The economy is continuously changing, and so are the needs of the individuals. The best thing is that we are trying to upgrade our living style on a daily basis. However, to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, you might end up spending more than expected, leaving you with a minimum balance to survive on for the rest of the month. In such cases, credit cards can become your saver. To completely balance your income with the expenses, you can use cards like HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card and SBI Prime Credit Card. Such cards encourage your travelling and shopping capacity and allow you to save and earn rewards on your mandatory expenses.
These cards are two of the most popular cards because both of them are mid-level and have plenty of features to take advantage of. These cards are well-curated for travelling and shopping purposes, where you can enjoy hassle-free travel and excellent returns on shopping. Many added benefits will further accelerate the experience for you.
HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card
The HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card comes with various types of rewards like travel and luxury rewards. These benefits start with a welcome bonus reward points of 2,500, and you will also get 4 RPs on every Rs. 150 spent. Other added features are also commendable, which are mentioned in the following.
Features and Benefits
Welcome Benefits
- 2,500 RPs as a welcome bonus upon realising the joining fee.
Rewards
- 4 RPs on every Rs. 150 spent on retail.
- Accumulated rewards can be redeemed on Smartbuy or Netbanking portals at 1 RP = Rs. 0.35.
- Cashback at 1 RP = Rs. 0.20.
- For flight and hotel bookings, 1 RP = Rs. 0.5
- Airmiles conversion 1 RP = 0.5 Airmile.
Movie and Dining Benefits
- Up to 20% off on bill payments with Swiggy Dineout across 20k + restaurants.
Travel Benefits
- 12 complimentary domestic and international lounge access within the country.
- 6 complimentary lounge access outside the country.
Milestone Benefits
- 10,000 RPs upon spending over Rs. 5 Lakhs in a year.
- Additional 5,000 RPs upon spending over Rs. 8 Lakhs in a year.
Spend Based Waiver
- Renewal fee waiver upon spending Rs. 3 Lakhs in a year.
Fuel
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations on transactions between Rs. 400 to Rs. 5,000.
- Benefit max capped at Rs. 500 per month.
Fees and Charges
- Annual Fee = Rs. 2,500 + Taxes
- Interest Rate = 3.6% per month or 43.2% annually.
- Foreign Exchange Markup Fee = 2% of the transacted amount + Taxes.
- Cash Advance Fee = 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 500.
The HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card is a great card for people with regular travelling needs. The card also includes rewards for shopping purposes and has benefits in almost every category. You can save more on your every spending.
SBI Prime Credit Card
The SBI Prime Credit Card is a card well-curated for the needs of travelling and shopping. This credit card comes with an annual membership of Rs. 2,999, where you get to earn 2 RPs on every Rs. 100 spent. You can also get 10 RPs on every Rs. 100 paid for dining, groceries, etc. There are many other added features included in these cards, which are mentioned in the following.
Features And Benefits
Welcome Benefit
- Shopping/travel gift voucher worth Rs. 3,000 from brands like Bata/ Hush Puppies, Shoppers Stop, Aditya Birla Fashion, etc.
Rewards
- 10 RPs on every Rs. 100 spent on dining, groceries, departmental store, and movie.
- 2 RPs for every Rs. 100 spent on retail.
- 20 RPs on every Rs. 100 spent on your birthday.
- 1 RP = Rs. 0.25.
- Accumulated rewards can be settled against the card’s outstanding balance.
Travel Benefit
- Complimentary club Vistara silver membership, Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership and Tablet plus membership to access VIP Upgrades.
- 2 Complimentary domestic and 4 international airport lounge access in a year (max 2 per quarter).
- Up to 15% off on the finest rooms available at the Lalir and F&B hotels (MasterCard Variant).
- Up to 10% off on Hertz Card rental and 35% off on Avis Car Rentals (Visa Card Variant).
- Great benefits with over 900 extravagant hotels (only Visa)
Dining and Movies
- 5X RPs on every Rs. 100 spent on movies.
- 25% discount at partnered restaurants (AmEx variant)
Golf Benefits
- 4 complimentary rounds of green fees.
- 1 complimentary golf lesson a month.
- Up to 50% discount on golf games.
Milestone Benefits
- Upon spending Rs. 50,000 in a quarter, you will get a Pizza Hut e-voucher worth Rs. 1,000.
- E-voucher from Yatra or Pantaloon worth Rs. 7,000 upon spending Rs. 5 Lakhs in a year.
Spend Based Waiver
- Annual fee waived upon spending Rs. 3 Lakhs in a year.
Fuel
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver on all fuel transactions between Rs. 500 to Rs. 4,000 (max capped at Rs. 250 a month).
Fees and Charges
- Joining/Renewal Fee = Rs. 2,999 + GST
- Interest Rates = 3.5% per month or 42% per annum.
- Foreign Currency Markup = 3.5% of the transacted amount.
- Cash Advance Fee = 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 500.
The SBI Prime Credit Card is a mid-level card. This card is helpful to those who will be able to utilise the resources present in this card to their full extent. Such cards are an excellent fit for individuals with a lot of travelling and hotel stays to do.
Quick Comparison
Here is a quick comparison between the two credit cards –
| Basics | HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card | SBI Prime Credit Card |
| Joining Fee | Rs. 2,500 + Taxes | Rs. 2,999 + GST |
| Welcome Benefit | 2,500 RPs as a welcome bonus upon realising the joining fee | Shopping/travel gift vouchers worth Rs. 3,000 from brands like Bata/ Hush Puppies, Shoppers Stop, Aditya Birla Fashion, etc |
| Rewards | 4 RPs on every Rs. 150 spent on retail |
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| Reward Redemption |
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| Interest Rate | 3.6% per month or 43.2% annually | 3.5% per month or 42% per annum |
| Movie and Dining Benefits | Up to 20% off on bill payments with Swiggy Dineout across 20k restaurants |
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| Forex Markup Fee | 2% of the transacted amount + Taxes | 3.5% of the transacted amount |
| Travel Benefits |
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| Golf Benefits |
N/A |
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| Milestone Benefits |
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| Spend Based Waiver | Renewal fee waiver upon spending Rs. 3 Lakhs in a year | Renewal fee waiver upon spending Rs. 3 Lakhs in a year |
| Fuel | 1% fuel surcharge waiver | 1% fuel surcharge waiver |
| Cash Advance Fee | 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 500 | 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 500 |
Conclusion
The HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card and SBI Prime Credit Card are the most popular credit cards in the market. These cards hold great benefits and features like golf, milestone, spend-based, etc, apart from the primary advantages. If you are interested in golf features and have a heavy travelling duty within the country, you should get the SBI Prime card, but in case you travel out of the country more, then HDFC Bank Regalia would be a better fit.
