All cards / HDFC Bank
HDFC Millennia
HDFC Millennia is built for young, digitally-savvy spenders who shop heavily online — it pairs 5% CashPoints on 10 major e-commerce and app-based categories with 1% on nearly everything else, all redeemable at a flat 1:1 rupee value with no complicated conversion table. The ₹1,000 joining fee is fully waived once annual spend crosses ₹1 lakh, making it one of the more accessible reward cards for someone building their first credit card portfolio.
Annual fee
₹1,000
Joining fee
₹1,000
Reward type
cashback
Base reward rate
1%
Card network
Visa
Card tier
Entry
Who this card fits
Best suited to applicants with a credit score of roughly 700+ whose spend is concentrated in online shopping, groceries. Its annual fee waives if you can comfortably clear the spend threshold.
Rewards & benefits
- Rewards rate: 1% base rate
- Domestic lounge access: One complimentary domestic lounge access voucher per calendar quarter, unlocked only after ₹1,00,000 of spend in that quarter
Benefits by category
- ✈️ Travel
One airport lounge access voucher per calendar quarter, unlocked only after ₹1,00,000 of spend in that same quarter — offered as an alternative to a ₹1,000 milestone gift voucher, so cardholders effectively choose one or the other rather than getting both
- 🛍️ Shopping
5% reward rate (capped ₹1,000/monthly)
- 🌍 Forex / international spend
3.5% forex markup on international transactions
Eligibility
- Minimum credit score: 700
- Minimum monthly income: ₹35,000
- Employment: salaried, self-employed
- Age: 21–60
Fees & charges
- Spend-based waiver: Waived on annual spend of ₹1,00,000
- Rewards redemption fee: No fee — CashPoints redeem 1:1 as statement credit
- Foreign currency markup: 3.5%
- Interest rate: 41.88% p.a.
- Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waived on transactions between ₹400 and ₹1,00,000, capped at ₹250 per statement cycle
- Cash advance charges: 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or ₹500, whichever is higher; interest accrues from the date of withdrawal
Benefits
- 1,000 CashPoints (worth ₹1,000) credited on joining, redeemable against statement balance or for gift vouchers with partner brands
- One airport lounge access voucher per calendar quarter, unlocked only after ₹1,00,000 of spend in that same quarter — offered as an alternative to a ₹1,000 milestone gift voucher, so cardholders effectively choose one or the other rather than getting both
Pros
- + 5% CashPoints (accelerated cashback) on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Swiggy, Zomato, BookMyShow and other listed online merchants
- + 1% back on all other retail spend, so there's no category left earning nothing
- + Annual fee is fully waived on ₹1 lakh of yearly spend, an easy bar for regular users
- + CashPoints redeem 1:1 against the statement, avoiding the confusing point-value math of travel-point cards
- + Up to 50 interest-free days on purchases when the bill is paid in full each cycle
Cons
- − Monthly reward cap of ₹1,000 on the 5% merchants runs out well before ₹1 lakh of qualifying spend
- − Forex markup of 3.5% is on the higher side for anyone who travels or shops on foreign sites
- − The airport lounge perk is a quarterly voucher gated behind ₹1 lakh spend, not a standing complimentary benefit like on premium cards
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