ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card vs HDFC Infinia Credit Card: Which One is Better

When it comes to credit cards belonging to the super-premium category, you first need to understand that you should have a high income, an excellent credit score, and a good relationship with the bank. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, two of India’s most popular card issuers, offer a wide range of credit cards across different categories. The Infinia Credit Card and Emeralde Credit Card are the most premium offerings by HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank respectively. Both the cards are targeted at high net-worth individuals and offer some great rewards & benefits across different categories.

The annual fee of the two cards is also quite similar and so are their benefit. The only thing to keep in mind here is that HDFC Infinia is an invite-only credit card, however, the Emeralde Credit Card is available to apply online via the ICICI Bank’s website. Through this article, you can get a detailed comparison of the HDFC Infinia and ICICI Emeralde Credit Card. Continue reading for further information:

ICICI Emeralde Credit Card

The ICICI Emeralde Credit Card is the most premium card issued by ICICI Bank and is among the top premium cards in the Indian market. It comes with a joining fee of Rs. 12,000 + GST you can also choose the monthly fee plan of Rs. 1,000 per month. The fee is quite high, but it can be waived upon spending more than Rs. 15 lakhs in the preceding year. The Emeralde Card offers a good reward rate across different categories. Moreover, you can get so many exciting travel and lifestyle-related benefits that make your experiences extra luxurious and rewarding. The following are all the detailed benefits and features of ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card:

• • 4 Reward Points on every Rs. 100 spent on all your purchases using this card, except fuel.
  • The accumulated Reward Points are redeemable against various options, including cashback at a redemption rate of 1 RP = Re. 0.25.
  • You get unlimited complimentary access to international and domestic airport lounges.
  • The card also offers you a complimentary movie ticket worth up to Rs. 750 every time you book movies/events via BookMyShow. This offer can be availed 4 times every month.
  • The Emeralde cardholders can also enjoy up to 4 complimentary golf rounds/lessons every month on spending Rs. 50,000 or more in the previous month.
  • You get an air accident insurance cover worth Rs. 3 Crore.
  • Fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on all fuel transaction using this card.
  • The card comes with allow forex markup fee of 1.5% only.

• There is no cash advance fee associated with this card.

HDFC Infinia Metal Credit Card

HDFC Infinia Credit Card is probably the most popular credit card in the premium category in India. It is an invite-only credit card, i.e. you can get it only if you get invited by the issuer. It comes with an membership fee of Rs. 12,500 which is to be renewed every year, and can be waived on the basis of your total spends in the previous anniversary year. Talking about its rewards & benefits, it offers a decent reward rate and comes with a number of exclusive privileges across different categories. As a welcome benefit, the cardholders get complimentary Club Marriott membership that provides them with exciting deals and discount offers on dining & hotel booking spends. Apart from this, you get unlimited free lounge access worldwide and so many other travel benefits. All the features of the Infinia Credit Card are given below in detail:

• As a welcome benefit, the cardholders get 12,500 bonus Reward Points and a yearly membership to Club Marriott as a complimentary feature.
• The Infinia card offers a basic reward rate of 5 Reward Points on every Rs. 150 spent on retail purchases.
• Apart from this, you get 3x Reward points on rail tickets and Flipkart. On selected categories like bus flight/hotel bookings via Redbus, Cleartrip, and EaseMyTrip, you get 10x Reward Points.
• The Reward Points are to be redeemed against various options, which includes gift vouchers, shopping, flight/hotel bookings, cashback, airmiles, etc. where 1 RP = up to Re. 1. the monetary value of rewards varies for different options.
• You get unlimited complimentary domestic and international airport lounge access to primary as well as supplementary cardholders.
• The card comes with a low forex markup fee of 2% only.
• There is no cash advance fee associated with the HDFC bank’s Infinia Card.
• The card also offers unlimited complimentary golf rounds/lessons to its cardholders.
• You get a personal air accident cover worth Rs. 3 crores.
• The cardholders get up to 1% fuel surcharge waiver, capped at Rs. 1,000 per month.

Read More: HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card Vs ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card

Quick Comparison

With the help of the following table, you can compare the Infinia and the Emeralde Credit Card much more easily and decide which would be a better option for you:

Bottom Line

The HDFC Infinia, as well as the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card, is really great option if you want to have a card in the super-premium category. None of the two can be specified as better than the other. The most important thing here is having a good relationship with the bank. If you have a very good financial relationship with the HDFC or ICICI Bank, you can go with the respective credit cards by them. If you don’t have any prior relationship with them, you will have to build it if you want to get these cards. For Emeralde Card, you can first get another mid-level card from the ICICI Bank and after using it for a few months, you can request the card issuer to upgrade your card to the Emeralde one or you can directly apply for it. Though the option to apply is not available for the Infinia Credit Card, you can still get it by building up an great credit history and a strong relationship with your HDFC bank. So, just go through your spending behavior and your preferences first and decide which one you want to get. For any further doubts and queries, feel free to reach out to us on the comment section.