HDFC Regalia First Credit Card Review

Note: HDFC Bank is not accepting fresh applications for HDFC Regalia First Credit Card. Normal card services will continue for existing users.

HDFC Regalia First Card is a good option for individuals who expect decent travel and shopping benefits from their credit card but do not want to spend a lot on joining and/or annual fee. It’s a low-fee variant of the premium travel credit card HDFC Regalia, offers lounge access at airports in India and abroad. Let’s have a look at a detailed review of HDFC Regalia First Credit Card.

Earn Reward Points with Every Transaction

With HDFC Regalia First Credit Card, you can earn 4 reward points on every Rs.150 spent on retail categories including insurance, utilities, education, and rent payment. 

Where 1 reward point equals Rs.0.3, the rewards rate becomes 0.8%, which is quite low and can be seen as a downside of this credit card. For example, if you spend Rs.15,000 on rent payment, you will earn 400 reward points. 

Besides this, you also get

• 1,000 reward points as a welcome bonus
• 1,000 reward points as renewal bonus (on payment of renewal fee, every year)

And, if you

• Spend Rs.1,00,000 in 12 Months, you will get Renewal Fee waived for the next renewal year
• Spend Rs.3,00,000 in a year, you will earn 5,000 reward points
• Spend Rs.6,00,000 in a year, you will earn an additional 2,500 (7,500 total) reward points

Lounge Access with HDFC Regalia First Credit Card

Free lounge access can come really handy for frequent flyers. The lounge access under HDFC Regalia First Card is provided by VISA and Mastercard for domestic airports. Lounge access at international airports is provided under the Priority Pass Membership.

HDFC Regalia First Credit Card customers can get 8 complimentary access in a year within India, at both domestic and international terminals.

Priority Pass Membership Benefits: Customers with Priority Pass membership can avail up to 3 complimentary access in a year outside India. 

HDFC Regalia First Credit Card-holders who have completed a minimum of 4 retail transactions can apply for priority pass membership. 

Accelerated Benefits of HDFC Regalia First Credit Card

You will get up to 5% cashback on your travel and shopping spends on SmartBuy

Redemption Program  

• Flights and hotel bookings via Smartbuy at a value of 1 RP = Rs 0.30
• Airmiles conversion through net banking at a value of 1RP = 0.3 air mile
• Premium Products and vouchers via  Smartbuy at a value of 1 RP = up to Rs 0.25
• Cashback at a value of 1 RP = Rs 0.15​​​​​​​

For Flight and hotel bookings Regalia First Credit card members can redeem up to a maximum of 70% of booking value through Reward Points. The rest will have to be paid via Credit Card.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Enjoy a 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India on transactions between Rs.400 and Rs.5000. No reward points are earned on fuel transactions

Dining Benefits: HDFC provides its users with discounts at various restaurants via the Good Food Trail Dining Program. Several restaurants across the country have partnered with HDFC Bank to offer dining discounts to cardholders.

Insurance Cover: On top of all the benefits HDFC Regalia credit card also offers the following coverage:

• Accidental air death coverage up to Rs. 50 lakh
• Overseas hospitalization cover up to Rs. 10 lakh
• Credit liability coverage up to Rs. 5.00 lakh

Do note that the insurance cover is provided to the primary cardholder only. Customers will have to raise the claim with HDFC Ergo, the insurance partner providing the coverage.

Joining Fee and Annual Fee

HDFC Regalia First Credit Card comes with a joining fee of Rs.1,000. On payment of the joining fee, you will get 1,000 (worth Rs.300) reward points as a welcome bonus. This means that you are actually paying just Rs.700 as a joining fee. 

Likewise, you get 1000 reward points on payment of the renewal fee of Rs.1,000 every year. If you have spent Rs. 1,00,000 in 12 Months, then your Renewal Fee will be waived for the next renewal year. However, you will not get 1,000 renewal bonus points if your fee is waived off.

Keeping the travel benefits and everyday reward points program in mind, the annual fee of HDFC Regalia First Credit Card is completely worth it for all individuals. 

Should you get this card?

For those looking for a travel card, the HDFC Bank Regalia First Card is a good choice, particularly for domestic flight bookings made via the HDFC SmartBuy platform. SmartBuy users can get up to 5% cashback on their travel and shopping spends on SmartBuy. The card provides its cardholders with 3 overseas and 8 domestic airport lounge visits a year. The disadvantage of this card is that it earns a smaller 0.80 per cent rewards limit on general spending (4 points per Rs. 150, 1 point = Rs. 0.3).

For high spenders who may exceed a certain spending milestone, the HDFC Regalia First card provides the ability to increase their yearly benefits. The card does, however, provide a decent sign-up bonus for all cardholders, which helps to compensate for the joining and/or annual fee.

If you answer YES to the majority of the below-given questions then you should definitely consider getting this credit card.

1. Do you frequently travel overseas and/or within India?
2. Do you make frequent international transactions?
3. Do you want to earn reward points on every credit card transaction?
4. Are you seeking a premium card that does not charge a high annual fee?
5. Does your annual spend reach Rs. 1 lakh or more? (If yes, customers won’t have to pay the renewal fee for the next year)
6. Will you be able to spend Rs. 3.00 lakh/6.00 lakh in a year, in order to achieve bonus reward points?
7. Do your immediate family members also travel frequently? (If yes, you can share free lounge access and the 2% foreign currency transaction charge by getting an add-on card.)
8. Are you comfortable paying Rs.1,000 as a first-year membership fee and renewal fee?

Drawbacks of HDFC Regalia First Credit Card

Given below are some drawbacks or downsides of HDFC Regalia First Credit Card which you should consider-

• It does not cover other categories like entertainment
• The default rewards rate is very low i.e. 0.8%
• Travel benefits come only in the form of lounge access; no air miles or co-branded benefits are offered. There are other travel credit cards in the market with more comprehensive benefits
• Cardholders can avail of the free Priority Pass membership only after making 4 retail transactions and they will have to apply for the same
• Reward Points expire after 2 years
• Travel insurance is valid for international travel only
• The complimentary insurance does not cover add-on card members

Comparitive Analysis of HDFC Regalia First with Other Credit Cards

Bottom Line

HDFC Regalia First Credit Card is a less-premium version of HDFC Regalia Card. Since the Regalia Card has a comparatively high annual fee of Rs. 2,500, the Regalia First Card would be a better option for those who wish to get similar benefits at a lower annual fee. The eligibility terms for this card are also easier. People who usually put a majority of their expenses on credit cards and travel quite frequently would be able to make the most of the benefits offered on this card.