IndusInd Bank recently introduced new welcome vouchers for Iconia Amex Credit Card. The new voucher options include Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, Myntra, Swiggy, Zomato, More, Big Bazaar etc. These vouchers are more attractive than the ones which were being offered earlier.
I recently acquired IndusInd Iconia Amex Credit Card and in this article I am going to outline my motivation to get this card, process and experience of redeeming welcome vouchers. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Motivation
With travel being limited for at least another year or so, I was looking for a credit card which provides statement cash credit instead of air-miles. I currently hold HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card which provides a reward rate of 3.3% if reward points are redeemed for travel and hotel booking. I really wanted an inexpensive credit card without annual fees with maximum reward rate.
IndusInd Iconia Amex Card fitted my bill as it comes with a joining fee of Rs. 5,000 + GST without any recurring annual fees. Joining fee is covered by welcome vouchers of equivalent value virtually making the card free. Only caveat is that you end up losing the GST which is around Rs. 900. With a reward rate of 1.5% on weekdays and 2% on weekends, I felt this card is worth this price. And with the recent introduction of Amazon in welcome vouchers made my decision even easier and I decided to go for this card.
Process
I came to know that Bank Bazaar is offering this card life time free to selected users. Hence if created an account and indeed it was being offered without any charges to me. Hence I applied for this card on their portal and provided all the required documents. Next day I got a call from IndusInd Bank and they asked if I already hold an IndusInd Bank credit card. I replied in affirmative as I owned IndusInd Bank Aura Credit Card. Bank personnel told me that IndusInd Bank doesn’t allow multiple credit cards and hence they are cancelling the application. They advised me to call the customer care and ask for an upgrade. When I called customer care, they provided the option to pay a joining fee of Rs. 5000 + GST and get welcome vouchers worth the joining fee. The vouchers, that were being offered at that time, were not compelling to me as I never shopped with those brands. Hence I dropped the idea of acquiring this card.
However after few days of this incident, I observed that IndusInd Bank has introduced multiple new brand partners for welcome vouchers for this card:
- Amazon
- Flipkar
- Uber
- Ola
- Myntra
- Swiggy
- Zomato Gold
- More
- Big Bazaar
- Zee5
- Biba
- Apollo Pharmacy
Seeing Amazon in the list, I called up the customer care for an upgrade. The customer support representative took down my request and said I will get a call from the relevant department within a couple of days. Next day I received a call from them to upgrade my Aura Credit Card to Iconia Amex Credit Card. I checked explicitly about the availability of Amazon vouchers and they replied in affirmative. Hence I placed the request for upgrade over the call.
I received the new card via courier on the fifth day after placing the request. I saw that the new card was reflecting in the IndusInd mobile app. The credit limit received was equal to my previous card. I set the pin for the new card using the app and did a transaction on Amazon to test if the card was active. The transaction went through smoothly indicating the card was active to use. Overall the upgrade process was seamless and hassle free.
Welcome Voucher Redemption Experience
As per IndusInd, the process to redeem welcome vouchers is outlined below:
- The cardholder shall be eligible for the Welcome Gift on payment of the joining fees or settlement of payment against joining fees.
- The cardholder will be sent an SMS from IndusInd Bank once he is eligible for a welcome gift within 10 working days of fee payment.
- The cardholder will then need to request for dispatch of the welcome gift within 30 days of receiving the SMS by contacting the Bank’s helpline number at 1860 0267 7777 or write to [email protected]. Please note, welcome gift dispatch requests received after the stipulated time period of 30 days will not be considered.
- On receipt of request from the cardholder, SMS will be sent to his registered mobile number within 15 working days to redeem the E-Gift Voucher.
- Cardholder will receive SMS from Vouchagram to visit the following link and claim his E-gift voucher: www.gyftr.com/indusindwelcomegift
- Cardholder will need to enter his registered mobile number to login to his account wherein GYFTR points equivalent to the fee amount will be credited which can be redeemed towards E-gift vouchers.
- The points will be credited on the date of SMS & valid for 3 months from this date i.e. Cardholder needs to claim his choice of brand against the points in the form of EGV within 3 months of the SMS received by him.
- Each GV will be valid for 6 months from the date of selection of brand.
- Cardholder can redeem these points in denominations of INR 500/1000 across multiple brands. Multiple redemption of points will be allowed till the value is exhausted.
However my real life experience differs a lot from above. I waited for 10 working days after clearing the dues on my credit card, but still I didn’t receive any email. Hence I called up the customer care and they verified that I was indeed eligible for the welcome vouchers. They took down the request and assured me that I will receive the SMS with instructions to redeem the vouchers in 14 working days.
I received following SMS after seven days with instructions to redeem the vouchers.
Dear PRANAV PRAKASH, Congratulations! You are eligible for vouchers worth Rs 5000 as your IndusInd Bank Credit Card Welcome Gift.Please visit bit.ly/2yV0Wh0 to redeem voucher of your choice. Validity of points - 20 Dec 2020
However when I visited the URL mentioned in SMS, I couldn’t find Amazon, Flipkart and other advertised vouchers on IndusInd Bank’s website as shown below:
I was taken aback and I thought there was some mistake from Gyftr’s side and hence I called them up. Gyfter customer care told me that they never provided Amazon vouchers for IndusInd Cards. I tried to convince them that it’s a new offering and they can check on IndusInd Bank website. They asked me to talk to IndusInd Bank and get a confirmation from them. Post their confirmation, they will convert the voucher points to Amazon Gift card.
I tried to call the IndusInd Bank but the call didn’t go through due to the high volume of calls they were experiencing that day. Hence I dropped an email to them at [email protected]. I received a generic acknowledgement from them saying they have received my email and they are working on that. After seven days, I received another SMS from Gyftr as below:
Dear PRANAV PRAKASH, Congratulations! You are eligible for vouchers worth Rs 5000 as your IndusInd Bank Credit Card Welcome Gift. Please visit www.gyftr.com/indusindcreditcards to redeem the voucher of your choice. Validity of points - 25 Dec 2020
The URL mentioned in this SMS was different and when I logged into this new URL, I could see all vouchers as advertised on IndusInd Bank website:
I immediately redeemed the points for Amazon vouchers and they were valid for a year. I then saved them on my Amazon account for usage and I didn’t face any issue with that.
Bottomline
Though the upgrade process for the card was hassle free, the redemption of welcome vouchers wasn’t. I really disliked this experience as it involved calling/emailing them to get the correct vouchers. I sincerely hope that IndusInd Bank fixes these glitches to make the process smooth and delightful for the customers.
Overall I am happy that I got what I wanted. A lifetime free credit card for Rs. 900 with 2% reward rate and airport lounge access is a steal deal in my opinion. If you would know more about the features and benefits, read my review of IndusInd Bank Iconia Amex Credit Card. I would highly recommend getting this card if you are looking for a credit card with a high reward rate and statement credit option.
How did you acquire your IndusInd Iconia Amex Credit Card and how much joining fee you paid? How has been your experience with redeeming the welcome vouchers and what voucher option did you opt for? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.
