HDFC Bank recently re-launched its millennial offering in September 2021. Though the card was a good rewarding card earlier also but now this refresh makes it a very simple-to-understand card. If you are an existing cardholder then these upgrades are applicable for you as well from 1st November 2021. Here’s everything you wish to know about the card.
Watch HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card Review
Charges and Welcome Benefits
| Joining Fee | ₹1000 + GST = ₹1180 |
| Welcome Benefit | 1000 Cash Points (Applicable only on payment of fees) |
| Renewal Fee | ₹1000 + GST = ₹1180 |
| Renewal Benefits | None |
| Renewal Fee Waiver | Spend ₹1L or more in a year. |
Currently, all the HDFC Credit Cards except the HDFC Infinia Credit Card, HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card, and HDFC Diners Club Intermiles Credit Card are being offered under a special lifetime free pricing by doing a minimum threshold retail spending in the first 90 days of card issuance and for Millennia this amount is ₹50,000. Such offers can change anytime so check with the bank before applying for the same.
Keeping that aside, the joining/renewal fee waiver conditions are pretty good for a card of this range and have amazing benefits.
Reward Points/Cashback Accrual
- No minimum transaction amount is required for points accrual.
- Only HDFC card which gives points on wallet loads.
- Points will be credited in the first week of the month for spending done in the last month.
HDFC Bank has a dedicated portal named SmartBuy with which we get some extra rewards and cashbacks. The strategy for maximizing gains via SmartBuy has been shared later in the article.
| SmartBuy Benefits | Total Cashback | Maximum Cashback per Calendar Month |
| *SmartBuy Cashback | Upto 10% Cashback | ₹1000 |
- SmartBuy Cashback will be credited within 90 days from the end of the month in which spending were done.
HDFC SmartBuy supports merchants like Amazon, Flipkart, MakeMy Trip, Apple Tresor, and likes. It also supports multiple partners for travel bookings.
Reward Points Redemption
| Modes of Redemption | Value per Point | Redemption Charges |
| Cashback (Statement Credit) | ₹1 | None |
| Flights & Hotels Booking via Smartbuy | ₹0.30 | ₹99 + GST |
| Rewards Catalogue at the SmartBuy Rewards Portal | ₹0.30 | ₹99 + GST |
As this is a cashback credit card as per HDFC Bank, the table above clearly shows the intention of HDFC Bank here is to make conditions favourable for a statement credit. It’s a win-win for users and why not! After all, hard cash is better than all other redemptions if you are not getting better value than cash.
- The minimum CashPoint balance required for redemption against the statement balance is 500 CashPoints.
- CashPoints are valid for 2 years from the date of accumulation.
- For Flights and Hotels redemption, you can redeem up to a maximum of 50% of the booking value through Reward Points.
Milestone Benefits
₹1000 worth of gift vouchers on spends of ₹1,00,000 and above in each calendar quarter.
TechnoFino Maximum
In this section, we will be simplifying the rules of the game and giving you the crux of information on how to maximize the reward rate on this card.
If you want to shop on Amazon then shop directly and this card will give you a flat 5% cashback in the form of CashPoints but we recommend you to shop on Amazon via the SmartBuy portal which is offering 5% SmartBuy cashback plus you get 1 CashPoint per ₹100 spent extra under all other spends category subject to a maximum of 1000 CashPoints. So all in all the reward rate jumps to 6%. After the SmartBuy quota of ₹1000 is over we recommend you to shop directly on Amazon to consume the select 10 merchants quota of 1000 CashPoints.
So for Amazon, you can earn 1200 CashPoints and ₹1000 Smartbuy on shopping of ₹40,000 on Amazon which translates to 5.5% cashback and easily beats ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card!
For Flipkart, the SmartBuy route makes no sense as you will get a 1% Smartbuy benefit and an additional 1% return in the form of CashPoints whereas if you shop directly then you get a 5% reward in the form of Cashpoints. So this card competes head-on with Axis Bank Flipkart Credit Card if you are shopping under ₹20,000. The cherry on the top is the milestone benefits which jack up the reward rate by a further 1%.
For Amazon and Flipkart you can also take the Smartbuy voucher route by buying 5000 worth of vouchers for each of the portals. This will give you 5% Smartbuy Cashback on vouchers and 1% equivalent cash points which translates to 6%.
This card also very smartly beats the reward rate of Axis Ace Credit Card and Axis Flipkart Credit Card of 4% that they offer on their partner merchants like Swiggy, Zomato, and Uber.
TechnoFino Tip
Align your billing cycle of the HDFC Credit Cards as much as possible with the calendar month by asking the bank to shift your billing cycle date to the 2nd of every month to minimize the calculations related to the capping of CashPoints and SmartBuy cashback. HDFC doesn’t allow the first and last two days of the month as your billing cycle date.
Other Benefits
Airport Lounge Access
Access Via – Credit Card
Complimentary Domestic Limit – 2 Visits/Quarter (Total 8 Domestic Lounge access in a year)
Network – Visa Signature/MasterCard/Diners Club/Rupay
Being a starter card it may allow you access to selected lounges only. So it’s highly recommended for you to check which network is preferred by the lounge frequented by you.
DineOut Membership
The cardholder is eligible for an exclusive complimentary DineOut Passport Membership for 3 months if he/she achieves spends ₹50,000 and more every calendar quarter using a Millennia credit card.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India. (On minimum transaction of ₹400 & maximum transaction of ₹5,000. Maximum waiver of ₹250 per statement cycle).
Insurance Coverage
Zero lost card liability: In the unfortunate event of losing your HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card, on reporting it immediately to the 24-hour call centre, you have zero liability on any fraudulent transactions made on your Credit Card.
HDFC Bank Customer Care Number 1860 267 6161
Eligibility
The eligibility conditions are not that high and the bank is also a bit flexible on them. So if you have a good relationship with HDFC Bank and are a bit underqualified for the criteria still we would recommend you to ask for a Millennia Credit Card and the bank may approve it.
For Salaried
Indian National
Age: Min 21 yrs & Max 40 Yrs,
Income: Gross Monthly Income> ₹35,000
For Self Employed
Indian National
Age: Min 21 yrs & Max 40 Yrs, Income: ITR > ₹6.0 Lakhs per annum
Unofficially if you have an existing credit card with HDFC Bank having a 1L limit then you can ask for an upgrade.
TechnoFino Recommends
Anyone who has been tracking this card can easily judge that the card has been quite simplified now. With the minimum transaction amount limit removed and points validity extended by a year, this card has become highly rewarding even for a normal user who doesn’t understand the complexities of the T&C and is not a high spender.
But the card has been silently devalued for high spenders by HDFC Bank as this card was earlier beating even HDFC Regalia Credit Card by providing double-dip opportunities on Amazon shopping and Instant Vouchers via SmartBuy which used to translate to 10%. I had myself garnered around 15000 CashPoints and around ₹12,000 SmartBuy Cashback in a year by using it for my house rental payments via Payzapp on the NoBroker platform and Amazon shopping.
We highly recommend this card to every millennial out there looking to get a hand on a reward-worthy credit card but are not able to decide which card to choose from due to a plethora of options out there. This one card can meet your every need from shopping, dining, commuting, apparel, and all those other things. We also recommend everyone maintain and build a long relationship with HDFC Bank as it is one of the most rewarding banks in the Indian banking space.
Are you planning to take the plunge into the world of HDFC Millennia? Feel free to ask your questions in the comments below.
Chief Editor, TechnoFino.
Personal finance nerd! Physics enthusiast and trainer. When not into Physics, he is minting points and hunting for the next best credit card for himself.
I have ordered 6300 value from Amazon by millennia credit card. Total I received message. Only 168 rewards points credited. How is this 5% of value?
you have to wait few more days, if you don’t receive full Cashback in next 7 days, contact Hdfc and register complain.
I got upgrade from money back master card to millennia master card in Oct 21. My limit is 90k. So I guess 1L limit is not must have to have the card upgraded.
It’s not a must-have limit but based on the general feedback of various readers. HDFC is highly unpredictable and I have seen users getting a Regalia on 80K limit as well.
Absolutely right sir, i got Regalia first on 54K limit.
If I make Insurance payment on Amazon then how much cashback I will get?
1% as per T&C. 5% if it’s your lucky day 🙂
Recharges made on amazon gave 5% cashback on my last month’s statement. I hope other such payments also should attract 5% cashback. In my opinion it’s worth trying.
Thats just pure luck and not as per T&C. We have better cards for recharges like Axis Ace.
I have an HDFC preferred account (6 months old), I don’t have any HDFC credit card. Can I get DCB directly if I have the required income? I have 10-12 other credit cards.
If you have required itr then yes… you can apply.
How can I know how much of cashback point I have earned in particular spend as the cashback points are accumulated after the calendar month with total aggregated cashback of that calendar month
You have to manually calculate all the points as HDFC is not giving transaction-wise breakup on cards variants lower than Regalia. I have aligned my billing cycle to the 2nd of every month so that all my transactions are inclined with calendar month and there is no headache of doing calculations from multiple statements. You can follow the same.
Using Millenia card on Smartbuy portal to purchase Amazon instant voucher will fetch how much cashback?
5% cashback for all Insta Vouchers via smartbuy.
On Smartbuy portal if you see instant voucher calculator it shows 10%
Calculator showing wrong data, according to old Millennia card t&c.
Please make the same post for regalia also. Thanks in advance. SM sir.
Coming Soon. Stay tuned 🙂
Here You Go – HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card Review
By this way we can get maximum 2200 rs per month right?
maximum capping – 5% category – 1k, all other – 1k and SmartBuy/payzapp – 1k
All other category 1% up to 1k right?
Yes correct. You can earn 3000 max per month using Millennia.
“shift your billing cycle date to the 2nd of every month” by this you mean the bill generation date? What’s the benifit of this?
Yes for first question. And you dont have to calculate your spends from last month’s statement if you are about to touch any maximum capping on a category of spends. Simply check unbilled transactions and spend peacefully.
Thanks. I just did it.
When do they credit RP ? After statement genration OR calender month end ?
The reason why I am asking is my first statement got generated on 22 Nov but I received RP on 3 December. And upon calculation I found that they gave the rewards for entire Nov month instead of the statement (generated on 22 Nov).
they calculate RP per month basis, and credit next month (within 1st week).
Which is the best HDFC credit card for online shopping Amazon & Flipkart ?
HDFC Infinia, then HDFC Millennia card
I have received HDFC Millennia card but they have sent a diners version. As diners acceptance is low compare to Rupay or VISA, What should I do to change it to Rupay or VISA?
call them and place request or email them and request.
Whether the capping on millennia card i.e 1000 for 5% category and other 1000 for 1% category is calculated on 1 to 30/31st basis or it is according to billing cycle basis?
As in my case the billing cycle is 17 to 17. Please tell me in my case capping of cashpoints are from when to when? and also from smartbuy portal capping dates are?
Its calender month basis.
I’m a student with no income and was offered the card when i went to the bank one day . I’ve used it for one month (25k from 75k limit) and paid bill in time…and my cibil dropped to 729. What could be the reason?
Nothing can be said without scanning full CIBIL report.
Maybe the new credit card account in your report.
Recently my fk CC reported in my CIBIL report 1st time and my score came down by 10 points
that’s not a problem
Are axis grab deals offer applicable to flipkart axis card??? I have HDFC MILLENNIA Card and want to apply for flipkart axis card if grab deals offer are applicable
Yes its applicable to Axis Flipkart Credit Card
Thanks for confirmation
I have this card and when I ordered on Amazon via Smartbuy, I have received 10% value back (5% Card benefit reward points + 5% Smartbuy Cashback credited directly to the statement)
Benefit changed.
now 5% from smartbuy & 1% from card direct reward.
but if you order directly from amazon, you will get 5% direct reward.
Did We Get 5% For Bill Payment Via Amazon Pay.
No that will give you only 1%
If once the application is rejected, how much time to wait till i can apply again?
Atleast 03 month
Hi all , I got the HDFC NEW MILLENNIA CREDIT CARD today and it is LTF for me unconditionally. I do not hold any existing relationship with HDFC BANK. I got this LTF based on my credit history and credit score across several credit information companies.
Another great thing is that my MILLENNIA card is based on DINER’s CLUB International platform and has a unique 14 digit Card number
Anyone got the mail that “Reward points earned on property management services including rent, made with your HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card xxxx will be capped at 500 RP/month.”
Yes HDFC has put a capping on rental payments on all of its cards.
Thanks for the reply ❤
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Thanks for the detailed review. I believe the blog content needs to be updated for Amazon shopping via SmartBuy portal. Amazon is no longer available hence 6% cashback is not possible. Only Rs 5000 Amazon voucher option is available. This will help the reader to compare the benefits with other cards. One more request, please put the blog creation date , it will help to identify how old the blog is.
I am holding Millennia from last 6 months which I am not using before that I was holding Moneyback card from past 5 years. I am also using ICICI Amazon Pay, Coral and Axis Myzone, AmEx MRCC cards actively. Will it be a good decision if I close my active HDFC Millennia card ?