💳 Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card — Best for Foodies & Everyday Online Savings

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.8/5)
Issuer: HDFC Bank
Network: Mastercard (World Tier)
Best For: Dining, Food delivery, Online shopping (MCC-based)

500

Complimentary 3-month Swiggy One membership on activation (worth ~₹1,199). If you already have Swiggy One, it extends your membership by three months.

Activation rules follow RBI KYC norms (first transaction, OTP/IVR activation, set PIN & enable controls). Always check activation window mentioned by the bank.

Earning structure (simple summary):

• 10% cashback on Swiggy app spends (Food orders, Instamart, Dineout, Genie) — Max ₹1,500 per billing cycle. Minimum txn ₹100.

• 5% cashback on eligible online spends (MCC-based categories: apparel, department stores, electronics, entertainment, home décor, pharmacies, personal care, local cabs, online pet stores, discount stores) — Max ₹1,500 per billing cycle. (Gift cards & groceries within these categories may be excluded — verify per merchant MCC.)

• 1% cashback on other eligible spends — Max ₹500 per billing cycle.

• Excluded categories: fuel, rent, EMI, wallet loads, jewellery, government transactions (0% cashback).

Redemption: Cashback is credited as statement credit (effective change from older flows which used to credit to Swiggy Money). Cashback posts in the following billing cycle.

Extra: Spend on Swiggy also earns IndiGo BluChips — 1 BluChip per ₹250 on Swiggy platform spends (in addition to cashback).

Age: 21–60 years (salaried); 21–65 years (self-employed).

Minimum income: Salaried — ₹15,000 per month; Self-employed — ITR showing ≥ ₹6 lakh p.a.

Nationality: Indian resident.

Existing HDFC credit card holders are eligible to apply.

Joining Fee: ₹500 + GST (≈ ₹590) — note: sometimes offered LTF for limited periods.

Annual / Renewal Fee: ₹500 + GST (≈ ₹590) — LTF offers have been available (e.g., Lifetime Free till 31 Oct 2025 in some campaigns).

Annual Fee Waiver: Waived if you spend ₹2,00,000 in a membership year (check exact T&C with issuer).

Foreign currency markup: 3.5% + GST.

Finance Charges: 3.6% per month (≈ 43.2% p.a.).

Cash Advance / ATM: Standard cash advance fee (check bank schedule).

Late payment / overlimit fees: Slab-based; refer to bank’s latest schedule.

Fuel surcharge waiver: Not offered (no fuel surcharge waiver).

PAN Card (mandatory)

Aadhaar (ID + address)

Latest 3 months’ salary slips (salaried) or latest ITR (self-employed)

Recent bank statement (as requested)
(Submit additional KYC as required by HDFC during application.)

Example scenario (realistic saver):

• Swiggy spends: ₹10,000/month → 10% cashback = ₹1,000/month → ₹12,000/year (within ₹1,500 cap per cycle this is fine).

• Other eligible online spends: ₹5,000/month → 5% cashback = ₹250/month → ₹3,000/year.

• Miscellaneous spends (1%): ₹5,000/month → 1% = ₹50/month → ₹600/year.

Total cashback/year ≈ ₹15,600. Even after considering a ₹590 annual fee (if applicable), net savings are substantial — this card easily pays for itself for frequent Swiggy users.

(If you hit full caps each billing cycle — e.g., ₹1,500 cap on Swiggy and ₹1,500 on online — you could earn maximum ₹3,000 per month in cashback across those two buckets in a high-spend month; caps limit realistic maxs per cycle.)

If you regularly order on Swiggy, use Instamart or dine out via Dineout — the Swiggy HDFC Credit Card is one of the best cashback plays for everyday food and online shopping. Low fee, simple statement credit cashback, and MCC-based 5% on many popular e-commerce merchants make it an excellent companion card (works nicely alongside HDFC Millennia or SBI Cashback). Downsides: no lounge access and no fuel surcharge waiver — acceptable tradeoffs given the generous food & online rewards.