The Best Lifestyle Credit Card – A Concept by Cardexpert

By | November 21, 2018

Disclaimer: This is not an actual card, it’s just a concept by me. Some of the features mentioned are already existing in different cards. I just combined them to make a good looking product. Any bank can use below features/benefits/ideas without any Royalty! 😀

Having reviewed almost all worthy credit cards in the market, i still feel the industry is not catching up with the pace as it should. Considering the amazing ~27% YOY growth rate of the industry, credit card companies need to adapt with the new trends/needs of the consumer to win the hearts of huge millennial customer base in next ~5 years.

We Indians are more value centric and the current/upcoming generations are good to pay a premium when there is value in it. So the concept is aligned the same way.

Cardexpert Credit Card Concept (Premium)

The idea of creating this entire concept all started after i did a review of Dineout recently. It has been running on my mind with high intensity that it didn’t let me sleep, so i designed the product overnight and thought of publishing it. So here we go,

  • Type: Premium Lifestyle Credit Card
  • Joining fee: Rs.5,000+GST (renewal fee waiver on 8L spend)
  • Welcome/renewal vouchers: Rs.3,000 Dineout Vouchers + Rs.3,000 shopping vouchers. (Amazon/Pantaloons)

Design Concept

Let’s print the numbers on back. I took this design from web & did some editing to it. The colour could be black or something similar to ICICI’s latest gemstone card colour gradient.

Fun Fact: I get some cards just for the sake of its design. That’s part of the story on how i ended up with SBI Simply Click. So design matters!

Reward Points

  • Regular Reward rate: 1.5% as Reward points

It can be redeemable for flights/hotel/Vouchers similar to Yesbank Credit Card redemption options. Okay, now i knew 1.5% is not good enough, but that’s too early to judge. 😉

Lounge access

International lounge Access:

Dining & wellness benefits at airports are the next big thing. ICICI already started issuing Dreamfolks DragonPass cards with similar benefits.

Domestic lounge Access:

  • Provider: Visa Signature (or) Mastercard World
  • Benefit: 2 Visits/qtr

Dining Benefits

  • Rs.3,000 Dineout voucher on every 1L spend, upto 12k vouchers (4L spend)

This is basically inspired from ICICI Dineout Offer. Making such dining vouchers as a primary benefit would be AMAZING!

Travel Benefits

  • Rs.1,000 Ola voucher (Ola Money) on every 2L spend, upto 3k vouchers (6L spend)

I still wonder why no credit card company is caring about this most important part of one’s life. I mean 5X/10X points & cashback’s are fine. But direct vouchers would be wonderful isn’t it?

Hotel Benefits

  • 10k Taj voucher on every 5L spend, upto 20k vouchers (10L spend)

This is inspired from the India’s best travel credit card: Amex Plat Travel Card.

Less Important Benefits

  • Bookmyshow: Buy1 Get1 offer, maybe as a part of Visa Signature Bookyshow offer
  • Forex Markup: 1.5% Markup Fee
  • Birthday Benefit: 3X points on birthday spends (4.5% Value)
  • Spend Based Offers: Engage customers to stretch the spending habit by sending spend based offers frequently.

Value to Customer

So by spending 10 Lakhs, we get vouchers & points with value: INR 50,000. (Net Reward Rate: 5%)
Even if the customer spends only 4 Lakhs (like many), he still gets 5% reward rate.

If you factor in the Lounge/Wellness benefits, it could raise it even more.

Value to Bank

  • Dineout Vouchers: High margin business, so banks can get the vouchers at a very low-cost, considering the marketing they get for the brands.
  • Taj Vouchers: Again, high margin business, so banks can get the vouchers at a very low-cost. Customer has to anyway spend less/more than voucher value, which is a good for bank/hotel. Taxes to be paid in addition, gives extra cashflow to hotel. Overall makes sense!
  • Cab Vouchers: Less margin, and so I’ve limited it to 3k.

The strategy: Run this for 2 years even with minor margin or just no margin to gain premium customers. Then cross sell EMI/loans on card and other products like even Car insurance like Amex to make the real profit or simply follow the strategy of How HDFC Bank Credit Cards Eating the Competition for Lunch.

Ofcourse that’s not all, banks might have whole different calculation, but you get the idea!

So Why such a card?

Well, looking at a lifestyle of a premium cardholder, he must be taking at-least 1/2 Domestic vacation in a year. This card just fulfils that & even more. Lets say you’re living in Mumbai who could spend 10L a year, here’s how it works:

  • Take a flight to Chennai (for two member, paid by points)
  • Use the Taj Voucher to Stay at some awesome beach resorts like Taj Fishermans Cove Chennai
  • Use Complimentary Spa Access to rejuvenate yourself before/after your trip at Mumbai/Chennai airports
  • Use Ola vouchers for all to/from airport/hotel travels.

That’s the entire vacation funded by points/vouchers for being very loyal to the bank. He/she can continue to enjoy the airport benefits on his work trips. Further, the dining vouchers are good enough for ~5 visits to restaurants in a year.

Review

  • Cardexpert Self Rating: 5/5 [yasr_overall_rating]

Ofcourse 😀 But i’m curious to see your rating. Don’t forget to mention them in the comments below!

Bottomline

Ideally, a single card touches all aspects of one’s life (shop,fly,travel,stay,dine,wellness) that will eventually make them to use it as their primary card.

Alright guys, that’s the end of the story, lets get back to reality!
Do you like this premium card that i designed? If so I can continue to spare another night for a super premium card concept too 😛

If you like a card with such benefits or if you have even a better idea to add, let me know in the comments below. It’s fun! Your comments are highly valuable not just to me & other readers but also to the credit card issuers who might read the thread. Maybe if 1000’s of readers like the concept, why would bank not launch one?!

Author: Siddharth

Helping Indians to choose right credit cards, pick right offers and enjoy luxury vacations for less. Day & night exploring the spiritual reality of our human existence.

36 thoughts on “The Best Lifestyle Credit Card – A Concept by Cardexpert

  1. Satish Kumar Agarwal

    Great idea Sid. Infact mind blowing. This kind of article was completely unexpected !!!

    Few ideas from my side–

    1. Addon card issue limited to 3 without any fee. And international lounge access on each of them once respective addon card bill crosses 2-3 lacs.

    2. Fuel vouchers worth 500 on spending 1 lac on fuel only. Once in card anniversary year.

    3. Eligibilty- Salary/ Business ITR of 6 lacs or above. Or else savings ac holder with minimum AMB of 1 lacs or NRV across products more than maybe 3-5 lacs.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      I think its better to gives as cash credit than fuel vouchers 🙂

      Reply
      1. ANISH

        Hi Sid, this is not relevant to this post but your website is missing one key review on the AMEX platinum charge card. It has the Centurion’s review but not plat charge cards review.

        hope to see it soon.

        Reply
  2. Sunny

    Nice,
    But I still feel basic reward rate should be more for sure. 1.5% is very very less.
    3.5 stars 🌟

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Its essential to keep the default reward rate low to issue the other said vouchers.

      Anyway, thanks 🙂

      Reply
  3. Satish Kumar Agarwal

    Free annual subscription to CardExpert.in worth 1000/- on spending minimum 50K within 30 days of card setup. Also applicable on card renewal.

    Reply
  4. Prashant Gupta

    Nice concept. But we are spolit by HDFC diners black 😉. But this seems all rounder with many other offers thrown from time to time the reward rate will increase.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      This isn’t a super premium card. Even if it is, it can’t beat Diners 10X 🙂

      Reply
  5. Amex Guy

    While we’re imagining, lets also imagine this made of Titanium. 😉

    I’ll rate it at 4/5. This is a very good card for 5K. But at 1.5%, I’d like an option for cash redemption. This is a lifestyle card an not a travel card, so at that the features are great.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Thanks for your rating & views!

      Titanium is too much for a card of this range 😀

      Reply
  6. Sumeet Gupta

    Great thoughts Sid, hope this could be a reality, but nevertheless, very well tried, u know the needs of a consumer more than any senior credit card officials of any bank, moreover, no bank will come with such a card to provide all facilities under one, because they have to sell all fruits in their basket, and to serve the needs of different types of people.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Well, banks can launch it if they want to. It’s no surprise that most card issuers don’t understand the demand/trend, especially those who’re launching Manchester cards 😉

      Reply
  7. Mahendra Kumar

    Hi Sid,
    I would like to add one point.
    5% cash back as given by SBI prime for standing instruction.

    Reply
  8. Ebin Johnson

    Nothing is perfect. So let us rate this at 4.5. Waiting for the super premium one….

    Reply
  9. SM

    Nice concept. Looking forward to the super premium one. I think a mix of Infinia, DCB and Amex Platinum Reserve would be perfect. Limit and acceptance like Infinia, 10x rewards like DCB, customer service like Amex. Unlimited lounge access is a given. Joining fees not more than 10k which is given back in reward points like Infinia again.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Yes, thinking about hybrid of HDFC & Amex. But not at 10k fee for sure 😉

      Reply
  10. Amann

    Hi Sid

    One feature I would like to add is auto pay utility/rent bills and get 5% rewards (from SBI Prime) .

    Another would be definitely cash credit redemption for rewards at say 10% (like in this case, when reward vouchers are at 1.5%, cash credit is at 1.35%) lower rate as compared to other vouchers.

    For super premium card I would definitely recommend that these be there with default rate of 3.33% even for wallet loading etc.. With some 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x schemes (no caps) changing every 3 to 6 months. Unlimited lounge (domestic and international). Conceirge and default membership to Easy diner premium and gourmet passport. Tie up with Vistara Air ( with Singapore Airlines or Emirates for international ) or even Air India to gold status (jet’ s future is not certain as of now). Membership to Hilton Honnors/ SPG/ Taj for hotel benefits. Tie up with OLA/ Uber for 25% cashback on all spends (like SC does with Uber).

    Also joining / renewal fee at 7,500/- waived 1st year with add on card or payzapp usage (like in HDFC) and 10L spend for renewal fee waiver. Plus bonus points worth 20k on every 20L spends (1% extra) in a year.

    Movies flat Rs. 500/- a month like RBL INSIGNIA and 50% upto 500 a month on other events on BMS.

    Fx mark up of 1.25%. And it should definitely work worldwide.

    With insurance benefits as usual for travel, credit shield & accident.

    Should take care of all the needs of a super premium customer.

    The icing on the cake would be to have this with our own Indian Rupay network (though international travellers might not be keen to use Rupay as it may not be accepted easily out of India).

    Hello SBI, ICICI, Axis, Yes Banks.
    Any body listening 😉

    Reply
  11. SH

    Nice going Sid. One thing missing are the airline and hotel transfer partners. That would make it so powerful. Additional feature can be purchase protection.

    Take this idea to HDFC, or Amex..:-)

    Reply
  12. Mouli

    Almost Close to Perfection 4.75, hope below things can be added so that customer will continue with the bank for long

    Customer Completes 2 years with average annual spend of 8L (can be combined with atleast one loan or EMI )can avail 10 or 20k Taj Voucher and few other options

    Customer Completes 4 years with average annual spend of 8L can avail twice the benefit of 2 year completion reward value and similarly for 6 and 10 years this will

    We can provide Complimentary membership program such as Taj Silver tier /Vistara Silver tier when they renew the card and made a spend of 15 Lakhs in the previous year

    Reply
  13. Sreehari

    This is beautifully designed Sid. The Ola vouchers are really useful and it’s strange no bank has actually thought about issuing these. Would love to see bankers over here pick up some tips and tricks from this. 2X points on standing instructions including rent payments would complete the whole package, though I guess the low margins make that nearly impossible. However you could add a complementary 1-hour consultation from cardexpert on getting the maximum buck off your credit card portfolio😁

    Reply
  14. Boopathy

    Regarding Manchester card from ICICI, for the top 25 spenders they take you to U.K. for Manchester United match live and Stadium tour. They’ve issued close to 7000 cards in last 2 months, people are very interested in the card. ICICI are more into launching Unique cards to attract customers and they are tasting success on the same. They’ve close to 80000 customer base for their Ferrari card.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      If Ferrari card has 80k customers, i’ll imagine this concept if released by ICICI would cross half a million at least 😉

      I mean, ICICI has a lot of potential. Ferrari card is at least “okay” but Manchester is not. Just my perspective, it may ofcourse vary with the one’s interest’s.

      Reply
  15. Vikram

    Great. But why MasterCard World Elite logo? Use some stylized form of your initials instead. 🙂

    Touch on how the customer can have peace of mind with this card’s high profile fraud protection too. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Tej

    Sid, Nice. I feel there has to be a Premier card for only the segment of customers, who have a CIBIL rating of 820-850 or more, consistently. Card co’s don’t need any collection efforts! Isn’t that really greatest relief? These are the poor guys who are very disciplined but have no separate incentives. This class of people spend any amount but pay off their balance in full by the due date without being told or asked for. Any amount of rewards/incentives/facilities for this set of guys, will be less. I feel, you should design one such card…

    Reply
    1. Amex Guy

      Umm, unless you are Amex, your 90% revenue comes from irresponsible spenders paying interest. What do you think the point of spend based offers is?

      People paying bills on time is about as much dead weight on issuer’s books as write-offs. The “greatest relief” for an issuer is if you spend beyond your reach, pay interest until you can and default when you can’t. After the default they can still sell your debt to collection agency.

      Reply
  17. Boopathy

    I was one of the winner on the Ferrari card, the trip to the Ferrari factory, the Ferrari museum, the Gala dinner at the Ferrari museum in between the Ferrari cars and a hot lap on the Monza circuit in Ferrari car was just Awesome. The whole trip was sponsored by ICICI including the Visa & tickets. Once in a life time experience.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Great! We should talk more about this 😉

      One thing that stopped me from trying ferrari card is, they’ve excluded business spends, due to which i didn’t take a risk.

      Reply
      1. Ebin Johnson

        Sid, what is treated as a business spend? Could you please elaborate on this?

        Reply
  18. Boopathy

    Yes, if you spend on your business expenses they don’t count those charges for eligibility. The expenses must be purely personal expenses.

    Reply
  19. TG

    I’m afraid it cannot be fully a lifestyle card unless there is complimentary golf access.
    As a novice I’ve used the golf privileges on my plat reserve and I must say it has been an absolute delight.

    Reply

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