HDFC Bank Times Credit Card Review

HDFC Bank launched two credit cards in association with Times Internet in the year 2013 by the names- HDFC Titanium Times Credit Card and HDFC Platinum Times Credit Card. This co-branded initiative was brought forward to meet the lifestyle needs of the youth by helping them save more and rewarding them for every penny they spend. These cards are best suited for dining and entertainment and they still have a place in the list of best entertainment credit cards in India. Other shopping and reward benefits add to their value. Detailed review of the cards is given below.

* Welcome Benefits are regularly updated by HDFC Bank

Welcome Benefits on Times Credit Card

The welcome benefits on HDFC Bank Times credit card are the same for both variants. The benefits are:

• MediBuddy- 18% off on Medicines + Free doctor consultation
• Easymytrip- Save up to Rs. 1,500
• VLCC- Flat Rs. 500 off
• Ajio Gold- Up to Rs. 2,500 additional discount
• Zoomcar- Rs. 500 discount

All of these vouchers give discounts on popular websites and hence they are useful for everyone, unlike some other cards with limited options. Also, HDFC Bank regularly freshens up the welcome benefits on their Times Credit Cards. Latest welcome offers can be found here.

Dining Offers on Times Credit Cards

Both the cards give dining offers at select restaurants in the form of discount, complimentary dishes and ‘Buy One Get One’deals.

HDFC Platinum Times Credit Card provides over 600 dining offers while the Titanium variant provides 500+ dining offers. Most of the popular restaurants are covered by the bank so that the offer can be availed by maximum users.

Looking for a credit card that provides extensie dining offers? Find them here.

Movie Offers on Times Credit Cards

Save more on movies with HDFC Times Titanium Credit Card

Both HDFC Titanium Times and Platinum Times Credit Cards provide the following movie benefits:

• 25% off on movie tickets booked via BookMyShow
• Get movie subscription offer via MovieCard. Under the subscription, you can watch 5 movies per month by paying just Rs. 340. T&C Apply
• Get 50% off on tickets booked via Sunset Cinema Club website

When compared to other movie offers available on credit cards, a direct discount would largely be preferred by people instead of a free ticket. However, there are still a few conditions related to the maximum discount on each transaction and the number of transactions in a month. Also, the BookMyShow discount is on First Come First Serve basis and there are limited tickets so chances are that you might not be able to avail this discount.

To help you understand better, here is a comparison of HDFC Times Credit Cards’ movie offers with 3 other entertainment cards in the market.

Reward Points Program

The reward points on the cards are given in the following manner:

* Accelerated Reward Points are given when the cards are used to pay for weekday dining spends.

In their fee range, both the cards allow good reward earnings to the users. The reward points are valid for 2 years and can be used to purchase items from HDFC Bank’s Credit Card Rewards Catalogue or to pay for flight tickets or hotel bookings. However, the rewards program could be even better if it offered accelerated earnings on movie ticket booking- as then the benefits would have been two-fold.

Milestone Benefits

You can get annual fee waiver on reaching certain spending threshold, as shown below:

HDFC Platinum Times Credit Card – Spend at least Rs. 2.50 lakh in an anniversary year.

HDFC Titanium Times Credit Card – Spend at least Rs. 1.50 lakh in an anniversary year.

As compared to other cards like HDFC MoneyBack and Citi Rewards Credit Card, the spending limit to avail the waiver is set a little too high. The Citibank Credit Card waives off the annual fee of Rs. 1,000 on spending only Rs. 30,000 in a year whereas the HDFC MoneyBack Card requires annual spending of Rs 50,000 to get the fee waiver.

Limitations of HDFC Times Credit Cards

Times credit cards are entertainment credit cards only. They do not provide benefits in other categories like travel or even shopping. So, if you do not frequently go to the movies or dine out then the card would not be a good match for you. Having said that, the card has certain limitations in its targeted category, such as:

• Movie benefits through BookMyShow are uncertain as it is on First Come First Serve basis
• BookMyShow benefit is limited to a maximum discount of Rs. 350 per transaction in a month
• There are no accelerated rewards on movies
• Welcome gift vouchers are not related to the entertainment or dining category
• Spending milestone for fee waiver is too high

If you prefer dining out over going to the movies and think that you can spend Rs. 3 lakh in a year, then you should go for HDFC Regalia Credit Card and not for the Platinum Times Credit Card. The Regalia Card offers complimentary Zomato Gold membership under which you can avail up to 40% off at partner restaurants and more.

Which one should you choose- Titanium or Platinum?

The main difference between Platinum Times credit card and Titanium Times credit card is the rewards structure which does not account for much if you don’t put major expenses on your credit card. Apart from this, they differ in terms of annual fee and waiver condition.

Bottom Line

HDFC Titanium Times credit card and Platinum Times credit card provide similar movies, dining and welcome benefits. The difference is in the rewards program where Platinum credit card outshines the Titanium variant. Still that does not justify the Rs. 1,000 annual fee and the spend milestone waiver at Rs. 2.50 lakh since all the other benefits are the same. So as an entertainment credit card, the HDFC Titanium Times Credit Card would be a better option.