Infinia Metal (Not LTF) vs DCB LTF

[gurubhai]

If Infinia worth having (with Rs.12500 + GST fees) over DCB LTF ?
Expenditure is around 7-8L (max) per annum which includes 8-10 domestic flights and 2-4 hotel bookings per annum.
Need suggestions according to this usages.

 

[ujjawal]

If Infinia worth having (with Rs.12500 + GST fees) over DCB LTF ?
Expenditure is around 7-8L (max) per annum which includes 8-10 domestic flights and 2-4 hotel bookings per annum.
Need suggestions according to this usages.

DCB has capping of 2500 reward points per day which is not there in Infinia.

Let say you have to make hotel booking of 20K from Smartbuy then on DCB card you will get only 2500 rewards points while on Infinia you will get 6600 as there is no per day capping.
Also on DCB you can get max 7.5K reward points in a month through smartbuy while on Infinia it is 15K.
Considering your usage it doesn't make sense to use DCB if you have option of Infinia, choice is yours.

 

[gurubhai]

DCB has capping of 2500 reward points per day which is not there in Infinia.

Let say you have to make hotel booking of 20K from Smartbuy then on DCB card you will get only 2500 rewards points while on Infinia you will get 6600 as there is no per day capping.
Also on DCB you can get max 7.5K reward points in a month through smartbuy while on Infinia it is 15K.
Considering your usage it doesn't make sense to use DCB if you have option of Infinia, choice is yours.

Infinia now has 7500 RP capping per day. Check here Smartbuy deals . @anirbanm check this to see all the difference between infinia and DCB
But I got your point. Even 2 people flight cost ~10k but my 2500RP limit will reach on spend of 7.5k itself(assuming 10x RP). Have to do booking on different days to get best benefits 😅
One more insight: When making these booking in a cycle, then I will be redeem points while making this flight/hotel booking, I would eventually be spending less as I can cover about 70% of expenditure through reward points.
After all this have to take the decision between getting a LTF DCB or paying GST of 2250 for infinia and being forced to redeem those 12.5K points on flight and hotel. It's a tough one.

Also I was not able to find out the list of domestic lounges for DCB. I am hoping it also covers same lounges as infinia.

 

[vodom]

Infinia now has 7500 RP capping per day. Check here Smartbuy deals . @anirbanm check this to see all the difference between infinia and DCB
But I got your point. Even 2 people flight cost ~10k but my 2500RP limit will reach on spend of 7.5k itself(assuming 10x RP). Have to do booking on different days to get best benefits 😅
One more insight: When making these booking in a cycle, then I will be redeem points while making this flight/hotel booking, I would eventually be spending less as I can cover about 70% of expenditure through reward points.
After all this have to take the decision between getting a LTF DCB or paying GST of 2250 for infinia and being forced to redeem those 12.5K points on flight and hotel. It's a tough one.

Also I was not able to find out the list of domestic lounges for DCB. I am hoping it also covers same lounges as infinia.

Airport Lounges Access | Diners Club International

Access exclusive airport lounges around the world with your Diners Club credit card. Find an airport lounge to relax and unwind while you travel.

www.dinersclub.com

 

[souvikdey2002]

Infinia now has 7500 RP capping per day. Check here Smartbuy deals . @anirbanm check this to see all the difference between infinia and DCB
But I got your point. Even 2 people flight cost ~10k but my 2500RP limit will reach on spend of 7.5k itself(assuming 10x RP). Have to do booking on different days to get best benefits 😅
One more insight: When making these booking in a cycle, then I will be redeem points while making this flight/hotel booking, I would eventually be spending less as I can cover about 70% of expenditure through reward points.
After all this have to take the decision between getting a LTF DCB or paying GST of 2250 for infinia and being forced to redeem those 12.5K points on flight and hotel. It's a tough one.

Also I was not able to find out the list of domestic lounges for DCB. I am hoping it also covers same lounges as infinia.

Why do we have to book via SmartBuy, just to get the 5X or 10X reward points??
I don't get the point because there are much more sites(like GoIbibo) where you will find flight tickets at the cheapest prizes.
SmartBuy can't match these sites in terms of fair because they are made out for travel only & had tie up with all the major airlines in the World.

For your reference before Covid the Prizes for the 2 person(To&Fro) for the below mentioned root was only 30,000.
Kulalumpur was not only via, it was a completed Halt so don't get the idea that it was Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata

CCU-KUL-SIN
SIN-KUL-CCU

I don't think SmartBuy can beat these kind of discounts either for DCB or for Infinia.
So if you ever compare the prizes, then you will see the rewards points you are earning in Infinia/DCB for flight ticket is almost compensated by the upfront discounts you are getting from these sites. Choice is yours.

 

[ujjawal]

Why do we have to book via SmartBuy, just to get the 5X or 10X reward points??
I don't get the point because there are much more sites(like GoIbibo) where you will find flight tickets at the cheapest prizes.
SmartBuy can't match these sites in terms of fair because they are made out for travel only & had tie up with all the major airlines in the World.

For your reference before Covid the Prizes for the 2 person(To&Fro) for the below mentioned root was only 30,000.
Kulalumpur was not only via, it was a completed Halt so don't get the idea that it was Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata

CCU-KUL-SIN
SIN-KUL-CCU

I don't think SmartBuy can beat these kind of discounts either for DCB or for Infinia.
So if you ever compare the prizes, then you will see the rewards points you are earning in Infinia/DCB for flight ticket is almost compensated by the upfront discounts you are getting from these sites. Choice is yours.

There are two ways to look at this
1) Earn reward points
2) Redeem reward points

May be it is not good option to earn reward points but it is the best option to redeem reward points as we get best reward rate and can use 70% of points of transaction value.
Recently I booked flight tickets using smartbuy for 13K, used 9K points and paid 4K through card. Now these 4K transaction will give me around 600 points.

The same tickets were available via skyscanner for 12K so it is good deal to book via smartbuy if we are redeeming the points.

 

[Tejas]

If Infinia worth having (with Rs.12500 + GST fees) over DCB LTF ?
Expenditure is around 7-8L (max) per annum which includes 8-10 domestic flights and 2-4 hotel bookings per annum.
Need suggestions according to this usage

For the usage you mentioned, paid Infinia any day.

Expect another round of devaluation in coming months. It would be obvious that DCB would go down further in value then. Infinia still has a lot steam left in it.

 

[hariselio]

For the usage you mentioned, paid Infinia any day.

Expect another round of devaluation in coming months. It would be obvious that DCB would go down further in value then. Infinia still has a lot steam left in it.

tBHP expert?

 

[Tejas]

tBHP expert?

Yes

 

[hariselio]

Yes

i guessed so.. whenever people here discuss about Infinia.. i used to think about you only.. thinking real infinia expert is not yet in this forum.. But glad i was wrong

 

[souvikdey2002]

There are two ways to look at this
1) Earn reward points
2) Redeem reward points

May be it is not good option to earn reward points but it is the best option to redeem reward points as we get best reward rate and can use 70% of points of transaction value.
Recently I booked flight tickets using smartbuy for 13K, used 9K points and paid 4K through card. Now these 4K transaction will give me around 600 points.

The same tickets were available via skyscanner for 12K so it is good deal to book via smartbuy if we are redeeming the points.

Yes, it's other way around,
So basically HDFC doesn't want us to look outside SmartBuy, compare the prizes then buy the ticket.
So I don't think it is a good option for buying directly, rather buying from somewhere else where the prize is cheapest & redeem those rewards point in Smartbuy in terms of amazon voucher which will give you almost 100% valueback.

 

[gurubhai]

tBHP expert?

What does tBHP stands for?

 

[Tejas]

What does tBHP stands for?

Team-BHP - An Automobile Enthusiasts Community / Forum.

 

[gurubhai]

For the usage you mentioned, paid Infinia any day.

Expect another round of devaluation in coming months. It would be obvious that DCB would go down further in value then. Infinia still has a lot steam left in it.

Is there any cool down period for next upgrade?
What if I can go for DCB now for few months and can apply for infinia later (after 6-10 months)
To be honest, infinia feels like a big step and LTF DCB feels safer at the moment 😅

 

[jainsu]

Is there any diff in terms of rewards /privilege's/fee for Infinia metal and Infinia regular (non metal)?

 

[BankExpertIndia]

Infinia now has 7500 RP capping per day. Check here Smartbuy deals . @anirbanm check this to see all the difference between infinia and DCB
But I got your point. Even 2 people flight cost ~10k but my 2500RP limit will reach on spend of 7.5k itself(assuming 10x RP). Have to do booking on different days to get best benefits 😅
One more insight: When making these booking in a cycle, then I will be redeem points while making this flight/hotel booking, I would eventually be spending less as I can cover about 70% of expenditure through reward points.
After all this have to take the decision between getting a LTF DCB or paying GST of 2250 for infinia and being forced to redeem those 12.5K points on flight and hotel. It's a tough one.

Also I was not able to find out the list of domestic lounges for DCB. I am hoping it also covers same lounges as infinia.

You Can Use The RP's To Get Apple Products Or Tanishq Jewellery (Gold & Silver Coins)... Instead Of Redeeming Them For Flights / Hotels

 

[jainsu]

Is this applicable for DCB points redemption as well ? and redemption is 1 point = 1 rupee ? . Could you please point me to the link here.

 

[gurubhai]

Is this applicable for DCB points redemption as well ? and redemption is 1 point = 1 rupee ? . Could you please point me to the link here.

If you checkout DCB page, its not written for Apple products and tanishq voucher but its written for infinia.
https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/pay/cards/credit-cards/diners-club-black

 

[saiki4116]

Why do we have to book via SmartBuy, just to get the 5X or 10X reward points??
I don't get the point because there are much more sites(like GoIbibo) where you will find flight tickets at the cheapest prizes.
SmartBuy can't match these sites in terms of fair because they are made out for travel only & had tie up with all the major airlines in the World.

For your reference before Covid the Prizes for the 2 person(To&Fro) for the below mentioned root was only 30,000.
Kulalumpur was not only via, it was a completed Halt so don't get the idea that it was Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata

CCU-KUL-SIN
SIN-KUL-CCU

I don't think SmartBuy can beat these kind of discounts either for DCB or for Infinia.
So if you ever compare the prizes, then you will see the rewards points you are earning in Infinia/DCB for flight ticket is almost compensated by the upfront discounts you are getting from these sites. Choice is yours.

For most domestic routes, I actually see smartbuy being cheaper by 100 odd bucks for a single ticket without looking at any discounts. Cleartrip or EMT do give good discounts, mostly they have either min transaction amount or there's a capping which normally tends to be lower than the smartbuy limit for domestic transactions, also discounts tend to be less than 15%, in those cases Smartbuy does provide value and we can redeem and earn points at the same time. Another downside with Smartbuy, Add-ons like Flexi fare(for charging the date) etc are not available.