r/CreditCardsIndia

Turned ~48K points into ₹2L flights 🤯✈️

(India->Bali | Manila->Delhi for 2)

Just pulled off one of my best redemptions so far using Maharaja Club 🔥

👉 Booked:

• Delhi → Bali

• Manila → Delhi

• 2 passengers

• Cost: 12K points + ₹2K taxes per person per sector

💸 Total out-of-pocket: peanuts

💰 Revenue price for all 4 tickets: ~₹2,00,000

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How I got the points 👇

Since Axis Atlas is gone, my GF was offered Axis Horizon

💳 Axis Horizon

• ₹3.5K fee → 5K Edge Miles

💳 HSBC Travel One (both applied in Dec)

• ₹5,900 fee

• ₹5K cashback (effectively paid 900rs for 1st year)

• 3K joining reward points on 1L spends in 3 months

• She spent ₹1L (₹75K hotel bookings)

→ Got ~18K accelerated rewards

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Total points math:

5K (Horizon) + 3K (HSBC base) + 18K (HSBC accelerated)

= ~36K points → transferred 24k to Maharaja Club ✈️

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Why flights over Accor? 🤔

Yes, could’ve stretched to ~₹77K value via Accor, but honestly:

👉 I prefer convinence of direct flight over hotel stays, Phillipines don't have many accor properties.

I do have many Accor points,will transfer it as needed

Accor is gone from Axis.

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Pro tip before booking ⚠️

Check aircraft type!

🛫 ** (ex- Vistara A321neo)**

✔ Seatback screens

✔ Wi-Fi

✔ 29–32 inch legroom

vs typical narrow bodies (like Air India and IndiGo ~28 inch 😬)

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I booked it on the first day of this financial year,I can see at max 7 award seats on many flights that too narrow body.

TL;DR

Turned credit card hacks + smart transfers into ₹2 Lakhs worth flights for almost free.

India travel hacking still has insane value if you play it right 💳✈️

Hi everyone, I own no credit cards yet Never took any loan so my CIBL is not generated yet. Banks reject my cc applications and the bank in which I have salary account says I'm not pre approved for CC. Today my bank (DBS) has introduced new rule of minimum 10k spend per quarter for lounge access in by debit card.

I have few questions:

1. Should I change my bank? Do you guys have better options? What should I look for
2. I travel like 8 flights max an year so what cc should I take for lounge access?
3. How to increase credit score fast?
4. I want to take a home loan in few months so which bank will be better?

I am thinking for HSBC. My roommates have hsbc cards and they use it for all our groceries and dinners

TLDR: Please suggest a bank for salary account and a CC with minimal annual fee and no spend limit on lounge access.

The recent devaluation is a real kicker for people who kept the card around only for tax payment.

So will you now be routing 25k for non-tax payments to this card or just give up and move on? Are you looking at other alternatives?

P.S. I think HDFC got inspired by the Airtel Axis devaluation. This one is very similar. i.e. add non-core spends to be rewarded for core-spends. And this pattern could go to other cards in future too.

Would have been so happy had the Accor devaluation not came in.

I had been collecting EM for Euro trip (20k transfered, 25k as EM currently) with Hotels to be booked on points at Accor. Now that Accor is gone, IHG is best option but the value is not fixed and varies around 0.4-0.6 rs and brings down overall returns. I don't want to book flights, any other better redemption or should I just wait for Accor to come back at whatever conversion ratio.

Somehow my disappointment in this card is now slowly starting to fade away :)

1% Forex markup

16.7% RP on flights; 10% on hotel bookings

4 domestic and 2 international lounge access per quarter (20k monthly spends required).

Cancel For Any Reason insurance up to 25k, twice a year available to claim.

Complimentary golf rounds up to 2 per month

BOGO up to ₹400 p.m.

1% fuel surcharge waiver up to ₹300

Possible to recover joining fees of ₹3.5k with spends in second and third month of 20k each.

So, Scapia team kept sending me advertisement messages...I don't know how they found my number but it has maybe got to do with the Instagram ad algorithms or maybe not. I complained to RBI twice and bank had to give funds of 5000 on the third complaint.

Not planning any trip soon. Where to use them or any way to cash this?
These are from my EPM card.

I am trying to get a premium card for long time but no banks are approving. Got above response from icici rm for EPM.

net in hand salary 5.9L per month

Cibil 812

monthly spends on cards 1L

My salary account is in hdfc but not able to get Infinia from them as well. The reason was given that spends on current hdfc cards are low. Also, given the spend criteria of 18L, I am not sure if this card would make sense for me at all.

My objective is to get higher rewards through voucher purchase. I already have HSBC T1 which I use for travel spends.

Any suggestions?

23M, all the cards are LTF except Regalia gold which is FYF. Looking for new card for daily UPI expense. Kiwi, Scapia, Supermoney pro rejected my application.

Current Cibil: 775

Age: 23M

Monthly income: 2lpm+ after tax.

Monthly expenses: 15-20K other than rent.

Preferences for credit card feature: LTF

Reward preference: Cashback

Lounge access required: Most important (after devaluation of RG)

Axis's reply to removing Accor, Marriot and Qatar was that are renegotiating the transfer ratios which me along with most of others thought was BS. But just saw travel edge showing this, is it a regular downtime, re-evaluation or a devaluation, what do you think?

Amazon refund deducted 99RS U

Refused to receive return