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HDFC Bank 10x Smartbuy Update
HDFC Bank Smartbuy has been renewed today for a period of 1 month till 30 June 2019. While this is welcome news for all Diners Club & Infinia credit card holders (33% Cashback anyone?), there has been a major devaluation impacting all of us. The earlier limit on Diners Black & Infinia was 25,000 Reward Points per calendar month which has now been devalued to 5,000 for Diners Black (80% devaluation in terms of maximum earning capacity) and 15,000 for Infinia (40% devaluation). While this was expected, the timing does seem a bit surprising with Diners Black being heavily advertised for 10x rewards and smartbuy in our alumni circles. Anyway,…
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A Palatial Feeling – Taj Jai Mahal Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
The Taj Jai Mahal Palace Hotel in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India is a heritage luxury 5 star property built in 1745 which is located in the heart of the Pink City (Jaipur). It is spread over 18 acres and has been the residence of three prime ministers of the princely state of Jaipur. Check In This property has a completely different charm to it. You realise it the moment your vehicle arrives at the gates of the property and you are welcomed by the security team. After a thorough check of the vehicle you proceed to the reception area which is nothing short of a palace in itself. Guests are showered…
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Travel Club Lounge Terminal 1 Mumbai Airport Review
Location The Travel Club Lounge is Located in Terminal 1C of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai. The lounge is located close to departure gate number 22 of the terminal. While the lounge is supposedly open 24×7, terminal 1C currently does not have an operating flight between 12:40 AM to around 05:00 AM. Also, please do note that since Terminal 1B is not connected to Terminal 1C, there is no way you can use this lounge if your gate number if less than 21. Gaining Access The lounge accepts the following cards for complimentary access Mastercard Maestro American Express Diners Club Priority Pass Lounge Key Lounge Club VISA cards…
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Debit Cards with no foreign currency transaction fees for Indians
As a frequent traveller based in India, I have often tried to minimise expenditure towards foreign currency transactions fees. The Airports at India are probably the worst place to buy foreign currency with markups in the range of anywhere from 5% to 50% depending on currency. Most Credit and Debit Cards charge anywhere between 2% to 3.5% + Tax. A more cheaper option is to buy foreign currency cash from an authorised dealer who would generally charge a markup of around 1%. The cheapest option is to buy a forex card from online agencies like www.bookmyforex.com which have an almost NIL markup for most major currencies. However, it still involves…
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Luxury Redefined – Oberoi Udaivilas Palace Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
The Oberoi Udaivilas Palace is an ultra luxury property in India. It is simply a cut above the rest and goes above and beyond your expectations. The Udaivilas Palace is located in the city of Udaipur (Also known as the city of lakes) on the banks of Lake Pichola. We spent two whole days at the resort and did not feel the need to step out even one bit. Check In We arrived at the hotel after an hour’s journey from the Airport. After a brief security check, we drove towards the main reception area. The security guard opened the door and greeted me by my name. This has never…
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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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HDFC Bank Diners Update – 10x Smartbuy Renewed
Loyal fans of the HDFC Bank Diners Black Credit Card are literally addicted to their mouthwatering 33% cash back on eligible categories. All their current offers were expiring on 31st March 2019 and we expected some sort of devaluation after seeing the following update on their site It seemed the party was too good to last forever and many blogs also reported that the Smartbuy offer has now been reduced to 5x with caps of 15,000 on the diners club black and 25,000 for Infinia. It seems that HDFC has done a complete U turn with the following link on the main page now stating that the offer of 10x…
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Get the Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card for FREE
American Express is currently offering their Platinum Travel Credit for FREE for a limited period on applying using the following link. This card offers good perks for those who like to travel and there are multiple redemption options making it an attractive proposition. Offer Details Apply using this link First year FREE Second year onwards – INR 5,000 + Taxes Eligibility Criteria Personal annual income of INR 6 lacs or above Card Features The card has 3 types of rewards Regular Membership Reward Points – 1 MR point per INR 50 spent with some exclusions (Fuel/Insurance/Utilities/Cash) Bonus Membership Reward Points – 7,500 Bonus MR points on spending INR 1.9 lacs…
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Deal Alert – Malaysia Airlines Business Class India to Australia round trip for INR 1 lac per person (~ $ 1,450)
Malaysia Airlines is currently offering great promotional round trip business class fares from Delhi/Mumbai to Australia for around INR 100,000 (approximately USD 1,450) per person round trip. We have rarely seen business class fares on this sector below the INR 100,000 barrier. These are exceptional fares and are not expected to last very long. We were able to find availability across multiple months (July / August / September). The best deal we found was from Delhi to Melbourne at an unbelievable INR 99,135 for the month of July 2019. This fare is unbelievable and does have a few quirks The Flight from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur is a Boeing 777…
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GVK West Lounge Lower Deck – Mumbai International Airport Review
The CSIA airport Mumbai has two main lounges for travelers in business class viz. East wing and West wing. Allocations are generally based on the time and airline you are flying. The West wing has a lower deck which opens at 7 pm. We got to experience this section of the lounge on our recent trip to Indonesia in Business Class with Malaysian Airlines. Of the 3 lounges across East/West/lower West this seemed to be the least crowded in our experience. The rush however increased sharply by 10 pm as most international flights depart at night from Mumbai. The seating is upscale and the lounges are very well maintained and…