HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card

HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card Features and Benefits

The Freedom Credit Card is one of the most basic HDFC Bank Credit Cards and is still desired by thousands of individuals who look for an affordable card with decent reward rates and features. It comes with great welcome and annual benefits along with a good reward rate. To understand all the features and benefits of the card in detail, refer to all the points mentioned below:

Welcome/Renewal benefit:

• You get 500 bonus Cash Points after successful payment of the joining fee.
• You also get 500 bonus CashPoints every year on card renewal.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver:

1% fuel surcharge is waived off at all filling stations across India for transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5,000 (max waiver capped at Rs. 250 per statement cycle).

Low-Interest Rate

• With the HDFC Bank Freedom Credit card, customers will be charged a low-interest rate of 0.99% per month only for the first 90 days from the card set-up date.
• This offer is only valid on retail and non-EMI transactions.
• After 90 days, the interest of 3.6% per month will be chargeable.

Spend Based Waiver

The renewal fee of Rs. 500 is waived off if you spend Rs. 50,000 or more in the previous anniversary year.

Reward Point Benefits of the HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card

• You get 1 Cash Point on every spent of Rs. 150.
• You get 5 Cash Points on every Rs. 150 spent on EMI purchases at merchant locations. You can earn a maximum of 2,500 Cash Points every month in this category.
• You get 10 Cash Points on every Rs. 150 spent on BigBasket, OYO, Swiggy, Uber, and BookMyShow. The maximum Cash Points under this category are capped at 2,500 Cash Points every month.

Reward redemption:

• The Reward Points earned on the HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card can be redeemed for cashback, products (from the HDFC product catalog), or hotel/flight bookings on Smartbuy.
• 1 Cash Point = Re. 0.15 for redemption against all the categories as mentioned above.
• You need a minimum of 500 Cash Points for redemption against cashback.
• You can pay only up to 50% of the transaction amount with Cash Points while booking flights/hotels on SmartBuy.

HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card Fees and Charges

• The joining and annual fee of the Freedom Card is Rs. 500 plus applicable taxes. The renewal fee is waived if the cardholder has spent Rs. 50,000 or more in the previous year.
• The interest rate on this credit card is 3.6% per month (0.99% per month as an introductory offer).
• The cash advance fee on the HDFC Freedom Card is 2.5% of the withdrawn amount or a minimum of Rs. 500.
• The foreign currency markup fee on this credit card is 3.5% per month.

HDFC Freedom Credit Card Eligibility Criteria:

In order to get approved for the HDFC Bank Freedom Card, the applicants need to fulfill certain eligibility criteria, which depend on several factors including their age, income, credit history, etc. The basic eligibility requirements for the HDFC Freedom Credit Card are mentioned below in the table:

Documents Required

The applicants also need to upload/submit a few necessary documents in order to apply for the HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card. A list of all the required documents is given below:

• Identity Proof: Aadhar Card, Voters Id, PAN Card, Passport, Driving License, etc,
• Address Proof: Aadhar Card, Passport, Voters’ Id, Utility bills, etc.
• Proof of income: Latest salary slips/bank statements or latest audited ITR.

How To Apply For The HDFC Freedom Credit Card?

The HDFC Bank provides its customers with the convenience to apply for a credit card online as well as offline. To apply offline, you can simply visit your nearest HDFc Bank branch and fill in the physical application form. Make sure to carry all the required documents with you in this case. However, if you want to apply online, you will have to follow a few simple steps as mentioned below:

• Visit the HDFC Bank’s official website.
• Under the Personal Banking section, click on Cards.
• Select Credit Cards.
• Now you will be redirected to the credit cards page of the bank where all the cards have been categorized under different sections.
• Under ‘other credit cards,’ choose the HDFC Freedom Credit Card and click on ‘Apply Now.’

Conclusion

Given its not-so-strict eligibility criteria, low membership fee and a decent reward rate across almost all categories of spends, the Freedom Credit Card by HDFC Bank can be considered a good pick for first-time cardholders. Another card that can be considered very similar to this one is the SimplySave Credit Card offered by SBI Card, which comes with a similar annual fee and features. If you love going out for movies or dine-outs, the Freedom Card would be a good choice for you as it earns you accelerated Reward Points on movies and exciting discounts on dining spends. All these benefits combined make it one of the best offerings in the entry-level segment. What do you think of HDFC Freedom Credit Card? Do let us know in the comments. And if you’re an existing cardholder, feel free to share your experience.