The HDFC Freedom Credit Card is a beginner-friendly card that gives decent rewards on your daily spending. With 10X reward points on favorite brands such as Swiggy, Uber, BookMyShow, and BigBasket, it’s ideal for those who spend frequently on food, travel, and entertainment. You will receive 500 welcome reward Points, and if you spend ₹50,000 a year, the ₹500 annual fee is exempt. Additionally, there’s a good milestone reward: spend ₹90,000 a year and earn ₹1,000 gift vouchers. Get 1 reward point for each 150 spent on other transactions, and 1 reward point is equal to ₹0.15, which shows an average reward conversion.

What Are The HDFC Freedom Credit Card Benefits

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card provides a variety of useful benefits that make it rewarding for everyday spending. From welcome rewards to dining discounts and fuel surcharge waivers, it provides good value without higher annual fees.

Welcome Benefits

When you apply for the HDFC Freedom Credit Card, you’re welcomed with a nice but practical welcome benefit 500 CashPoints added to your account after paying the joining fee. The CashPoints can be redeemed on travel like flights, hotel reservations, or even used to offset your card bill. It’s a pleasant little head start that gives you value from the very start, considering the card has such a low joining fee.

Shopping Benefits

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card provides cashback on your daily spending with decent rewards on specified categories. You receive 10X CashPoints if you make transactions on online platforms such as BigBasket, BookMyShow, Swiggy, Uber, and OYO. It’s best for food ordering, groceries, dining, movies, and travel booking. On all other transactions, you receive 1 reward Point on every ₹150 spent. Additionally, if you convert any transaction into EMI at merchant stores, you will get 5X reward Points. It’s a convenient method of handling high-value purchases and earning additional rewards.

HDFC Freedom Credit Card Travel Benefits

HDFC Freedom Credit Card is not a perfect travel card, it provides satisfactory average value to infrequent travellers. 10X reward Points may be earned from stays booked at partner travel services such as OYO and Uber, which may be used towards reducing stay and travelling costs. The cash, having been added up, could also be spent on flights or hotels through HDFC SmartBuy. Your expenses will be reduced slightly on travel arrangements.

Dining Benefits?

With the HDFC Freedom Credit Card, dining out is more rewarding. You can get up to 20% off at more than 20,000 partner restaurants in India when you dine through Swiggy Dineout. This is applicable at a variety of cafes, casual dining restaurants, and fine dining restaurants. It’s an excellent option to save on meals while indulging in your favorite food with family or friends.

HDFC Freedom Credit Card Milestone Benefits?

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card not only rewards you for spending, but also for being consistent with it. Once your yearly spending touches ₹90,000, you are eligible to get a milestone benefit of a ₹1,000 gift voucher from top brands. It’s like a little bonus for being a frequent user of your card. This milestone advantage gives more value to your overall savings and can be easily crossed with frequent usage across groceries, dining, travel, and online shopping.

Other Benefits

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card also has some other useful benefits that helps more to save on daily usage. You receive a 1 percent fuel surcharge exemption on spends between ₹400 and ₹5,000, up to a limit of ₹250 per billing cycle. The card also provide feature of contactless payments where you can tap and pay at retail stores up to ₹5,000 without a PIN.

Reward Points & Redemptions

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card has a straightforward and rewarding points program that gives value to your daily spending. You get 10X CashPoints when you buy on certain partner platforms such as Swiggy, Uber, BigBasket, OYO, and BookMyShow. If you shop on EMI at merchant stores, you get 5X CashPoints, whereas for all other spends, you receive 1 CashPoint for every ₹150 spent. There exists a limit of 2,500 CashPoints every month in the 10X and 5X categories together.

Redemption of these points is also very lenient. You can redeem them to book flights and hotels from the HDFC SmartBuy website, to make purchases from the rewards catalogue, or even to settle your card bill. Every CashPoint has a value of ₹0.15 and is valid for two years from the date it was earned. But you need to earn at least ₹500 worth of CashPoints to redeem them. This rewards scheme means that even your normal purchases contribute towards earning substantial savings over time.

HDFC Freedom Credit Card Charges

The HDFC Freedom Credit Card is affordable, particularly for new credit card holders. It has a joining fee of ₹500, which also gets you 500 welcome CashPoints. The annual fee is ₹500, but it is waived off if you spend ₹50,000 or more per year, so it’s relatively easy to keep this card free of cost.

Interest rate on unpaid balances is are maximum of 3.6 percent per month (43.2 percent per annum) if payments aren’t made on time. A cash advance fee of 2.5 percent (minimum ₹500) is charged for cash withdrawals. Late payment fees decided based on the bill size and range from ₹100 to ₹950.

Eligibility Criteria and Documents Required

To be eligible for the HDFC Freedom Credit Card, you must fulfill some general eligibility requirements. For salaried persons, the age must be 21 years or more, whereas for self-employed applicants, it must be 21 years or more but not more than 60 years. There must be a steady source of income, a minimum 12000 monthly salary, and the credit profile of the applicant must show a good repayment track with a good credit score (generally 750 or more is preferred).

As for documentation, the application process is fairly simple. You’ll need to submit identity proof (like Aadhaar card, PAN card, or passport), address proof (such as utility bill, Aadhaar, or passport), and income proof. For salaried persons, you can submit your latest three months’ salary slip or bank statement. For self-employed professionals, income tax returns or audited financials are generally required.

How To Apply For

Applying for the Freedom Credit Card is very simple and can be done both offline and online. If you choose for the online process, simply go to HDFC Bank’s official website, select the Freedom Credit Card, and click on ‘Apply Now’. You will have to enter a brief form containing basic personal and financial information. When you submit, the bank will process your application and contact you for the next steps. If all is well, your card will be sent to you in a few working days.

For those going the offline way, you simply need to approach any HDFC Bank branch and ask for a credit card application form. Complete it, put in the mandatory documents such as ID proof, address proof, and income proof, and give it to the bank official. The rest of the procedure such as verification and card dispatch works in the same way as the online method.

My Thoughts – HDFC Freedom Credit Card Review

HDFC Freedom Credit Card can best be termed as a good first-time credit card, particularly for first-timers or users with a low income profile. One of the most positive points of this card is that it’s easy to get approved, even for individuals with lower income, making it a good choice for those starting credit card use.

When it comes to rewards, the card does give good value on online expenses, especially via partner brands such as Swiggy, Uber, BigBasket, OYO, and BookMyShow, where you get 10X CashPoints. However, the reward conversion rate as a whole is on the lower side, particularly if you are planning to convert points to cash or statement credit. For example, although the welcome reward guarantees 500 Reward Points, in real terms, that is equivalent to less than ₹100 in cash, and so it will be more like a symbolic act rather than an actual reward.

The ₹500 annual fee for a starter card is reasonable enough, and the good news is that it has an easy waiver criterion: spend ₹50,000 in a year, and the annual fee is waived off. Granted, the card would have been even more interesting if it were made lifetime-free, but given this waiver clause, it’s still very usable.

On the whole, this card is not for a premium rewards-seeker or high-cashback user. But for an individual with limited income and no credit, it’s a consistent entry point. Its simplicity and low cost of maintenance ensure it’s a fitting first step to creating an excellent credit record.

FAQs

1. Is the HDFC Freedom Credit Card free?
No, it comes with an annual fee of ₹500, but the fee is waived if you spend ₹50,000 in a year.

2. Who is this card best suited for?
It’s ideal for first-time credit card users and individuals with low to moderate income.

3. What is the reward rate of this card?
You earn 10X CashPoints on select partners and 1 CashPoint per ₹150 on regular spends. CashPoints are worth ₹0.15 each.

4. Can I convert reward points to cash?
Yes, but the value is low when converted to a statement credit – ₹0.15 per point.

5. Does this card offer airport lounge access?
No, lounge access is not included with this card.

6. What are the welcome benefits?
You get 500 CashPoints as a welcome benefit, but their cash value is under ₹100.

7. How can I apply for the card?
You can apply online through HDFC Bank’s website or visit a nearby branch.

About The Author