With an abundance of credit cards offering cashback, miles, and perks, HDFC Regalia Gold has quickly become the most popular option for mid to premium users. It’s marketed as a travel and lifestyle credit card, but is it actually the best when it comes to rewards? Let’s examine the features, pros, and cons of HDFC Regalia Gold and find out if it really is as good as everyone raves about — and how it stacks up against some of the best credit cards in India.
What Makes Regalia Gold Rewarding?
1. Earn Reward Points for daily spend: You can earn 4 Reward Points (RP) per ₹150 on most retail transactions. When redeeming the points on flights and hotel bookings through HDFC SmartBuy platform, each point is worth a ₹0.50 cash back which means; you can earn about 1.3% return rate on normal/ daily purchases.
2. Better Rewards with partner brands: If you’re a user who shops on Myntra, Marks & Spencer, Nykaa, and Reliance Digital, this card will give 20 RP per ₹150 (up to 5,000 bonus points a month), this would mean about a return rate of 6.6% in return which is a significant perk for lifestyle shoppers.
3. Travel Rewards using SmartBuy: You can earn travel rewards as high as 10X through HDFC SmartBuy, although rewards are capped at 4,000 bonus points per month. For travelers, this can be a good value for rewards — in some cases, up to 13%.
4. Quarterly and Annual Milestone Benefits: Spend ₹1.5 lakh in a quarter and get a voucher for ₹1,500 (like Marriott, Myntra, etc.). Spend ₹5 lakh and ₹7.5 lakh in a year, and you can get vouchers worth ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 of flights respectively.
5. Airport Lounge Access and Other Travel Perks: You get 12 domestic and 6 international lounge visits in a year. You also get Club Vistara Silver and MMT Black Elite membership on any early spends, which is an add-on to your travel experience.
6. The chance to have the fee waived: The annual fee of ₹2,500 is waived when you spend ₹4 lakh in a year — therefore average users are effectively using this card for free if they spend ₹34,000/month.
Where Regalia Gold Lacks
- Average Base Reward Rate: 1.3% on normal spends is not bad, however, it pales in comparison to some premium cards that offer 3.3% (or more) on base categories as well.
- Capped Accelerators: The SmartBuy and lifestyle incentives are capped multipliers in reward points. After reaching the cap, point reward rates return to the base rates.
- Restricted Point Value Reward Points have a value of ₹0.50 per point on flights and hotels, but only ₹0.20 when converted to cashback, which is less appealing to a user who wants to redeem his or her points for cash.
- Disallowed Spending Categories: You do not earn reward points on fuel, rent payments, wallet loads, government payments, and now, certain insurance premiums which reduces your actual rewarded points.
Regalia Gold vs Other Premium Reward Cards:
| Car | Annual Fee | Base Rewards | Maximum Rewards | Lounge Access | Best For |
| HDFC Regalia Gold | ₹2,500 (waived @ ₹4L) | ~1.3% | 10–13% (on SmartBuy) | 12 domestics + 6 intl | Moderate spenders, balanced lifestyle |
| HDFC Diners Club Black | ₹10,000 (waived @ ₹8L) | 3.3% | Up to 33% on select spends | Unlimited intl lounges | High spenders, heavy rewards |
| Axis Magnus | ₹12,500 (waived @ ₹25L) | 2% → 7%+ (after ₹1.5L/month) | 12%+ on Axis TravelEdge | Unlimited PP + guest access | Elite spenders & travelers |
| SBI Elite | ₹4,999 | ~1.25% | 5X on dining, groceries | Lounge access + BOGO movies | Premium lifestyle users |
Also read: 3 Credit Cards Every Online Shopper Needs for Amazon & Flipkart Deals
This is card is good if you:
- Spend ₹4–8 lakh each year, mostly in lifestyle, travel or e-commerce platforms.
- Want reliably good rewards, milestone benefits, and travel benefits like lounge access and discounts, for a seasonal, reasonable price.
- want a reasonably rounded card that does a bit of everything; rewards, shopping, travel & offers from brands.
Consider Other cards if:
- You spend heavily in terms of value (₹10 lakh+) and want the premium luxury benefits and earn unlimited lounge access, or options to transfer into airline miles.
- You want high reward rates on all categories with no caps, not only on selected platforms.
- You mostly redeem points (cash back) – where the value of Regalia Gold declines significantly.
Final thoughts
HDFC Regalia Gold isn’t going to be the best credit card for everyone – but it could end up being a very strong card for many users. With a good rewards program, range of brands, and travel privileges, it is going to be good value – especially if you can maximize their bonus categories, and reach spending milestones.
Written by Pranjal Data
