HDFC Millennia credit card is among the dwindling list of cards which does give points on wallet loading and this is in fact the USP of this card.
Millennia Credit cards issued post 2nd October, 2021 have updated features, see its review here.
HDFC Millennia is for those who are into “cards”, for casual users beware, this card has enough fine print to stop you from earning or even redeeming your cash points.
Eligibility
Gross Monthly Income> ₹25,000
Fees
Joining/Renewal Membership Fee – Rs. 1000+186 (taxes).
If you Spend ₹30000 & above in the first 90 days, the first year membership fees are waived off.
Alternatively, you will be provided 1000 Cash Points on payment of the fees.
Renewal membership fee is waived off by spending ₹1,00,000.
Lounge Access
8 Complimentary Domestic Lounge Access per calendar year (2 in a quarter). A bit on the lower side.
Reward Program
1) 5% CashBack on Amazon, Flipkart, Flight & Hotel bookings on shopping via PayZapp and SmartBuy (minimum transaction size of ₹2000, Max ₹1000 CashBack per calendar month in first 6 months, Max ₹ 750 CashBack post 6 months from card issuance)
This is standard offering from HDFC smartbuy, however instead of cash back within 3 months you get cash back points within one month. Also note the additional requirement of a minimum transaction size of Rs 2000 which is rather too high.
2) 2.5% CashBack on all online spends (minimum transaction size of ₹2000, maximum CashBack = ₹750 / calendar month)
This is the selling point of this card and if you are interested in making maximum use of this card this is where you need to spend. The 2.5% cash back is valid for “rent” payments too. The maximum rent you can pay is Rs 30000 to get the Rs 750 cash back points.
3) 1% CashBack on all offline spends and Wallet reloads (Minimum transaction size of ₹100, maximum CashBack = ₹750 / calendar month)
Nowadays, paytm is charging 3% for wallet loading making the 1% seem to be quite small. You can still load up Amazon wallet, but it is not as liquid as Paytm.
4) The Cash points expire within 1 year. This is the fastest expiry of points in the credit card industry. This point alone should make people stay away from this card.
Reward Redemption
For redemption you need to only go for statement credit option where each Cash Point = Rs. 1.
The other options consider 1 Cash Point = Rs 0.3 which you should ignore.
However, the fine print here is that you need to have at least 2500 cash points for redemption. Also note, the points expire within 1 year so you need to spend at least Rs. 1 Lac in the accelerated category (2.5%) to be eligible for this option. Incase you manage to pileup more than 2500 Cash points, you can also only redeem in multiples of Rs 500.
Milestones
HDFC is aware that average users won’t be able to effectively redeem the cash Points so they have added ₹1000 worth gift vouchers on spends of ₹1,00,000 and above in each calendar quarter.
This is quite a lucrative deal which gives another 1% earnings.
Also amazon vouchers are available and are promptly sent to you within the week after which you have met their threshold.
However, this offer is for the first year only.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India (on minimum transaction of ₹400. Max CashBack of ₹250 per statement cycle).
You can Fuel upto Rs. 25000 with surcharge waiver.
Earnings Table
I have considered an Expense of Rs 35000 each month such that you meet all the milestone criterion as well as cap out the threshold for online spends.
On paper the earnings is 3.7% which is very high, but for most users the reward rate will be in the range of 1.5-2% which in itself is not bad.
Savings calculator for HDFC Millennia credit card
Use the below table to calculate the savings you will do by entering your expenses in the below table.
If the Calculator doesn't run, click here and run again :-)
Rating
If you are here and reading about this card, you will do well with this card.
3.5/5 (expert user)
However, if you only wish to use this card casually as all cards should; this is card which will stop you from earning the cash back using its fine print conditions.
In that case the rating for this card is
1.5/5 (casual user)
Similar or Better cards
The best alternative is HDFC regalia which is much more user friendly in its terms. In case you are not eligible for it good alternatives are Amex MRCC, SBI prime, ICICI amazon credit card, Yes premia.