SBI Elite Credit Card vs HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card

One of the premium offerings by SBI, the SBI Elite Credit Card offers some exciting rewards and benefits to the credit cardholders and some best-in-class value-added privileges that an individual might expect from a premium credit card which includes complimentary visits to the domestic and international airport lounges, golf benefits, insurance benefits, etc. The cardholders also get some amazing gift vouchers from renowned brands in the form of welcome benefits to this credit card. Additionally, the cardholders will also get accelerated reward points while the cardholders spend on some specific categories using this credit card. This credit card also provides movie and dining benefits with this credit card. The annual and renewal fee of Rs. 4,999, which though being on the higher side is justified because of the rewards and benefits that this credit card provides.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank Diners Black Club Credit Card is also a premium credit card by HDFC Bank that provide unmatched benefits to credit cardholders. This credit card offers a wide variety of value-added benefits to its members including complimentary golf benefits, access to international and domestic lounges, insurance benefits, etc. This credit card provides accelerated reward points while the customers shop on SmartBuy. Furthermore, the credit cardholders will get complimentary membership to prominent applications such as Amazon Prime, Zomato Gold, etc. For all the international transactions, a low foreign currency markup fee of 1.99% is charged on all international transactions done using this credit card. The joining and renewal fee of this credit card is quite high, i.e., Rs. 10,000 but is in sync with the features of this credit card.

Both the credit cards i.e., the SBI Elite Credit Card and the HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card are very premium credit cards and might look similar to each other in terms of the benefits and features that these credit cards provide but are different from each other as well. Following are the detailed features and benefits of the individual cards to better understand them.

SBI Elite Credit Card

An outstanding credit card by SBI, the ELITE Credit Card provides the cardholders with some exciting offers and deals which are hard to miss. This credit card is quite suitable for those who travel quite frequently as this credit card offers complimentary Club Vistara and Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership and complimentary access to domestic and international lounges. This credit card provides accelerated reward points on grocery and departmental store spends. Furthermore, the cardholders will also get free movie tickets and discounts on dining bills using this credit card. Following are the details of the features and benefits that come along with the SBI Elite Credit Card –

• As a welcome benefit to this credit card, the credit cardholders will get a gift voucher worth Rs. 5,000 from any one of the below-mentioned brands –

– Shoppers Stop, Aditya Birla Fashion, Pantaloons, Yatra, Hush Puppies, or Bata.

• For every Rs. 100 spent with this credit card, the cardholders are entitled to get 2 Reward Points.
• Accelerated 5x, i.e., 10 Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on grocery and departmental spends.
• As travel benefits to the SBI Elite Credit Card, the cardholders get complimentary Club Vistara Silver Membership and Trident Privilege Red Tier Membership.
• For the cardmembers who hold the MasterCard variant, they will get a 15% discount on the best available room rates on Lalit and F&B Hotels.
• The Visa variant credit cardholders will get up to 10% off on Hertz car rental and up to 35% off on Avis Car rentals and can also enjoy exclusive benefits across 900 luxury hotels.
• And the credit cardholders who own the American Express Variant of the SBI Elite Credit Card, they will get complimentary Tablet Plus Membership with access to VIP upgrades and privileges at hotels in India and abroad.
• The credit cardholders are entitled to get 2 complimentary domestic lounge access in a calendar quarter.
• In case of access to international airport lounges, the cardholders will get 6 complimentary visits with the Priority Pass Membership which is limited to 2 per quarter.
• With the American Express credit card variant, the cardholders will get up to a 25% discount on dining bills while dining at the partnered restaurants.
• The cardholders will get complimentary/ discounted movie tickets every month. The maximum benefit is capped at Rs. 6,000 per year and Rs. 250 per ticket. This offer is valid for at least 2 tickets per booking per month.
• With SBI Elite Credit Card, in the form of milestone benefits, the cardholders will get up to 50,000 bonus reward points upon achieving pre-defined spends in an annual year. The reward points will be granted in the following pattern-

– 10,000 bonus Reward Points on achieving spends of Rs. 3 Lakhs.
– 20,000 bonus Reward Points on achieving spends of Rs. 4 Lakhs.
– 35,000 bonus Reward Points on achieving spends of Rs. 5 Lakhs.
– 50,000 bonus Reward Points on achieving spends of Rs. 8 Lakhs.

• For the MasterCard variant holders, the members will get up to a 50% discount on golf games and 1 complimentary lesson in a month at the selected golf courses in India. Along with this, you will also get 4 complimentary green fees access at selected golf courses in India.
• This credit card offers an exclusive feature of a low mark-up fee of 1.99% on the amount spent on foreign transactions. This will help the cardholders save a lot on their foreign spends.
• The cardholders will get a 1 % fuel surcharge waiver on all fuel transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 4,000 at all fuel stations in India. The maximum waiver that a cardholder can get is capped at Rs. 250 in a month.
• You also get 24×7 concierge service for assistance related to flower delivery, online doctor consultation, and gift delivery.
• This credit card comes with a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 4,999. The renewal fee on this credit card can be waived off if the cardholder is successfully able to spend an amount exceeding Rs. 10 Lakhs in an anniversary year.
• The reward points that the credit cardholders will earn with SBI Elite Credit Card can be redeemed against a variety of products and vouchers present on www.sbicard.com.
• The reward points can also be redeemed against the statement balance of the credit card.
• For the purpose of redemption, 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25

HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card

A super-premium credit card by HDFC Bank, the HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card is a high-end credit card providing top-notch services and benefits to its members. This credit card provides the best services that one would expect after paying a joining fee of Rs. 10,000. With this credit card, the cardholders will get reward points on almost all spends done using this credit card. Additionally, the cardholders will also get exciting deals across all categories starting from dining to travel to insurance. This card will be quite suitable for those who spend a considerable amount of their earnings on Zomato, Ola, Amazon Prime, etc. Keep reading the article to know more about this credit card in detail –

• The cardholders will get complimentary annual memberships of Amazon Prime, Club Marriott, Forbes, Zomato Gold, MMTDOUBLEBLACK, and Times Prime as a welcome benefit to this credit card.
• The cardholders will be able to avail the above-mentioned memberships only if he is able to fulfill either of the following two conditions :

– Either on spending 1.5 lakhs within the first 90 days of card issuance, or
– Once the card member has paid the joining fee on the credit card.

• You get accelerated 10x Reward Points while spending on the SmartBuy portal.
• 2x Reward Points while you spending on weekend dining using this credit card.
• 5 Reward Points for every Rs. 150 spent on all spends (except fuel) using this credit card.
• The maximum reward points that a cardholder can earn on insurance-related spends are capped at 5,000 points in a day.
• With this credit card, the cardholders will get unlimited access to the domestic and international airport lounges which is a great feature for those credit cardholders who are very frequent travelers.
• Being a premium credit card, this card offers 6 complimentary golf games every quarter to the cardholders at the most premium golf destinations in across the globe.
• As a milestone benefit, all the memberships that are provided to you as a welcome benefit will be renewed if the cardholders spends an amount of more than Rs. 8 Lakhs in an anniversary year.
• Also, if the cardholder is able to spend Rs. 80,000 or more using his credit card in a month, he is eligible for any 1 of the below-mentioned gift vouchers –

– A gift voucher worth Rs. 500 from Ola Select, Cure.fit live, BookMyShow, and Tata Cliq.

• You are entitled to a fuel surcharge waiver of 1% on all fuel transactions above Rs. 400 at all fuel stations across India. The maximum fuel surcharge waiver is capped at Rs. 1,000.
• Another great benefit for international travelers is that they will be charged with just 1.99% as a foreign currency mark-up fee on the international transactions that they perform through this credit card. This rate is quite less as compared to the rate of 3.5% on other credit cards in the market.
• This credit card also offers you various travel benefits –

• The cardholders have to pay a joining and renewal fee of Rs. 10,000 on the HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card.
• The renewal fee of Rs. 10,000 of this credit card can be waived if the cardholder spends an amount equal to or more than Rs. 10 Lakhs in an anniversary year.
• The reward points earned with this credit card can be redeemed as follows –

Quick Comparison

Now that we have discussed about the features of both the cards individually, let us now have a quick comparison between SBI Elite Credit Card and HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card-

Basis	SBI Elite Credit Card	HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card
Reward Rate	2 RP for every Rs. 100 spent. 5x RP for every Rs. 100 spent on grocery and departmental stores	5 RP for every Rs. 150 spent. 2x on dining spends. 10x on SmartBuy portal
Reward Redemption	Can be redeemed against products and vouchers available at www.sbicard.com. Can be redeemed against card’s outstanding balance. 1 RP = Rs. 0.25	Can be redeemed against Flight/Hotels on SmartBuy, Airmiles, Product Catalogue, and Cashback.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver	1% on a transaction between Rs. 500 and Rs. 4,000. Maximum waiver capped at Rs. 250 per statement cycle.	1% on a minimum transaction of Rs. 400. Maximum surcharge = Rs. 1,000 per statement cycle.
Milestone Benefit	10,000 RP on achieving spends of Rs. 3 Lakhs. 20,000 RP on achieving spends of Rs. 4 Lakhs. 35,000 RP on achieving spends of Rs. 5 Lakhs. 50,000 RP on achieving spends of Rs. 8 Lakhs.	Renewal of subscriptions under Welcome Benefits on spending Rs. 8 Lakhs in an anniversary year. Any two of Ola Select, a cure.fit Live, BookMyShow, and TATA CLiQ (worth Rs. 500 each) on monthly spends of Rs. 80,000.
Domestic Lounge Access	2 complimentary domestic lounge access.	Unlimited domestic lounge access.
International Lounge Access	6 complimentary international lounge access, limited to 2 per quarter.	Unlimited international access.
Golf Benefits	4 rounds of complimentary green fees access. Up to 50% off on golf games. 1 complimentary lesson per month (This benefit is available only to MasterCard Variant holders)	6 complimentary golf rounds in a quarter at the finest golf courses around the world.
Movie Benefits	Get free movie tickets every month (max benefit capped at Rs. 6,000 per year and Rs. 250 per ticket, offer valid for at least 2 tickets per booking per month)	NA
Dining Benefits	25% off on dining bills at partnered restaurants. This benefit is applicable only to American Express Variant holders.	2x Reward Points on weekend dining Complimentary annual membership of Zomato Gold.
Joining Fee	Rs. 4,999 + Taxes	Rs. 10,000 + Taxes
Renewal Fees	Rs. 4,999 + Taxes (Can be waived off on spending Rs. 10 Lakhs or more in the previous year.)	Rs. 10,000 + Taxes (Can be waived off on spending Rs. 5 Lakh or more in the previous year.)
Eligibility	The applicant should be a resident of India. Issued to both salaried individuals between the age of 18 years to 65 years. Issued to self-employed individuals between the age of 21 years to 60 years. The income of both the salaried and self-employed individuals should be above Rs. 60,000 in a month.	The applicant should be a resident of India. Issued to both salaried individuals between the age of 21 years to 60 years. Issued to self-employed individuals between the 21 years to 65 years. The income of the salaried individual should be Rs. 1.75 Lakhs or more in a month. The annual income of self-employed individuals should be Rs. 21 Lakhs or more.

Bottom Line

SBI Elite Credit Card is a premium credit card that not only offers great reward points but also offers great benefits to frequent flyers such as complimentary access to international and domestic airport lounges and a low foreign mark-up fee of 1.99% on all international spends. Also, this card offers high reward points on some particular categories such as grocery and departmental store spends. This credit card is affordable for those people who have a quite high source of income and they spend a good amount of their income on travel and shopping-related spends. On the other hand, the HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card is a high-end credit card that offers amazing features across all categories.

The membership fee of this credit card is quite high but is justified for those people who earn quite well and travel quite often as this credit card provides unlimited complimentary access to the international and domestic airport lounges. Along with this, it also charges a low foreign currency mark-up fee of 1.99% on all international transactions which helps a cardholder to save a lot. Both the credit cards provide some great features and benefits but both of the cards come with differential joining ad renewal fees. The cardholder should analyze his income and spending pattern and then choose among the two after having a detailed knowledge of deals that both the credit cards offer.

Also Check: SBI Card Elite vs Prime Credit Card

For any more queries related to these cards, please feel free to ask us in the comment section below!