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India is the country with the most significant number of youths in it. These people are mostly the ones trying to step into the financial world. This is a perfect market for financial tools like credit cards. From the moment youngsters start earning and living away from their families, it is understandable that they sometimes go over budget, which may cause issues for them for the rest of the month.
Credit cards become very helpful in such situations, as they can provide you credit for your big-ticket purchases so you are never out of money. Initially, there are many types of cards one can opt for, but the American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card and HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Cards are the two most prevalent cards that we will look into.
As both these cards are from two different banks, the reasons they are popular are also uncommon to an extent. We can say that the American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card is the most popular and maybe influential because a multi-national brand itself curates it. The American Express has a great image in the market. At the same time, the HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card is popular because of its key features and benefits. There are several advantages that both credit cards have, different from one another.
Quick Comparison
Here is a comparison between both the cards –
| Basics | American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card | HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card |
| Joining Fee | Rs. 1,000 + GST | Rs. 1000 + GST |
| Renewal Fee | Rs. 4,500 + GST | Rs. 1000 + GST |
| Welcome | 4000 Membership RPs upon spending Rs. 15,000 | 1,000 bonus CashPoints |
| Interest Rate | 3.5% per month | 3.6% per month or 42.3% per annum |
| Rewards |
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| Dining |
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| Foreign Currency Markup | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Travel | N/A | N/A |
| Milestone |
|
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| Spend Based Waiver |
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| Rewards Redemption Fee | Rs. 250 | Rs. 99 |
American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card
The American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card offers excellent benefits and privileges to cardholders on their spending. This card gives you one membership reward point for every Rs. 50 spent on anything except for a few categories. There are other features as well, such as monthly milestones, entertainment, and fuel surcharge waivers.
Welcome Benefits
- 4000 membership RPs upon spending Rs. 15,000 within the initial 90 days.
Rewards
- One membership RP on every Rs. 50 spent.
- 2X membership rewards on all the spending using the Rewards Multiplier Portal.
- Accumulated rewards can be redeemed against a variety of products and different categories like travel, shopping, and much more.
- The RPs you earn under the AmEx 18 and 24 gold collection can be redeemed against E-vouchers from Taj, amazon, and statement cash as well.
Dining Benefits
- Up to 20% off with selected restaurants.
Milestone Benefits
- 1,000 bonus milestone RPs upon completing four transactions of Rs. 1,500 or more in a month.
- 1,000 membership RPs upon spending over Rs 20,000 in a month.
- 5000 membership RPs upon paying the 1st year renewal fee of Rs. 4,500.
Spend-Based Renewal and Joining Fee Waiver
- Upon spending more than Rs. 1,50,000 in a year, the renewal fee of Rs. 4,500 will be waived.
- 50% renewal fee waiver upon spending more than Rs. 90,000 and Rs. 1,49,999 in the previous year.
Fuel Benefits
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver applicable to all HPCL fuel stations (max transaction up to Rs. 5,000)
Fees and Charges
- Joining Fee / Renewal Fee = Rs. 1,000 + GST / Rs. 4,500 + GST
- Interest Rates = 3.5% per month
- Foreign Currency Markup = 3.5% on the transacted amount
- Cash Advance Charges = 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 250
- Reward Redemption Fee = Rs. 250
- Add-on Card Fee = Rs. 1,500 + GST
The American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card is a great card to start your journey towards financial freedom. This card can be considered an entry-level card by American Express. It is an advantageous card with decent reward rates and benefits.
HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card
The HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card explicitly targets the 90’s generation known as millennials. This is a basic or an entry-level card. Keeping the needs of target customers in mind, the card offers a great deal of benefits. Starting from 5% cashback on Amazon and many other known brands and 1% for the other brands. The features of this credit card are listed below in detail.
Welcome Benefits
- 1,000 bonus CashPoints upon realizing the joining fee.
Reward
- 5% cashback on online partnered merchants like Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Zomato, and Uber.
- 1% cashback on other online and offline spends.
- The CashPoints can be redeemed against the product catalog, flight/hotels on smart buy, cashback, and air miles.
Dining Benefits
- 20% discount with Swiggy Dineout.
Spend-Based Renewal Fee Waiver
- The annual fee will be waived upon spending a minimum of Rs. 1 Lakh in a year.
Fuel Benefits
- 1% fuel surcharge waived across all fuel stations in India
Fees and Charges
- Joining Fee / Renewal Fee = Rs. 1000 + GST
- Interest Rates = 3.6% per month or 42.3% per annum
- Foreign Currency Markup = 3.5% of the transacted amount
- Cash Withdrawal Fee = 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or Rs. 500, whichever is higher
- Rewards Redemption Fee = Rs. 99 on every request
All the rewards in the HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card are curated by keeping the needs of millennials in consideration. Such credit cards can also help them build a solid credit profile, which can be considered helpful.
Conclusion
Amex Membership Rewards® Credit Card and HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Cards are both very rewarding and pleasing. One thing to point out is if you are looking for lounge access, Millennia would be a better choice for you. Although after the recent devaluation of the Millennia Credit Card, you can either opt for one domestic lounge visit or Rs. 1,000 vouchers on spending Rs. 1 lakh each quarter.
However, if you are looking towards more rewards and milestone bonuses, a Membership rewards card would be great. Both the cards have their pros and cons; you will need to evaluate both of them based on your needs in the future.