points on property/ rental transactions here? I have the Infinia plastic LTF.
For a long time, RG has been treated as insurance and so earns points, which I believe is intentional because of their strong tie-up and less cases of manufactured spending.
As of last month it seems to be working fine, but I can’t confirm as I don’t use it. The risk is upto the one who uses it, as it might as well attract 1% fee on rent anytime.
Nice summary! Has anyone got the metal variant issued as LTF? Currently have the heavily downgraded LTF Regalia with 8L limit. After much deliberation, bank is willing to offer paid Infinia with FYF. Also holding LTF Emeralde (plastic ) with 10L Limit. So except for the 3+% rewards, wondering if it makes any sense to opt for the paid Infinia. Any thoughts?
FYF Infinia works fine for most, mine is FYF as well.
Yes there are a few who have LTF Infinia metal. It requires a solid RM who can pitch your case and get the approval from top mgmt.
But generally those who’re eligible for LTF (high ITR/NRV) can easily spend 10L a year, so there is no point in chasing LTF that hard IMO. 🙂
High spends on existing Hdfc cards certainly help in making the case, ideally in the range of 10Lpa (which is also the fee waiver requirement), and most of the LTF holders are upgrade cases.
Sid : I have a 2-year-old kid who will now be charged to access airport lounges. Any workaround to have an add-on card issued for her and thus a PP membership as well?
Get one more card on your name with PP (like Magnus/Marquee or even Regalia Gold) and you can use it for your kid.
Hi Sid,
I have been holding Infinia for over half a decade. Best card till date. I need a help, I had taken this card via FD lien. I have spends of over 10L every year since issue. Any advice, how i can remove the lien, since my usage relationship is very good.
They did it in the past but not sure of latest updates. You may check with RM or escalate to Grievance/PNO to see if they can do anything about it.
Do you want to recalculate max spent amount for Smartbuy cap of 15,000 bonus points? It should be around 112K for flights and 50K for hotels.
Thanks for the find, just updated accordingly.
Isn’t Diner club black metal edition better as it has quarterly benefits of 10,000?
Yes, but at the cost of acceptance issues.
Its one of the best card still for travelling. I have LTF infinia with goo limit. I am accumulating points just for hotel booking though the options of hotel on smartbuy is less but still good. On my recent trips to Vietnam and then recently Philippines the points came in handy. Best part is unlimited lounge access for primary and addon though i hold Diners Black LTF too a killer combination for lounge access. Yesterday i went to lounge in Singapore at 1:20 AM for 15 minutes as we were hungry and very late in night, the reception person was also laughing as my boarding was at 1:50 AM.
But its a no nonsense card for daily spends and combined with global value program and best forex rates everyone should have it.