IDFC FIRST Gaj vs HDFC Infinia Metal (2026)
Two ₹12,500 invitations, opposite philosophies — Infinia's points leave for 20 airline programs, Gaj's ₹1 point never leaves the app.
Head to head
| IDFC FIRST Gaj | Metric | HDFC Infinia Metal |
|---|---|---|
| #14 | Our rank | #1 — wins this row |
| ₹12,500 + GST | Annual fee | ₹12,500 + GST |
| ₹10,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹10,00,000 spend |
| Nil — 0% markup on foreign currency, DCC and static-currency-conversion transactions — wins this row | Forex markup | 2% + GST |
| Dynamic 0.71%–3.85%/mo (8.5%–46.2%/yr); overdue rate 3.99%/mo (47.88%/yr) on MAD non-payment | APR | 1.99%/mo (23.88%/yr) |
| 3.3% | Effective reward rate | 3.3% |
| IDFC FIRST Reward Points | Currency | HDFC Reward Points |
| ₹0.50/pt † | House value | ₹1.00/pt |
| 12,500 RP on joining-fee payment (₹12,500 at the ₹1 travel value) + a 25%-off 5-star hotel voucher worth up to ₹5,000 on ₹1L spent in 60 days — once per customer | Welcome benefit | 12,500 reward points + complimentary Club Marriott, first year |
| 156 of 746 | Lounge doors opened | 690 of 746 — wins this row |
| not published | Income — salaried | ₹5L+/month net (private sector); ₹3.5L+/month (govt) |
| not published | Income — self-employed | ITR ₹60L+/yr |
† IDFC FIRST Gaj: Gaj redeems the IDFC point at ₹1.00 on flight and hotel bookings in the app's Travel & Shop section — DOUBLE the ₹0.50 house value and 2.5× Ashva's ₹0.40 — and ₹0.25 on vouchers, products or "pay with points". earn.base is scaled UP to that ₹1.00 reality; points can only cover 70% of a booking, and 1.5L a month / 3L a year of them.
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
Net annual value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
HDFC Infinia Metal wins under ₹1L/month; IDFC FIRST Gaj takes over above it.
Transfer reach
Only HDFC Infinia Metal
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹68,786 against ₹55,764 — a ₹13,022 gap. At ₹5L/month, IDFC FIRST Gaj nets ₹3,43,932 against ₹2,78,820 — a ₹65,112 gap. Lounge chasers: HDFC Infinia Metal opens 690 of 746 tracked doors to IDFC FIRST Gaj's 156.
Our standing verdicts: IDFC FIRST Gaj — Keep; HDFC Infinia Metal — Keep. On our board, HDFC Infinia Metal sits at #1 to IDFC FIRST Gaj's #14 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →