Kotak Privy League Signature Credit Card Review

By | July 21, 2022
Kotak Privy League Signature Credit Card

We at Cardexpert don’t usually prefer Kotak credit cards in the past because of its very low reward rate but it appears that the things are changing a bit lately so I decided to explore Kotak credit cards finally.

Here’s a quick review of the Kotak Privy League Signature credit card, the card that’s issued to Kotak’s premium banking customers.

Overview

TypePremium Credit Card
Reward Rate0.5% – 2.2%
Annual Fee2500 INR + GST
Best forAccelerated category spends
USPQuarterly rewards benefit

If you can hit the spends required for quarterly milestone benefit, this is a nice card for Privy League customers. I don’t see any value on paid variant as there are so many others cards in industry to choose from.

Fees

Joining Fee (for all)Nil
Renewal Fee (Free card)Nil
Renewal Fee (Paid card)2500 INR + GST
Renewal Fee WaiverSpend 5 lakhs

The card is free for the Kotak Privy League Customers, Prima (2L balance) & above. It also comes as a paid version (renewal fee applicable) but its not worthy to pay for most in my opinion.

Design

Kotak Privy League Credit Card

With the Privy League branding on the card, the design looks quite elegant without a doubt. It actually looks better in reality than on picture.

Rewards

Ongoing Rewards

Spend TypeRewardsReward rate
Regular Spends2X0.50%
Spends on Accelerated Category5X1.25%
  • RP value = 0.25 INR
  • Accelerated Rewards Plan: You can choose either shopper’s (or) traveller’s plan
  • Shopper’s plan includes spends done on: apparels, jewelry, consumer durable, restaurants, departmental stores
  • Traveller’s Plan includes spends done on: airlines, hotels, restaurants, international spends and travel agencies

Milestone Rewards

SpendReward PointsValueReturn on spend
4,00,000 INR10,000 Points2,500 INR0.64%
8,00,000 INR30,000 Points7,500 INR0.94%
  • You’ll be eligible for either one, not both.

So if you manage to spend 8L under accelerated rewards, you would end up getting reward rate as good as ~2.2% which is as good as HDFC Regalia.

But that’s quite tough to attain because you can’t always spend under accelerated rewards at that spend range.

Hence, if you spend 8L in non accelerated category, you would end up with 1.44% reward rate, which is poor for a premium card.

Quarterly Rewards

  • 6400 Reward Points every Quarter (Value: 1600 INR)
  • Requirement: Spend Rs.1000 every month

This benefit is a recent change during the pandemic, otherwise you would get 4 PVR tickets, each 400 INR.

This is the main attractive benefit of this card lately as the returns on spend is pretty generous.

This benefit however maybe short-lived, as they may switch to PVR tickets in sometime, which will anyway be good as well if you’re into PVR.

Note: This benefit maybe eligible only for paid variant.

Airport Lounge Access

ACCESS TYPEACCESS VIAACCESS LIMIT
DomesticVisa2/qtr
International (free card)Priority PassNil
International (paid card)Priority Pass4/yr

They could have given Priority pass for free cards as well, as anyway they have the banking relationship with them. But as of now you only get the PP membership without complimentary access on free card.

Bottomline

  • Cardexpert Rating: 3.7/5

You get an outstanding value of Rs.6400 every year just by spending Rs.1000 every month. That’s the primary reason for anyone to have this card (as paid variant), apart from Kotak Merchant offers and other benefits.

Ideally the Kotak Privy League Signature credit card is good for anyone who’s new to Kotak and wishes to explore their premium credit cards.

Given that Kotak is gaining some traction with the new launches like the Indigo credit card, I wish Kotak soon comes up with a nice super premium credit card. The white card is not that great for various reasons which we will talk sometime soon.

Do you have Kotak privy League Signature credit card? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

45 thoughts on “Kotak Privy League Signature Credit Card Review

  1. Shivi

    Nice review though i don’t consider this card to be any more than a 3/5 (2.5?) given the high spend requirements for a decent value without any Intl. lounge access .

    The idea behind shopper/traveler plan is like trying to make one card out of SBI Simply Save and Simply Click.

    That value of 6,400 by spending 12K/year too leaves much to be desired.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      It’s LTF for Prima accounts, hence no spend requirement. Well, it’s certainly 3/5 if they don’t have the 6400 INR savings.

      Reply
      1. pujya

        But sid not everyone is going to be their Premium customer, no? I feel you should review a card according to what’s it’s official price is.

        Is the card worth if you’ll have to cough up the annual charges? No. But if it comes as LTF for a select few then maybe.

        Reply
      2. Shivi

        Sid, the Kotak guys mention this 6400/qtr reward points is only for paid version. Can anybody cross verify again?

        Reply
      3. Shivi

        Sid, this 6400/qtr reward points is only for paid version. It’s mentioned on their site too – “Bonus reward points! (Only for paid card)

        You will get bonus reward points on activation every month. If you spend minimum Rs 1000 every month, you would be eligible for 6400 reward points for that quarter. E.g. You spend Rs. 1000 in April, May and June, you will get 6400 extra reward points in the month of July.”

        Reply
        1. Siddharth Post author

          I assumed that one as a relaxed t&c. Anyway dropped the rating. And also found that the Kotak League Platinum is quite better than this!

          Reply
        2. S R

          Nope you’re wrong. I hold the Free version of the Privy Signature card & I get the 6400 reward points/qtr, every quarter !! Kotak is relaxed on this, provided you fulfil the transaction requirements.

          Another feature of this card is the emergency limit & the over limit that Kotak provides you with this card, if & when you require it. I remember in 2018 I went as much as 93,000 over & beyond my assigned limit and transactions were still getting approved !! of course it was for an emergency (If anyone has a high limit, in case of emergency they can try it themselves).
          I paid it back before the statement got generated on the 25th of the month, the surprising factor was that I was NOT even charged an over limit fee.
          Kotak reports to CIBIL the balance outstanding on the 31st of every month like most other bank, so since I paid the entire balance including the over limit amt before the statement generation neither was I charged a penny in interest or over limit NOR was my Utilisation ratio in CIBIL affected in any way.
          Honestly never had a problem with Kotak or this card.

          Reply
  2. Naga Kiran

    Holding LTF “Privy League Signature Shopper Credit Card” (holds Prima account) from past couple of years, but didn’t notice about quarterly rewards (6400 rewards points for 1000/- transaction every month). Is it applicable for free cards also?

    It’s not clear from the conditions as mentioned “Bonus reward points! (Only for paid card)#”

    Reply
    1. Murali

      As per T&C of this card, Bonus of 6400 reward points will be credited only for paid card and not for LTF card. Confirmed by RM.

      Bonus reward points! (Only for paid card)#
      You will get bonus reward points on activation every month. If you spend minimum Rs 1000 every month, you would be eligible for 6400 reward points for that quarter. E.g. You spend Rs. 1000 in April, May and June, you will get 6400 extra reward points in the month of July.
      # Crediting of reward points in lieu of 4 PVR tickets is an interim change in the feature of the card

      Reply
      1. Ankur

        Its marked as LTF card , if account variant is degraded , do Kotak close the card and inform the user that card is being closed due to account degradation

        Reply
  3. Ankit

    Ooh.. I am having this card and was unaware of anything. I thought it’s a waste card in my portfolio. Thanks for info.

    Reply
  4. Lav Kanodia

    Is the quarterly reward mentioned anywhere?
    I am seeing this for the first time
    Have been holding it as LTF for more than 2 years now

    Reply
    1. Manjunath U

      Quarterly BONUS rewards are only for paid version, international lounge visits are complimentary only for paid version. For complimentary cards, priority pass free for 1 yr. Priority pass visits can be added as a prepaid option at discounted rates. revolving credit will remain 2.49% per month for both variants, while paid version gets markup fees of 2%, for complimentary its 3.5%. You can select Shoppers or Travelers plan based on your requirement for accelerated reward points collection.

      Reply
    2. Ankit

      It is there on their website and it states that it is available only for the paid variant.

      Reply
    3. Nikhil

      It is clearly mentioned in official page that quarterly benefits applicable only for paid cards, wonder why there is confusion. It is useless card in case of LTF. I have been holding paid version of this card & already availed 12.8K cashback since pandemic.

      Reply
  5. Ankit Garg

    4 free PVR tickets every qtr feature is for sure only for paid version of the card else how will Kotak market their PVR specific cards. They have PVR Gold & platinum variant cards- both paid! and one needs to spend minimum Rs 10000/- per month to get 2 PVR tickets (value of Rs 400/- each)

    Reply
  6. Ankit

    Was pretty surprised to see a Kotak Card being reviewed here as we rarely see Kotak cards review, they being last on the list with least benefits and reward value. Good to know that they at least have accelerated rewards in place though clearly not up to the mark.

    Me and my wife have been using Kotak Privy league Signature credit card since last 3 years which is LTF as we hold Prima accounts. In last 3 years barely have we come across any good benefits except for the PVR Kotak Super Saturday Offer. This PVR offer and VISA signature card was the only reason we opted for it. With poor rewards value as against Regalia which I was holding earlier, my all spending was confined to Regalia. I now hold Infinia which I believe Kotak cannot match in benefits even in their distant dreams. I have availed occasional Bigbasket discount offers on Kotak cards but surely not anything additional than what other card issuers offer. Plus, you miss on regular e-commerce tie-ups which you see for HDFC, SBI and ICICI as Kotak is nearly absent there.

    Also, there is a railway surcharge waiver if you book rail tickets on IRCTC but it is capped at INR 500 for a calendar year.

    With the new reward structure too, this card shall still remain last on my list. In any case, I do not see a value in going for the paid variant. LTF still may be a good option.

    Reply
  7. Karan Bhandari

    Hello,
    I’ve been holding this card more than a year, 6400 benefits for paid card.
    But still card is good.
    Kotak merchant offers are there and will be more there in future.
    Since kotak is vs idfc bank. So there will be better offers for sure.
    Mid cap bank space is going to heat up.
    There casa is lying for years now.
    IndusInd takeover failed and then citi one.
    So yeah too much funds and they are very conservative for loans.

    Reply
  8. Prashant

    Is there any sure shot way of getting a call from them ? I’ve applied numerous times on their website for their card, application number gets generated but never received a call from them.

    Reply
  9. Sunil

    Indusind Legend is better than this where we can earn 16,000 Reward points by spending 6 lakhs in a year and better lounge access , book my show and low forex charges.

    Reply
  10. SMV

    Hello what limit did you get on this card,
    Also, importantly, I hold kotak a league platinum card less than 50k limit recieved pre approved using a Kotak 811 account.

    If I upgrade to prima will I get privy league signature cc with limit atkeast 2 lakh? Any floor limit for this cc?

    Reply
  11. Sunil Bhanushali

    Hi Sid, first of all thanks for the Card Expert. As it’s the healthiest Website for any kind of Credit Card info..! Today I’ve a bit off track question, is it good to join Kotak Privy League Prima along with HDFC Preferred or Upgrade from HDFC Preferred to Imperia ?? Which option is better ??

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Imperia is better if you’re into Super Premium. Kotak is only for those who’re bored and looking for “I want problems always” 😀

      Reply
      1. Sunil Bhanushali

        😃 Thank you for the info. So, switching to Imperia (Currently they offering me) from Preferred.

        Reply
  12. DEBD

    I hold one of these cards – the paid variant. Took it primarily because of the quarterly bonus amount. Here’s the caveat – the 1000 rs per month requirement is actually “at least one txn of min value 1000 per month” – clubbing up smaller txns won’t make you eligible – although not much of an issue since the amount is low.
    Also – i guess people already know this but I didn’t – the quarters are based on the calendar year, not the billing year. From my experience, points are not credited automatically, you’ve to send them an email every time asking for it, but they usually respond and credit within 2 working days. One thing I can vouch for is the customer care they provide to privy league customers – very approachable and responsive.

    Reply
    1. Nikhil

      I have never contacted them but still got my 6400 reward points timely. You need to wait for statement generation.

      Reply
  13. Sujith

    After using multiple credit cards from different banks, recently I found the best credit card ie IDFC SELECT. Best reward points, no confusing conditions on the rewards and easy to redeem.

    Reply
  14. hs

    The table which follows “milestone rewards” may need a title row. It took me a while to follow the true meaning.

    Reply
  15. Ankit

    This CC is not Free actually. They’re asking to maintain 2 lakhs balance in Savings account which carries lower interest. Instead of that if someone open a normal savings account and keep 20000-25000 as balance and book a FD for the remaining amount, he/she can earn around 2500 more per year as interest. So, that 2500 is the Annual Fee of this card.

    Reply
    1. Nikhil

      They are taking your for a ride. Once prima status is acquired, kotak does not downgrade you. I hardly maintain 20K & still have my account as Prima

      Reply
      1. Vivek

        What if they or we downgrade or close the account will ltf status of card be changed to paid or not.

        Reply
      2. Darshdeep Singh Grewal

        Things have changed from November 2022,
        What’s your opinion now?

        Reply
  16. Ankit

    How is the customer support of Kotak Credit Card compared with others?
    And please explain the chargeback/dispute process of Kotak Credit Card

    Reply
    1. sam

      Kotak customer care is the worst I have faced among all the private banks(excluding Citi,Amex,Federal). I do not know how customer endures such a pathetic bank’s service.

      Their Nodal Service is a joke.

      Reply
  17. Ghewar

    I am expecting help here!!!
    How to Get PriorityPass for this card, it’s very urgent. Customer Support Also don’t know how to get, same problem at branch too.
    I am planning for abroad next month and i want PP asap.

    Reply
    1. Cred

      Forget Kotak, they are just worst, Do you have any other card (Debit/Credit), try checking those card to see if you can get access on those.

      Reply
  18. PRAMTESH

    Has anyone used Kotak cards at Railway counter to buy tickets?
    I am not able to understand the feature of surcharge waiver.
    Last month I used my white card to buy ticket at counter. The cost of ticket was Rs. 2900
    In the statement I was charged Rs.2951.33 and I received waiver of Rs.73.79
    Which means the cost of ticket for me is lesser than the actual value Rs.2877.54

    Reply

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