Is HDFC Diners Black Edition Card still a Necessity in 2024?

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HDFC Bank recently launched Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card. This credit card is a metal variant of Diners Club Black Credit Card and in this article we will discuss about this Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card of HDFC Bank in detail and at the same time we will also compare this credit card with the plastic variant of Diners Club Black Credit Card and see what new features HDFC Bank has launched in this credit card. And which of these two credit cards is better for you, we will know all this in detail in this article.

HDFC Bank is now launching metal variants of its premium credit cards one by one. HDFC Bank had also launched the metal version of its Infinia Credit card some time ago and now the metal version of Diners Club Black Credit Card has also been launched. HDFC Bank provides more upgraded features in its metal variants compared to plastic cards. Now let us know all the premium features of this Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card one by one.

Key Points of Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card:

In-Depth Overview of the Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card:

HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card: FinBenz

Welcome Benefits:

If we talk about the welcome benefits of this credit card, then in this credit card you get annual membership of Club Marriott, Amazon Prime and Swiggy One. Currently, these benefits are similar to the plastic variants of this card. In the plastic version of Diners Club Black card, you get 3 months membership of Swiggy One along with annual membership of Club Marriott, Amazon Prime and Forbes as welcome benefits.

But you will get these welcome benefits only if you spend Rs 1.5 lakh within 90 days from the issue date of this card. Now, you could get these same benefits in the plastic variant of Diners Club Black Credit Card in the remaining years as well, but for this you had to spend Rs 8 lakh from your card in the whole year. We used to call this as Annual Benefit of that card but you do not get this feature in this Metal variant.

Non Spend Benefits:

In this Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card, you get the facility of unlimited domestic and international lounge access for primary and add-on card holders. You can access the list of all its Domestic Lounges from here and you can access the list of International Lounges available in this card from here

Apart from this, in this card, 6 complimentary Golf Games are available in selected Golf Courses of the world in one quarter. Therefore, if you are fond of playing golf, then you also get this benefit in this card. You can see all its Domestic Golf Courses from here and you can see all its International Golf Courses from here.

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Reward Points Structure:

The reward structure of this card is the same as its Plastic Variant, that is, you get 5 reward points for every ₹ 150 spent. But you do not get these reward points on Rent, Government related Transactions, Wallet Reloads, Fuel and EMI related Transactions.

There is an upper cap of 2000 Reward Points in a month on Grocery Purchases and there is an upper cap of 5000 Reward Points in a day on Insurance Related Transactions.

Milestone Benefits:

If you spend Rs 4 lakh in a calendar quarter, you get 10,000 bonus reward points. This is a benefit which you do not get in its plastic variant and this Milestone benefit makes this card different from it.

Accelerated Reward Points On Smartbuy:

  • Earn double the rewards with the Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card, receiving 10 reward points for every Rs 150 spent on dining during weekends.
  • Unlock exceptional benefits when you use the card for transactions on IGP.com, Jockey, and hotels through HDFC Smart Buy, earning up to 10 times the rewards—equivalent to 50 reward points for every Rs 150 spent.
  • Enjoy a generous reward system for specific transactions such as Flights, Redbus, Zoom Car, and Nykaa on Smart Buy, with up to 5 times the rewards, totaling 25 reward points for every Rs 150 spent.
  • Explore additional perks by using the card for expenditures on IRCTC, Instant Vouchers, and Apple Tresor on Smart Buy, accruing up to 3 times the rewards, translating to 15 reward points for every Rs 150 spent.
  • Make the most of your shopping on Flipkart through Smart Buy and earn double rewards, receiving up to 2 times the reward points—10 points for every Rs 150 spent

Now there is some upper cap on the reward points you earn by spending on HDFC Smart Buy. You can earn a maximum of 10,000 reward points through HDFC Smart Buy in a calendar month. And by combining the reward points from all places, you can earn a maximum of 75,000 reward points in a calendar month.

Rewards Points Capping On This Card:

Fees and Charges of Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card:

The joining and renewal fee of this credit card is ₹10,000 + applicable taxes. The joining and renewal fees of the plastic variant of this card are also the same, but you can get the annual fee of the plastic variant of this card waived off by spending ₹ 5 lakh annually from your credit card. But to get the annual fee of this Metal Edition Black Credit Card waived off, you will have to spend ₹ 8 lakh in a year.

Now, compared to the plastic variant of this credit card, the only drawback of this metal edition credit card is that to get its annual fee waived off, you have to spend ₹ 8 lakh, which is quite high.

Late Payment Charges:

Reward Points Redemption Program:

Unlock the full potential of your credit card’s reward points by redeeming them for a variety of options, including hotel and flight bookings, Airmiles, product catalog items, vouchers, and statement credit.

  • When booking hotels and flights on SmartBuy, 1 reward point = Rs 1. You can redeem up to 70% of the booking amount with points. The monthly redemption limit is 75,000 points.
  • When redeeming for product catalogs and vouchers, 1 reward point = Rs 0.50.
  • When redeeming for statement credit, 1 reward point = Rs 0.30. The monthly redemption limit is 50,000 points.
  • When redeeming for Air Miles, 1 reward point = 1 Air Mile.

The key things to note are the redemption value per point based on category, any applicable monthly redemption limits, and the split payment option for hotel/flight bookings.

Major Differences Between Diners Black Plastic and Metal Credit Card:

Now three biggest changes have been seen in the plastic and metal variants of this Diners Club Black Credit Card.

1. Firstly, you get monthly milestone benefits in the plastic variant of Diners Club Black card in which, if you spend Rs 80,000 from your card in a month, you can get a voucher of Rs 500 from any two brands of BookMyShow, TataCLiQ, and Ola cabs.

But in the metal variant of Diners Club Black card, you get this milestone benefit quarterly, in which if you spend Rs 1.5 lakh in a quarter with this card, then you are given 10,000 reward points as bonus.

2. Secondly, in the plastic variant of the Diners Club Black card, there was a daily cap of 2500 reward points and a monthly cap of 7500 reward points for earning reward points on Smart Buy.

But in this Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card, you do not get any daily cap for earning reward points on SmartBuy, you only get a monthly cap here and that too has been increased from 7,500 reward points to 10,000 reward points. .

3. The third biggest difference seen between these two variants is that in the plastic variant, you had to spend Rs 5 lakh in a year to get this annual fee of Rs 10,000 waived off but now to get the same annual fee of Rs 10,000 waived off for this metal variant, you will have to spend Rs 8 lakh in a year.

↪ Now apart from this, a small difference between these variants is the welcome benefit in which you also get annual membership of Forbes in plastic variant and membership of Swiggy One for 3 months but in this metal variant, you do not get the membership of Forbes but in this you also get the annual membership of Swiggy One.

↪ Apart from this, one last difference between these two cards is that that card comes in plastic variant whereas this card is available in metal variant. This is the only difference between these two cards and these few changes make these two cards different.

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Our Opinion:

In this article, we have learned all the features and benefits of HDFC Bank’s Diners Club Black Metal Edition Credit Card and we have also compared all its features with its plastic variant. Now, considering the joining and annual fees of both these credit cards, their welcome benefits are quite less.

And one of the biggest drawbacks of this metal variant credit card is that you will have to spend ₹ 8 lakh in 1 year to get its annual fee waived off, in its plastic variant, the limit is Rs 5 lakh and you do not get any renewal benefit in this.

If we talk about Non spend Benefits then they are decent and same on both the cards. Now if we talk about returns, the Milestone benefit has been slightly improved. And along with this, by removing the cap on earning daily reward points of smart buy in this card, its monthly cap has also been increased and this is a positive change.

Now here we can say that this Diners Club Black Metal Credit Card is a slightly improved version of its plastic variant. If you are getting lifetime free plastic variant of this card and you feel that you will not be able to hit the milestone benefits of this metal card, then you can take its plastic variant. But if you are not getting its plastic variant lifetime free, then the metal variant of Diners Club Black Credit Card will be a good option for you.

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ALL articles on this website are written for informational purposes only, it does not have the intention of defaming any company or service. The information presented has been shared on the basis of its knowledge and experience. That's why before having full faith in the information, do research at your level.

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