HDFC Bank Shoppers Stop Credit Card Review

HDFC Bank, the no. 1 player in the credit card segment has partnered with the retail giant Shoppers Stop, one of the leading departmental stores in India. Only recently RBI gave permission to HDFC Bank for new launches and as hinted earlier by them about a variety of partnerships in the pipeline, these cards are amongst the first ones to be announced. With Citibank exiting Indian market which was having a card in partnership with Shoppers Stop there may be some takers for this card.

There are two variants of these HDFC Bank Shoppers Stop co-branded credit cards: one is the entry-level Shoppers Stop Credit Card and the other is the premium version called Shoppers Stop Black. Here’s everything you need to know about them.

HDFC Bank Shoppers Stop Credit Card

It’s an unconditional LTF card from HDFC Bank. The welcome voucher is equivalent to a 10% discount on shopping and is really very abysmal.

Reward Points Accrual/Redemption

• *Except fuel and wallet loads.
• 1 First Citizen Point = ₹0.6 for redemption.
• Accrued points will reflect in Shoppers Stop membership account and can only be redeemed on Shoppers Stop platform/outlets.
• First Citizen Points have a validity of 1 year.
• Shoppers Stop points accrued on all eligible transactions posted within the calendar month will be added up and credited on the 1st of the next calendar month.

With this card, you get one of the Shoppers Stop loyalty membership out of the five plans that they have except the Shoppers Stop Black. Though nothing clearly is mentioned in the T&C which membership will be provided to the cardholder. There is a provision for earning additional First Citizen Points as per the membership tier you hold with Shoppers Stop.

Milestone Benefits

Earn 2000 First Citizen Points on spending ₹2 Lakhs annually.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

1% fuel surcharge waiver of up to ₹250 per statement cycle, across all fuel stations in India.

Eligibility

For Salaried Indian National
Age: Min 21 years & Max 60 Years,
Net Monthly Income> Rs 20,000

For Self Employed Indian national
Age: Min 21 yrs & Max 65 Yrs
Income: ITR > ₹6 Lakhs per annum

HDFC Bank Shoppers Stop Black Credit Card

The joining fee is too high for the benefits provided on this card. The vouchers provided are a big joke as compared to the huge fees charged. Plus there is no mention of any renewal benefits or even milestone benefits which is a huge disappointment. They could have done a lot better as the wow factor is missing.

Reward Points Accrual/Redemption

• *Except fuel and wallet loads.
• 1 First Citizen Point = ₹0.6 for redemption.
• Accrued points will reflect in the Shoppers Stop membership account and can only be redeemed on the Shoppers Stop platform/outlets.
• First Citizen Points have a validity of 1 year.
• Shoppers Stop points accrued on all eligible transactions posted within the calendar month will be added up and credited on the 1st of the next calendar month.

With this card, you get it’s one of the highest tier memberships known as First Citizen Black which bumps up your reward rate by another 6% on spends done on all the brands on Shoppers Stop. It gives 20 additional First Citizen Reward Points per ₹200 spends on Shoppers Stop.

Airport Lounge Access

Complimentary Domestic Limit – 16 Visits/Year within India (4 Visits/Qtr.).
Complimentary International Limit – 8 Visits/Year within India (2 Visits/Qtr.).

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

1% fuel surcharge waiver of up to ₹500 per statement cycle, across all fuel stations in India.

Additional Benefits

• Accidental air death cover worth ₹3 Crores.
• Emergency overseas hospitalization of up to  ₹50 lakhs, in case of emergency.
• Credit liability cover of up to ₹9 Lakhs.

Eligibility

For salaried Indian national
Age: Min 21 years & Max 60 Years,
Net Monthly Income> ₹2,00,000

For self-employed Indian national
Age: Min 21 yrs & Max 65 Yrs
Income: ITR > ₹8 Lakhs per annum

TechnoFino Recommends

First of all opting for a co-brand card makes no sense if you are not a heavy shopper of that particular brand so go for these cards only if you do lakhs worth of shopping from Shoppers Stop every year. Further, since HDFC Bank doesn’t allow multi-carding so if you are an existing HDFC Credit card holder then you will have to give up the card for getting this card. I am unable to understand why brands are doing partnerships with HDFC Bank since hardly anyone would anyone give up their current card for a co-branded card. This is similar to the Ka-ching credit card story in which Indigo finally had to partner with Kotak Bank.

Their basic card makes no sense if you have any other HDFC credit card since you will be able to buy vouchers at a better reward rate from HDFC SmartBuy. For the black card, I would suggest you do the maths of the benefits that you won’t be getting on the HDFC card you will be surrendering and the benefits you will be getting on this card.

Are you planning to take this HDFC Credit Card? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Bhavye Goel

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.