HDFC slaps 1% fees on rent, wallet loads and gaming spend
From 1 July 2025, HDFC charges 1% (capped at ₹4,999 per transaction) on rent payments and wallet loads above ₹10,000/month, and bans rewards entirely on skill-gaming spends over ₹10,000.
HDFC just closed the manufactured-spend workshop. From 1 July 2025, credit-card rent payments attract a 1% fee, capped at ₹4,999 per transaction. Wallet loads above ₹10,000 a month (PayZapp excluded, naturally) get the same 1% treatment.
Skill gaming gets it worst: spends over ₹10,000 pay the 1% fee and earn zero rewards — a double penalty that makes the category dead on arrival for points purposes.
Why this stings: rent runs and wallet top-ups were the well-known, low-effort way to manufacture spend toward milestone targets on Infinia and Diners Black. Pay your landlord through an app, pocket the points, hit the milestone. That loophole is now closed across HDFC’s entire portfolio in a single move — no card-by-card carve-outs.
Our take: a 1% fee is not a rounding error when your points are worth well under 1% on most redemptions after the toll. If your milestone maths depended on rent, redo it — organic spend or nothing. HDFC didn’t nerf a card here; it nerfed a strategy.