Compare: IDFC FIRST Select Vs. IDFC FIRST Wealth Vs. IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Cards

IDFC FIRST Select, IDFC FIRST Wealth and IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Cards are three popular lifetime-free credit cards by IDFC FIRST Bank. These cards are suitable for beginners, and even at nil joining and annual fee, offer all rounder merits around dining, movies, travel, health, etc. All three cards offer some similar types of features ranging from welcome perks, incremental rewards, and interest-free cash withdrawals among others. On that basis, choosing the right card amongst these might be confusing. To help you find the right card, here we have framed a comparative review of IDFC FIRST Select Vs. IDFC FIRST Wealth Vs. IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Cards. Read on to know more.

*Reward program not applicable on Fuel, Insurance, EMI transactions & Cash withdrawals
**Cash advance fee of Rs. 250 per transaction is applicable

Based on the comparison table above, we could draw the following conclusions on comparing these cards:

• These credit cards offer similar activation benefits, of welcome voucher worth Rs. 500 and 5% cashback up to Rs. 1,000. However, the benefits are subject to these terms (i) welcome voucher worth Rs. 500 on spending Rs. 15,000 or above within 90 days (ii) 5% cashback up to Rs. 1,000 on transaction value of first EMI done within 90 days. Here, note that being lifetime free cards, these cards do not charge any joining fee, but yet offer welcome benefits. This is a good advantage, as not all zero annual fee cards offer card activation benefits.
• Though all three cards offer incremental rewards, yet the range of spends for earning incremental rewards is different in these cards, as follows:
  

  IDFC First SELECT	On spends above Rs. 25,000
  IDFC First Weath	On spends above Rs. 30,000
  IDFC First Millennia	On spends above Rs. 20,000

  On that basis, IDFC First Millennia, is a good option as you get 10X rewards as and when you spend above Rs. 20,000 a month, whereas it is comparatively high for the other two variants at Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000 comparatively.

• Similar to the incremental rewards milestone, the reward structure is also different for all three cards. While 1 reward point= Rs. 0.25 in each case, it varies on the minimum amount value you can earn it on. For IDFC Select, you earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 125, whereas with Wealth variant, you earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 100, and for Millennia Card, you earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 150. Now let’s assume you spend Rs. 60,000 in a month on online spends, on that basis you earn the following benefits:

As per the above calculation, the reward benefit up to and beyond the incremental rewards is offered in the following order, IDFC Wealth >> IDFC Select >> IDFC Millennia. You must however, note that, the reward above the incremental spends is subject to the spending amount.

Overall, IDFC Wealth emerges as a clear winner in offering the highest reward rate, followed by IDFC Select and IDFC Millennia. Thereby, IDFC Wealth can be a suitable choice, if you are keenly interested in finding the best rewards card amongst these.

Even while IDFC Millennia offers the lowest milestone level for earning incremental rewards, yet it lacks behind in comparison to Select and Wealth, in offering the overall reward benefit as it offers rewards on every Rs. 150 spent in comparison to Select and Wealth, that offer rewards on every Rs. 125 and Rs. 100. With all three cards, you earn unlimited reward points that never expire that can be used instantly to pay online or for in-store purchases.

• Coming to lifestyle benefits, the cards offer similar benefits around dining, health and wellness, with up to 20% discount at 1500+ restaurants and up to 15% discount at 3000+ Health & Wellness outlets. However, when it comes to movies, the benefits differ. While IDFC Select Card and IDFC Wealth Cards offer, ‘Buy one, Get one’ offers twice a month with maximum value benefit of Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 respectively, IDFC Millennia offers up to 25% discount on movie bookings once a month for up to Rs. 100 a month. All three cards offer benefits specific to Paytm mobile app. Here, clearly, IDFC Wealth offers the maximum benefit in comparison to IDFC Select and IDFC Millennia. Additionally, IDFC Wealth also offers access to golf rounds twice a month.Thus, while IDFC Select and IDFC Millennia do offer good lifestyle benefits when looked upon individually, comparatively, IDFC Wealth offers the best overall lifestyle benefit.

• Different travel benefits offered by these cards, are listed in the table below:

  	IDFC Select	IDFC Wealth	IDFC Millennia
  Forex Markup	1.99%	1.5%	3.5%
  Airport Lounge Access	4 domestic airport lounge visits per quarter	4 complimentary domestic & international airport lounge visits per quarter	–
  Railway Lounge Access	4 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter	–	4 complimentary railway lounge visits per quarter
  Spa Visits	–	4 spa visits in a quarter	–
  Comprehensive Travel Insurance Cover	Worth Rs. 2,500	Worth USD 1200 (equivalent to Rs. 98,837.34)*	–
  Air Accident Insurance Cover	Worth Rs. 1 Crore	Worth Rs. 1 Crore	–

  *Calculated as per value of Indian Rupee on 11 October, 2022.

Here, it is clear that IDFC Select and IDFC Wealth compete largely against each other in offering the better travel benefits around low forex markup fee, lounge access, and travel insurance packages. IDFC Select emerges as a good card with overall travel benefits spread across domestic travel, however, IDFC Wealth emerges as a good choice if you are looking for a travel credit card with inclined benefits towards international visits.

Suggested Read: Best Travel Credit Cards in India | Best Credit Cards for International Travel | Best Credit Cards for Domestic Travel

Amongst these, IDFC Wealth charges a comparatively lower forex markup fee, offers access to both international and domestic lounges, comes along complimentary spa visits and comprehensive travel insurance cover with a higher amount than IDFC Select. The select variant, however, also offers access to railway lounges, which IDFC Wealth does not, and offers similar air accident insurance cover. Thus, if you are looking for travel credit cards among these three, you must either go for IDFC Select, or IDFC Wealth, based on your travel preference. If you frequently travel within India, you can consider opting IDFC Select, however, if you travel internationally, you may consider getting an IDFC Wealth Credit Card.

In comparison to these two, IDFC Millennia offers limited benefits on travel, and that too specifically on railway travels. Though the cards fall short on meeting the benefits offered by other two IDFC cards, if looked upon individually, or even in comparison to a lot of zero annual fee cards, 4 railways lounge access in a quarter, is not that bad a benefit.