Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card: Lifetime free for a limited time – Should you apply?

Are you a foodie who enjoys dining out or ordering food at home? If yes, would you like to get 10% cashback on your food expenses? The Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card can help you save up to Rs. 42,000 annually. What are the features and benefits of this card, eligibility, fees, and how does it compare with other similar cards? Let us understand.

Features and benefits

The Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card is a co-branded credit card offered by HDFC Bank in collaboration with Swiggy. The card provides the following benefits:

1. Swiggy application

10% cashback on orders placed through the Swiggy application. The cashback applies to food ordering, Instamart, Dineout, and Genie. The spends on Swiggy Liquor, Swiggy Minis, and Swiggy Money Wallet are excluded. The 10% cashback has a capping of Rs. 1,500 per billing cycle. Thus, you can earn a maximum cashback of Rs. 18,000 in a year under this category.

2. Online purchases

5% cashback on online spends on specified categories. These include:

1. Apparels
2. Department store
3. Electronics
4. Entertainment
5. Home décor
6. Pharmacies
7. Personal care
8. Local cabs
9. Online pet stores
10. Discount stores (Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho, Ajio, etc.)

The 5% cashback is limited to selected merchants mapped under merchant category codes (MCCs) for the above categories. For the list of the MCCs related to the above categories, refer to the HDFC Bank website. Gift cards and groceries purchased on the 5% eligible merchants and MCCs will not earn any cashback.

The 5% cashback has a capping of Rs. 1,500 per billing cycle. Thus, you can earn a maximum cashback of Rs. 18,000 in a year under this category.

3. Other categories

1% cashback on spends in all other categories. The spends on fuel, rent, EMIs, wallet loading, jewellery, and Government related transactions are excluded. The 1% cashback has a capping of Rs. 500 per billing cycle. Thus, you can earn a maximum cashback of Rs. 6,000 in a year under this category.

With the Swiggy HDFC Credit Card, you can save up to Rs. 42,000 per year as follows:

1. Rs. 18,000 on the Swiggy application through 10% cashback
2. Rs. 18,000 on online purchases through 5% cashback
3. Rs. 6,000 on other categories through 1% cashback

4. Complimentary Swiggy One membership

As a welcome benefit, the cardholder gets a complimentary Swiggy One membership for three months on card activation. The membership must be claimed on the Swiggy app. The option will be available on the Swiggy App within 2-3 days of the card activation.

The Swiggy One membership offers free deliveries and exclusive discounts on the Swiggy App for food delivery, Instamart, Genie, etc.

5. Golf benefits

The card is issued on the Mastercard network and is eligible for specified golf benefits. These include access to golf courses worldwide and 12 free lessons per year. It also offers four complimentary rounds of green fees per calendar year. The golf services are discounted at 50% of the green fee beyond complimentary sessions.

Eligibility and fees

Salaried individuals between the 21 to 60 years age group are eligible to apply for the card. The net monthly income must be more than Rs. 15,000. Self-employed individuals between the 21 to 65 years age group are eligible to apply for the card. The Income Tax Return (ITR) must be more than Rs. 6 lakhs.

The card has a joining and annual fee of Rs. 500 plus taxes. The annual fee gets waived on spending Rs. 2,00,000 or more in the previous card anniversary year.

Limited-time festive offer: Lifetime free card

As part of the festive offer, the Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card is being offered on a lifetime free basis for a limited period. So, currently, there is no joining fee or annual fee. The lifetime free offer is for applications made through HDFC Bank’s digital platform and physical applications between 1st October 2024 to 31st December 2024. So, if you want this card, you can make the most of the lifetime free offer by applying for the card during the offer period. The lifetime free offer is not applicable to existing Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Cardholders.

How does the card compare with other similar cards?

The Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card competes with other similar cashback credit cards available in the market. The Cashback SBI Card offers 5% cashback on online spends, subject to specified exclusions. The maximum cashback that can be earned in a statement cycle is Rs. 5000. The annual fee for the card is Rs. 999 + taxes, which is reversed if annual spends are Rs. two lakhs or above.

The Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card provides 5% cashback on most Flipkart purchases, subject to specified exclusions. Similarly, the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card provides 5% cashback on most Amazon purchases, subject to specified exclusions. The card is offered lifetime free. The Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Credit Card provides 5% Neu Coins on purchases from specified Tata Group companies. 

The HSBC Live+ Credit Card provides 10% cashback on the dining, grocery, and food delivery categories. The maximum cashback in a month is Rs. 1,000. The card has an annual fee of Rs. 999 + Taxes, waived on annual spends of Rs. 2 lakhs or above in a year.

Should you apply for the Swiggy HDFC Credit Card?

The Swiggy HDFC Credit Card offers 10% cashback on the Swiggy App, 5% cashback on specified online purchases, and 1% on other spends, subject to specified exclusions. The card that comes close to comparison is the HSBC Live+ Credit Card, which offers 10% cashback on the dining, grocery, and food delivery categories, similar to what the Swiggy card offers.

While the HSBC card is platform-independent, the maximum monthly cashback is Rs. 1,000. In the case of the Swiggy card, the maximum monthly cashback is Rs. 3,500. The annual fee for the HSBC card is Rs. 999 + Taxes, whereas the Swiggy card is currently being offered lifetime free.

The minimum annual salary requirement for the HSBC card is Rs. 4,00,000, and for the Swiggy card is Rs. 1,80,000. As per the HSBC website information, the HSBC Live+ Credit Card is being offered to people residing in the specified list of 14 cities. The Swiggy card is available to a much wider audience through the HDFC Bank network and Swiggy reach. 

Also, the HSBC website doesn’t specify the eligibility criteria for self-employed individuals. On the other hand, the Swiggy card is available for self-employed individuals with an Income Tax Return (ITR) of more than Rs. 6 lakhs.

So, the Swiggy card has certain advantages over the HSBC card. Hence, if you are a foodie who dines out, orders food delivery, and groceries a lot from Swiggy, you should consider this credit card. The current festive offer of a lifetime free card is an icing on the cake.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.