HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card Review

HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card’s main feature is the convenience that it provides by automatically converting big ticket purchases into EMIs. Additional cashback on online transactions and the facility to redeem cashback against statement balance are two other reasons why you would want this card. Available at an annual fee of Rs. 500, the card is best suited for shopping. This card offers an auto-EMI facility and hence is best-suited for those who want to make big-ticket purchases and pay for them over an extended period. Since the card charges a low annual fee and requires a minimum income of Rs. 10,000, it is also good for beginners. Here is our detailed review of the card.

Know about the fees, eligibility and additional features of HDFC EasyEMI Credit Card

Big-Ticket purchases directly converted into EMIs

Under this feature, you can convert all transactions of Rs. 10,000 or more automatically into EMIs. The interest charged is 1.67% per month or 20% per annum and the processing fee is Rs. 99 and the tenure will be 9 months. Gold, jewellery or fuel transactions won’t be automatically converted into EMIs via this feature. Besides this, you will have the option to avail EasyEMI facility across 1,000+ merchants. This feature will be beneficial only if you frequently use your credit card for big transactions and would like to convert them into EMIs. 

500 Cash Points and Rs.1,000 Gift Voucher as Welcome Benefit

On HDFC Bank Easy EMI Credit Card, you can get the following welcome offers-

• Gift voucher worth Rs. 1,000 if you spend Rs. 1 lakh or more in a quarter. This offer is available during the first year of card issuance only
• 500 Cash Points on payment of membership fee

Cash Points earned on payment of membership fee is suitable for most users. However, the gift voucher is given to customers who spend at least Rs. 1 lakh in a quarter. However, there are other cards in the market with better benefits that would waive off the fee on spending the same amount or less in a year such as Citi Cashback Credit Card and SBI SimplyCLICK Card. If you find that you can spend over 1 lakh in a quarter then you are better off looking at other credit cards

Consider Reading: 10 Best Credit Cards in India

Earn Cashback on every Online and Offline transactions

The cashback on your HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card can be earned in the following manner:

Cashback is also provided on EMI Transactions

Points to note:

• Cashback is given in the form of CashPoints. The redemption value of Cashpoints is:

1 CashPoint = Re. 1 for redemption against statement balance

1 CashPoint = Re. 0.30 for redemption against flight, hotel bookings and items in rewards catalogue

HDFC Bank EasyEMI credit card’s major drawback is its cashback program. The card offers the chance to redeem cashback against statement balance. However, to use this feature you must first accumulate 2,500 reward points in a year; also the CashPoints expire in a year. If you do not frequently put expenses on your credit card, reaching this threshold will be difficult.

On the other hand, if you decide to redeem the Cash Points against flight or hotel bookings or from a rewards catalogue then the conversion ratio is disappointing. So, if you are particularly looking for a cashback credit card, you must have a look at the following alternatives:

*Terms and Conditions Apply

Milestone Benefits

With HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card you get the chance to get the annual fee as well as joining fee waived off. The conditions of the waiver are:

• Joining Fee Waiver can be achieved on spending at least Rs. 20,000 within 90 days of card issuance
• Renewal Fee Waiver can be earned on spending Rs. 50,000 or more in a year

Other Benefits of HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card

The additional benefits you get with HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card are as follows:

Who should get HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card?

HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card’s best feature is to automatically convert big transactions of Rs. 10,000 or more, into EMIs. The rate of interest charged is 1.67% or 20% per annum. So, if you think you frequently spend over Rs. 10,000 in a single transaction and require the amount to be converted into EMIs, then this card might serve your purpose. However if you are able to get some other basic cards from HDFC Bank such as HDFC MoneyBack, you can still get big-ticket transactions converted into EMIs under the Smart EMI facility, which would be a better option than EasyEMI Card.

In case you are specifically looking for a cashback credit card, or a card that offers accelerated reward points on online shopping then you should probably look for other cards as this card’s reward structure is not very impressive. The card would be best for those who want to make big-ticket purchases and pay for them over an extended period. Since the card charges a low annual fee of Rs. 500 and requires a minimum income eligibility of Rs. 10,000, it is also good for beginners.

Drawbacks of HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card

The feature of this card is nearly the same as any other regular credit card except that with this card all transactions above Rs. 10,000 automatically get converted into EMIs for 9 months at an interest rate of 20% per annum. However you will be able to earn cashback on transactions converted into EMIs. The interest rate charged on EMI is pretty high compared to other options including personal loan and EMI conversion option available on regular credit cards. While the ROI (rate of interest) in case of this card is 20%, it normally starts from 13% in case of EMI conversion on other cards. Also, this card gives a single-choice of a 9-month tenure whereas the tenures range anywhere from 3-48 months in case of other cards. 

On looking closely at the terms and conditions associated with the cashback offer we find that the card is not suited for everyone. In fact, only customers who spend a lot via their credit card can use all of its benefits. However, if you think you will be spending a lot via your credit card then too you can look at other best premium credit cards. 

Bottom Line

Though the target audience for HDFC Bank EasyEMI Credit Card is vast because of the easy eligibility criteria, the benefits do not really match up. Think about what you want in a credit card and only opt for it after comparing other feasible options.

Explore other options for EMI on Credit Cards