Card Review: HDFC Regalia Credit Card

Note: This is an old post. Some of the benefits of this card may have changed. Please refer to this page for the latest information.

HDFC Regalia Credit Card is one of the most popular credit cards by HDFC Bank. Amongst the multiple benefits offered by this card, you can primarily save on using this card across travel and shopping.  HDFC Bank promotes it as a card made to suit the luxury needs of the customers. Here is our detailed review of the card to help you decide if this is the right card for you.

Read about the detailed features and benefits of HDFC Regalia Credit Card

Premium Lounge Visit with Free Priority Pass Membership

With HDFC Regalia Credit Card, you get a free Priority Pass Membership. With this, you can access more than a thousand Priority Pass Lounges across the world where you can not only take rest but also enjoy light refreshments or use complementary facilities like phone, fax, conference rooms and internet. However, you must remember that only the membership to this program and the international visits (up to the maximum cap) are free, other visits will be chargeable at the following rates:

• US $27+GST for lounge visits within India per person per visit
• US $27+GST for international lounge visits per person per visit after exceeding the maximum number of visits
• US $27+GST for guest visits apart from primary and add-on cardholder
• The foreign currency conversion rate will also be applicable

Unlike most other lounge access credit cards in India, the Regalia card also extends the complimentary benefit to the add-on cardholder. However, using Priority Pass, the primary and add-on members can together avail of 6 international lounge visits in a calendar year.

Apart from this, you can also enjoy free access to domestic airport lounges under the Visa/Mastercard Lounge Access Program. 12 domestic lounge visits can be availed in a calendar year. 

To check eligible Lounges for Visa customers please visit here & for MasterCard customers please visit here.

Splurge and Earn with an Excellent Rewards Programme

Although splurging too much on your card is not advised, you will earn good rewards on all your purchases with the Regalia card. 4 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spent on all retail* expenses including Insurance, Utilities, Education and Rent Pay are offered by HDFC Regalia Credit Card. The accumulated reward points are valid for 2 years from the date of accrual.

Reward points can be redeemed for:

• Gift vouchers and merchandise from HDFC’s rewards catalogue
• Travel bookings on HDFC Smartbuy website

The redemption value offered on HDFC Regalia Credit Card is as follows:

Though, the reward offered on the Regalia Card is decent, yet, there is a drawback here. You do not earn any points on fuel transactions, easy EMI and e-wallet loading. If you convert retail transactions into SmartEMI, the accrued points will be reversed.

The reward rate offered by HDFC Regalia is not that great when compared to other credit cards of similar range. If you are looking for cards that offer better reward points, you can consider checking best rewards credit cards in India. Additionally, If you would like to explore more cards that offer benefits similar to HDFC Regalia, here are a few cards to consider:

Multiple Opportunities to Save Money on Travel

HDFC Regalia Credit Card has correctly been assigned to the category of travel. It makes travel cheaper and convenient for you in multiple ways. In addition to the free lounge access that we have mentioned earlier, the card also offers:

• Travel Concierge Service

You can take help from their travel concierge service for flight booking, hotel room booking or even for booking movie tickets. The 24X7 multilingual services make it perfect for people from all regions of India.

• Exclusive Travel Booking Portal

HDFC Bank has designed an exclusive portal for their Regalia cardholders where you can use the accumulated points directly for airline ticket booking or for hotel stays. The redemption value is Rs. 0.50 for every reward point.

• Low Forex Markup Fee

In comparison to the general foreign exchange markup fee of 3.5% charged on most credit cars, HDFC Regalia Credit card, charges a low Forex markup of 2%. This marks the card suitable for International travel.

Must Read: Top Credit Cards in India

Other Benefits of HDFC Regalia Credit Card

Should you get this card?

HDFC Regalia credit card would be a great choice for you, if you answer 7 out of these 10 questions in positive:

1. Is your monthly income above Rs. 1 lakh? (This should definitely be a YES to be eligible for Regalia credit card).
2. Are you a frequent traveler and prefer flights over other modes of transport?
3. Do you put most of your routine expenditure on your credit card?
4. Are you interested in availing airport lounge access facilities?
5. Do you visit foreign countries multiple times in a year?
6. Are you fine with paying an annual fee of Rs. 2,500?
7. Are you interested in being a part of HDFC Bank’s elite circle?
8. Would you be able to spend Rs. 5 Lakh to Rs. 8 Lakh in a year to avail milestone benefits?
9. Do you want to get an add-on card on your primary Regalia credit card?

Drawbacks of HDFC Regalia Credit Card

With HDFC Regalia Credit Card, there are certain things to be cautious about:

• There is an annual fee of Rs. 2,500 so even if you don’t use your credit card, you will have to pay this amount
• There are no reward points on fuel transactions and there is no convenience fee waiver
• Under the Priority Pass Program, only the membership and a limited number of international visits are free. Apart from that, you will have to pay for visits
• The insurance cover is not applicable to NRI Regalia Credit Card holders

Bottom Line

HDFC Regalia Credit Card is the best for you if you would like to earn decent rewards on all your purchases and at the same time get travel benefits. There are very few credit cards in the market that offer a combination of these and Regalia is one of them.