SBI AURUM vs HDFC Infinia Metal (2026)
HDFC Infinia Metal vs SBI AURUM: which wins?
₹1,67,292ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to HDFC Infinia Metal
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
SBI's five-year answer to Infinia never answered the earn — AURUM's 1% plus a voucher ladder against Infinia's 3.3% flowing into 1:1 miles. The metal matches; the math is a 5:1 toll versus an open door.
HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns SBI AURUM at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| SBI AURUM | Metric | HDFC Infinia Metal |
|---|---|---|
| #168 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹9,999/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹12,500/yr |
| ₹12,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹10,00,000 spend |
| 1.99% (AURUM concession; SBI standard 3.5%) — wins this row | Forex markup | 2% + GST |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 1.99%/mo (23.88%/yr) |
| 1.0% | Headline earn rate | 3.3% — wins this row |
| AURUM Reward Points | Currency | HDFC Reward Points |
| ₹0.25/pt | House value | ₹1.00/pt |
| 40,000 AURUM Reward Points (₹10,000 at the 4-per-₹1 peg) + a year of Club Marriott, WSJ and Mint | Welcome benefit | 12,500 reward points + complimentary Club Marriott, first year |
| 139 of 793 | Lounge doors opened | 735 of 793 — wins this row |
| not published | Income — salaried | ₹5L+/month net (private sector); ₹3.5L+/month (govt) |
| not published | Income — self-employed | ITR ₹60L+/yr |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
The ₹ face-off at ₹1L/₹3L/₹5L a month
Ranking-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. This is the ranking model, the one that orders the board; each card page prints the earn-rate-only net annual value instead, which reads lower for any card with an accelerator (both models, side by side). Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns SBI AURUM at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
How the gap moves with spend
HDFC Infinia Metal leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹16,440 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹1,65,820 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹1,65,820).
SBI AURUM pays 15 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹1,00,000 a year, and HDFC Infinia Metal pays none; HDFC Infinia Metal pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and SBI AURUM pays nothing to stay.
SBI AURUM draws above the line, HDFC Infinia Metal below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | SBI AURUM | HDFC Infinia Metal | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹2,499 | ₹13,941 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹16,440 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹10,001 | ₹27,882 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹17,881 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹17,501 | ₹41,823 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹24,322 |
| ₹1L | ₹45,000 | ₹55,764 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹10,764 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹48,000 | ₹69,705 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹21,705 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹51,000 | ₹83,646 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹32,646 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹74,000 | ₹97,587 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹23,587 |
| ₹2L | ₹77,000 | ₹1,11,528 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹34,528 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹80,000 | ₹1,25,469 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹45,469 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹83,000 | ₹1,39,410 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹56,410 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹86,000 | ₹1,53,351 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹67,351 |
| ₹3L | ₹89,000 | ₹1,67,292 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹78,292 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹92,000 | ₹1,81,233 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹89,233 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹95,000 | ₹1,95,174 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,00,174 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹98,000 | ₹2,09,115 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,11,115 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,01,000 | ₹2,23,056 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,22,056 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,04,000 | ₹2,36,997 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,32,997 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,07,000 | ₹2,50,938 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,43,938 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,10,000 | ₹2,64,879 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,54,879 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,13,000 | ₹2,78,820 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,65,820 |
Transfer reach — 4 vs 22 live routes
Transfer reach
3 shared routes · 0 only SBI AURUM · 3 only HDFC Infinia Metal — the full partner lists
Both reach
- The British Airways Club (Avios) 5:1 vs 2:1
- Air India Maharaja Club 5:1 vs 2:1
- AirAsia Rewards 4:1 vs 1:1
Only HDFC Infinia Metal
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for — 6 points
What to watch out for
SBI AURUM · 2 more →
- The engine is 1% — 4 RP/₹100 at a flat ₹0.25/point; everything above that is milestone pacing
- The monthly ₹1,500 CLiQ voucher needs ₹1L in that calendar month — uneven spenders forfeit rungs our annualized model credits
- Transfers cost 5 points per mile (₹1.25 of catalogue value per ₹1 mile) — worse than redeeming except premium-cabin Avios/Maharaja awards; ITC's own grid prints no ratio, the 5:1 is community-reported
HDFC Infinia Metal · 2 more →
- SmartBuy monthly caps (15,000 RP/mo + a 3,000 RP/mo voucher sub-cap) limit the very best value
- Two different bars, don't confuse them: ₹10L waives the ₹12,500 fee (HDFC's own page); a SEPARATE, HARDER rule keeps the card. HDFC's bank-wide MITC v4.6 now carries it in writing — "Effective 1st April 2026, continued access to the Infinia programme will be aligned to a minimum Card spend or Relationship value": ₹18 lakh of Infinia spend (primary + add-ons) OR ₹50 lakh relationship value, per financial year
- And that test RECURS every financial year, with closure at the end of it. The MITC's own words: fail it and HDFC "will offer the next best alternate card variant basis customer consent. If otherwise, customer can opt to close their card or Bank will close the existing credit card with prior intimation via SMS and/or email, with a minimum notice period of 30 days." This is a written closure right on a 30-day clock, not the soft downgrade the 2026 press coverage described
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹55,764 against ₹45,000 — a ₹10,764 gap. At ₹5L/month, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹2,78,820 against ₹1,13,000 — a ₹1,65,820 gap. Lounge chasers: HDFC Infinia Metal opens 735 of 793 tracked doors to SBI AURUM's 139.
Our standing verdicts: SBI AURUM — Keep; HDFC Infinia Metal — Keep. HDFC Infinia Metal takes 5 of the 7 rounds we can score — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, SBI AURUM or HDFC Infinia Metal?
HDFC Infinia Metal. HDFC Infinia Metal takes 5 of the 7 rounds we can score. HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns SBI AURUM at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
SBI AURUM or HDFC Infinia Metal — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹1,67,292 against ₹89,000 — a ₹78,292 gap. Those are ranking-value figures: everyday spend at the card's base rate plus a realistic slice at its best accelerator, net of the fee.
Which costs less to hold, SBI AURUM or HDFC Infinia Metal?
SBI AURUM — ₹9,999/yr against ₹12,500/yr. SBI AURUM waives its fee at ₹12,00,000 of spend; HDFC Infinia Metal at ₹10,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, SBI AURUM or HDFC Infinia Metal?
Lounge chasers: HDFC Infinia Metal opens 735 of 793 tracked doors to SBI AURUM's 139. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Card records last re-verified against their issuers' own documents: SBI AURUM on 2026-07-26, HDFC Infinia Metal on 2026-08-02. Every figure on this page — the ranking values, the fee rows, the lounge counts, the transfer ratios — is recomputed from those records each time the site builds, so a devaluation changes the call the day we log it.
Verified against SBI Card and HDFC Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 19 of them, each with the day we read it
- official AURUM microsite — 4 ARP per ₹100 on every non-fuel spend at 1 ARP = ₹0.25, 40,000-point welcome worth ₹10,000 on first annual fee, points never expire
- official AURUM benefits page — complimentary DreamFolks membership with UNLIMITED international lounge access plus one guest visit a quarter
- official MITC — AURUM ₹9,999 annual and ₹9,999 renewal waived on ₹12L preceding-year spend; foreign-currency fee 1.99%; AURUM Reward Points never expire and carry no ₹99 redemption fee
- official SBI Card consolidated MITC PDF — AURUM annual fee ₹9,999, renewal ₹9,999 "Waived off on annual spends of Rs.12 Lakh or more in the preceding year"
- official Club ITC's official AURUM partner page — transfer route confirmed (min 500 AURUM Reward Points, increments of 500, up to 5 working days)
- community CardInsider (upd. 29-Jun-2026) — 4 RP/₹100, 4 RP = ₹1, 40,000-pt welcome + Club Marriott/WSJ/Mint, CLiQ/Taj/Apple milestones
- community CardExpert review (4/5) — corroborates ₹12L waiver, 40,000-pt welcome, ₹0.25/pt, milestone ladder, 4/qtr domestic + unlimited intl (DreamFolks), 4 BMS tickets/month ₹250 cap
- official Product page — "Joining Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Renewal Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Fee Waiver: Spend ₹10 lakh or more in a year before the renewal date"
- official Fees & charges / MITC PDF (Version 2.5, Mar-2025) — KFS table gives Infinia (Metal Edition) ₹12,500 fee, "₹10 Lakh / Annum" waiver and a 2% foreign-currency markup
- community CardExpert — ₹18L/FY spend OR ₹50L relationship value to KEEP the card (1-Apr-2026), and the same article dates the fee revisions to 15-May-2026: DCC markup
- community LiveFromALounge reproduces HDFC's own letter to cardholders — the two criteria verbatim, "Infinia Card Spends of INR 18,00,000"
- community Business Today (26-Feb-2026) — independent corroboration that HDFC emailed the ₹18L-spend (primary + add-on cards) or ₹50L relationship-value criteria
- official SmartBuy core-offer T&C (window 01-09-2026 to 30-09-2026) — Infinia earns 5X on Flights, 10X on Hotels and 5X on Brand Vouchers
- community CardInsider — SmartBuy 15k cap + 3k voucher sub-cap (Jul-2026)
- community TechnoFino — Infinia issued on Visa Infinite and Mastercard World (no RuPay)
- community TechnoFino — DCB→Infinia upgrade route; ₹12L limit + spend reported to stand in for salary
- community CardInsider forex table — Infinia 2% forex markup (below the 3.5% norm; the separate DCC markup on INR-billed foreign spends went 1% → 1.75% on 15-May-2026)
- official HDFC's own 15-May-2026 revision notice — states in writing that Infinia's reward accrual did NOT change, and sets the 1.75% DCC markup and the ₹3,500 metal re-issuance fee
- official HDFC Bank Key Fact Statement cum MITC v4.7 (August 2026), section E(v) — the ₹18L/₹50L retention test and the bank's right to close the card on 30 days' notice