SC Ultimate vs HDFC Regalia Gold 2026: Which Premium Card Wins?

Standard Chartered Ultimate and HDFC Regalia Gold both ask for ₹1,50,000 a month in income, and both sell themselves on travel perks. They get there differently. Ultimate leans on a high flat reward rate, generous lounge access and golf. Regalia Gold leans on milestone vouchers, a lower fee that is easy to waive, and a long list of lifestyle extras. If you spend heavily and want points, Ultimate may earn more. If you want a cheaper card with a stack of vouchers, Regalia Gold is the safer pick.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	SC Ultimate	HDFC Regalia Gold
Network	Mastercard	Visa
Joining fee	₹5,000	₹2,500
Annual fee	₹5,000	₹2,500
Fee waiver	None published	₹4,00,000/year
Base reward rate	5 points per ₹150 (3.33%)	5 points per ₹200 (1.25%)
Point value in our data	25 paise (but see note below)	50 paise on SmartBuy flights/hotels
Forex markup	2%	2%
Domestic lounge	4 visits per quarter	3 visits per quarter, needs ₹60,000 spend in prior quarter
International lounge	1 Priority Pass visit a month, needs ₹20,000 spend in prior month	6 visits a year via Priority Pass
Golf	1 game and 1 lesson a month	Not listed
Min monthly income	₹1,50,000	₹1,50,000

Figures come from BestCard's card data, last checked on 24 October 2026. Issuers change terms often, so confirm on the bank's page before applying.

How the rewards actually work

Standard Chartered Ultimate

Standard Chartered Ultimate earns 5 points per ₹150 on everything, with no category to chase. Our data lists the rate as 3.33%, but there is a catch. The same record puts a point at 25 paise, which would make the real return about 0.83%, while the welcome bonus line values 6,000 points at ₹6,000, which implies ₹1 a point. These two do not agree, so treat 3.33% as the best case and 0.83% as the cautious case until you confirm the redemption value with the bank. The worked examples below show both. The data also lists 2% on utilities, which is below the flat rate, so there is no reason to treat utilities as a bonus category.

HDFC Regalia Gold

HDFC Regalia Gold earns 5 Reward Points per ₹200 since 15 May 2026. Redeemed for flights or hotels on SmartBuy at 50 paise, that is 1.25%. The Gold catalogue values points at 65 paise (about 1.6%), air miles convert at up to 0.5 miles a point, and statement credit pays up to 20 paise a point. Points are 5X at Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital and Marks & Spencer, capped at 5,000 bonus points a month. Grocery points are capped at 2,000 a month. Our data also lists 2.5% on travel.

Worked example 1: ₹75,000 a month

Annual spend ₹9 lakh, spread across ordinary categories with no heavy use of Regalia Gold's 5X merchants.

SC Ultimate

• 5 points per ₹150 on ₹9,00,000 = 30,000 points
• Best case at ₹1 a point: ₹30,000. Cautious case at 25 paise: ₹7,500
• Less ₹5,000 fee
• Net: ₹25,000 (best case) or ₹2,500 (cautious)

HDFC Regalia Gold

• 1.25% × ₹9,00,000 = ₹11,250
• Milestone flight vouchers: ₹5,000 at ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 at ₹7.5 lakh = ₹10,000
• Quarterly Myntra/Nykaa voucher: ₹2,25,000 a quarter clears ₹1.5 lakh, so 4 × ₹1,500 = ₹6,000
• Fee waived (₹9 lakh is above ₹4 lakh)
• Total: ₹27,250

Regalia Gold wins or ties unless Ultimate's points are really worth ₹1 each. Remember that milestone items are vouchers, not cash.

Worked example 2: ₹2,00,000 a month

Annual spend ₹24 lakh.

SC Ultimate

• 5 points per ₹150 on ₹24,00,000 = 80,000 points
• Best case: ₹80,000. Cautious case: ₹20,000
• Less ₹5,000 fee
• Net: ₹75,000 (best case) or ₹15,000 (cautious)

HDFC Regalia Gold

• 1.25% × ₹24,00,000 = ₹30,000
• Flight vouchers: ₹10,000 (the yearly maximum)
• Quarterly vouchers: ₹6,000
• Fee waived
• Total: ₹46,000

At this level Ultimate's flat rate starts to show. Even in the cautious case it trails by about ₹31,000, but in the best case it leads by about ₹29,000. The whole comparison turns on the redemption value, so ask before you apply. Our guide to redeeming credit card reward points explains why that number matters.

Lounge access and travel

Ultimate is the more flexible lounge card. It lists 4 domestic visits per quarter with no spend condition, which is 16 a year, plus up to 12 international Priority Pass visits a year if you meet the ₹20,000 prior-month spend each time. Regalia Gold gives 3 domestic visits a quarter (12 a year), but only if you spent ₹60,000 in the preceding quarter, so a new cardholder gets none in the first quarter. It offers 6 international visits a year.

Ultimate also adds a free golf game and coaching session each month at select domestic courses, a 24-hour concierge, ₹1 crore of air accident cover and USD 25,000 of overseas medical cover. Regalia Gold adds Boarding Edge, which lets you choose 2 perks a quarter (spa visit, Uber airport transfer, hotel dining or a room upgrade) after you upload a boarding pass on SmartBuy. Forex markup is 2% on both, so neither wins abroad on cost. For wider options see our best travel credit cards with lounge access.

Fees and waivers

Regalia Gold costs ₹2,500 and drops to nothing at ₹4 lakh of annual spend, about ₹33,300 a month. Ultimate costs ₹5,000 every year and our data lists no waiver, so you should expect to pay it. Ultimate's welcome bonus of 6,000 points (₹1,500 to ₹6,000 depending on value) is the only year-one offset listed. Regalia Gold's welcome perk is Swiggy One and MakeMyTrip Black Gold memberships if you spend ₹1 lakh in the first 90 days.

Who should pick which

Choose SC Ultimate if:

• You spend ₹1.5 lakh or more a month and want one flat rate on everything
• You fly often enough to use 4 domestic lounge visits every quarter
• You play golf and will use the monthly game and lesson
• You have confirmed the point value is close to ₹1

Choose HDFC Regalia Gold if:

• You want a fee you can waive at ₹4 lakh of spend
• You value flight and shopping vouchers at the ₹5 lakh and ₹7.5 lakh milestones
• You shop at Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital or Marks & Spencer
• You can reliably spend ₹60,000 a quarter to keep domestic lounge access

Verdict

For most people in this income bracket, HDFC Regalia Gold is the lower-risk choice: cheaper, waivable and full of milestone value. Standard Chartered Ultimate can earn far more on pure points if each point is worth ₹1, but it has a ₹5,000 fee that never goes away and a point value our data cannot settle. Pick Ultimate only after you have checked how the bank values its points.

Read our Standard Chartered Ultimate review and HDFC Regalia Gold review for more detail. You may also like HDFC Regalia Gold vs Axis Magnus and our guide to super-premium credit cards in India. To check either card against others, use BestCard's compare tool.