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HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card

3.5Best for travel

Verifying

Joining fee incl. GST: ₹590
Renewal fee incl. GST: ₹590
Conditional welcome value: Up to ₹75
Forex markup: 3.5%
Interest p.a.: 45%
Min income (salaried): ₹1,44,000/yr

Welcome benefits depend on the actual offer and qualifying conditions; points and vouchers are not an automatic cash refund. Awarded after the joining fee is realised; value shown at assumed CashPoint value of Rs. 0.15 (500 x Rs. 0.15 = Rs. 75).

How this card earns

Reward rates with their qualifying conditions and caps. Use the calculator for a combined estimate.

Calculation coverage is still under review for this card. A recorded benefit does not mean every condition has been included in the estimate.

What still needs confirmation

Merchant/ordinary grocery ceiling interaction and per-transaction point rounding are not fully reproduced.

Spend category	Reward rate	Reward limit
Travel Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 10X CashPoints (10 CashPoints per Rs. 200) on BigBasket, Swiggy, Uber and OYO. Accelerated earning is shared across all 10X merchants and capped at 2,500 CashPoints per month. At an assumed CashPoint value of Rs. 0.15, the 2,500-point monthly cap equals about Rs. 375 in reward value. Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: 2,500 CashPoints per month ÷ 10 CashPoints per ₹200 = ₹50,000 of spend, shared with BookMyShow.	0.75%	₹375 shared reward / month
Dining Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 10X CashPoints (10 CashPoints per Rs. 200) on BigBasket, Swiggy, Uber and OYO. Accelerated earning is shared across all 10X merchants and capped at 2,500 CashPoints per month. At an assumed CashPoint value of Rs. 0.15, the 2,500-point monthly cap equals about Rs. 375 in reward value. Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: 2,500 CashPoints per month ÷ 10 CashPoints per ₹200 = ₹50,000 of spend, shared with BookMyShow.	0.75%	₹375 shared reward / month
Online shopping Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 10X CashPoints (10 CashPoints per Rs. 200) on BigBasket, Swiggy, Uber and OYO. Accelerated earning is shared across all 10X merchants and capped at 2,500 CashPoints per month. At an assumed CashPoint value of Rs. 0.15, the 2,500-point monthly cap equals about Rs. 375 in reward value. Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: 2,500 CashPoints per month ÷ 10 CashPoints per ₹200 = ₹50,000 of spend, shared with BookMyShow.	0.75%	₹375 shared reward / month
Entertainment Only the qualifying merchants or payment route below 10X CashPoints (10 CashPoints per Rs. 200) on BookMyShow. Shares the combined 2,500 CashPoints/month accelerated cap with the other 10X merchants. CashPoint value assumed at Rs. 0.15. Monthly cap shown as the spend at which it binds: 2,500 CashPoints per month ÷ 10 CashPoints per ₹200 = ₹50,000 of spend, shared with the other 10X merchants.	0.75%	₹375 shared reward / month
Groceries Monthly point ceiling; ₹0.15 per CashPoint comparison value.	0.07%	₹2,00,000 spend / month
Utilities & bills Monthly point ceiling; ₹0.15 per CashPoint comparison value.	0.07%	₹4,00,000 spend / month
Insurance Monthly point ceiling; ₹0.15 per CashPoint comparison value.	0.07%	₹4,00,000 spend / month
Other eligible purchases	0.07%	—

Excluded from ordinary earning: Fuel, Rent. Specific qualifying offers, if any, are listed above.

Overall ceiling: ₹2,250 of reward value per statement at this valuation. Rates apply only to the merchants and conditions described. Shared ceilings cannot be added across rows. Points and vouchers are valued at the stated redemption assumption; use the spending calculator for a combined estimate.

Fees & charges

Joining fee₹500

Annual fee₹500

Annual fee waiverRenewal fee waived on annual spends of Rs. 50,000 or more in the preceding membership year.

Foreign currency markup3.5%

Finance charge (p.a.)45%

Fuel surcharge waiver1%, up to ₹250/mo

Key benefits

1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 5,000, capped at Rs. 250 per statement cycle.
CashPoints redeemable for cashback (1 CashPoint = Rs. 0.15), and against products, vouchers, travel bookings and AirMiles via the rewards catalogue.
Every published redemption route on this card is Rs. 0.15: product catalogue up to Rs. 0.15, SmartBuy flight and hotel bookings Rs. 0.15, cashback Rs. 0.15, AirMiles 0.15 per CashPoint. Unlike HDFC's other CashPoints cards, the product catalogue does not pay more than statement credit here (HDFC Bank, Freedom Credit Card product page, redemption-value table, read 31 August 2026).
Minimum of 500 CashPoints required for cashback redemption.
Interest-free credit period of up to 50 days on retail purchases (subject to submission of previous dues).
Fair Usage Policy: a maximum of 15,000 Reward Points can be earned in a statement cycle on this card (HDFC MITC v4.8, updated 2 September 2026).
Rent payments, government-related transactions, online skill-based gaming, e-wallet loading and EasyEMI transactions earn no CashPoints; points on a retail transaction later converted to SmartEMI are reversed (HDFC MITC v4.8, updated 2 September 2026).
Reward Points on utility transactions are capped at 2,000 a calendar month and on telecom transactions at 2,000 a calendar month; grocery transactions are capped at 1,000 Reward Points a calendar month (HDFC MITC v4.8, updated 2 September 2026).

What we like

+Low joining/renewal fee of Rs. 500, easily waived on Rs. 50,000 annual spend.
+10X CashPoints on popular everyday brands (BigBasket, Swiggy, Uber, OYO, BookMyShow).
+1% fuel surcharge waiver helps offset fuel costs.
+Flexible CashPoint redemption across cashback, vouchers, travel and AirMiles.

What to watch

−Low base earn rate of 1 CashPoint per Rs. 200 (~0.075% value back) on non-accelerated spends.
−Low CashPoint value (Rs. 0.15) reduces effective rewards compared with premium HDFC cards.
−Accelerated 10X rewards capped at 2,500 CashPoints per month.
−No airport lounge access.

Eligibility

Age 21–60
Salaried income ₹1,44,000/yr (≈₹12,000/mo)
Self-employed ₹6,00,000/yr (≈₹50,000/mo)

HDFC's stated criteria (product page, read 31 August 2026): salaried applicants aged 21-60 with net monthly income above Rs. 12,000 (~Rs. 1.44 lakh per annum); self-employed applicants aged 21-65 with ITR above Rs. 6 lakh per annum. The age_max field carries the salaried maximum. Final eligibility is at the bank's discretion.

Check HDFC Bank's current criteria and the source notes. Meeting a published minimum is not approval — the issuer decides every application on its own criteria, including your credit history. How we source this