The HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card comes in as a basic rewards card, with a join and annual charge of Rs 500 plus GST and rewards 10X CashPoints on purchases made through Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, BigBasket and Reliance Smart SuperStore. As of 15 May 2026, HDFC revised the earning unit for this card from every Rs 150 spent to every Rs 200 spent, thereby reducing the effective reward rate by 25 percent. The value back from the 10X partners dropped from approximately 3.3 percent to 2.5 percent. It still remains a reasonably good introductory card but definitely not the one talked about in the older reviews.
What Changed on 15 May 2026: HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card
And here lies the crux, as many websites still list the old rates and one website even says this card has not been affected at all. The revised terms document by HDFC lists Money Back Plus explicitly in the new earning rate table, at 2 points per Rs 200. HDFC’s own webpage for this card now proudly displays the up-to-2.5 percent value back, lower than the 3.3 percent that other sources cite. Therein lies the truth.
| What changed | Before 15 May 2026 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Earning unit | Every Rs 150 spent | Every Rs 200 spent |
| Base earning | 2 CashPoints per Rs 150 | 2 CashPoints per Rs 200 |
| Base value back | About 0.33 percent | About 0.25 percent |
| 10X partner earning | 20 CashPoints per Rs 150 | 20 CashPoints per Rs 200 |
| 10X value back | About 3.3 percent | About 2.5 percent |
| Card re-issuance fee | Varied | Rs 199 for non metal cards |
| Dynamic currency conversion | Varied | 1.75 percent markup |
The result is quite simple: since you now have to spend Rs 200 to earn as much as you would have earned with Rs 150, your shopping basket will earn 25 percent fewer CashPoints. HDFC spared its premium credit cards like Infinia and Diners Black but even cashback cards such as Millennia and Tata Neu remain unaffected, but this card isn’t.
Features at a Glance: HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Card type | Entry level rewards card |
| Joining fee | Rs 500 plus GST |
| Annual fee | Rs 500 plus GST, waived on Rs 50,000 annual spend |
| Welcome benefit | 500 CashPoints on paying the joining fee |
| Renewal benefit | 500 CashPoints on paying the renewal fee |
| Accelerated earning | 10X CashPoints, 20 per Rs 200, on 5 partner brands |
| Base earning | 2 CashPoints per Rs 200 on other spends |
| CashPoint value | 1 CashPoint = up to Rs 0.25 |
| Quarterly milestone | Rs 500 gift voucher on Rs 50,000 quarterly spend |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1 percent on Rs 400 to Rs 5,000, capped at Rs 250 a cycle |
| Forex markup | 3.5 percent |
| Lounge access | None |
| CashPoint validity | 2 years from the transaction date |
How You Earn CashPoints Now:
| Spend category | Earn rate | Value back |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, BigBasket, Reliance Smart SuperStore | 20 CashPoints per Rs 200 | 2.5 percent |
| All other eligible spends, including UPI on RuPay | 2 CashPoints per Rs 200 | 0.25 percent |
| Fuel, rent, government, wallet load, EMI, vouchers | No CashPoints | Nil |
The gap between 2.5 percent and 0.25 percent is enormous, so this card is only worth carrying if a real share of your spending goes through those five platforms. Everything else earns almost nothing.
The Caps That Quietly Limit Your Earnings:
Three caps decide how much this card can actually pay you, and they are rarely explained together.
| Cap | Limit |
|---|---|
| 10X CashPoints on the 5 partner brands | 2,500 CashPoints a month |
| CashPoints on grocery transactions | 1,000 CashPoints a month |
| Total CashPoints in a statement cycle | 15,000 CashPoints |
There’s the monthly cap of 2,500 points to consider. At 20 CashPoints per Rs 200 spent, this card reaches its limit when you spend Rs 25,000 per month at the five partner portals. Anything above Rs 25,000 earns you just the base earning rate of 0.25 percent, which is nothing. It’s easy to run out of value fast with this card if you shop online a lot.
What Earns Nothing At All:
The exclusion list has grown over the years and is worth checking against your own spending before you apply.
- Rent payments and government transactions, excluded since 1 January 2023.
- Wallet loading and Easy EMI transactions, excluded since 1 September 2024. Several websites still list 5X CashPoints on EMI spends, which is out of date.
- Fuel, prepaid card loads, voucher purchases, cash advances, and payment of card fees.
- Education paid through an aggregator, though education paid directly on a college or school website or POS machine does earn points.
There is also a separate 1 percent fee, capped at Rs 3,000 a transaction, if you pay rent through services such as CRED, Paytm or MobiKwik. So rent both earns nothing and can cost you extra.
The Quarterly Milestone Is Where the Real Value Sits:
The reward is to give you a voucher of Rs 500 for spending Rs 50,000 in a calendar quarter with an annual cap of Rs 2,000 per year spread out over four quarters. The voucher comes from various brands including Bigbasket, BookMyShow, Uber, Pizza Hut, and PVR. It is quite clearly a one percent reward on the Rs 50,000 spent during the quarter and post devaluation in May 2026, this is by far the best deal that this credit card offers.
Redemption, and the Catches:
| Redemption route | Detail |
|---|---|
| Statement credit | 1 CashPoint = up to Rs 0.25, minimum 2,000 CashPoints worth Rs 500 |
| SmartBuy flights and hotels | Up to 50 percent of the booking value paid in CashPoints |
| Products and vouchers | Up to 70 percent of the value paid in CashPoints |
| Monthly redemption cap | 50,000 CashPoints a month for cashback and for flights and hotels |
| Redemption fee | Rs 99 per redemption request |
| Validity | 2 years from the transaction date |
Note the wording HDFC uses: 1 CashPoint is worth up to Rs 0.25. It is not a guaranteed rate across every route, and product catalogue redemptions typically give you less. Statement credit is the simplest and most predictable option.
Fees and Charges:
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining and annual fee | Rs 500 plus GST, waived on Rs 50,000 annual spend |
| Add on card | Free |
| Forex markup | 3.5 percent |
| Dynamic currency conversion | 1.75 percent, revised 15 May 2026 |
| Card re-issuance | Rs 199 for non metal cards, revised 15 May 2026 |
| Redemption fee | Rs 99 per request |
| Cash advance | 2.5 percent or Rs 500, whichever is higher |
| Interest rate | 3.6 percent a month, about 43.2 percent a year |
| Over limit charge | 2.5 percent, minimum Rs 550 |
Eligibility:
- Age roughly 21 to 60 for salaried applicants.
- Monthly income of about Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 for salaried applicants, one of the easier bars in the market.
- Self employed applicants are generally assessed on an ITR above Rs 6 lakh a year.
- HDFC sometimes issues this card as lifetime free depending on your profile and its own offers, so it is worth asking.
The typical credit limit sits up to about Rs 1.5 lakh, which is consistent with its entry level positioning.
Pros and Cons: HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 10X CashPoints on 5 of India’s most used platforms | May 2026 devaluation cut the effective rate by 25 percent |
| Low Rs 500 fee with an easy Rs 50,000 waiver | Base rate of just 0.25 percent on everything else |
| Quarterly vouchers worth up to Rs 2,000 a year | 10X cap of 2,500 points fills at about Rs 25,000 a month |
| Easy eligibility, good first credit card | Grocery capped separately at 1,000 points a month |
| 500 CashPoints on joining and renewal offset part of the fee | No lounge access and a high 3.5 percent forex markup |
| Clear upgrade path within the HDFC range | Long exclusion list including rent, EMI and wallet loads |
A Realistic Value Calculation:
Let’s take somebody who spends Rs 17,000 per month among the 10X partners and Rs 10,000 on everything else. The partner spending will earn him/her approximately 1,700 CashPoints, while the rest will earn approximately 100 points each – about 1,800 CashPoints in total per month or about Rs 450 in rewards. This comes to Rs 5,400 per year.
Then we add Rs 2,000 annual maximum quarterly vouchers if the Rs 50,000 quarterly milestone is achieved, bringing the total value of the rewards for the year to about Rs 7,400. So we get Rs 7,400 value for Rs 500 investment in the card – not bad. Under the old Rs 150 per month unit scheme, the same amount of spending would provide roughly Rs 1,500 extra value – that is the direct cost of the devaluation expressed in rupees.
How It Compares With Other Entry Level Cards:
| Feature | MoneyBack+ | HDFC Millennia | Amazon Pay ICICI | SBI Cashback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | Rs 500 | Rs 1,000 | Nil | Rs 999 |
| Top rate | 2.5 pct | 5 pct | 5 pct on Amazon | 5 pct online |
| Base rate | 0.25 pct | 1 pct | 1 pct | 1 pct |
| May 2026 cut | Yes | No | No | No |
| Lounge access | None | Yes | None | None |
| Fee waiver | Rs 50,000 | Rs 1 lakh | Not needed | Rs 2 lakh |
The unpleasant competitor is HDFC Bank’s own Millennia, which wasn’t devalued in May 2026 and offers 1 percent base rate of cashback vs 0.25 percent offered by 10X card. In case you manage to waive the Rs 1 lakh joining fee on Millennia, this one should be your choice. There is also another option – Amazon Pay ICICI bank card, lifetime free and offering higher rewards on Amazon. If Amazon is where most of your online shopping happens, it may be an interesting option.
Who Should Get This Card:
- People getting their first card and seeking easy approval with a clearly defined upgrade path within HDFC bank.
- Those whose online shopping mostly involves Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, BigBasket or Reliance Smart SuperStore and does not exceed Rs 25,000 per month.
- Those able to reliably achieve Rs 50,000 per quarter level of spending and collect Rs 2,000 annual vouchers.
Those with heavy online spending likely to pass the Rs 2,500 monthly point cap, most of their spending outside the five partner brands, and no interest in lounge access and low foreign exchange markup.
Our Rating Out of Five:
Weighing a low fee, easy waiver, useful partner brands and Rs 2,000 of annual vouchers against a fresh 25 percent devaluation, a near worthless base rate and a low earning cap, this card earns 3 out of 5. Still a reasonable first card, but noticeably weaker than it was a year ago.
| Category | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Partner rewards | 3.5 / 5 | 2.5 percent is decent, but capped early |
| Base rewards | 1.5 / 5 | 0.25 percent is close to nothing |
| Milestones | 4 / 5 | Rs 2,000 a year is real value |
| Fees and eligibility | 4 / 5 | Low fee, easy waiver, easy approval |
| Overall | 3 / 5 | Good starter card, weakened by the May 2026 cut |
Final Take: Fine as a First Card, No Longer a Great One:
While this might be your first time credit card and you spend on Amazon, Flipkart or Swiggy, HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card gets the work done. There is no hassle getting your Rs 500 waived, approval process is simple, and you can get up to Rs 2,000 in quarterly vouchers. All you have to do is to have your expectations realistic instead of those provided by older reviews. As of 15 May 2026 you get reward per Rs 200 spent rather than Rs 150 spent, which means that partner value back is 2.5 percent instead of 3.3 percent (base rate is very low – 0.25 percent), and 10X limit ends somewhere around Rs 25,000 worth of partner spending per month.
Recommendation: use it as a starter credit card, spend on Amazon, Flipkart and Swiggy, aim for quarterly limit of Rs 50,000 and then move other spends on another card.
Frequently Asked Questions: HDFC MoneyBack Plus Credit Card
Was the HDFC MoneyBack Plus card devalued in May 2026?
Yes. HDFC’s own terms document lists Money Back Plus in the revised table at 2 reward points per Rs 200, effective 15 May 2026, changed from 2 points per Rs 150. The bank’s product page now advertises up to 2.5 percent value back, down from about 3.3 percent. Some websites incorrectly state this card was not affected.
What is the value back on Amazon and Flipkart now?
About 2.5 percent. You earn 10X CashPoints, which is 20 CashPoints per Rs 200 spent, and each CashPoint is worth up to Rs 0.25. Before 15 May 2026 the same 20 CashPoints were earned per Rs 150, which worked out to roughly 3.3 percent.
What is the monthly cap on 10X CashPoints?
2,500 CashPoints a month across all five partner brands combined. At 20 CashPoints per Rs 200, you reach that cap at about Rs 25,000 of partner spending in a month. Beyond that, those spends earn only the base rate. Grocery transactions carry a separate cap of 1,000 CashPoints a month.
Does the card still give 5X CashPoints on EMI spends?
No. Wallet loading and Easy EMI transactions stopped earning reward points with effect from 1 September 2024. Several websites still list a 5X EMI benefit, but it is out of date.
How do I get the annual fee waived?
Spend Rs 50,000 or more in a membership year and the Rs 500 renewal fee is waived. This is one of the easier waiver thresholds in the market. HDFC also issues the card as lifetime free to some applicants, depending on profile and current offers.
What is 1 CashPoint worth?
Up to Rs 0.25. Note the wording: it is up to, not guaranteed. Statement credit is the most predictable route, and it needs a minimum of 2,000 CashPoints, worth Rs 500. Product catalogue redemptions typically return less per point.
Does the card earn points on rent payments?
No. Rent and government transactions have earned no reward points since 1 January 2023. On top of that, paying rent through services such as CRED, Paytm or MobiKwik attracts a 1 percent fee, capped at Rs 3,000 per transaction.
Is MoneyBack Plus or HDFC Millennia the better card?
Millennia is stronger if you can use it. It was not part of the May 2026 devaluation, gives a 1 percent base rate against 0.25 percent here, and includes lounge access, though its fee is Rs 1,000 with a Rs 1 lakh waiver. MoneyBack Plus wins on lower fee, easier waiver and easier approval, which is why it suits a first card.
Read More Reviews of HDFC Credit Card At CCUses.com