Many of you may have received a pre-approved offer in the HDFC banking app, via email, or by phone to upgrade your HDFC Millennia credit card to the HDFC Regalia or Regalia Gold credit card. While Regalia is inherently the more premium of the two cards, it may or may not be the best choice for you to switch just yet. Let me explain why.
Let’s compare the HDFC Millennia and Regalia Gold credit cards based on their features, rewards, and annual fees:
What You Get with HDFC Millennia Credit Card
For starters, HDFC Millennia is a cashback credit card. It gives you 5% cashback in the form of reward points for select merchants, including Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber, and Zomato. 1 Reward point equals 1 Rupee, and cashback can be redeemed directly into cash.
It also gives you a flat 1%, on all other spends (except Fuel, Wallet, EMI, Govt transactions). Here’s the detailed reward rate chart for HDFC Millennia:
| Spend Type | Reward Rate |
|---|---|
| Select merchants | 5% |
| All other spends | 1% |
Plus, you get ₹1,000 worth of gift vouchers on spends of ₹1,00,000 and above in each calendar quarter. And lastly, there’s up to a 20% discount on partner restaurants via Swiggy DineOut. The card generally carries a joining and annual fee of ₹1000, but the bank does offer it as pre-approved and lifetime free to many of its customers.
| Milestone Spend | Milestone Benefit | Voucher |
|---|---|---|
| ₹1 lakh in a quarter | ₹1000 | Gift Voucher |
HDFC Millennia
- 5% Cashback on select merchants (including Amazon, Bookmyshow, Myntra, Swiggy, and more)
- 1% cashback on all other spends
- Cashback limit: ₹1000 per month
- Joining and Annual Fee: ₹999 + GST
What You Get with HDFC Regalia Gold Credit Card
HDFC Regalia Gold is geared toward travelers. It offers complimentary Swiggy One (replacing the previous Club Vistara Silver Tier benefit, as Club Vistara transitions to the Air India Flying Returns program) and MMT Black Gold membership as welcome benefits when you spend ₹1 lakh within the first 90 days of card issuance.
The card gives you 4 Reward Points for every ₹150 spent (on retail spends) and an accelerated 5x Reward Points on spends at Marks & Spencer, Myntra, Nykaa, & Reliance Digital. The value of 1 Reward Point ranges from ₹0.65 to ₹0.2 depending on what you redeem it for. Here’s the exact reward rate you get with this card:
| Spend Type | Reward Points | Redeem at exclusive Gold Catalogue (1 RP = upto ₹0.65) | Redeem flight and hotel booking on Smartbuy (1 RP = ₹0.5) | Redeem against Airmiles (1 RP = up to ₹0.5 airmile) | Redeem as statement cash (1 RP = ₹0.20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Spends | 4 RP per 150 | ~1.73% | ~1.33% | ~1.33% | ~0.53% |
| Accelerated Spends (5x) | 20 RP per ₹150 | ~8.67% | ~6.67% | ~6.67% | ~2.67% |
| Smartbuy Flights or Vouchers (5x) | 20 RP per ₹150 | ~8.67% | ~6.67% | ~6.67% | ~2.67% |
| Smartbuy Hotels (10x) | 40 RP per ₹150 | ~17.33% | ~13.33% | ~13.33% | ~5.33% |
For the rest of the article, I’ll graciously ignore the redemption rate on HDFC Gold Catalogue and focus on what matters.
You’ll receive ₹1,500 worth of vouchers from Marriott, Myntra, Marks & Spencer, or Reliance Digital when you spend ₹1.5 lakhs in every calendar quarter. Additionally, you get ₹5,000 worth of flight vouchers on annual spends of Rs. 5 lakhs and an additional voucher of Rs. 5,000 on spends of Rs. 7.5 lakhs.
Here’s a summary of all the milestone benefits you get with Regalia Gold:
| Milestone Spend | Milestone Benefit | Voucher |
|---|---|---|
| ₹1.5 lakh in a quarter | ₹1500 | Brand Vouchers |
| ₹5 lakh | ₹5000 | Flight Vouchers |
| ₹7.5 lakh | ₹5000 | Flight Vouchers |
Regalia Gold also provides 12 complimentary lounge access per year at both domestic and international terminals at airports in India. And this comes without any spend based requirements.
HDFC Regalia Gold
- 0.53-1.33% reward rate on retail spends
- 2.67-6.67% reward rate on accelerated spends
- Cashback limit: Max 5000 reward points per month
- Joining and Annual Fee: ₹2500 + GST
HDFC Millennia vs. Regalia Gold Card
The HDFC Millennia offers a straightforward cashback system: you get a generous 5% cashback on popular merchants like Amazon, Swiggy, and Uber, and 1% cashback on all other purchases. The best part is that the cashback is easy to redeem – it’s like getting money back directly into your account. However, keep in mind there’s a monthly cashback limit of ₹1,000.
On the other hand, the HDFC Regalia Gold has a more complex rewards system: while it offers a lower cashback rate of 0.53% on most purchases, you can earn significantly higher rewards (around 6.67% or even 13.33%) if you spend on specific merchants (like Myntra or Reliance Digital) and then use those rewards for flights or hotels booked through HDFC Smartbuy.
Additionally, the Regalia Gold offers attractive travel benefits, including flight vouchers worth ₹5000 upon reaching milestone spends of 5 lakh and 7 lakhs in a year. Cardholders also enjoy airport lounge access, Uber rides to the airport, and travel insurance.
In essence, the HDFC Millennia is perfect for those who prefer a simple cashback card for everyday spending. On the other hand, the HDFC Regalia Gold is a better choice for frequent travellers who can fully utilize its travel benefits and maximize the Smartbuy rewards.
So, should you upgrade? If you travel frequently and already have another cashback card (like SBI Cashback) that could offset the benefits you’ll lose out by upgrading from Millennia to Regalia Gold, definitely do it, especially if you’re getting it lifetime free.
I’m a bit of a credit card geek. Ever since I got my first card in 2018, I’ve been obsessed with finding the best deals, earning rewards, and boosting my credit score. I’m a tech guy at heart, but my love for all things personal finance has led me down this credit card rabbit hole. I also dabble in banking, investing, and other money matters.