This has been my journey with HDFC and how I got DCB Metal as a pre-approved card.
Please let me know if you have any questions or any more details are needed regarding this matter.
My learnings (exception might be there, but this is what I've noticed)
- 24 Sep 2021 - I opened a SavingsMax account in HDFC in my hometown so that I'd get a higher ATM limit as I needed cash urgently then and CITI bank (then my salary account) didn't have ATMs in my hometown
- after a few months, gave this bank account details to company and my salary started getting credited in this account
- 4 Mar 2022 - I needed a locker there, as the branch is very closer to home and they made me open regular savings accounts for both my father & mother as well and added them as family group account to my savings max and also made me forcefully take a savings plan for 50K per annum for next 6 years (didn't realize this was shit back then)
- context - at this time my credit card knowledge was less than bare minimum, my existing cards were ICICI Coral, APAY, Axis FK all LTF, so didn't bother much about rewards, just used them for direct discount sales and also at that time smartbuy used to give 5% CB on my Debit card itself,
- 8 Mar 2022 - Got a Freedom LTF card from my hometown branch, I was asking for Regalia LTF at that time, but my acocunt being a non-salary account they couldn't process based on my salary and I couldn't go to HYD due to WFH, so they processed a card for me based on my savingsmax account average balance and gave me the Freedom card with a limit of 17K
- context - in between I got a SBI CB card for me ~ Nov 2022, slowly I was beginning to build my knowledge in credit cards
- also, went from big company to start up somewhere in between
- ~Apr 2023 - Got a LE + upgrade for my card to MB+ FYF with a limit of 34K (100%), didn't think much just took it
- I was slowly building more & more knowledge about CC in between, joined technofino and was looking for RG LTF or DCBM FYF, was even considering magnus paid at some point of time actually tempted by the then ~25% returns, but good that I didn't take it, as my spends were knowhere near that
- so I went to nearby HDFC branch in BLR and they promised me RG LTF based on C2C as I had APAY card with >7L limit and asked me to cancel my existing HDFC card
- 8 Sep 2023 - cancelled my MB+ card and closed it
- Oct 2023 - applied for RG LTF based on C2C and it got rejected
- followed up with Greievance reddressal multiple times regarding this to no avail
- what I didn't realize at that time was, I should've waited 6 months and also as my salary was getting credited into savings max account, it wasn't helping me get any pre-approved card offers and I couldn't open a salary account with HDFC as I was working at a startup then
- CC folks at the branch asked me wait for 6 months & promised this time would defenitely get RG as LTF
- 29 Nov 2023 - applied for a Tata neu card as I wanted a card for my UPI spends and I got only TN+, even though the app was first showing LTF TN INFINITY with a limit of 53,000 (didn't know that once you get a co-branded card at HDFC, you can't get a core card)
- switched back to an MNC and the very next month opened a salary account with HDFC as this time the company is listed in their internal DB
- 24 Jul 2024 - cancelled & closed the TN+ card, thinking would apply for DCBM/INFINIA after 6 months
- later on salary criteria for DCBM & INF got increased drastically
- until this point I was focusing only on LTF & CB cards
- meanwhile explored AMEX during Aug & got MRCC and GOLD cards and started earning points, thanks to @SSV
- also, I was regularly in touch with HDFC folks to see if they could get me RG LTF or DCBM FYF, they were denying and were offering only either Millennia LTF or DCP LTF & everything else as paid
- after some point, pre-approved offers started showing up in expressway portal and then soon after in netbanking as well but initially it was only Millennia & few petrol cards and then RG started showing up but as paid and then DCP as LTF and then even DCBM started showing up in expressway
- 30 May 2025 - after discussing with few folks here (thanks to @TechnoFino , @Humanbeing , @aniketkr.sharma and @Animal ) I was like, I'll take the DCP LTF and then try to upgrade to DCBM based on spends (thought worst case even if it doesn't get upgraded, I'll have a HDFC LTF card for sales and would be happy to continue with AMEX meanwhile) and clicked on the pre approved card offer link from netbanking portal and just after I validated my details, it was showing RG, DCBM & MB (all paid), so I took the plunge and applied for DCBM and entered few details and immediately the application said successful, and then I was fully expecting it to be rejected as I've read in this forum only that for few people it was rejected this way.
- 1 June 2025 - got this message - Congratulations! Your HDFC Bank Credit Card application No.XXXXXXXXXXXXX is Approved. Your card will reach you within 3 working days. didn't activate it immediately though
- 3 June 2025 - DCBM card started showing up in my netbanking portal with a limit of 7,00,000.
Please let me know if you have any questions or any more details are needed regarding this matter.
My learnings (exception might be there, but this is what I've noticed)
- Pre-approved offers will start showing up only if your HDFC account is a salary account and salary is being regularly credited in that A/C only (if it is any other variant and salary is being credited into that account, it wouldn't help that much with pre-approved offers)
- You can't get a salary account with unlisted companies (~startups) in HDFC (my salary in startup was almost 2X that of my previous MNC, but since it wasn't listed in HDFC database, I couldn't open a salary A/C, else I would've gotten DCBM back then itself as the salary criteria was 1.75L at that time)
- It's better to always wait 6 months after an existing card cancellation to apply for a new card in HDFC for best results
- Never take the CC folks at their word, they might genuinely be telling the truth that they know, but most of them aren't aware of internal criteria fully
- https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/hdfc-cc-not-offering-upgrade-or-limit-enhancement.17129/
- https://www.technofino.in/community...-2l-in-hand-monthly-to-infinia-dcb-fyf.28836/ (VIP lounge, limited access post)
- https://www.technofino.in/community/members/sri_cc.19511/#profile-post-8246
- https://www.technofino.in/community/members/sri_cc.19511/#profile-post-8522
