HDFC Bank Credit Card Rewards: How to use points for complimentary hotel staysnews24

Banks like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, American Express, HSBC, etc., give credit cardholders the option to transfer reward points to loyalty programs of various airlines and hotels. The loyalty points can then be used to book free flights or hotel accommodations with the respective airline or hotel group. In this article, we will understand how to transfer HDFC Bank credit card reward points to various hotel loyalty programs, the transfer ratio, and how to use these points to enjoy free hotel stays during vacations.

Reward points transfer partners

HDFC Bank has a tie-up with 17 partners in the hotels and airlines category for the transfer of credit card reward points. The partners include the following.

1. Accor Live Limitless (ALL)
2. Club ITC
3. IHG One Rewards
4. Wyndham Rewards
5. AirAsia Rewards
6. Avianca LifeMiles
7. British Airways Executive Club
8. Etihad Guest
9. Finnair Plus
10. Flying Blue
11. Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club
12. Lotusmiles Program
13. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
14. United MileagePlus
15. Qatar Airways Privilege Club
16. SpiceClub
17. Aeroplan

The above list shows that HDFC Bank has a tie-up with four hotel groups and 13 airline frequent flyer programs (FFPs). It gives ample options to credit cardholders to decide where they want to transfer their reward points and accordingly plan their trip. In this article, we will focus our attention on hotel loyalty programs.

How to transfer reward points to hotel loyalty programs

HDFC Bank credit cardholders need to visit the SmartBuy portal to transfer their credit card reward points to any transfer partner. Take the following steps.

1. On the SmartBuy home page, under the “Privileges” tab, select the credit card from where you want to transfer the reward points.
2. Log in using your mobile number and the OTP.
3. Click on the “Travel Earn & Burn Reward Points” tab
4. Under the “Miles Transfer” section, click on the “Transfer to Mile” button
5. On the next page, you will see the list of airline and hotel transfer partners, the points conversion ratio for each partner, the points transfer timeline, etc.
6. Based on the airline or hotel partner to whom you want to transfer the reward points, press the “Convert Now” button.
7. Suppose you want to transfer points to the Accor Live Limitless (ALL) loyalty program. If you are transferring points to ALL for the first time, you must enter the ALL Membership ID along with your first and last name as in the ALL records. For subsequent transfers, the details will appear automatically. To proceed ahead, click “Confirm”.
8. On the next page, enter the number of HDFC Bank credit card reward points you want to convert to ALL loyalty points. HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card holders can convert reward points to ALL loyalty program points in the 2:1 ratio. So, every 100 Infinia credit card reward points are equivalent to 50 ALL loyalty points. The credit card reward points can be converted only in multiples of 100. Enter your email ID, check the “Terms and Conditions” checkbox and click the “Convert Now” button.
9. You will get an OTP. Enter it on the next screen, and your transaction will be completed. You will get a confirmation in your email along with the transaction ID. The TAT for transfer of reward points to ALL program is within 24 hours.

Similarly, you can transfer points to other hotel and airline transfer partners.

In our above example, once the points transfer transaction is processed, the points will be reflected in the ALL loyalty program. Log in to your ALL loyalty program website/app to check the points. Now, you can use the ALL loyalty points for hotel accommodation booking to enjoy your free vacation.

The reward points conversion ratio varies with the transfer partner and the credit card variant you hold.

Accor Live Limitless (ALL)

The Accor Group offers the Accor Live Limitless (ALL) hotel loyalty program. It is one of the world’s largest hotel chains, with 5,700 hotels under 45+ brands spread across 110+ countries. It has 60+ hotels in India under brands like Novotel, Raffles, Sofitel, Grand Mercure, Pullman, Ibiz, etc.

The ALL loyalty points can be used to book accommodation at various participating hotels in India and across the globe. Along with hotel accommodation, the ALL points can be used to pay for meals and other eligible services availed during the hotel stay. You can get the billing amount for these services added to your room charges. At the time of check out, you can use ALL points to pay for stay, meals, and other eligible services availed. The ALL loyalty program provides various benefits to its members based on their status level. The membership for the ALL loyalty program is lifetime free.

Apart from HDFC Bank, the credit cardholders of Axis Bank and HSBC (India) can also transfer their credit card reward points to the ALL loyalty program. You can accumulate points from various banks in your ALL loyalty account and use them cumulatively to book hotel stays and make the most of them.

Club ITC

Club ITC is the hotel loyalty program from ITC Hotels, one of India’s largest hotel chains. It has more than 140 hotels spread across 90+ destinations. The group operates hotels under six brands: ITC Hotels, Mementos, Storii, Welcomhotel, Fortune, and WelcomHeritage.

You can transfer HDFC Bank credit card reward points to Club ITC loyalty program. For example, HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card holders can convert their reward points into Club ITC Green Points in the 2:1 ratio. So, 100 Infinia reward points are equivalent to 50 Club ITC Green Points. The TAT for transferring HDFC Bank credit card reward points to Club ITC is 48 to 96 hours.

Once the transferred points are reflected as Green Points in your Club ITC account, you can use them to book hotel stays at various participating ITC hotels. The Club ITC loyalty program offers members various benefits like Green Points on all eligible spends, discounted member-only rates, reward nights, etc. The program has various membership tiers and benefits linked to them. The higher the membership tier, the more the benefits. Axis Bank also allows the transfer of credit card reward points to the Club ITC loyalty program.

HDFC Bank credit card reward points can be transferred to other hotel loyalty programs like IHG One Rewards and Wyndham Rewards also. After the transfer, the loyalty points can be used to book hotel stays.

Enjoy free hotel stays with HDFC Bank credit card reward points

HDFC Bank credit card holders can choose from four hotel loyalty programs to transfer their reward points. Once transferred, the hotel loyalty points can be used to book free hotel stays for a family vacation. The hotel loyalty programs provide various benefits to their members based on the membership tier. Thus, combining loyalty points and membership benefits is an excellent way to enjoy your dream vacation.

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