Compare: HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card Vs. HDFC Bank MoneyBack+ Credit Card

When it comes to card activation benefits, both these credit cards offer bonus Cashpoints. While Millennia Credit Card offers 1,000 CashPoints, MoneyBack+ offers 500 Cashpoints. Based on the redemption value, Millennia offers a benefit of around Rs. 300 (1 CashPoint= Rs. 0.30), whereas MoneyBack offers a value of Rs. 125 (1 CashPoint= Rs. 0.25)

Note that, Millennia Card offers a high-value benefit on activation and justifies the higher joining fee charges of Rs.1000, in comparison to Moneyback+, which charges Rs. 500. Thereby, in terms of activation benefits, HDFC Bank Millennia Card is a clear winner.

Note that even when Moneyback+ and Millennia are promoted as rewards and cashback credit cards respectively, the rewarding mechanism for both these cards is the same as both offer rewards and cashback via CashPoints.

In general, rewards and cashback function differently, yet, as mentioned above, these cards offer similar benefits around CashPoints. The difference however lies in the redemption value of these CashPoints. In case of Moneyback+, 1 Cashpoint = Rs. 0.25 whereas, for Millennia 1 Cashpoint= Rs. 0.30. The redemption process for both these cards is illustrated below:

Illustration 1: Let’s suppose you spend Rs. 300 on Amazon via Moneyback+ Credit Card and are eligible for 10X rewards per Rs. 150 spent (at 2 rewards per Rs. 150) amounting to 20 reward points per Rs. 150 spent. Thereby on a purchase of Rs. 300, you will get 40 CashPoints. You can redeem this for 1 CashPoint= Rs. 0.25. Thereby, 40 CashPoints amount to benefits around Rs.10 on spending Rs. 300.

Illustration 2:Lets’ suppose you spend Rs. 300 on Amazon via HDFC Bank Millenia Credit Card and earn a cashback of 5%, which amounts to Rs. 15. Note that with the Millennia card, cashback is offered in the form of CashPoints, thereby you will get 15 CashPoints. When it comes to redeeming the CashPoints you can redeem the same at 1 cashpoint= 0.30, except for paying the statement balance where in  1 cash point= Rs. 1. Thus 15 CashPoints offer benefits around Rs. 4.5 on spending Rs. 300.

Therefore, as per the above illustration, MoneyBack+ Credit Card offers better redemption value in comparison to HDFC Millennia Card, even when the redemption rate is low at Rs. 0.25 per Cashpoint in comparison to Millennia at Rs. 0.30 per CashPoint.

Suggested Read: How to Redeem HDFC Credit Card Reward Points?

Both the cards offer fee waiver on achieving the milestone spending limits. The renewal fee waiver offered by both MoneyBack+ and Millennia Credit Card is good, against spending values that are attainable and not too high. For MoneyBack+ you can avail renewal fee waiver of Rs. 500 on spending Rs. 50,000 or more in a year, whereas for Millennia Credit Card, the fee waiver of Rs. 1,000 can be availed on spending Rs. 1 Lakh or above in a year.

Thereby, to avail the fee waiver, you need to make an average spend of approx Rs. 4,166 and Rs. 8,333 per month via MoneyBack+ and Millennia cards respectively. These limits are fairly low if you use your card religiously or even if you do not use it regularly, as the associated brands with these cards are popular online merchants across categories such as e-commerce, groceries, fashion and food delivery among others.

Along with fee waiver, the additional benefits offered along these credit cards are milestone benefits for each quarter. Note that MoneyBack offers Rs. 500 gift voucher on spending Rs. 50,000 in a calendar quarter, whereas Millennia Credit Card offers Rs. 1,000 vouchers on spending R. 1 Lakh or above in a quarter. Thereby, if you spend the respective amounts, you not only avail a fee waiver but also get complimentary gift vouchers, equivalent to the annual fee charged by the cards. Thereby, double the benefit.

When it comes to travel benefits, HDFC MoneyBack+ offers no travel benefits. However, Millennia Credit Card does offer benefits around lounge access with 8 complimentary domestic lounge access per year. Note that, MoneyBack+ not providing any travel benefit in comparison to Millennia is justified since it charges a lower fee than the latter. However, in general, if compared with credit cards with an annual fee of up to Rs. 500, not providing any lounge access could be a drawback, as many cards within this range or even zero annual fee cards offer lounge access. Thus, Millennia wins over MoneyBack+ in terms of offering basic travel benefits for an entry-level credit card.

Based on the comparison mentioned above and our analysis of how these cards work, it can be concluded that, at a lower fee (Rs. 500) in comparison to Millennia, MoneyBack+ Credit Card offers better redemption options and reward benefits. Thus, it is overall a better option in terms of higher redemption value and scope of earning rewards on your credit card purchases and spends. However, Millennia Credit Card, even after allowing limited rewards, offers better welcome benefits and the additional lounge access privilege. Therefore, it is worth availing Millennia at a fee of Rs. 1,000,  if you are looking for a cashback credit card with benefits covered around travel, otherwise for exclusive reward benefits MoneyBack+ is a good option at a low annual fee.

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