HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card: Great for Travel, High Redemption Rate

Welcome Benefits

You can avail Complimentary Annual memberships of Club Marriott, Forbes, Amazon Prime, Dineout Passport, MMT BLACK and Times Prime by spending Rs.1.5 lakh within the first 90 days or upon first-year fee realisation on your HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card (T&C Apply).

The combined value of these memberships surpasses the fee charged by a wide margin. Also, they cover a wide range of needs like travel, online shopping, dining, etc. making this the perfect welcome package for cardholders. However, this should not be the sole reason to get the card.

Monthly Milestone Benefits

You can select any 2 monthly vouchers from Ola Select membership or cure. fit Live 1-month membership or BookMyShow or TataCLiQ worth Rs. 500 each,  every month on spends of Rs. 80,000. 

Click here to redeem your welcome, annual, and monthly milestone benefits or call 1800 118 887.

Based on the features mentioned above spending a minimum of Rs. 80,000 per month (amounting to Rs. 9,60,000 in a year), will yield you the following returns:

Benefit	Savings
Monthly voucher worth Rs. 500	Rs. 6,000
Complimentary memberships on spending Rs. 8 Lakh in a year: Club Marriott –  Rs. 14,000 Forbes-  Rs. 1,418 Amazon Prime- Rs. 1,499 Swiggy One- Rs. 899 MMT BLACK-  Rs. 1,499	Rs. 19,315
Renewal fee waiver on spending Rs. 5 Lakh in a year	Rs. 10,000
Total	Rs. 35, 315

Reward Points

HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card’s reward rate is among the highest in India at 3.33% offering 5 points for every Rs. 150 spent. So, if you make a purchase worth Rs. 15,000, you get 500 reward points. The card also offers up to 10X Reward Points on SmartBuy spends.

Moreover, the monetary/miles value of these points makes it even better.

• Convert the reward points into air miles with InterMiles, Club Vistara and Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer Miles)- 1 Reward Point = 1 Airmile
• Use the reward points to book hotels/flight tickets through Smartbuy- 1 Reward Point = 1 Rupee
• Buy vouchers and items through exclusive reward redemption catalogue

The rewards are valid for 3 years so you will have enough time to accumulate a lot of points and redeem them for something substantial.

Travel Benefits

The travel benefits on HDFC Diners Club Black credit card come in 3 ways-

• The option to book flight tickets/hotels using reward points and converting points into air miles
• Unlimited airport lounge access worldwide for both primary and add-on user
• Low foreign exchange mark-up fee of 1.99%

The lounge access and low forex mark-up features will help you save big, especially if you are a frequent international traveller. However, there are no additional travel features such as extra reward points on travel booking or free membership to some frequent flyer programs. Such features would have made it even better for travellers.

If you are looking for a card with exclusive travel benefits as mentioned above, you can have a look at some of the best travel-focused credit cards offered by top banks:

Credit Card	Annual Fee	Key Feature
Axis Vistara Signature Credit Card	Rs. 3,000	Vistara Premium Economy class ticket as a welcome benefit in the first year  4 Club Vistara (CV) points per Rs. 200 spent across all categories Up to 4 complimentary premium economy tickets on reaching spending milestones Free access to select airport lounges in India
Intermiles HDFC Bank Signature Credit Card	Rs. 2,500	Up to 12 Inter miles for every Rs. 150 spent on flight & hotel bookings 8,000 bonus InterMiles on joining Up to 10% off on Etihad railways Complimentary airport lounge access
Air India SBI Signature Credit Card	Rs. 4,999	Up to 1,00,000 bonus rewards points annually Convert points into Air Miles Up to 30 reward points on tickets booked through Air India Complimentary priority pass membership

Lifestyle and Wellness Features

The card does not lack behind in offering the best wellness benefits. As an HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card customer, you can avail exclusive discounts at leading spas, salons, gyms etc. such as Sarva Yoga, Eyewearlabs, Round Glass Living, Tattva Spa, SleepyCat, Himalayan Hideaway, Neemrana Hotels, etc.

Click here for more details on the offer.

Other Benefits of HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card

• Annual Fee Waiver: Spend Rs. 5 Lakhs in 12 Months and get Renewal Fee waived for next renewal year
• 6 complimentary golf games per quarter across the finest courses in the world
• 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India on minimum transaction of Rs. 400 (Max waiver of Rs.1,000 per statement cycle)
• Exclusive 24/7 Concierge Service to cover your needs like Golf Course Referral and Reservation Assistance, Dining Referral and Reservation Assistance, Car Rental etc.
• Insurance benefit is also offered in the following manner: Air accidental death coverage: Rs. 2 Crore, Emergency overseas hospitalisation of Rs. 50 Lakh, Credit Liability Cover of up to Rs. 9 Lakh and Travel Insurance Cover up to Rs. 55,000 on baggage delay (Capped to $10 per hour restricted to 8 hours)

With a high reward rate of 3.33% and 1:1 redemption ratio for air miles and flight/hotel bookings via SmartBuy, HDFC Diners Club Black could be a good option for high-spenders and frequent travellers. Additional travel benefits like unlimited lounge access, Club Marriott Membership, low forex mark-up fee, etc. further help frequent travellers save a big amount.

Most benefits on the Diners Club Black credit card are similar to those on HDFC Infinia Credit Card. Since Infinia is an invite-only card, those who are not eligible for it can apply for the HDFC Diners Club Black instead.

So, if you are wondering whether this card would be the right choice for you, consider these points.

Get this credit card if:

• You have big expenses to put on credit cards and want to get good value back for the same
• You are a frequent traveller
• You want all-round benefits on a single credit card rather than a card focused on a single benefit
• You are usually able to spend Rs. 80,000 or more in a month, as it will help you avail the monthly milestone benefit

Card	Annual Fee	Offers/Benefits
SBI Card Elite	Rs. 4,999	Up to 50,000 bonus rewards points annually & 5X Reward Points on Dining, Departmental stores and Grocery Spends Club Vistara and Trident Privilege Membership
IndusInd Bank Legend Credit Card	Rs. 9,999 (Nil, if applied through Paisabazaar)	Up to 2 Reward Points on every Rs. 100 spent Complimentary Golf Games EazyDiner Prime Membership Low forex markup
Diners Club Privilege Credit Card	Rs. 2,500	Complimentary annual memberships 4 reward points on every Rs. 150 spent on all the retail spends complimentary airport lounge access monthly milestone benefit
Axis Bank Select Credit Card	Rs. 3,000 (NIL for Burgundy Clients)	Amazon voucher worth Rs. 2,000 as welcome benefit Up to 10 Axis EDGE Reward Points on every Rs.200 spent 20% off on BigBasket, 40% off on Swiggy Golf Privileges & Airport Lounge Access

Related Read: SBI Card ELITE vs. HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card

Do I earn reward points on all transactions?
With your HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card, you will earn 5 rewards points for every Rs. 150 spent. The reward points can be earned on all transactions made using the card.

How does a low foreign exchange mark-up fee benefit me?
A low foreign exchange mark-up fee benefit will help you save a lot on your foreign transactions. Say, for example, you are someone who frequently travels abroad and shops the most on foreign websites then cards with high foreign transaction fees might not be the ones for you because paying those additional charges every time you make a foreign transaction with the card can actually turn out to be expensive.

Can I cover the entire cost of my flight/hotel booking through reward points?
Yes if you have enough accumulated points, you can use them to purchase flight tickets or make hotel bookings. The booking will be termed as Redeem Points Booking, as you are using your Reward Points to pay for these transactions.

I have 2 add-on members on my card. Are both users eligible for free lounge access benefit?
Yes, with Primary Card of HDFC as well as Add-on HDFC Card, you can avail complimentary Airport Lounge Access.