HDFC Diners Black credit card is one of the most popular credit cards after Axis Magnus and HDFC Infinia. An interesting thing about this credit card is that there are scenarios where it is better than even HDFC Infinia. Below is a detailed review of the HDFC Diners Black.
HDFC Diners Black Credit Card
Fees
- Joining/Annual fee of 10,000 + taxes. Waived off on spending 5 lakhs.
Reward and Benefits
- Base Reward Rate:3.3% reward rate (5 reward points on 150 spent. Value of 1RP=INR 1). No reward points for fuel, wallet load and EMI (EasyEMI and SmartEMI) spends. From January 2023 onwards, no reward points on rent payments too.
- Accelerated Reward Rate: 2x-10x RPs on HDFC SmartBuy, i.e. 6.6%-33.3% reward rate. However, SmartBuy reward points accrual has monthly and daily caps, which may limit the reward rate.
- 2x RPs on weekend dining. 2x reward points on dining on weekends. Not applicable to Swiggy/Zomato spending. There is a cap of 1000 reward points per day.
- Milestones:
- Monthly milestone: 2×500 i.e INR1000 vouchers from Tata Cliq, Ola etc on monthly spends of 80k or more.
- Annual milestone: Annual membership of Amazon Prime, MMT Black, Club Marriott, Forbes and Times Prime.
- Lounge Access: Unlimited domestic and international lounge access for primary and add-on cardholders.
Eligibility criteria of HDFC Diners Black
HDFC Diners Black is relatively easier to get. While the bank’s website says, you need a 1.75lk monthly salary; most people who have this card have much lower monthly salaries. However, if you have an HDFC Bank credit card with a credit limit of 5lk+, especially Regalia, you can simply write to customer care for the upgrade.
Positives of HDFC Diners Black
3.3% reward rate
The base reward rate of 3.3% is among the best in the industry. Only HDFC Infinia and StanC Ultimate have this kind of reward rate.
Unlimited lounge access
This credit card offers unlimited lounge access both at domestic and international airports. Unlimited lounge access is available to all add-on cardholders too. Further, the icing on the cake is you don’t need a separate Priority Pass card for lounge access. Your credit card is enough.
Smartbuy benefits
Similar to HDFC Infinia, the HDFC Diners Black credit card also gives 2-10x accelerated reward points on purchases made on the SmartBuy portal. Hotel booking gives a 33.3% reward rate, while flight booking thru the portal gives a 16.5% reward rate.
Gift vouchers bought on SmartBuy give a ~10% reward rate (3x reward points). These brand vouchers in turn can be used for many daily purchases. You can buy gift vouchers from Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Vijay Sales, Tata Cliq, Reliance Smart, BigBasket, Blinkit, Swiggy, Zomato, Ola and many more. (Full list here). Even train ticket booking on IRCTC will give a nearly 10% reward rate.
Milestone benefits
The milestone benefits of HDFC Diners Black are pretty straightforward. Spend 80k in a calendar month and you will get vouchers worth 1000 every month. Thus, theoretically, if you spend 80k every month for 12 months you will get vouchers worth 12,000. Moreover, your annual fee will be waived as annual spending will be more than 5lk.
Similarly, on annual spends of 8lk, you get memberships from Amazon Prime, MMT Black, Club Marriott, Forbes and Times Prime. From these, Amazon Prime, MMT Black and Forbes are genuinely useful. 😉
2x on weekend dining
HDFC Diners Black offers 2x reward points on all dining spends every weekend. There is a cap of 1000 reward points per day. The downside is, this does not apply to Swiggy/Zomato.
Only 2% forex markup
HDFC Diners Black has a low forex markup of 2%. While you may argue, there are credit and debit cards that offer 0% forex markup. However, considering that HDFC Diners Black has a reward rate of 3.3% even adjusting for a 2.36% (2% +GST) forex markup, you get nearly a 1% reward rate on foreign spending. That’s not all, if you enrol for HDFC’s Global Value Program you can get a ~1.95% reward rate. The 1% is in form of cashback as a feature of the Global Value Program.
Negatives of HDFC Diners Black
Smartbuy program has a lower multiplier than Infinia
The accelerated reward points on the Smartbuy portal for HDFC Diners Black are lower than that one gets on HDFC Infinia. Further, Infinia has higher monthly caps.
Redemption limitation and continuous devaluations
Ever since the HDFC Bank has come out card issuance ban, there have been continuous devaluations for Diners and Infinia. The most recent one puts a cap on monthly redemptions starting Jan-2023. Now only 75k points can be redeemed for flights and hotel bookings in a calendar month. This combined with the requirement to pay 30% amount in cash, caps monthly booking at 1.07lk. Moreover, they also started charging convenience fees for flight tickets.
Further, rent and government payments will no longer accrue reward points. In addition, for rent payments 1% fee will be applicable from the second transaction onwards.
That’s not all. There is a capping on grocery transactions too. Reward points are capped at 2000 per month. i.e. ~67000 spends per month.
Acceptance remains an issue
While Dinersclub’s acceptance has improved dramatically over the last few years, it remains a sore point. Especially when you travel outside of the 4 metros.
Compare with Axis Magnus and HDFC Infinia
Nowadays every card needs to be compared to Axis Magnus (Apply Now) 😁. So here is the dynamic excel calculator that compares HDFC Diners Black with Axis Magnus and HDFC Infinia.
As with HDFC Infinia, HDFC Diners Black scores over Axis Magnus at nearly every spend level if one looks at the monetary value of reward points. However, for airmiles conversion Axis Magnus(Apply Now) beats Diners Black by a mile.
Moreover, in monetary value terms, there are scenarios where HDFC Diners Black even beats HDFC Infinia 😮. However, given that Infinia has higher accelerated RPs and higher monthly caps on Smartbuy; when used smartly Infinia’s reward rate will be higher than Diners Black. Further, for airmiles conversion, Infinia scores over Diners Black
Conclusion
HDFC Diners Black is very good that offers a 3.3% reward rate, accelerated reward points on SmartBuy, unlimited lounge access, and ~2% reward rate on forex spends. If you are someone who doesn’t want to get into airmiles and hotel loyalty then you should seriously consider HDFC Diners Black.
I have Diners Black credit card and despite the fact that I also have a Axis Magnus(Apply Now) card, I am not closing my Diners yet.
Photo by thomas heintz on Unsplash
Disclaimer
In the interest of full disclosure, Credit Cardz may earn a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the links in this post. However, opinions and views expressed here are of the author's alone and not those of the bank, credit card issuer, or anyone else and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Very Nice
Conversion rate for Magnus of 5:4 means 5 points will give 4 airline miles. Isn’t it?
Also, the comparison should be with the actual Rs each airline mile delivers finally e.g. a flight ticket costs Rs 5k will not be available for 5k airline miles but more.
Given above, not sure how magnus has crossed the infection point to be bttr than DB yet. Pls advise.
Yes on the first part. 4 miles for 5 magnus pts
Second part. I have made comparisons of miles you earn on the same amount spent. Whatever the value of miles you assign, Magnus gives more miles than Diners as shown in the comparison and thus for airmiles Magnus is better.
Monetary value comparison is different and done separately in the excel.
Then the miles conversion for Magnus will be only 76800 miles (96k ÷ 5 x 4). Isn’t it.
Also, what I meant was you should include in the analysis if a ticket worth Rs 5k can be bought by paying 5k miles. If not, the real comparison should be of Rs value of points vs purchasing value of miles.
Hope I am not missing anything.
The reason i have not done the comparison the way you have said is there are scenario where 5k tkt will be available in say 4k miles ( just an example). The moot point is monetary value per point would differ your redemption skills and expertise. Thus left at just calculating the total number of miles one can earn on different cards. Leaving the value part on the skills/expertise of the card user.
Appreciate the above. May be its worthwhile to have a separate post to help us understand the miles play bttr.
Also, hope you agree the point conversion will be ~77k and not 3.84 lacs mentioned in the excel above.
Vety good but limited access.
I have a ltf regalia with a credit limit of 9.6 lakh.
Will I get a free upgrade to diners club black?
Yes definitely you will get and are eligible for an upgrade from Regalia to Dinars club black credit card. Moreover By now you must have got an sms regarding this upgrade. Please check the messages in your registered mobile.
Yes you can,whare are you staying I will help you to
I am currently staying in Bangalore with aadhar having a kerala address. Same address is updated in my hdfc account.
Can’t see any offers in netbanking. Spending came down since pandemic. Also got an Axis Magnus last month
Anshul I think you are confusing value of points with no of points. Conversion will happen at 4 miles per 5 rewards points. 96k is value of 4.80lac points if you are buying vouchers for it. But if you convert them into miles it will be 3.84lac miles only.
But the points in excel above are not 4.8 lacs but around 1 lacs points and thus point to miles (not value of miles) conversion should be lower (around 75-80k)
Also now that axis won’t consider rent ans insurance payments for monthly and annula limits, it will be difficult for most to meet those and thus, DB and infinia may again be bttr. Pls opion
The big difference between magnus and dcb and Infinia is the lifestyle benefit of 8 meet and greet service at the airport. Also in reality the various bonus points as given in the calculator above may not always be possible but the 1lac spend could still happen.. hence the dependency on high monthly bonus points for both Infinia and DCB may actually reduce the total points earned and final savings compared to Magnus.
It’s around 40k points per month including 25k milestone benefit check again if you spend 100k per month. So annual number is 4.8lac points only. You seem to be looking at the value of points for voucher redemption @20ps per point hence you are getting 96k annual value.
Its a pathetic card
I recently upgraded my life time free Regalia card to Diners Black which is chargable if we dont spend 5 lac a year
But the problem is that it’s not accepted at so many places
Now I need 1 extra card for all those transactions also now it became sooo difficult to even reach 5 lac milestone
Its a scam pathetic card even Amex has wider acceptance
Can one keep infinia and diners black both
I have a lifetime free Regalia one and have been made aware to upgrade to Diners card but what I wish to know is will this card also be free for life irrespective of the min annual spends required.
Also, I use the existing card for online shopping, tuition fees, dining and for other miscellaneous stuff, is it worth upgrading of should I just continue with what I already have. I get good discounts on appliances/gadgets using this card at offline/online stores, will the Diners also extend the same discounts?
Thank you
you can use the calculator on diners black rview page to see if the card benefits you. As far as offers are concerned, most likely you will get the same offers on diners too.
It is no longer a premium card as even with Smartbuy, you get only 3X points. After spending lakhs of rupees, hardly you get few thousand rewards points. It is okay only if you get it is lifetime free card.
Can one get DCB for life time free? Not sure how much money needs to be spent just to cover annual fee.. too much calculation..
Yes you can get dcb as ltf.
One needs to spend around 3.6lk just to cover the fees, however, if you spend 5lk in a year your annual fee is anyways waived off.
Can I get get DCB LTF on the basis of salary account?
Yes at times you get. Your net salary needs to be around 1.75lks per month. But depending on your RM you may get the same on lower net take home too
I have a DCB LTF and my salary is below 1l
If you have an old account, you can get upgrades
My First card was (there was another card before this but cant remember now) airmiles, then regalia, then DCB ofcourse this happenned over quite a long time
Hi thanks for the review. Which is the best cc for insurance payment in terms of cashback / reward points? Thanks
If any one want to convert miles to cash i can give 37 paise/mile for ethihad miles…contact 9679756873
How do you get Rs 1 value for 1 RP for Diners. I have Diners but using to transfer to Vistara as of now, can you help how you are deriving 1 Rs value for 1 RP
You can redeem your pts for hotel and flight booking on SmartBuy platform. There you can pay for upto 70% of the total bill amount in pts. Pts are redeemed at 1=1 ratio
I have a limit of > 8 lakh on my regalia but haven’t gotten any upgrade offer for last 2 years. How can I get an upgrade to Diner’s black or Infinia?
Supar card
Hi, I understand payment of Electricity bill and Insurance does not fetch reward points. But will they count towards Annual milestone and Monthly milestone? Please enlighten. Thanks
for DCB, insurance and electricity bill payments fetch reward points and are also counted towards annual milestone.
The Axis Magnus card got devalued recently, rather unfortunately.
5:2 instead of 5:4, and rewards as well.
Could i please request you to update this article?
Thank you for the great work.
yes sir. will do it.
Can one use Diners black card for business and personal transactions or only personal transactions. Can both primary and add on holder access same lounge at the same time if not any other way to access it at the same time.
yes both primary and add-on card holder can access at same time.
By contract, all personal cards are only meant for personal spends and not by business spends. But then there is always a fine line between personal and business spends in Indian context. The general thumb rule is dont go overboard. 🙂
Does rent payment fetch points in diners black ? Is itcounted for monthly 80k milestone?
How about for 5l and 8l yearly spend ?
Rent payment thru payzapp and redgiraffe does not fetch reward pts. Not sure which other platform allows DCB.