Alongside the Amex Diwali promotion, IndusInd’s Diwali offer remains one of the stronger seasonal promotions in the card market. Each year the bank launches tiered multipliers—2X, 3X and previously 4X or 5X—targeted at different spending bands. The program is points-based, which is beneficial for cardholders because IndusInd allows converting Rewardz points into cash value.
Below is the IndusInd Rewardz Festival offer for 2020. It follows the familiar structure of past years, but with notable changes to multipliers and caps. Read on for the key details and what to watch out for.
Offer Details
- Offer period: 15th Oct, 2020 to 20th Nov, 2020
- Target A: Spend X to earn 2X Reward Points
- Target B: Spend Y to earn 3X Reward Points
- Spend Type: Online transactions only
- Additional 5% on select partner merchants after reaching Target A (see T&C for partner list)
- Maximum Points: Dynamic (regular points excluded from cap)
- Excluded Cards: IndusInd Bank Corporate Cards, Classic and Gold Credit Cards, InterMiles Odyssey and Voyage co-branded cards, and any cards issued after September 30, 2020
- Not applicable to cards with an assigned credit limit below INR 30,000
- Excluded Spend Types: Insurance premiums, government taxes, bill payments, fees for educational programs, and spends on certain partner brands
- Reward points for spends over a card’s assigned credit limit during the program will not be forfeited if those spends exceed the limit
- Fulfilment: By 31st Jan 2021
- To Enroll: Registration required via SMS (JOIN to 5676757) or by clicking the personalized link received by email before 20th Oct 2020
- Offer T&C available from IndusInd Bank
The terms mirror previous editions in many ways, but the major shift for 2020 is that only online spends qualify. The structure itself is straightforward, yet the specific targets and the maximum reward cap are what really determine whether the promotion is attractive for any particular cardholder.
One issue many customers will notice is the reduction in the maximum bonus points. For example, some cardholders received a maximum cap of just 3,000 bonus points—far lower than past years when caps reached 15,000 (2019) or 20,000 (2018). A lower cap limits the upside even if multipliers are useful for incremental rewards.
In practice this means many cardholders will hit the cap before they reach higher multiplier tiers. In my case, the cap for bonus points was reached while still on the 2X tier, so I could not benefit from the 3X multiplier—even routine weekend spends on the IndusInd Iconia card exhausted the available bonus points.
Amex Variant Benefit
Cardholders with the Amex version of eligible IndusInd credit cards receive an additional Amex-specific offer on top of the Rewardz Festival promotion. While this adds value, these Amex offers have also been diminishing in generosity over recent years.
Bottom line
The IndusInd Rewardz Festival 2020 feels more restrictive than past editions. While the potential return on incremental spend can still be reasonable—around an estimated 4% in my case versus roughly 7% last year—the steep reduction in the maximum bonus cap makes the program less rewarding overall. Reducing both the cap and the achievable multiplier tiers effectively limits how much benefit active cardholders can realize.
If you are not eligible for competing Diwali promotions, such as the Amex Diwali offer, the Rewardz Festival may still be worth participating in. However, read your personalized targets, caps and exclusions carefully before you plan spend to maximize the benefit.
What were your targets and cap this year? Share your experience in the comments below.