Like i told you in the recent Axis Ace card devaluation. 2024 is going to be devaulation year in which almost all bank coming one by one with huge devaluation on credit card benefits. So why IDFC will left behind? IDFC First Bank Credit card devaluation 2024 is here and all credit IDFC credit cards are affected. Lets deep dive and understand what changes is going to effective from 1st May 2024.
What changes comes under IDFC First Bank Credit Card Devaluation
As per 1st April 2024 Notification. The Devaluation: Effective from May 1st, 2024, aggregate utility spends above ₹20,000 in a statement cycle will incur an extra 1% surcharge. In simple words if your total utility bill payment is less than Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle, you won’t be charged anything extra. However, if you want to spend more than Rs. 20,000 in total on utilities in a statement cycle, you’ll be charged an additional 1% on the total utility spends.
So it’s clear that many people were already using personal credit cards for business/commercial utilities payments and thus bank notices this and now have restrictions. Still, I will say Rs.20000 for personal utility bill payment is good enough for most of card users. and for that no extra surcharge.
Kindly note that #Utility surcharges do not apply to the FIRST Private Credit Card, LIC Classic Credit Card, and LIC Select Credit Card.
My thoughts: After rent payment, imposing a surcharge on utility spends is becoming a trend among all credit card company. Don’t be surprised to see all banks are going to follow this option to reduce business/commercial spends on personal credit cards. Actually, this is a much better step if we compare it with recent Yes Bank’s approach. Allowing Rs. 20,000 per statement cycle on utility spends without any fees is a very good cap for most credit card holders. I believe this is the right way to tackle business spenders who pay factory/business utility bills using their personal credit cards.
Reward and Product Feature Changes
IDFC First Millennia Credit Card:
Reward Points:
- Reward points on online spends for up to Rs.20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
- You will continue to earn 10X Reward Points on incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 per month.
- Reward points on Education, Wallet loading and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
- 3X = 3 Reward point per ₹150 spent.
Reward Rate:
- 1X Category: 0.17%
- 3X Category: 0.50%
- 10X Category: 1.67%
IDFC First Classic Credit Card:
Reward Points:
- Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
- You will continue to earn 10X Reward Points on incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 per month.
- Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
- 3X = 3 Reward point per ₹150 spent
Reward Rate:
- 1X Category: 0.17%
- 3X Category: 0.50%
- 10X Category: 1.67%
IDFC First Select Credit Card:
Reward Points:
- Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
- Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation.
- 3X = 3 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent
Reward Rate:
- 1X Category: 0.17%
- 3X Category: 0.50%
- 10X Category: 1.67%
Buy One Get One Free Movie Offer:
Discount per ticket will be revised up to Rs.125 off twice per month. (Earlier it was Rs.250 twice per month)
Airport Lounge Access:
Total number of visits will be revised to 2 per quarter.
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Wealth Credit Card:
Reward Points:
- Reward points on online spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a statement cycle will be revised to 3X (Earlier it was 6X).
- Reward points on Education, Wallet load and Government services transactions will be revised to 3X. These transactions will no longer be part of 10X threshold calculation
- 3X = 3 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent
Reward Rate:
- 1X Category: 0.17%
- 3X Category: 0.50%
- 10X Category: 1.67%
Buy One Get One Free Movie Offer:
Discount per ticket will be revised up to Rs.250 off twice per month. (Earlier it was Rs.500 twice per month)
Airport Lounge & Spa Access:
- Total number of visits will continue to be 4 per quarter
- Domestic airport lounges & spas visits will be capped to 2 per quarter
- International airport lounges visits will be capped to 2 per quarter
- Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge & spa benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Club Vistara Credit Card:
Airport Lounge Access:
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
IDFC First Power Credit Card:
Fuel Rewards:
21X Reward Points on HPCL Fuel up to 700 Reward Points (= ₹175) in a statement cycle
Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
Not Applicable (Equivalent Reward Points included in the Fuel Rewards category)
UPI Rewards:
UPI transactions will earn 2X Reward Points across all categories. [Excluding Fuel, Insurance, EMI]. There is no capping on UPI Reward Points.
IDFC First Power Plus Credit Card:
Fuel Rewards:
30X Reward Points on HPCL Fuel up to 2400 Reward Points (= ₹600) in a statement cycle
Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
Not Applicable (Equivalent Reward Points included in the Fuel Rewards category)
UPI Rewards:
UPI transactions will earn 3X Reward Points across all categories. [Excluding Fuel, Insurance, EMI]. There is no capping on UPI Reward Points.
Airport Lounge Access:
Spend minimum Rs. 20,000 in a calendar month to activate lounge benefits for next calendar month.
Changes That Applicable On All IDFC First bank Credit Cards Except IDFC First Private Credit Card:
Rent and Property Management Fee:
- 1% surcharge of transaction value will remain the same
- It will be subject to a minimum fees of Rs. 249 per transaction.
Fair usage on Utility Spends:
- 1X Reward Points on Utility spends will remain the same
- 1% of transaction value will be levied as Utility fee on Business/commercial usage.
- Commercial usage is defined as aggregate Utility spends is more than Rs.20,000 in a billing cycle
Example 1: Utility spends of Rs. 15,000 in a statement cycle will not attract a fee as it is below the threshold
Example 2: Utility spends of Rs. 30,000 in a statement cycle will attract a fee of Rs. 300 (1% fee) + 18% GST
This is a significant devaluation for IDFC First Bank Select & Wealth credit card holders. Now, after this April 2024 devaluation, a Select or Wealth card holder will earn the same reward as a Millennia or Classic card holder. Earlier, IDFC First Wealth card was offering the highest reward, followed by IDFC First Select. However, after May 1st, 2024, all IDFC First Lifetime free cards will earn the same reward. This is a somewhat very bad step in my opinion as now hardly any difference between basic and semi premium IDFC cards. Premium cards should earn more rewards than the bank’s basic cards which should be the standard rule.
Almost all banks are now requiring their customers to spend a minimum amount before they get free airport lounge access. Well, IDFC First Bank is no different. Earlier, they were asking customers to spend just Rs. 5000 per month. Now, they are asking them to spend Rs.20000 per month to get free lounge access. This still seems like a decent requirement, in my opinion, considering that nowadays some banks have started asking their customers to spend almost Rs.1 lakh to get free lounge access which is just nonsense.
Overall, it’s a significant devaluation, especially for IDFC First Bank Select & Wealth Credit Card holders.
