IDFC First Bank Wealth Debit Card
It’s a lifetime free debit card designed specifically for customers who are part of the Bank’s First Wealth Program .
BENEFITS
- Very high per day ATM withdrawal and Purchase limit of 7 & 12 lacs respectively
- 3 domestic airport lounge access along with a companion (thereby making it 3+3) each quarter, charged INR 2 everytime
- 2 international airport lounge access per quarter (charged 32$ and reversed within 10 days). The access is given directly by swiping the debit card.
- Register your card by creating a LoungeKey account
- Complimentary ID Sentry membership (Protects your cards from ID theft). Select debit card also offers this benefit
- Good insurance cover for cardholder — Air Accident Insurance cover- 2.5 Cr, Personal Accident cover- 1 Cr, Lost Card Liability cover- 12 Lacs, Purchase Protection cover- 1 Lac (Minimum 1 POS transaction >= 500 in each of the previous 3 months immediately preceding the month of incident)
- Complimentary Road Side Assistance (RSA)
- Complimentary Golf access of 1 per month at partner Golf clubs across India
- Upto 10X accelerated reward points program on debit card, delayed too much already (Currently under Beta testing)
- Visa Infinite privileges
CRITERIA TO BEOME ELIGIBLE
- Expected NRV: 10 lakhs
IDFC First Bank requires you to join its First Wealth Program by maintaining minimum NRV (Savings ac balance/ FD/ Investments etc.) in the range of 10 Lacs in order to be eligible for this card. This may vary a bit with location & time. If opening a new account with Wealth status in mind, its better to always clarify all doubts with the local RM/ BM before proceeding.
DOWNSIDE
International eCom or POS transaction markup fee at 2% (thus competes poorly being a new bank). Even IndusInd bank Debit Card (requires just 1 or 2 lacs AMB depending upon location) provides with NIL markup fee.
No EazyDiner offers, which has become basic requirement of even Semi-Premium/ Regular cards now a days.
No movie benefits provided except Visa Infinite offer.
In comparison, most premium debit card offerings from Axis, AU, Indusind, Yes bank or for that matter even their semi- premium/ regular debit cards offer B1G1/ 50% off upto varied amounts.
SUMMARY
IDFC First Wealth Program is designed & positioned to take on HDFC Imperia/ Axis Burgundy/ Indusind Pioneer premium banking. Overall program features at best fare on par in comparison with industry peers.
Some of the features like RSA, domestic airport lounge access along with companion and international airport lounge access via card (using LoungeKey) itself standout.
Even though Wealth program customers maintaining NRV should get the Wealth credit card by default (as was advertised during initial launch), in practice this is far from happening smoothly in most cases.
