How long does it take to transfer HDFC Points?

HDFC Bank, the oldest player in the credit card game, recently introduced additional airline and hotel transfer partners, expanding beyond their earlier limited options. However, HDFC Bank is facing fierce competition from Axis Bank in the credit card industry, largely due to the transfer partners introduced by Axis Bank.

To stay competitive, HDFC Bank now offers multiple options for transfer partners with different reward ratios and transfer timelines. In fact, HDFC has added some options that are not available with Axis.

Transfer Partners – Best Option to Redeem HDFC Rewards

HDFC Bank has partnered with 14 airlines and 3 hotel partners as on May 2023 as transfer partners for their reward points. 13 out of these 17 transfer partners are in common with Axis Bank’s transfer partners, while 4, namely Aviance Lifemiles, Finnair Plus, Hainan Wings Club and Vietnam Airlines LotusMiles are only available on HDFC. Besides these 17 there are of course the 3 old transfer partners, InterMiles, Singapore Air KrisFlyer, and Club Vistara.

How long does it take to transfer HDFC Points?

We at PointsDojo transferred our HDFC Reward points to EVERY transfer partner available on HDFC for science and research, so you don’t have to.

Keep in mind that these timelines are accurate as of publishing this article and per our personal experience. If you experience something different, do leave a comment down below and we will update the post with the relevant details to keep the data as accurate as possible.

Transfer Partner	Time Taken	Transfer Ratio
Air Canada Aeroplan	Instant	2:1
Avianca LifeMiles	Instant	1:1
Turkish Miles&Smiles	Instant	1:1
Singapore KrisFlyer	2-3 Days	1:1
United Mileage Plus	Instant	2:1
British Airways Executive Club	12 – 24 hours	2:1
Finnair Plus	Instant	1:1
Vietnam LotusMiles	Instant	1:1
Air France/KLM Flying Blue	Instant	1:1
Etihad Guest	Instant	2:1
Club Vistara	Instant	1:1
Air Asia Rewards	Instant	1:1
Intermiles	2-3 Days	1:1
IHG Rewards Club	Instant	1:1
Accor Live Limitless	12-24 hours	1:1
Wyndham Rewards	Instant	1:1

How to transfer HDFC Points?

Out of the 17 partner redemptions mentioned, 14 can be made by logging in to the HDFC Smartbuy portal.

If you are an Infinia holder, go to https://offers.reward360.in/v1/infinia. For Diners Club Black holders, go to https://offers.smartbuy.hdfcbank.com/diners.

For the purpose of illustration, we will be using the Infinia. However, the process is the same for Diners.

To access your account, click on the login/signup button. If you have not registered before, you can do so by filling out the form provided in the popup window, as shown in the images below.

Provide the required details on the form. Note that the mobile number and email ID should be the same as those registered with HDFC Bank.

Once registered, you need to link your credit card to your SmartBuy account so that you can utilize your points. Click on Unlock Rewards Summary as shown in the image below. Once done, click on Miles Transfer on mail header, it will take you to next page showing all the 14 programs.

Select the program to which you want to transfer points by clicking CONVERT NOW.

Enter the required details and enter OTP when prompted. When it goes through as intended, then you will receive the following screen confirming successful transfer initiation.

However, 3 of the old transfer partners have a different section for transferring points to them. This can be done by going to the Cards section in Netbanking —> Cards Section—>Enquire —> Redeem Reward Points

When booking business class tickets using miles, redeeming reward points can provide a good return, especially for higher classes. However, unlike Axis, HDFC might not be the best option for redeeming in Economy. HDFC provides a 1:1 redemption option directly on flights and hotels through their SmartBuy portal, with 70% of the value payable using points.

Pointers to Note

Although we have understood how long it takes to transfer HDFC points and how to transfer them, there are some things that should be considered while making these transfers:

Fee involved: No fee involved for transferring points

Can it be transferred to someone else’s account?: No, it can only be transferred to card holder’s account. Any difference in the name might cause a delay or the transfer to fail completely. Please ensure that the name on the loyalty program exactly matches that in the records with the bank.

Can I reverse a transfer?: No, all transfers are final and cannot be reversed

We recommend holding your award bookings by calling the transfer partner so that you don’t end up losing the booking at the time the transfer is done. Certain partners like Singapore Krisflyer and others allow you to hold an award booking while you transfer the required points over.

Any disputes related to miles/points transfer can be raised on customer support: infinia.support@smartbuyoffers.co / dinersblack.support@smartbuyoffers.co 1800 118 887 / 022 42320226

Bottomline

Redeeming HDFC reward points used to be limited to Smartbuy, Tanishq, and Apple products. Few people transferred these points to Vistara or Krisflyer (the previous transfer partners) for redemption. However, the introduction of the new 14 partners has completely changed the scenario.

HDFC has hit a sweet spot with the Accor transfer. It has a 1:1 ratio, meaning every 2000 HDFC points equals 2000 Accor points, which is equal to €40 (3600 Rs). This is an amazing reward ratio of 1.8 Rs for every point. With a couple of months of accruing accelerated reward points, you can earn a good 3-4 day vacation at a beautiful property like the Sofitel Nusa Dua in Bali.