Anyone using the HDFC Bank Equitas Excite Credit Card? Worth it or not?

[Pravin2407]

Has anyone here tried the HDFC Bank Equitas Excite Credit Card? I’ve been looking at it and wanted to know if it’s actually useful. The card charges ₹500 + GST as annual/joining fee, but if you spend ₹1 lakh in a year, the fee gets waived. Also, if you spend ₹20,000 within the first 3 months, they waive off the joining fee too. Here are the main benefits I saw:

• You get 2 reward points on every ₹150 spent.
• For fuel, groceries, utility bills, IRCTC, and tax payments, you earn 3× reward points, but with a monthly cap.
• If you spend ₹20k in a month, you get 500 bonus points.
• If you hit ₹1.8 lakh in a year, you get 2,500 bonus points.
• Free domestic airport lounge access, but only if you’ve spent ₹50k in the last quarter.

On the flip side, it has a 3.5% foreign transaction fee, so not great for international use. Also, HDFC recently stopped giving points on rent, insurance, wallet loading, and gaming spends.

Anyone here already using this card? Do the reward points and lounge benefits really work out in day-to-day spending? Or its a usual ordinary card. also let me know if this card is still in service.

 

[ashakantasharma]

Yes, the card is still in service. The latest HDFC documentation confirms it remains listed with updated fee details as of August 2025.

Category	Assessment
Fees	Low; easily waived with ₹1L annual spend or ₹20k in 90 days
Reward Potential	Decent—with accelerators and milestones if you spend regularly
Lounge Access	Possibly available—but not confirmed; check documentation
Flexibility	Good for local daily spends; not recommended for international use due to high forex fee
Value vs Alternatives	Affordable entry-level rewards card; not premium but solid for everyday usage