Earn 2X Reward Points on Select HDFC Credit Cards – Targeted Offer

While YES Bank is running a spend-based promotion to award 5,000 bonus points, HDFC Bank has launched a similar offer during the same period. Not entirely surprising, given that Yes Bank’s credit card backend was developed by former HDFC personnel, but notable that both banks are competing at the same time.

I have not received this offer on my Diners Black, but a family member did, so I can share the details here. Curiously, the email arrived about a week later than expected.

HDFC Credit Cards: 2X Reward Points Offer

• Type: Spend-based promotion
• Spend threshold: Personalized per customer
• Eligibility: Only customers who received the communication are eligible
• Bonus: 2X reward points on all spends
• Maximum cap: 2,000 bonus points
• Offer period: Dec 16–31, 2017
• Fulfillment: Not specified (typically within 60 days)
• Approximate effective savings: 2.6% on Diners Premium and 6.6% on Diners Black
• Source: promotional communication from HDFC Bank

In one instance the spend requirement shown was Rs. 18,000, while other recipients have reported thresholds ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000. Overall it’s a useful opportunity to boost returns on HDFC cards. If you hold Diners Premium, consider switching to Diners Clubmiles to potentially gain additional value when redeeming for air miles.

Note: Diners Premium is no longer available on HDFC’s latest upgrade form and has been replaced by Clubmiles. The Diners Rewardz card remains available. This partly explains why Clubmiles resembles the former Diners Premium structure.

Issue with my Diners Club Black: When I contacted Diners support about the promotion, they declined to investigate my account and insisted the offer applies only if I received the email. The problem is I haven’t received promotional emails for Diners Black recently, while several family members’ inboxes are regularly flooded with promotions.

It appears I may have unsubscribed long ago and, despite escalations over several weeks, I haven’t been added back to their promotional list. Has anyone else faced a similar issue?

Bottom line

This is a solid, straightforward promotion from HDFC Bank. The bank frequently sends customized offers, but many of those have limited value. This particular offer stands out as worthwhile.

One common frustration: targeted offers often stop once you begin using the card more frequently. The last targeted promotion I received was around Dec 2016, and I haven’t received another targeted offer since then.