HDFC Diners Club Miles Credit Card Review

HDFC Bank was having the Dinners premium credit card for a while before which they decided to replace it with a superior version and brand it more of the frequent traveller’s card by adding the badge “miles” to it. That’s how Club Miles was born.

Before we get into the review, I should say, it is one of the best good “looking” cards around. Its design, along with the numbers printed in golden colour makes it looks elegant. Now, let’s see if the card rewards as good as it looks,

Joining Fees

Joining/Annual Fee: 1,000 INR+GST (First Year Free usually)
Welcome Bonus: 1000 Points (if fee is levied)
Renewal Fee waiver: Spend Rs. 1L in 12 Months

Almost everyone I know of got the card as either First Year Free or Lifetime Free but as HDFC no longer issues LTF cards, you may expect First Year Free offer without welcome bonus.

Reward Points

Earn 4 Reward Points for every Rs. 150/- spent
1 RP = Rs.0.50 for Hotels/Flights (1.3% Reward Rate)
1 RP = 1 Airmile with Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Vistara (~2.6% Reward Rate)
Accelerated Rewards: 10X Rewards (13% Reward Rate)

The major advantage of the card is its ability to convert reward points to Airmiles at 1:1 ratio which doubles your reward rate as long as you know how to get Rs.1 or more value out of the reward points.

Ideally, converting to Vistara is the easiest option as you get min. of Rs.0.75/Mile and if you redeem the CV points during offer period, you can get much more value.

Airport Lounge Access

Domestic & International: 6 Complimentary access / Calender year
Above limits are shared with add-on cards as well.

Remember that the credit card itself gives you access to lounges both within India & in foreign countries, so you don’t need to deal with another set of plastic.

Also, as Delhi & Bangalore got separate section for Diners Cardholders recently, it makes sense to hold a Diners Credit Card.

Other Benefits

Foreign Exchange Markup fee: 3% + GST (get additional 1% cashback by enabling Global value Programme)
Credit Shield: 9 Lakhs

How to Apply?

New Application Eligibility: >3.6 Lakh Annual Income (Branch/Online)
Upgrade: Limits above 1.5 Lakh on existing HDFC card with good spends would help.

Its relatively easy to get approved compared to the Visa/MC equivalent variant Regalia