Points
Credit Cards , Frequent Flyer Programmes and Hotel Loyalty Programmes
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Taj Innercircle – Status Extension & More
Introduction Taj Innercircle is the loyalty program of the Taj Group of Hotels. Given the coronavirus situation, hotel chains globally have been extending status and halting expiry of points in a bid to retain their top loyalists. Taj Hotels in my opinion often set the benchmark for hospitality in India and yesterday they announced a series of measures for their Innercircle loyalty program. Lets check it ou A Brief Intro on Innercircle Taj Innercircle has 4 tiers with the base tier as Copper which goes up to Silver, Gold and Platinum. Silver tier requires 10 nights or INR 100k in spends, Gold requires 40 nights or INR 400k in spends…
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Club Vistara Double Dip – Unlock Incredible Value
Introduction Club Vistara is the frequent flyer program of Air Vistara which is a full service carrier in India which is a JV between Tata and Singapore Airlines. Club Vistara has been regularly introducing offers in order to promote their airlines like Bonus points for 4 flights in a month, status match with other airlines etc. They are running two great promotions currently which can unlock incredible value with a stunning double dip opportunity. Let’s have a look at how do we plan to achieve this. Upto 50% Bonus on Points Transfer Vistara is currently running a promo which will allow you to earn a maximum of 25,000 bonus reward…
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HDFC Bank Diners 10x Partners & Smartbuy Update
Introduction HDFC Bank has renewed both the 10x Partners and 10x Smartbuy reward program for another month. Both the 10x programs offer an incredible 33% reward rate on eligible spends and this is the best credit card in terms of cash back in India right now. While it is great to see the offer being extended, it is again only for a month compared to the 3 months we used to see earlier. Lets have a look at the details Smartbuy HDFC has been beefing up its Smartbuy offering in recent months and has constantly been adding various ways for us to earn those valuable points. It makes sense as…
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Citi Prestige – Removal of merchant categories from reward programme
Introduction Citi Prestige is the best credit card for earning airline miles in India. You earn 1 point per INR 100 for domestic transactions and 2 points for INR 100 for international transactions. Each point can be converted into 4 airline miles across 14 different airline partners. The range of airline transfer partners is simply unmatched and you should definitely look at this card if you love collecting airline miles. Reward Program changes The Citi Prestige credit card earned reward points across all spend categories. However, effective October 12, 2019 purchase transactions across the following merchant categories will be excluded and will not earn any more reward points Transportation and Tolls…
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HDFC Bank Smartbuy & Diners 10x Partner Update
HDFC Bank has renewed the Smartbuy offer for another month till 30 Sep 2019. In addition there are a few changes to the 10x Partners as well. For those of you viewing this for the first time, HDFC Bank Diners club offers the best reward rate of 33% Cashback in India and perhaps across the globe. For those lucky enough to hold the Diners Club credit card, you can earn an incredible INR 40,000 in Cashback per month. Changes to 10x Partners The removal of PayZapp has become a major disappointment. Since the previous overhaul of the 10x partners, PayZapp was the only ray of hope for those looking to…
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HDFC Bank Diners 10x partner rewards extended
HDFC Bank has just renewed their 10x partner award program till 31 July 2019 (only for 2 weeks). In terms of award partners, there has been a reduction with MakeMyTrip and SOTC being removed. Uber, Swiggy, Big Basket, Tata Cliq, Furlenco, BookMyShow and Treebo are still a part of the program till 31 July 2019. The communication from HDFC is slightly confusing as they seem to be justifying 10x reward partner extension in July on the basis of popular demand. HDFC has been aggressively marketing Diners Black over the past few months and a lot of new users must be really unhappy. Traffic count on their site must have gone up…
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Etihad First Class Mumbai to London (one way) in under 100,000 INR / $1,400
Introduction The Etihad First Class Apartment has been on our bucket list for quite some time now. You can now fly from Mumbai to London/Paris (or vice versa) in First Class (Etihad Apartment) for under INR 1 lac one way for a limited time. This is an incredible fare and allows you to experience the top end of their hospitality (First Class Apartment) from London/Paris to Abu Dhabi (or vice versa). The residence still remains out of reach(for now). Etihad has stopped flying the A380 from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai and hence that leg of your journey will be in Business Class. So let’s get started Eligibility Requirements This is…
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A search for value in JP Miles Redemption – In Vain
With a stash of around 350,000 JP Miles, I was definitely tense due to the incoming bad news about Jet Airways on a daily basis. While Jet Privilege which runs the JP Miles program is a separate entity, I was still worried. An email from their CEO did calm the nerves but I knew I had to use these miles up quickly. I usually value JP Miles at 1 Rs/mile and only look at redemption options only when they provide a better return. Jet Privilege launched “Select Flights” which allowed you to redeem your JP Miles against flights of other airlines, but these offered really terrible value of anywhere between…
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HDFC Bank Diners 10x partner rewards extended
HDFC Bank has officially extended their 10x partner rewards program until 30 June 2019. This promotion continues to deliver outstanding value with an incredible 33% reward rate for Diners Black cardholders. The offer has been renewed with an effective date of 8 April 2019 which means any spends between 1 to 7 April do not earn any reward points. The are two main changes in their 10x partner brands Swiggy in place of Zomato – This is a welcome change as Swiggy has a larger delivery network than Zomato. Both have been competing fiercely and continue to offer similar level of discounts. As long as one of them stays we…
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Track your points and miles like a pro
Do you want to earn maximum value from your Airline & Hotel spends ? Hell yeah. Step 1 – Register for Airline / Hotel Loyalty Programs Step 2 – Quote your loyalty number and earn miles / points Step 3 – Track all of them to ensure you maximise value and your miles / points never expire The Problem While most of us already take care of Step 1 & 2, tracking your loyalty programs is an altogether different ballgame. I recently lost over 10,000 flying blue miles which could easily have been redeemed for a one way economy ticket within Europe. Each program has its own quirks and its…
