IDFC First Bank Credit Cards Devalued - All IDFC First Credit Cards Are Affected

[kshitij_0]

Aaj hi wealth card approve hua hai mera 😂

Mera bhi kal hua

 

[kshitij_0]

IDFC wealth cc reward rate on utilities is 0.25% and moreover it is not counted for milestones. Who in the right mind uses this for utilities?

So True bro

 

[techt]

So True bro

On second thought, may be some (ab)users might be using it for paying in lakhs, then even 0.25% too is a substantial cashback.

 

[sid16]

Never used IDFC First cards for utilities, but it is not a fair capping at all. You're giving a "Wealth" credit card with eligibility of above 36 lakhs ITR, those with wealth can have utility spends of much higher than 20k a month, talking only about personal expenses. Also, if the utility provider is ready to bear MDR charges, what problem do banks have for using credit card for the same?

 

[Abhishek012]

Never used IDFC First cards for utilities, but it is not a fair capping at all. You're giving a "Wealth" credit card with eligibility of above 36 lakhs ITR, those with wealth can have utility spends of much higher than 20k a month, talking only about personal expenses. Also, if the utility provider is ready to bear MDR charges, what problem do banks have for using credit card for the same?

Do you know MDR charge is less than 1% on Utility category ?

This is a very good step, hope other banks will follow and also charge 1% on wallet spend and education spend.

Flipkart like ecom site also use education and wallet merchant category.

Now imagine, you purchased AC, TV etc. worth Rs 30,000 from Flipkart and merchant category tag wallet.

There will be no problem for you to pay Rs 300 extra but think about it how profitable will it be for the banks. If each customer will pay 1% extra.

Then gradually banks will start charging 1% on all merchant categories.

The customer will not have any problem in paying 1% extra in the long run.

This will be a win-win for everyone.

 

[techt]

Do you know MDR charge is less than 1% on Utility category ?

This is a very good step, hope other banks will follow and also charge 1% on wallet spend and education spend.

Flipkart like ecom site also use education and wallet merchant category.

Now imagine, you purchased AC, TV etc. worth Rs 30,000 from Flipkart and merchant category tag wallet.

There will be no problem for you to pay Rs 300 extra but think about it how profitable will it be for the banks. If each customer will pay 1% extra.

Then gradually banks will start charging 1% on all merchant categories.

The customer will not have any problem in paying 1% extra in the long run.

This will be a win-win for everyone.

@Abhishek012 for FinMin of India.

 

[kowsikbabu]

Wow. How did you guys spot this change?

 

[Harry1]

I dont see any issue with above. Unless your are business spender this will not impact any normal person. And business spenders NEED TO BE PENALIZED. They are the ones responsible for this mess.

Lol I don't see any point of this charge 😅. Who was using it anyway for utility category?

Once reward rate drops below 0.5% for a category for a card, I stop using that card for that category 🤣. The extra charges for categories like Rent, Wallet, Utility are overkill and don't make sense, when reward rate itself is close to zero for them🤦‍♂️.

The only charges that makes sense is with Axis Magnus Burgundy for rental payments, where they give 4.8% points and charge 1%. In such cases, it is still profitable and usable for cardholders.

 

[rohansamal]

What are business Spends?

 

[sidp]

IDFC wealth cc reward rate on utilities is 0.25% and moreover it is not counted for milestones. Who in the right mind uses this for utilities?

Paying utility bills worth lakhs per month is common for businesses. Even .25% will add up in long term.

Edit: saw your subsequent post later. 😅

 

[shashankrt]

Lol I don't see any point of this charge 😅. Who was using it anyway for utility category?

Once reward rate drops below 0.5% for a category for a card, I stop using that card for that category 🤣. The extra charges for categories like Rent, Wallet, Utility are overkill and don't make sense, when reward rate itself is close to zero for them🤦‍♂️.

The only charges that makes sense is with Axis Magnus Burgundy for rental payments, where they give 4.8% points and charge 1%. In such cases, it is still profitable and usable for cardholders.

This charge is to prevent business spends especially to achieve milestones. You can agree or not.. The product manager seems to know his job and rather than blocking for everyone onlyy business spenders are targeted. Even 0.5 percent on 1lakh payment adds up.

 

[lightwaves]

After Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank is here to surprise us. Although IDFC First Bank hasn't communicated anything yet, they have silently updated their MITC, which will be effective from May 1st, 2024. Since today is April 1st, IDFC First Bank must communicate any product charges today to make them effective from May 1st, 2024, as per RBI guidelines. Therefore, we can expect official communication from IDFC First Bank soon.

The Devaluation: Effective from May 1st, 2024, aggregate utility spends above ₹20,000 in a statement cycle will incur a 1% surcharge. This means if your total utility bill payment is less than Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle, you won't be charged anything extra. However, if you spend more than Rs. 20,000 in total on utilities in a statement cycle, you'll be charged an additional 1% on the total utility spends.



#Utility surcharges do not apply to the FIRST Private Credit Card, LIC Classic Credit Card, and LIC Select Credit Card.

My Opinion: After rent, imposing a surcharge on utility spends is becoming a trend among all credit card issuers. Don't be surprised to see all banks following this same option to reduce business spends on personal credit cards. Actually, this is a much better step than Yes Bank's approach. Allowing Rs. 20,000 per statement for utility spends without any fees is a decent cap for most credit card holders. This is the right way to tackle business spenders who pay factory/business utility bills using their personal credit cards.

This doesn’t affect significantly to most of the users i guess

 

[Vasuki]

Good move. Moreover, IDFC should start issuing notices and seek clarifications for such payments more than 20,000. Post which cancelling and blacklisting such customers cards will be a right approach.

Why so angry bro !
Bank give cc not own us for what we do .
If we illegal they have right to scrutiny .
But it happens to 0.001% on regular basis
And some do use it sometimes for milestone , cash crunch etc

 

[sidp]

Never used IDFC First cards for utilities, but it is not a fair capping at all. You're giving a "Wealth" credit card with eligibility of above 36 lakhs ITR, those with wealth can have utility spends of much higher than 20k a month, talking only about personal expenses. Also, if the utility provider is ready to bear MDR charges, what problem do banks have for using credit card for the same?

Only people living in metro cities with a family will come close to that mark. They would have found out that >90% of utility transactions >20k are business transactions.

But true some genuine people will get penalised, especially those whose electricity bill isn't generated monthly.

 

[iamdhamo]

So we got the info earlier just like insider trading

 

[iamdhamo]

Only people living in metro cities with a family will come close to that mark. They would have found out that >90% of utility transactions >20k are business transactions.

But true some genuine people will get penalised, especially those whose electricity bill isn't generated monthly.

Yeah during summer in my relative home eb bill crosses 20k easily and with price increase in eb every year acc to inflation in TN with two month bill cycle and hence it's very much easily breachable going forward. So they must also adjust the limit acc

 

[Vasuki]

Mera bhi kal hua

Mera nhi hua ..
Still in credit review.
Did u do home verification

 

[Vasuki]

Only people living in metro cities with a family will come close to that mark. They would have found out that >90% of utility transactions >20k are business transactions.

But true some genuine people will get penalised, especially those whose electricity bill isn't generated monthly.

@sidp is in full serious mode from last few days 🌚

 

[sid16]

Only people living in metro cities with a family will come close to that mark. They would have found out that >90% of utility transactions >20k are business transactions.

But true some genuine people will get penalised, especially those whose electricity bill isn't generated monthly.

IDFCFirst is anyway not giving cards to all locations in India, they are also restricted to cities. I actually feel that Axis Bank approach is better. Making defaulters prove that their cards are not being used for business purpose and if guilty debit their points and close their cards. IDFCFirst is just using some use cases to essentially devalue. Everyone will have their own opinion. But point is if you're clean, you're clean, you don't want any devaluations!

 

[yieldway17]

20K total utility spend is a bit low. I used the card only for fuel - and 20k is just about what I spend, so will not be affected. Moreover, I have moved on to HP Pay + AmEx Gyftr for fuel now so this doesn't affect me for now.