HDFC BankFreedom
Visa / RuPay
HDFC Bank · Visa / RuPay
Freedom
Joining ₹500 · Annual ₹500 · Renewal fee waived on spends of ₹50,000 or more in the preceding annual year
Fee break-even: ≈₹6,66,667/yr through this card at its base rate. Below that, the fee eats the rewards.
Earns CashPoints · assumed 0.15 ₹/point. 1 CashPoint = ₹0.15 as cashback against the statement (HDFC's own product terms). The same ₹0.15 applies to the SmartBuy catalogue and travel bookings, so there is no better route. This is the weakest CashPoint value in HDFC's consumer line-up. Cardholder must hold CashPoints worth at least ₹500 (~3,334 CP) before redeeming, and a ₹99 + GST redemption handling fee applies per request, which alone eats ~20% of a minimum redemption. Cashback redemption capped 50,000 CashPoints per calendar month. SmartBuy travel redemption limited to 50% of booking value. Unredeemed CashPoints expire 2 years from the transaction date.
Verified 9 Aug 2026Forex markup3.5%
GolfNone
ConciergeNone
Domestic loungeNone
International loungeNone
EMI₹99 to ₹699 plus GST at a merchant, up to ₹849 plus GST converting a statement balance processing fee · HDFC's fee follows the merchant and the scheme rather than your card, so the same tenure can cost ₹99 at one shop and ₹699 at another. It is not refunded if you cancel or pre close. Cancelling inside 7 days is free, after that pre closing costs 3% of the principal left plus GST.
Fuel surcharge1% on fuel transactions of ₹400 to ₹5,000, capped at ₹250 per statement cycle
Milestones
- ◆ Spend ₹90,000 per year → ₹1,000 gift voucher Worth ₹1,000
Return by category
| Category | Return | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online spend | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Amazon | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Flipkart | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Subscriptions & OTT | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Offline spend | 0.08% | Base rate |
| UPI spending | 0.08% | 500 CashPoints per calendar month (~₹1,00,000 of UPI spend, effectively unreachable, worth at most ₹75) · RuPay variant only. HDFC issues a Freedom RuPay card that can be linked to a UPI app. The Visa variant cannot. UPI spends earn the base 1 CashPoint per ₹200 with a separate 500 CashPoint monthly ceiling. Rent, fuel, wallet and government MCCs remain excluded on UPI, as do NPCI-restricted categories (P2P, P2PM, ATM/merchant cash withdrawal, e-RUPI, IPO, mutual funds, lending platforms). UPI limit ₹1 lakh/day per card, ₹5,000/day for the first 24 hours after linking. |
| Dining | 0.08% | The 10X is Swiggy only. Restaurants and other food apps earn the 0.075% base. |
| Swiggy | 0.75% | 10X bucket capped at 2,500 CashPoints per calendar month (~₹50,000 of 10X spend), shared across all five 10X merchants · 10X = 10 CashPoints per ₹200 on Swiggy. Other restaurants and food-delivery apps earn the 0.075% base. |
| Zomato | 0.08% | Uses its dining rate |
| Groceries | 0.08% | 10X on BigBasket only. The 1,000-point grocery ceiling applies to all HDFC cards outside the Infinia/Diners/Regalia tier and binds before the 2,500 CashPoint 10X ceiling. Other supermarkets and quick-commerce apps earn the 0.075% base. |
| Quick commerce | 0.08% | Uses its groceries rate |
| Swiggy Instamart | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Blinkit | 0.08% | Base rate |
| BigBasket | 0.75% | Grocery-MCC CashPoints capped at 1,000 per calendar month HDFC-wide (~₹20,000 of 10X grocery spend, ₹150 of value) · 10X on BigBasket only. The 1,000-point grocery ceiling applies to all HDFC cards outside the Infinia/Diners/Regalia tier and binds before the 2,500 CashPoint 10X ceiling. Other supermarkets and quick-commerce apps earn the 0.075% base. |
| Movies & shows | 0.08% | 10X on BookMyShow only. No free or discounted ticket benefit on this card. |
| BookMyShow | 0.75% | Shares the 2,500 CashPoints/calendar month 10X ceiling · 10X on BookMyShow only. No free or discounted ticket benefit on this card. |
| PVR INOX | 0.08% | Uses its movies rate |
| Fuel | 0% | No CashPoints on fuel spends. 1% HDFC fee also applies above ₹15,000/month |
| Travel (general) | 0.75% | Shares the 2,500 CashPoints/calendar month 10X ceiling · 10X covers Uber (commute) and OYO (hotels). Hotels therefore inherit this 0.75%. All other travel, airlines, OTAs and hotel chains earn the 0.075% base. |
| Flights | 0.75% | Uses its travel rate |
| Hotels | 0.75% | Uses its travel rate |
| MakeMyTrip | 0.75% | Uses its travel rate |
| IRCTC rail | 0.75% | Uses its travel rate |
| International | −3.42% | 0.08% reward − 3.5% forex markup |
| Utilities & bills | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Rent | 0% | No CashPoints on rent. 1% HDFC fee applies on every rent transaction, capped ₹4,999 |
| Education fees | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Insurance premiums | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Government & tax | 0% | Government-related transactions earn no CashPoints |
| Wallet loads | 0% | Wallet/prepaid reloads (MCC 6540) earn nothing. 1% HDFC fee above ₹10,000/month |
| Anything else | 0.08% | Base rate |
| Jewellery | 0.08% | Base rate |
Rates are the card's own published rates, before any spend profile. Add this card inMy cards to rank it against the rest of your wallet.
Also worth knowing
- 5X CashPoints on EMI spends at merchant locations (5 CashPoints per ₹200 = 0.375% effective), capped at 2,500 CashPoints per calendar month. A genuinely unusual feature, since EMI earns nothing on almost every other HDFC card. Note that HDFC's own product page lists this as a live feature while several aggregators list 'EMI transactions' among the reward exclusions
- Welcome benefit: 500 CashPoints (₹75) on payment of the membership fee
- Introductory interest rate of 0.99% per month for the first 90 days from card issuance on retail non-EMI spends (excludes Insta loans, SmartEMI, balance transfers and cash transactions). The standard revolving rate is ~3.49%/month thereafter
- HDFC bank-wide 1% transaction fees, each capped ₹4,999 per transaction: rent (every transaction), wallet loads above ₹10,000/calendar month, online skill-based gaming above ₹10,000/calendar month, fuel above ₹15,000, utilities above ₹50,000/calendar month, and education paid via third-party apps
- All reward caps run on the calendar month (1st to 30th/31st) rather than the statement cycle. Points for a month post in the following month's statement
- Positioned as a bottom-of-funnel first credit card with relaxed eligibility. The ₹0.15 CashPoint value plus the ₹99 + GST redemption fee and ₹500-minimum redemption make the realistic return well under 1% even on 10X merchants
Other exclusions
- Gift/prepaid card loads and voucher purchases earn no CashPoints
- Cash advances and payment of outstanding balances, fees, charges and interest earn nothing
- No reward points on online skill-based gaming (HDFC-wide). 1% fee above ₹10,000/month
Sources
Every figure above comes from the issuer's own pages and documents. Last verified 9 Aug 2026.