HDFC Infinia Credit Card vs YES Bank First Exclusive Credit Card

High net-worth individuals and wealthy businessmen prefer premium credit cards that are packed with features across most spend categories. The HDFC Infinia Metal Edition is one of such premium cards that is quite popular in the country. It has a high joining fee of Rs. 12,500 and offers various golf, dining, travel, and other benefits for your spends. The reward rate on the card is quite decent as well and you can redeem points against a host of different choices, including conversion to Airmiles.

Another premium offering in the market, the Yes Bank First Exclusive credit card charges a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 1999 plus taxes from customers. For those who live a luxury lifestyle and cannot compromise with it, the card offers complimentary domestic as well as international lounge access, forex markup fee of 1.75% which is the lowest in the industry, 24*7 concierge services, golf rounds, and more. Not just this, you even get insurance benefits, movie, and dining benefits with the card.

Keep reading our article to know more about what both these cards offer, their fees and charges, and how both the cards stack up against each other.

HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card

If you are searching for a premium credit card, then there are not many options better than the HDFC Infinia credit card out there. The card is an invite-only offering and is available to just a select few customers of the bank. Even though the joining fee of Rs. 12,500 is quite high, the features and benefits offered by the card are top-notch. The card is great for those who make spends in the foreign currency regularly, because it has a low forex markup fee of 2% of the amount.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits offered by the credit card –

Welcome Benefits

The cardholders get bonus 12,500 reward points on successfully paying the joining fee on the credit card. Moreover, the card offers complimentary Club Marriott membership for 1-year offering exclusive offers and discounts at Marriott hotels in the Asia Pacific region.

Travel Benefits

You get the following travel benefits with the card –

Complimentary lounge access

Unlimited domestic as well as international airport lounge access for both the primary and add-on cardholders with the Priority Pass membership.

Club Marriott membership

The membership offers up to 20% off on the best rates at Marriott hotels in India and discount on the best rates at Marriott hotels in the Asia Pacific region.

ITC Hotels Benefit

Get 1 complimentary night stay on booking a 2-night partner stay at the ITC Hotels. However, the offer is only available on advance booking.

Flight Bookings

Use the reward points earned by you on the SmartBuy portal to book hotel and flight tickets.

Dining and Movie Benefits

You get the following dining and movie benefits with the card –

• Up to 20% discount on food and beverages, and up to 15% discount for maximum 10 guests at Marriott hotels. You can even access spa services as well.
• Get 25% off at more than 2000 restaurants, 1+2 on drinks, 1+1 buffet at partner restaurants with the Good Food Trail program. Also, you get the Dineout Passport membership for a month.
• Get complimentary 1+1 on buffets at participating ITC hotels, once every month.

Golf Benefits

Get unlimited complimentary golf rounds at top courses around the world. The green fees, instructor fees, and the golf ball fees are paid for you.

Reward Rate

Earn 5 RPs per Rs. 150 spent with the card and up to 10x RPs on the SmartBuy platform. Rent payments, fuel spends, wallet reloads, government spends, etc. don’t earn reward points.

Reward Redemption

The points earned by you can be redeemed against hotel/flight bookings on SmartBuy, converted to Airmiles, products/vouchers, Tanishq/Apple vouchers, or cashback.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Get 1% fuel surcharge waiver on spends between Rs. 400 to Rs. 1000, with the maximum benefit capped at Rs. 1000 per month.

Insurance Benefits

The card offers the following benefits –

• Accidental air death – Rs. 3 Crores
• Medical emergency cover – Rs. 50 Lakhs
• Credit liability cover – Rs. 9 Lakhs
• Credit shield cover – Rs. 9 Lakhs

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the card –

• The card charges a joining fee of Rs. 12,500 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 1.99% per month and 23.8% per annum
• The card has a forex markup fee of 2% of the transaction amount
• The card does not charge any fee for cash withdrawal

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Yes Bank First Exclusive Credit Card

A high-end credit card by Yes Bank, the First Exclusive credit card comes at a joining fee of Rs. 1999 plus taxes. With this card, you get complimentary domestic as well as international lounge access, and other travel perks. The card has one of the lowest forex markup fees in the country with 1.75% of the total amount. Other key features of the card include complimentary golf rounds, 24×7 concierge service, Priority Pass, discount on movie tickets, and more.

Features and Benefits

The following are the features and benefits associated with the card –

Travel Benefits

The cardholder gets the following travel benefits –

• Exclusive travel offers through the Yes Privileges portal
• Complimentary 12 domestic lounge access at select airports in India, max 3 per quarter
• Priority Pass membership offering 6 international lounge access
• Reward Points can be converted to Airmiles of partner airlines

Reward Rate

• 6 RPs per Rs. 200 spent on Select categories and 12 RPs per Rs. 200 spent elsewhere
• 24 RPs per Rs. 200 spent on travel and dining, maximum capping at 5000 per month
• 1000 RPs bonus on registering for Yes PayNow registration

Reward Redemption

• Redeem the points earned by you against movie tickets, travel bookings, etc. at the Yes Rewardz portal.
• Convert RPs to partner airlines Airmiles

Dining and Movie Benefit

Get exciting dining offers through the Yes Privileges portal

Get 25% off on movie tickets booked via BookMyShow, maximum Rs. 250 discount per month

Insurance Benefits

The cardholder gets the following insurance benefits –

• Life cover – Rs. 3 Crore
• Medical emergency insurance cover – Rs. 50 Lakhs
• Credit Shield cover – Rs. 10 Lakhs

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

Fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs. 400 to Rs. 5000 at fuel outlets across the country, maximum benefit is capped at Rs. 1000 per month.

Fees and Charges

The following are the fees and charges associated with the credit card –

• The joining fee on the credit card is Rs. 1999 plus taxes
• The interest rate on the card is 2.99% per month
• The forex markup fee on the card is 1.75% of the transaction amount
• The cash advance fee on the card is 2.5% or Rs. 300 minimum

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HDFC Infinia Credit Card vs YES Bank First Exclusive Credit Card – Quick Comparison

The following table features a side-by-side comparison of both the credit cards.

Category	HDFC Infinia Credit Card	YES Bank First Exclusive Credit Card
Joining/Annual Fees	Rs. 12,500 plus taxes	Rs. 1999 plus taxes
Welcome Benefits	12,500 reward points and 1-year membership to Club Marriott	NA
Reward Earning Rate	5 RPs per Rs. 150 spent with the card	6 RPs per Rs. 200 spent on Select category 12 RPs per Rs. 200 spent on other spend categories 1000 RPs on YES PayNow registration
Reward Redemption	RPs can be redeemed against hotel/flight bookings, Airmiles, products and vouchers, Apple and Tanishq vouchers, and cashback.	RPs can be redeemed against flight/hotel/movie tickets. You can even convert reward points to Airmiles.
Travel Benefits	Complimentary Club Marriott membership Complimentary 2+1 night stay at ITC hotels Complimentary Priority Pass membership with unlimited access to airport lounges	12 complimentary domestic lounge access per year 6 complimentary international lounge access with Priority Pass
Dining/Movie Benefits	Dining benefits with the Good Food Trail program 1+1 complimentary buffet at participating ITC hotels	25% discount on BookMyShow movie ticket bookings Exclusive dining offers at the Yes Privileges portal
Golf Benefits	Unlimited complimentary golf rounds at select courses across India and abroad	4 complimentary golf rounds with green fees waived off 1 complimentary golf lesson per year
Renewal Fee Waiver	Renewal fee can be waived off on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs in the card anniversary year	Annual fee can be waived off on spending Rs. 75,000 in the first 3 months Renewal fee can be waived off on spending Rs. 4 Lakhs in the previous year
Forex Markup Fee	2% of the transaction amount	1.75% of the transaction amount

Bottom Line

For those looking for a premium credit card, both the HDFC Infinia and the Yes First Exclusive credit card are worth considering. There is a considerable difference in the annual and joining fee of both the cards as the First Exclusive card charges a joining fee of Rs. 1999 plus taxes and the Infinia comes at a joining fee of Rs. 12,500 plus taxes. No doubt, the Infinia offers more travel and lifestyle perks than the Yes First Exclusive card, but it is also an invite-only offering and not everyone can get this card.

Still, the reward rate on the Yes Exclusive card is great and the redemption options are also many. Also, other than complimentary domestic and international lounge access, and golf benefits, the card also has the best forex markup fee in the industry at 1.75% of the total transaction amount. Therefore, if you are invited for the Infinia, then you should definitely get it. If not, you can opt for the Yes Bank First Exclusive credit card without hesitation.