Should you transfer HDFC reward points to Club Vistara?

HDFC Bank recently enabled the ability to transfer Infinia credit card reward points to club Vistara, which is a very good option. Apart from that, Diners cards had the option even before. But should you actually transfer the points? here’s everything you need to know about it.

Conversion ratio & value

Below are the details for HDFC super premium cards like HDFC Infinia, Diners Black .

• CV Point Value: 0.75Ps to 1Rs/point (as per my valuation)
• HDFC RP Value: 1Rs/point (redeemable for flights/hotels)
• Conversion ratio: 1:1
• CV Point Validity: 3 yrs (36 months)

Apart from above, you get amazing value while transferring points from Diners Club Miles to Vistara, as mentioned in the past as well, as that too transfers at 1:1. All other HDFC cards transfer at 2:1.

So in most cases it’s better not to transfer points to CV and limit yourself to Vistara. But there are situations where transferring HDFC reward points to Club Vistara makes sense.

When to transfer?

1. Points Expiry: If your HDFC reward points are about to expire in 30-60 days and if you don’t plan to redeem for travel, transferring them to Club Vistara is the best option ever. Keep an eye on your HDFC CC stmt. every month to know if points are expiring.
2. Transfer Offers: If you get bonus points on transfers, its usually good to take. For Ex: offers like Club Vistara Points Fest
3. In short of CV Points: If you intend to redeem CV points for a flight that needs ~20K points and if you’re in short of 2K points or so, its good to transfer points from HDFC instead of buying CV Points.
4. Vistara booking: If you anyway intend to book only Vistara flights, its better to transfer points to Vistara and book instead of booking from HDFC as you could redeem only 70% of the points on HDFC redemption portal.

Remember that Vistara redemption is also bit tricky as you need to take care of award availability, transfer period delay (3-5 days), etc. However, its usually smooth as long as you don’t deal with group booking (or) taking flights in busy routes/season.

Bottomline

The ability to convert HDFC reward points to Club Vistara gives very good flexibility to use HDFC reward points effectively. It’s one of the best ever feature on HDFC credit cards. This is especially very useful at times like this as travel redemptions are not easy.

It would be very nice if we see more transfer partners with HDFC like Hyatt & Marriott – which would make HDFC credit cards worthy for playing the points game.

Have you transferred HDFC points to Club Vistara? If so in which situation? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.