Old HDFC Diners Club Black to new Diners Club Black upgrade experience

HDFC Bank announced a new version of Diners Club Black credit card in November last year. Apart from refreshing the design, HDFC also announced annual membership benefits on new variant of the card. These annual benefits were not rolled out to existing Diners Club Members and one could only avail after meeting the upgrade criteria.

Recently, I got upgraded from old Diners Club Black to new Diners Club Black. Hence in this article, I am articulating my upgrade experience and answers to some of the frequently asked questions. So without further ado, let’s get started.

• Background
• Experience
• FAQs
• Bottomline

Background

I hold a lifetime free (LTF) Diners Club Black Credit Card which I got based on my long banking relationship (10+ Years) with HDFC Bank. When HDFC Bank announced the new version of Diners Club Black credit card, I was little disappointed as annual membership benefits were not extended to existing card holders. However HDFC Bank gave following three options to upgrade to new version of the card:

1. Upgrade to a new HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Credit Card with joining/renewal fees of Rs. 10,000/-. The upgrade can be done via NetBanking or PhoneBanking.
2. Spend Rs. 2.50 Lakhs in the period Aug 2019 to Oct 2019 or Nov 2019 to Jan 2020 to upgrade to new Diners Club Black after 1st December 2019 under current pricing of existing card.
3. Spend Rs. 8 Lakhs in a year and get an upgrade to new Diners Club Black at the time of Card Anniversary under current pricing of existing card.

I didn’t want to convert my lifetime free card to paid one and hence I ruled out the first option. I missed the option two by very less margin and hence I couldn’t avail that too.

However when I called HDFC Premium Card Services number, the representative told me that I can still upgrade to the new card using the third option. She also told me that I’m shy of a few thousands for achieving the target and advised me to go for it. Obviously this was a no brainer for me and I pursued this route to get the upgrade.

Experience

I continued spending on my Diners Club Black to achieve the spending target of Rs. 8 Lakhs. To my surprise, I observed that HDFC Bank has made the progress, towards achieving the spends milestone, available in reward portal as shown below:

This helped in keeping track of my spending towards achieving the annual milestone benefits.

When I reached the anniversary month, I waited for a couple of weeks for receiving communication from HDFC Bank regarding the upgrade. Since I didn’t get any communication, I again rang up the HDFC Premium Card Services number. The representative confirmed that indeed I have qualified for the annual membership benefits. He told me that I will get the mail about the same within 30 days of my card anniversary date and my anniversary date has not reached yet. He asked me to wait for some time and asked me to call back if I don’t receive the communication within this timeline.

I started waiting for the same and then COVID-19 lockdown happened. I was not hopeful of getting anything in this period and hence I didn’t pay much heed to it. However to my surprise, HDFC Bank sent the annual benefits emailer exactly on 30th day from my anniversary date.

I clicked the “Redeem Now” button in excitement to avail the benefits. It landed me on to the rewards portal where I needed to sign in using my mobile number and first and last four digits of my card. After signing in, I was presented with all annual benefits available on my Diners Club Black card as shown below:

I immediately claimed the Amazon Prime Membership offer thinking it would be an Amazon Voucher of Rs. 999 which can be added to Amazon Pay wallet. I received the Amazon Prime voucher code in another emailer. However when I tried to add this voucher code to Amazon Pay wallet, it errored out, meaning it couldn’t be added to Amazon Pay wallet.

I already had an active annual Amazon Prime membership which I cancelled to avail this benefit. Amazon refunded the amount to my card on a pro-rated basis which was a really good gesture. Post that I went to this page which has been especially created to redeem Amazon Prime voucher for HDFC Bank customers.

I entered the voucher code on this page and was able to avail the benefit. Overall it was a really pleasant and hassle free experience. I haven’t availed the other benefits yet as I won’t be able to leverage those in the current situation due to lockdown. I’ll avail them once the lockdown is lifted and the situation normalizes.

FAQs

How much do I need to spend to avail the complimentary annual memberships on Diners Club Black?

You need to spend Rs. 8 Lakhs in an anniversary year to avail the complimentary annual memberships.

How do I track my total annual spends for complimentary annual memberships?

You can track your progress in HDFC Bank rewards redemption portal. Navigate to HDFC Bank NetBanking → Cards → Credit Cards → Enquire → Redeem Reward Points → My Rewards → Spend Promo Details.

I see I have already qualified in rewards portal. Do I need to explicitly upgrade using upgrade option in HDFC NetBanking?

No, you don't need to upgrade explicitly using the upgrade option in HDFC NetBanking. If you do so, your existing card would be changed to paid card with an annual fee of Rs. 10,000. Wait for the annual milestones benefits mailer from HDFC Bank to avail the benefits.

How long does it takes to receive the annual milestones benefits mailer from HDFC Bank post achieving the spend target?

HDFC Bank will send the annual milestones benefits mailer within 30 days after your anniversary date irrespective of your date of achieving the spend target.

Do I need to call HDFC Bank customer care to avail annual milestone benefits post completing the spend target?

No, you don't need to call HDFC Bank customer care. HDFC Bank will send you the emailer automatically in the month following your anniversary month.

I really want to avail the annual milestone benefits now and I have already met the spend target, but my anniversary month is far. Is there any way to activate the benefits earlier without paying any charges?

No, there is no way of activating the benefits before anniversary month without paying any charges. If you want to avail the benefits now, upgrade to the new version of Diners Club Black card using net banking. Note that you would be charged an annual fee of Rs. 10,000 for upgrading.

Will my lifetime free Diners Club Black credit card be changed to paid card post receiving the annual milestones benefits?

No, your card won't be changed to paid one. Your card will continue to remain valid under old pricing.

Will I get a new physical credit card with new number series?

No, you will not receive a new physical card. Your existing card will continue to function and annual milestone benefits would be tied to the existing card itself.

Are there any extra benefits on new version of Diners Club Black credit card compared to old one?

No, there are no extra benefits. All features and reward rates are same on both new and old version.

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Bottomline

I am really impressed by HDFC Bank as even in this COVID-19 lockdown, they stayed true to their word and provided the annual milestone benefits on Diners Club Black Credit Card within the committed timeline. I also liked the design and UX of their redemption portal which is maintained by Poshvine. No wonder HDFC Bank has emerged as the unbeatable leader in credit cards market in India.

Have you upgraded to the new Diners Club Black recently? Which option did you avail and how was your experience? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.