It’s been few years since IDFC First Bank has launched their range of Credit Cards into Indian market. It used to be an amazing credit card back then but now we’ve seen quite a lots of restrictions on rewards & benefits to the product which makes the card ideally useless for most from May 2024.
Here we’ll see the detailed review of the IDFC First Bank Wealth Credit Card in its current form.
Table of Contents
Overview
| Type | Entry Level Credit Card (not premium) |
| Reward Rate | 0.16% – 1.66% |
| Annual Fee | Lifetime Free |
| Best for | direct cash credit redemption |
| USP | Spa benefits & cash credit redemptions |
While the card is portrayed as a super premium card by the Bank, I wouldn’t call it so. Though, it was a good premium credit card with lifestyle benefits, with the latest update going live by 1st May 2024, its just an entry-level card.
Fees
| Joining / Renewal Fee | Lifetime Free |
| Welcome Benefit | 500 INR voucher |
- Welcome voucher worth 500 INR on spending >=15,000 INR within 90 days of card generation.
The advantage of this card is obviously the “Lifetime Free” benefit which comes with all the privileges. But don’t forget the truth about lifetime free credit cards.
I personally feel that they shouldn’t have issued this card as LTF as it’s a well-known fact that it will eventually kill the product.
Design
It’s a neat & simple design with black backdrop that banks generally use to indicate a “super premium” product.
While the design is good, I don’t feel the premium’ness in its design. This is partly because the front face doesn’t have any creative elements in it. But well, we shouldn’t expect too much from a LTF card.
Rewards
| SPEND TYPE | REWARDS | REWARD RATE |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Spends | 3 RP / 150 INR (3X) | 0.50% |
| Online Spends | 3 RP / 150 INR (3X) | 0.50% |
| Spends >20K (per stmt) | 10 RP / 150 INR (10X) | 1.66% |
| Spends on Birthday | 10 RP / 150 INR (10X) | 1.66% |
- 1 Reward Point = 0.25 INR
- 1 Reward Point per 150 INR (it was 1RP/100 INR before)
- Redemption Charges: 99 INR+GST (from 1st Oct 2022)
- Rewards don’t expire
IDFC Bank has added infinite amount of restrictions lately to the rewards program and here are they,
Terms & Conditions:
- Rewards not applicable on Fuel, Insurance & EMI transactions
- Education, Wallet & Gov. spends will earn 3X (0.50%) and will not be part of 10X calculations.
- Utility spends will earn 1X (0.16%) – MCC: 4814, 4816, 4899, 4900
- Utility spends will earn 1% fee on commercials spends (>20K INR a month)
Meanwhile, they don’t like high value transactions on the card and have already started to cut the rewards for many cardholders whose spends went beyond the credit limit.
Airport Lounge Access & Spa
| ACCESS TYPE | ACCESS VIA | LIMITS |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Airport Lounges | Visa | 2/Qtr |
| Domestic Railway Lounges | Visa | 4/Qtr |
| Domestic Airport Lounges & Spa | Dreamfolks | 2/Qtr (shared) |
| International Airport Lounges | Dreamfolks | 2/Qtr (shared) |
The welcome letter and the website clearly states that we can use the Dreamfolks card issued by IDFC for accessing domestic & international lounges along with airport spas.
You may consider using Dreamfolks Card only for Spa benefit, as you can anyway access the lounges with many other cards.
Update: Starting 1st May 2024, a minimum spend of Rs.20,000 during the current calendar month is required for you to be eligible for the airport lounge access & spa benefit for the next month.
Tracking spends on card every month for lounge access is such a pain. Instead I wish banks come up with an annual spend criteria instead of monthly spend criteria.
Golf Benefit
- Complimentary rounds: Upto 2/month (games & lessons)
- This benefit is linked to spend requirement.
Spends of 20,000 INR (or) 40,000 INR are required to unlock 1 (or) 2 rounds respectively. Spends done in a billing cycle are tracked for this domestic golf benefit.
All the complimentary rounds earned in a billing cycle will be eligible for redemption from 1st of next month and will be available for redemption upto 2 months (60 days).
ICICI Bank too follows a similar system and it’s undoubtedly a poor system. They should have instead gone for quarterly limits based on spends.
Forex Markup
- Forex Markup Fee: 1.5%+GST = 1.77%
- Reward rate: ~1.66% (assuming ~2L spends)
- Net Loss: 0.11%
Even if you’re doing high value foreign currency transactions on IDFC First Wealth credit card, it will get you a net loss.
Other Benefits
- Complimentary Road Side Assistance(RSA) worth ₹1,399
- Revolving Interest Rate: Relatively lower interest rate compared to other banks, usually 20% – 24% p.a. (I got 22% p.a. ROI)
- Buy 1 Get 1 Movie Benefit: Upto Rs.250 per ticket via Paytm Movies.
Complimentary roadside assistance is one of the unique feature on this credit card. It maybe useful at times, for ex, to jump start your car on breakdown.
Revolving interest rate is one of the key benefit of the issuer but I hardly see anyone taking advantage of it, maybe the reason is that those who need a low interest rate are not getting it.
Getting the Card
- Eligibility: IDFC Wealth Ac (or) Other bank credit card with >5L limit
- Apply online (Instant approval)
Fresh Card: If you’ve >5L credit limit on other bank credit cards, you can apply for the IDFC credit card online and you may likely be eligible for the wealth variant. If eligible, you can get the virtual card ready for use in matter of minutes.
If you’ve lower limits on other credit cards, you might need to get the Select credit card initially and then upgrade it later, likely after a year.
Upgrade: If you’ve IDFC Select Card with <=4L limit, you’ll first need to increase your credit limit to >=5L and then request for an upgrade.
You may email/call IDFC customer care for upgrade. Here’s my hands-on experience with the IDFC Wealth Credit Card.
Bottomline
- Cardexpert Rating: 3/5
It was a very good credit card for past few years but after the recent massive devaluation that goes live eff. 1st May 2024 its no longer useful for most cardholders.
But if you’re looking for lounge/spa access by maintaining monthly spends, it maybe useful but that’s a very small segment.
Do you hold IDFC First Wealth Credit Card? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
![IDFC Offer: Get Bonus Points on Credit Card Spends [Targeted – July 2023]](https://www.cardexpert.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/idfc-first-credit-card-offer-july-2023-60x42.png){kind=small}
Ideally any offline spends on this card should be only once you have crossed 30K online spends in that cycle. Wallet loads are rewarded.
One must beware that IDFC cards are not suitable for RedGirraffe transactions as that’s tracked under insurance and IDFC excludes it for rewards. For RedGirraffe its better to use cards which run campaigns on insurance spends like DCB or Yesfirst sometimes do.
Its 20K now not 30K.
One of the worst choice I made choosing IDfC card 1st month they charges me 38000 till now no clarification and second month they charge me 18000 till now no clarification they are fooling us plz no to IdFC Bank credit card
It was good card initially but now no more good card. They devalued the same.
It’s good for Spa and also 10X spends as I redeem for Amazon vouchers.
You need not to buy voucher. You can pay with reward points on your any future transaction.
Got the card today but doesn’t have dreamfolks card inside. Does it come separately?
Yes. The dreamfolks came seaprately
Tried to apply, However got an error on second page saying your Pin Code is not serviceable!
APR for me is 9% P.A.
Got it LTF based on my HDFC limit of 4.8
Holding IDFC First Select card. CC informed me that an upgrade to Wealth is not possible at the moment, but they are working on providing preapproved upgrade options online and it should be live in a few months.
Besides their cards being LTF, the other thing going for IDFC First in my view is a brilliant onboarding process. I could only experience this level of professionalism in the onboarding process in only Amex.
***
They devalued too soon for a new card. Even the spa benefits reduced to just 4 spas. Mumbai one is on arrivals 😂😂
Spa at Arrivals is actually good as you’re not limited to 2-3 hrs like at departures.
Yeah but am based in Mumbai and when i land I want to reach home asap 🙂
Sid, except Mumbai is any other Airport having this Spa on arrival facility?
It says International arrivals. But Mumbai T2 arrival area is shared with domestic right?
Yes it is common arrivals
Any idea of how to access guest access for lounge? do the Dreamfolks pass needs to be swiped twice?
do we get welcome benefits of 500 voucher on spending Rs 15000 on add on card too ?
Got Wealth Card with sub 2L limit, the same I had on OneCard (IDFC Issued, no LE on that for 1.5 Years). I had got SMS for applying. Earlier I was getting many many SMS and calls for applying for Select (based on MAB greater than 5L). Limit is surprisingly low.
On the basis of previous KYC with one card, you got Idfc Wealth card or they processed kyc once again? I also got email that if you do not upgrade one card then IDFC wealth card will be given as replacement by 3rd September. I did not get any link to apply.
I have same experience with upgrade or even enhancing the credit limit. CC told that they don’t have any option to increase the credit limit as of now and they told it will be communicated when applicable. The same goes with upgrade. They don’t have any idea or information about it. If anyone was able to do it just by talking to CC pls let me know.
But otherwise it’s a pretty decent bank and good offers. Redemption is also very good.
Got wealth of with 7 l limit on card basis with dcb of 8 lac limit !
Want to know how dreamfolks work ? Is it possible to swipe it twice in one visit? Do we need a pin or what? Tried to look it up on the net but didn’t find
Side question, How much time did it take for you to receive dreamfolk card? Delivered by bluedart?
Congratulations. Physical verification was done ?
No. Only the video KYC was done.
I was told today that a net take home salary of minimum 3 Lakhs is required for the Wealth Credit Card. Although I have a max cc limit of 9.25 lakhs on the HDFC ClubMiles CC, I was only given the option of Select Credit Card online.
Got my wealth card a month ago with 8L limit
how exactly dreamfolks works.. Somebody should please explain
I tried to use dreamfolk card in USA airport they said not working and they even don’t know about it. This i used diners black there it work very well.
Next day i presented dreamfolk card in Dubai and it work well without any pin requirement.
I don’t think we can swipe twice in one day. It will be chargeable for second swipe. But still want to know others views on the same.
Dreamfolk have limited lounge access then priority pass but Yes it’s starting to gain more presence in world in Asian countries. Still people don’t know in America and Europian continent
I am an IDFC customer and kept on getting only a pre approved Select variant on the basis of my savings account and no option to apply for a Card on card basis. I changed my mobile number on the card application and applied card on card giving my DCB Limit and it gave me the option of wealth. Let me see if they actually finish verification and still offer me a wealth or not. Opening up an IDFC savings turned out to be negative for me as it blocked my chances of getting a card on card for wealth, hoping my trick works
Hey did your card get approved ? I am facing the same challenges.
Hey Sid I was just going through your card Review & seen the Link “apply for the IDFC credit card online if u r having 5+Limit in other credit card” So I applied got approved in 5Min & in another 5min I got virtual card with 10+Limit but nowhere I am seeing information about Railway lounge why ?
I just applied for it using my Diners Privilege card with limit 5.14L limit and got approved for a 5.15L limit Wealth Card. Did the Video KYC but still the virtual card is not generated yet. In the application tracking page the current state is Waiting Credit Review.
If I have credit limit of rs 2 lakhs on idfc credit card, and I spend rs 5 lakhs( by repaying dues again and again) in the same month from the card, will I receive reward points uptill credit limit i.e. rs 2 lakhs or on the basis of amount spent, which is more than the credit limit i.e. rs 5 lakhs
I have been approved IDFC wealth card. The fastest ever approval and issuance of credit card by in my lifetime. All of it happened in a minute. So so happy about the whole process. Whereas the junk HDFC bank is rejecting my application for no reason.
Application submitted 12:58 PM on 27 Aug 22 -> Document verified (if applicable) -> Application verified 12:59 PM on 27 Aug 22 -> Credit review12:59 PM on 27 Aug 22 -> Application decisioning 12:59 PM on 27 Aug 22 -> Card generated (Congratulations! Your IDFC FIRST Wealth card ending with XXXX is approved.).
Physical card will be delivered in 5 days. Virtual card is right away usable.
Applied for IDFC card using my Diners. DCB wasn’t shown as option so selected Diners premium. Got approved for Wealth variant with same credit limit as Diners but 42% p.a interest while my friend was approved for 9% p.a only.
Some minor tech hiccups aside, got the virtual card 30 minutes after Video KYC.
If we dont have a savings account, where can we access the virtual card?
I guess several people have already asked this. I dont see any details around usage of Dreamfolks for Spa. Has anyone used the spa access from this card ?
Someone mentioned that its valid for only 4 places in India (got list from idfc site Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai Arrivals T2). only ODE Spa. If that is the case then this is very poor.
ICICI dreamfolks has Spa list for 15+ airports
How do I redeem points for statement credit
For virtual card,
download idfc app or net banking > login> my cards> click on card details >click on card image >verify otp to get card details…. Etc.
One of the smoothest on boarding process , got approved for wealth card with a limit of 10 Lacs with HDFC limit of 11 lacs, physical card delivered in 5 days & dreamfolks card in next 10 days
Did you apply offline?
I applied for ICICI, IDFC and indusind card.
The best experience was with IDFC. The best part is minute details such as your payment to hotel or online shopping have a personalized message which no other bank have.
The application process and issuance process is best.
On IDFC First Wealth / Select card, did anyone get charged “Reward Redemption Fees” of 99 rs? + 8.91+8.91 CGST+SGST?
Very annoying.
Redeem 500 Gift card and end up paying 115 rs for it.
Jio cashback for IDFC credit card for June and July was credited today
A very under-appreciated reward of this card is the dreamfolks membership. Those who travel frequently out of busy airports internationally would know the pains of carrying Priority Pass and the rejections faced. Dreamfolks is better in that regard as its less known and hence still being accepted.
I tried applying but it was not showing Wealth in the portal. Customer support tells me i need atleast 3L monthly take home for Wealth card. Is is the same for everyone else or was it approved just based on the other card limit? i have HDFC infinia with >10L limit
Pain in the dash to get it. On portal it doesn’t show me wealth card despite having regalia and infinia with limits that only their private series can match. They called but it is still under process. All this while I know senior managers in the card division. Applied for father instead and got it but they rejected add-on card for mother.
No idea of dream folks- seems to be a substandard option but then nothing bad to have as LTF.
u r eligible for the under card against card criteria. u should provide Inifinia details
is lounge benefit applicable for add on card too ?
Hi Sid,
I tried applying through link but the page doesn’t move otp validation. Tried in different browser and receive no error messages. I already have IDFC select credit card, my net take home monthly pay is 1.7 lacs and hold hdfc, citi and icici credit cards with limit more than 8 lacs. Are you aware of why I am not able to proceed further
Thanks
Suresh
I applied based on my Infinia card with 25L CC limit. They are offering me IDFC First Classic, so the algorithms are not placed right I guess. So those who are plannning to apply on card to card basis, have a second thought.
I applied online and got offered IDFC First Select card. I have Regalia card with 5L limit. I tried reaching to bank via mail to upgrade (to wealth) but didn’t get any response. Customer care team is pushing to take Select card and suggesting to upgrade after 6 months with no assurance. I learnt that you too had to voice up during upgrading. Can you please suggest any better way that I can take to get the variant upgraded immediately?
Thanks in advance
Iam holding IDFC select credit card i want to upgrade it to wealth credit card.please suggest me to how to upgrade credit card.call center says that there is no upgradation offer.Iam also holding other bank card with 10L limit.
LTF cards are good to have.hold a idfc bank account. Process was simple, contacted the relationship manager for account, arranged for call back from branch. Provided all details. I was offered wealth card, video kyc was done within an hour. Credit score was checked subsequently and in few hours card was issued. Got the physical card delivered in 2 days. IDFC has been making things simpler and quicker across their products. Look forward to a good service on the card
Now, IDFC has restricted the movie ticket offer to only 439992 and 444341 Bin’s only.
@sid, I have requested Bank to upgrade card to wealth. Is there any chance that I can know the Bin before even accepting the upgrade offer. I was using select card primarily for movie offers. I am more interested in wealth card movie offers than other benifits.
Hi Sid and Others,
I have a query. Does lounge access work only on Dream Folks card? Or it can be done with the credit card( like other credit card) When I tried at Chennai Airport domestic lounge using visa variant, I got card decline error. Hence want to know how has the experience been for others.
Is it possible to set the primary card mobile number for the transaction alerts of add-on card for IDFC Wealth card ?
are we getting reward points on wallet loading?
Yes, we get reward points on wallet load.
Iam holding idfc first select credit card.I want to upgrade to wealth credit card.I want to know how to upgrade to wealth credit card.My relationship is wealth.Iam also holding hdfc Infinia and citibank rewards credit card with higher limit
We can use visa credit card and dreamfolks card both for domestic Longue access free of charge ??
Yes, I got for IDFC select. We should get for IDFC First Wealth.
Looks like the Railway lounge facility is suspended from the Wealth Credit card. It doesn’t show it on their website while lower variant cards e.g. select have this facility. Might be inspired by ICICI where they don’t give Railway lounge on Sapphiro but gives on their lower variant e.g. Rubex and Coral.
I currently own Diners Black (LTF), ICICI Sapphiro (LTF), Yes First Preferred (LTF) and AMEX MRCC and looking for a card with Railway Lounge facility. When I’m applying online it is showing wealth variant but if Railway lounges are not there then it is of no use for me as already my credit cards are covering all the requirements. I also don’t see an option to choose select option while applying.
Sid, why don’t you write a detailed article about railway lounge and the best card to use them?
How does the cash withdrawal work? Can I withdraw 50k in one go from idfc atm and be charged only 250 as fee and I can repay in next bill? So basically I got 50k loan at cost of just 250?
Am I right in understanding this?
Your understanding is correct. Just some additions: since most ATMs now do not give ₹2000 note and with max. 40 notes coming at a time in most of them. the maximum ‘loan’ you can get would be ₹500*40= ₹20000. These charges are per withdrawal transaction. Also IDFC has revised these charges to ₹199 now
Are you sure that ATM’s withdraw max 40 notes?
Anyone tried this Cash withdrawl from this IDFC card?
Any idea about international ATM withdrawal? How much would be the charges etc and how much max we can withdraw? Sply bcoz idfc wow has 0 forex charge
IDFC has added spend criteria for lounge access.
Spend 5000 in each calendar month to activate access in next calendar month.
Is this rs 5000 threshold for lounge access with the credit card or dreamfolks card. Need clarity on that
Seems like its for the credit card as well, as this is across card variants. I got the message on the spend 5000 to unlock lounge access on my IDFC Select card. On top of the card devaluation, another disappointment from IDFC.
Lounge access is only thru Dreamfolks card. You need to spend 5k pn the credit card to get complimentary lounge access thru Dreamfolks card.
Domestic lounge access via card. I have used it in march
there are few catches for Wealth card :
SPA is valid only for 30 min of session and foot , shoulder massage only for airport spa.
if you want to avail lounge access monthly 5k spent is must. on card.
I got life time free so only keeping it else i dont find major benefits on this.
I have Infinia, Axis Magnus, SC Ultimate, Yes First privs.
go-ahead if you get free of cost 🙂
I had 33k spend on the card, then made a transaction of 20k
but got only 6X points credit.
Do 10X points come later or how & when are they credited ?
Also , being eligible for 10X points is for >30k spends ,
this 30k threshold is billing cycle based month or calendar month ?
Much Awaited Devaluation is here finally:
Insurance Premium & Utility Bill Payments excluded from 10x rewards. it will fetch just 1x Reward from 21st August 2023
I have IDFC Wealth and am getting addons for my family. Please help with a few questions : Will I get a separate Dreamfolks for each addon card? Is the quarterly spa benefit multiplicative (4 for each Dreamfolks card) or constant (4 in total across all cards)? Does the condition (spend 5 k a month to get benefits in next month) need to be fulfilled for each addon card whose DF card will be used for benefits, or ok to fulfill that only on Primary card?
Do this card provide points for income tax payment
I think Railway lounges are still there on wealth credit card. May be they didn’t highlighted/removed the same on their website
Looks like they have removed the spend criteria for lounge access on this card. I was able to redeem the benefit in Jan with zero spend. The wording on website is also updated, it says ensure monthly spends, but not 5000.
There is an update on rewards and lounge usage. Pl update and give your verdict
Just updated the review.
Seems, this card is highly devalued/crashed.. Now, it says in description “2 complimentary domestic airport lounge and spa visits and 2 complimentary overseas airport lounge visits per quarter, on spending ₹20,000 every month.”
Is the card still worth holding after the recent devaluation? (reduced online points, 20k monthy spend for lounge access etc)
Totally depends on what one needs and where the spends are. Pls refer to the updated review.
1 Reward per 150 now.. All our reward rate will go for a toss..
Ah, I didn’t realize that. Updated.
It’s of no use to most then.
Yes, completely worthless.
But again, 1.66% CB for offline gold purchase is still an USP, considering no other cards are rewarding gold txns.
Another devaluation.. even Bookmyshow movie vouchers fallen from 400 to 250… The card is ready to be discarded by all now.. they shud change the name from wealth card to BPL card now…
This 5L C2C criteria is a bit dubious.
I applied for Wealth in Jan this year. All my existing CCs have above 5L limit but they offered me Select on their website. I mailed their grievance desk the statements of my Amex and Axis CCs showing the limit as well, but they stuck to offering me a Select card.
Not sure what had happened. In thr end I didn’t opt for the Select card. Got a lucky break because all of their cards were devaluated soon.
Strange is that the reward structure on all their three cards is the same now making all of them equally useless. IDFC joins the other rest of the Indian banking scene in downgrading itself to providing the most useless and featureless credit cards and benefits to customers. They should shut shop and go fish.
Hi Sid, Happy Yugadi.
Received email on Insurance (1x). While nothing great, some points than zero, may be usable when there are insurance spends based offers if they allow to club.
Yes. But it should be below 20K. They will charge you 1%surcharge if it exceeds.
1% surcharge above 20K is on utility spends, not on insurance. Somehow few people got into this confusion so clarified with cust care.
Are they giving rewards for insurance lately? I somehow remember that it was excluded before.
They just started Sid.
https://www.idfcfirstbank.com/content/dam/idfcfirstbank/images/new-creatives/38-60-days-activation-insurance-rewards-cohort-Email-Hero.jpg
Subject:
Paying insurance premium? Now earn rewards too
Yes they had recently started giving 1 RP /100 on insurance, and now it will be 1 R /150. Insurance spends won’t count towards 20K threshold either.
But that’s ultra low reward rate isn’t it?
Yes its next to nothing. Their pitch was that other cards dont reward insurance spends altogether, atleast we give peanuts. This when people pay with amazon balance.
Hello Siddharth,
I do lot’s of global car renting.
My friends in US and EU have card’s covering excess insurance on rental car.
Do we have something similar Card in India.
Thanks and regards
Unfortunately no!
Because car rental is not so popular in India. I’ve seen Zoom cars on roads often few yrs ago but these days I’m not seeing any!
Sid, rewards rules are going to change from 1st May 2024. This will reduce rewards to 1.66%
My credit card bill generate on 17 of every month. If I do transaction for 1 lac on 18 April and this bill will generate on 17 May 2024. So whether these new reward calculation will apply on my April 2024 spends as bill will generate in 17May. Or I will get rewards as per old rule where I will get 2.26% reward points.
I am in dilemma.
Tough to say but ideally speaking it should be based on spend date and not Stmt date.
When I took the card, I used to spend around 5 lakh each year. Then they put a condition of minimum 5000 every month. I could not do so on one occasion and ended up refusal at an airport lounge, even though yearly spend was 5 L.
Now the same is 20k per month. Don’t know if everyone in the management are fools.
The card is useless now.
Good report, any way, by Sidharth.
And yes, my name and email id can be revealed !
Even can be forwarded to IDFC.
Sid, it actually didn’t make any sense earlier also! Sply for ppl like us who have infinia and diners in family. And for high value insurance spends – we have Axis Vistara infinite, which is one of the few cards that still doesn’t put a points limit on them. Please do comment if you feel any other card is good for this now.
Having said that, there’s 1 unique feature because of which I still keep this card. i.e., cash withdrawal from overseas ATMs. Sply. in non-european/US/UK countries, where the margins of currency dealers are very high. I don’t have to carry an extra multi currency card (MCC), ATM withdrawal is Rs. 200 – almost same as MCC. No interest charges on ATM withdrawal. And 1.5% markup is actually very decent for these currencies. Your thoughts?