When it comes to premium credit cards, HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black are among the most popular options in the market. While both cater to high-net-worth individuals, they differ in terms of overall value.

Being an invite-only card, HDFC Infinia is designed for HNIs seeking luxury lifestyle benefits, whereas HDFC Diners Club Black, offered at a comparatively lower annual fee, is the best suited alternative with similar benefits.

But which one should you choose? Here is a detailed comparison of credit cards to help you find the right pick.

Welcome/Renewal Benefits

Particular	HDFC Infinia	HDFC DC Black
Joining/Annual Fee	Rs. 12,500 + Applicable Taxes	Rs. 10,000 + Applicable Taxes
Annual Fee Waiver	Annual spends of Rs. 10 Lakh	Annual spends of Rs. 5 Lakh
Joining Benefit	Complimentary Club Marriott membership for a year, offering up to 25% discount on dining and stay 12,500 reward points after the payment of joining fee	Annual memberships of Club Marriott, Times Prime, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One (3 months) & MMT BLACK on spending Rs. 1.5 Lakh within the first 90 days
Renewal Benefit	12,500 reward points after the payment of annual fee	Renewal of Club Marriott, Times Prime, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One (3 months), MMT BLACK annual memberships on spending Rs. 8 Lakh in a year

HDFC Infinia charges a comparatively higher annual fee of Rs. 12,500, but it compensates for it every year by offering reward points worth the joining and renewal fee. Besides this, while HDFC Infinia offers a complimentary Club Marriott membership only for the first year, cardholders can still save significantly on their stays and dining spends.

On the other hand, HDFC Diners Club Black offers welcome and renewal benefits through five different complimentary memberships covering multiple categories such as travel, entertainment, and dining. However, these memberships come with a spend-based condition. Cardholders need to achieve the spending milestone to avail both welcome and renewal benefits.

For consumers who prefer straightforward value-back, HDFC Infinia would be a better option with bonus reward points every year. However, for cardholders who can easily achieve the spending milestone required to avail welcome and renewal benefits on DC Black, and are frequent users of these partner brands, choosing Diners Club Black would be a smarter choice.

Rewards Program

While both cards come with a similar reward structure, i.e., 5 points per Rs. 100 spent and up to 10X points on SmartBuy, they differ when it comes to dining rewards:

• HDFC Infinia: 5 reward points for every Rs. 150 spent on dining
• HDFC DC Black: 2X (10 reward points per Rs. 150 spent) on dining during weekends

SmartBuy Rewards

Both HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black cardholders can earn up to 10X reward points on SmartBuy spends. However, there are certain categories where the two cards differ. Here are the details:

Category	Points via Infinia	Points via DC Black
IGP.com	10X	10X
Flights	5X	5X
Hotels	10X	10X
Trains-Confirm Ticket	3X	3X
RedBus	5X	5X
Instant Voucher	5X	3X
Apple Imagine Tresor	5X	3X
Zoom Car	5X	5X
Nykaa	5X	5X
Myntra	5X	5X
Jockey	10X	10X
MMT Holiday Packages	5X	5X
Pharmeasy	10X	10X

 Suggested Read: HDFC SmartBuy vs. ICICI iShop

Reward Redemption

With both cards, cardholders can redeem accumulated reward points at a 1:1 ratio across multiple categories, as detailed below:

• 1 RP = Rs. 1 on flights and hotel bookings via SmartBuy
• 1 RP = Up to 1 AirMile
• 1 RP = Rs. 0.50 for vouchers and product purchase on SmartBuy
• 1 RP = Rs. 0.30 on cashback conversion

Apart from the above redemption options, cardholders can also redeem accumulated reward points against Apple products and Tanishq vouchers. However, in this case, the redemption value differs for both cards:

• HDFC Infinia: 1 RP = Rs. 1 on purchasing Apple products and Tanishq Vouchers via SmartBuy
• HDFC DC Black: 1 RP = Rs. 0.50 on purchasing Apple products and Tanishq Vouchers via SmartBuy

While both cards offer similar value-back of 3.33% across all spends, HDFC Diners Club Black stands out by offering 2X rewards on weekend dining spends. However, HDFC Infinia offers better overall value-back through higher accelerated rewards on certain SmartBuy spends and a 1:1 redemption ratio for travel bookings, Air Mile conversion, Apple products, and Tanishq vouchers.

Other Differences

Particular	HDFC Infinia	HDFC DC Black
Hotel Benefits	Book stay for 3 nights at participating ITC Hotels and pay for 2 nights 1+1 complimentary buffet at participating ITC Hotels	No Benefit
Golf Benefit	Unlimited complimentary golf games worldwide	6 complimentary golf games every quarter
Milestone Benefit	No Benefit	Cult.fit Live 1 month membership or BookMyShow/TataCLiQ/Uber vouchers worth Rs. 500 on monthly spends of Rs. 80,000

Quick Comparison: HDFC Infinia vs. HDFC DC Black

Particular	HDFC Infinia	HDFC DC Black
Joining/Annual Fee	Rs. 12,500 + Applicable Taxes	Rs. 10,000 + Applicable Taxes
Annual Fee Waiver	Waived off on annual spends of Rs. 10 Lakh	Waived off on annual spends of Rs. 5 Lakh
Welcome Benefits	Complimentary Club Marriott membership for a year, offering up to 25% discount on dining and stay 12,500 reward points	Complimentary annual memberships of Club Marriott, Times Prime, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One (3 months), MMT BLACK on spending Rs. 1.5 Lakh within the first 90 days
Renewal Benefits	12,500 reward points after the payment of annual fee	Annual memberships of Club Marriott, Times Prime, Amazon Prime, Swiggy One (3 months), MMT BLACK on annual spend of Rs. 8 Lakh
Reward Points	5 reward points per Rs. 150 spent Up to 10X reward points on SmartBuy spends
Reward Redemption	1 RP = Rs. 1 on flights and hotel bookings via SmartBuy 1 RP = Rs. 1 (for Infinia) and 1 RP = Rs. 0.50 (for DC Black) on purchasing Apple products and Tanishq vouchers via SmartBuy 1 RP = Up to 1 AirMile 1 RP = Rs. 0.50 for vouchers and product purchase on SmartBuy 1 RP = Rs. 0.30 on cashback conversion
Lounge Access	Unlimited domestic & international lounge visits	Unlimited domestic & international lounge visits
Hotel Benefits	Book stay for 3 nights at participating ITC Hotels and pay for 2 nights 1+1 complimentary buffet at participating ITC Hotels	No Benefit
Golf Benefit	Unlimited complimentary golf games worldwide	6 complimentary golf games every quarter
Forex Markup Fee	2%	2%
Dining Benefit	Extra 10% off at partner restaurants via Swiggy Dineout	Extra 10% off at partner restaurants via Swiggy Dineout
Milestone Benefit	No Benefit	Cult.fit Live 1 month membership or BookMyShow/TataCLiQ/Uber vouchers worth Rs. 500 on monthly spends of Rs. 80,000

Which One Should You Choose?

Choosing between HDFC Infinia and HDFC Diners Club Black depends on your eligibility and lifestyle preferences. If you are eligible for HDFC Infinia Credit Card, opting for Infinia over DC Black would be a smarter choice as it offers better overall value. However, if you want to avail similar benefits at a lower annual fee, HDFC DC Black can help you save significantly on your spends.

Choose HDFC Infinia if:

• You are a high-net-worth individual (HNI) or an existing HDFC preferred banking customer
• You are seeking luxury benefits like unlimited lounge access & golf games, exclusive privileges at top hotels and more
• You can spend Rs. 10 Lakh or more annually to avail annual fee waiver

Choose HDFC Diners Club Black if:

• You want premium benefits without the invite-only barrier
• You prefer membership-based welcome rewards like Times Prime, Amazon Prime, and Swiggy One
• You seek achievable fee waivers and monthly milestones for consistent rewards