HDFC Regalia Credit Card Review

At a Glance

Joining Fee	₹2,500 + GST (₹2,950 all in)
Annual Fee	₹2,500 + GST, waived on spends of ₹3 lakh in the year
Best Suited For	Existing holders who spend ₹5 lakh a year and redeem through SmartBuy
Reward Type	Reward Points, worth up to ₹0.50 on flights and hotels and ₹0.15 as cashback

HDFC Bank’s own Regalia page now opens with one line saying that sourcing of this card has stopped and existing customers keep their benefits.

That makes this a review for people who already carry the card, and the question is simple: is a ₹2,950 card still worth keeping once HDFC cut its earn rate on 15 May 2026?

The card now pays 4 Reward Points per ₹200 instead of per ₹150. Whether that is a good deal depends almost entirely on one thing, which is where you redeem the points.

Through SmartBuy a point is worth ₹0.50. As cashback it is worth ₹0.15, and that gap is the whole story of this card.

Rewards & Benefits

Reward rate and earn structure

Spend category	Earn rate	Cap
Retail spends	4 Reward Points per ₹200	50,000 Reward Points per statement cycle
Flights, hotels and vouchers via SmartBuy	Up to 5X Reward Points	Subject to the SmartBuy offer terms
Grocery	4 Reward Points per ₹200	2,000 Reward Points per calendar month
Insurance	4 Reward Points per ₹200	2,000 Reward Points per calendar month
Fuel, rent, government payments, wallet loads, EasyEMI	No Reward Points	Not applicable

Points post only in whole multiples of ₹200, so a ₹390 purchase earns on ₹200 and the other ₹190 earns nothing.

Points expire two years after they are earned, and the whole balance is nullified if the card goes unused for 365 days.

Redemption and point value

Redeem for	Value of 1 point	Return on spend
Flights and hotels on SmartBuy	₹0.50	1.00%
Products and vouchers	Up to ₹0.35	0.70%
Airmiles	Up to 0.5 airmile	Depends on partner
Cashback	Up to ₹0.15	0.30%

The arithmetic is short. Four points per ₹200 is 2 points per ₹100. At ₹0.50 that returns ₹1 on every ₹100, so ₹1,00,000 of spending gives ₹1,000 of travel value.

At the cashback rate the same spend gives ₹300. Flight and hotel redemption on SmartBuy covers up to 70 percent of the booking and is capped at 50,000 points a calendar month, and statement-balance redemption is capped at 50,000 points a month.

Welcome and milestone benefits

HDFC credits 2,500 Reward Points as a welcome benefit and another 2,500 on renewal, but the renewal points apply only after the fee is actually paid, not when it is waived.

The annual spend milestones are the bigger prize: 10,000 Reward Points on spends of ₹5 lakh in your anniversary year, with another 5,000 when you reach ₹8 lakh, so 15,000 in total.

At ₹5 lakh you earn 10,000 base points plus 10,000 bonus, 20,000 in all, worth ₹10,000 on SmartBuy and a real 2% return.

Travel, dining and lounge access

Benefit	Allowance
Domestic lounge access	Up to 2 vouchers every quarter, for self and add-on, on spends of ₹1 lakh in that calendar quarter
International lounge access	Up to 6 Priority Pass visits a year, after the card has been used 4 times
Extra Priority Pass visits	US $27 + GST per visit
Dining	Up to 7.5% off partner restaurants via Swiggy Dineout
Accidental air death cover	₹1 crore
Emergency overseas hospitalisation	Up to ₹15 lakh
Lost card liability	Up to ₹9 lakh

Fees & Charges

Charge	Amount
Joining and annual fee	₹2,500 + GST
Annual fee waiver	Spends of ₹3 lakh a year
Foreign currency markup	3.5%
Interest on revolving credit	3.75% a month, 45% a year
Cash advance fee	2.5% or ₹500, whichever is higher
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% on fuel of ₹400 to ₹5,000, capped at ₹500 per cycle
Late payment	₹100 to ₹1,300 + GST by outstanding balance, nil up to ₹100
Over limit	2.5% of the excess, minimum ₹550, with consent
Replacement card	₹199

To clear the waiver, spend about ₹25,000 a month. If you are already close to the ₹5 lakh milestone that is automatic, and it is the reason most holders should keep the card.

The charge that catches people out is the markup on rupee transactions. Since 15 May 2026 HDFC levies 1.75% on in-store or online purchases in Indian rupees at an overseas location or with an Indian merchant registered abroad.

Pay in rupees when a foreign site offers the choice and you may still lose money. HDFC’s product page says the foreign markup is 3.5%, which matches its terms document.

Eligibility & Documents Required

There is no eligibility test left to pass, because HDFC no longer accepts applications for the Regalia.

Existing cardholders keep it for as long as they use it. If the bank asks for paperwork on an upgrade or a variant change, expect the usual set: PAN, Aadhaar or another address proof, and recent salary slips or your latest income tax return.

HDFC does not publish a minimum income for this card on its own page.

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
₹0.50 a point on flights and hotels	Closed to new applicants
Up to 15,000 bonus points a year on ₹8 lakh	Cashback value is only ₹0.15 a point
Lounge vouchers plus 6 Priority Pass visits	3.5% forex markup and a 2% base return at best
₹1 crore air accident cover	Grocery and insurance points capped at 2,000 a month

Regalia vs Competitors

The nearest sibling is the cheaper Regalia First Credit Card, which costs ₹1,000 plus GST and earns 3 points per ₹200 but has no lounge allowance listed.

Inside HDFC, the Regalia Gold sits one step up at ₹2,500 and a ₹4 lakh waiver and earns 5 points per ₹200 after the same accrual change.

Outside HDFC, the Cashback SBI Card pays one flat rate online and asks nothing of your redemption habits, which suits anyone who finds SmartBuy a chore.

How to Apply

You cannot apply for this card any more. If you hold it, keep transacting so the six-month inactivity rule does not trigger, and track your anniversary-year spend so you either clear ₹3 lakh for the waiver or decide to let it go.

To move to a card HDFC still sells, log in to NetBanking, open the Cards tab and look for the upgrade option, or use the MyCards portal. HDFC’s credit card pages list the cards that are currently open for applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the HDFC Regalia Credit Card still available?
No. HDFC Bank has stopped sourcing it and says so on the product page. Existing cardholders continue to earn and redeem on the same terms.

Is the Regalia annual fee waived?
Yes, on spends of ₹3 lakh in the year. Below that you pay ₹2,500 plus GST, which is ₹2,950 all in.

How many lounge visits does the Regalia give?
Up to 2 domestic lounge vouchers every quarter on spends of ₹1 lakh in that quarter. Overseas you get up to 6 Priority Pass visits a year once you have used the card 4 times.

How many points does the Regalia earn?
4 Reward Points per ₹200, capped at 50,000 points per statement cycle. Grocery and insurance each stop at 2,000 points a month.

What is a Regalia Reward Point worth?
₹0.50 on flights and hotels via SmartBuy, up to ₹0.35 on products and vouchers and up to ₹0.15 as cashback.

What is the forex markup on the Regalia?
3.5% on foreign currency spends. Rupee purchases at overseas merchants carry a separate 1.75% charge since 15 May 2026.

Bottom Line

Keep the Regalia if you spend ₹5 lakh or more a year and put your points into SmartBuy flights and hotels.

That combination turns a ₹2,950 card into roughly a 2% travel return with lounge access, and the fee is waived well before you get there.

Let it go if you spend under ₹3 lakh a year, redeem for cashback, or travel abroad often. At ₹0.15 a point the return is 0.30%, and the 3.5% forex markup is hard to justify. Anyone who needs a card to apply for today should start with HDFC’s live range instead.