We all know that one friend who flashes their Regalia Gold at the airport lounge desk and walks in for a free breakfast while everyone else buys a ₹400 coffee at the gate. For years that was the whole pitch of this card. Pay ₹2,500, get lounges, get decent points.
Then 2026 happened. HDFC cut the reward rate in May and put a spending condition on domestic lounges in July. Half the review pages online still show the old numbers, and HDFC’s own main product page hasn’t been updated either. So if you are trying to work out whether this card still makes sense, you are probably reading three different answers.
The short answer: the HDFC Regalia Gold is an Indian credit card with a ₹2,500 + GST annual fee (waived if you spend ₹4 lakh in a year). It earns 5 reward points per ₹200, worth about 1.25% when you redeem for flights or hotels on SmartBuy. Domestic lounge access now needs ₹60,000 of spending in the previous quarter. It pays off if you spend about ₹1.5 lakh a quarter.
HDFC Regalia Gold at a glance
| HDFC Regalia Gold | |
|---|---|
| Issuer | HDFC Bank (India only) |
| Joining fee | ₹2,500 + 18% GST (₹2,950, about $34) |
| Renewal fee | ₹2,500 + GST, waived if you spend ₹4 lakh in the card year |
| Welcome benefit | Swiggy One and MMT Black Gold memberships after ₹1 lakh spend in 90 days |
| Base rewards | 5 reward points per ₹200 |
| Partner brands | 5X points at Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital and Marks & Spencer |
| Point value | ₹0.65 (Gold Catalogue), ₹0.50 (flights/hotels), ₹0.20 (statement credit) |
| Quarterly milestone | ₹1,500 voucher on ₹1.5 lakh spend in a calendar quarter |
| Yearly milestones | ₹5,000 flight voucher at ₹5 lakh, another ₹5,000 at ₹7.5 lakh |
| Domestic lounges | 3 a quarter, only if you spent ₹60,000 in the previous quarter |
| International lounges | 6 a year through Priority Pass |
| Forex markup | 2% + GST (2.36%) |
| Interest (finance charge) | 3.75% a month (45% a year) |
| Income needed | Over ₹1 lakh a month net (salaried), per HDFC |
What changed on the Regalia Gold in 2026?
HDFC made three changes in 2026. From May 15, the base reward rate dropped from 4 points per ₹150 to 5 points per ₹200, and the DCC fee went to 1.75%. From July 1, domestic lounge visits need ₹60,000 of spending in the previous quarter. HDFC also added Boarding Edge travel perks.
| Before | Now | Effective | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base earn rate | 4 RP per ₹150 (2.67 per ₹100) | 5 RP per ₹200 (2.5 per ₹100) | May 15, 2026 |
| Domestic lounges | 12 a year, no spend condition | 3 a quarter, needs ₹60,000 spend in the previous quarter | July 1, 2026 |
| Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) fee | 1% | 1.75% | May 15, 2026 |
| Card reissue fee | ₹100 | ₹199 | May 15, 2026 |
| Boarding Edge | Not offered | Any 2 travel perks a quarter | May 15, 2026 |
| International lounges | 6 a year via Priority Pass | No change |
The earn rate cut sounds small, and it is. On ₹30,000 a month you used to get 800 points. Now you get 750. That’s 50 points, or ₹25 at the flight redemption rate.
The lounge rule hits harder, because lounges were the main reason a lot of people kept this card. If you only use it for one big trip a year, you might show up at the lounge and get turned away.
Boarding Edge is the new perk HDFC added to soften this. Each quarter you can pick any two from an Uber airport transfer, a spa session, a hotel dining offer or a hotel room upgrade. You claim them through SmartBuy by uploading your boarding pass.
How do Regalia Gold reward points work?
You earn 5 reward points for every ₹200 you spend on the card, including insurance, utilities and education payments. Shopping at Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital and Marks & Spencer earns 5X, which is 25 points per ₹200. Bonus points have monthly caps, and some categories earn nothing at all.
Here is how the earning breaks down:
| Where you spend | Points per ₹200 | Return at ₹0.50 a point |
|---|---|---|
| Regular spends (groceries, bills, shopping, dining) | 5 | 1.25% |
| Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital, Marks & Spencer | 25 | 6.25% |
| Hotels booked on HDFC SmartBuy | Up to 10X | Up to 12.5% |
| Flights booked on SmartBuy | Up to 5X | Up to 6.25% |
Points are calculated per ₹200, so a ₹199 coffee earns zero and a ₹350 lunch earns the same 5 points as a ₹200 one. Small spends lose a bit.
The caps matter if you spend a lot. Book1A and Card Maven list these:
- Partner brand bonus: 5,000 points a month
- SmartBuy bonus: 4,000 points a month, 2,000 a day
- Grocery: 2,000 points a month
- Total earning: 50,000 points per statement cycle
Some spends, such as fuel and wallet loads, earn no points. Check the T&C on HDFC’s site for the full exclusion list, since it changes.
Points stay valid for 2 years from when you earn them.
How much is a Regalia Gold reward point worth?
A Regalia Gold point is worth ₹0.65 on HDFC’s Exclusive Gold Catalogue, ₹0.50 on flights and hotels through SmartBuy, up to ₹0.35 on vouchers and products, and ₹0.20 as statement credit. You can also move points to Accor at 2 points to 1 ALL point.
| Redemption | Value per point | 10,000 points gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusive Gold Catalogue (SmartBuy) | ₹0.65 | ₹6,500 |
| Flights and hotels (SmartBuy) | ₹0.50 | ₹5,000 |
| Air miles (NetBanking) | Up to 0.5 miles | Up to 5,000 miles |
| Vouchers and products | Up to ₹0.35 | Up to ₹3,500 |
| Statement credit | ₹0.20 | ₹2,000 |
Look at that last row. If you cash points against your bill, your 1.25% card becomes a 0.5% card. CardExpert’s review says it bluntly: never do it.
On SmartBuy you can pay up to 70% of a flight or hotel booking with points. The rest goes on the card. Flight, hotel and statement redemptions are each capped at 50,000 points a month.
Transfer partners change often, so check the list on SmartBuy before you move anything. Accor is the one every source agrees on: 2 Regalia Gold points become 1 Accor ALL point. PickMyCard puts 2,000 ALL points at about ₹3,500 in hotel value, which works out to roughly ₹0.85 to ₹0.90 per Regalia point. That’s the best value on the card if you stay at Accor hotels (Novotel, ibis, Pullman).
What are the Regalia Gold milestone benefits?
You get a ₹1,500 voucher each calendar quarter you spend ₹1.5 lakh. Spend ₹5 lakh in your card year and you get a ₹5,000 flight voucher. Reach ₹7.5 lakh and you get another ₹5,000 flight voucher. Spending ₹4 lakh also waives next year’s ₹2,500 fee.
| Spend | Benefit |
|---|---|
| ₹1.5 lakh in a calendar quarter (Jan to Mar, Apr to Jun, etc.) | ₹1,500 voucher (Myntra, Nykaa, Reliance Digital or Marriott, per HDFC’s current list) |
| ₹4 lakh in the card year | Renewal fee waived |
| ₹5 lakh in the card year | ₹5,000 flight voucher |
| ₹7.5 lakh in the card year | Another ₹5,000 flight voucher |
The quarterly voucher uses calendar quarters, not your statement cycle. If you spend ₹1.4 lakh in March and ₹1.6 lakh in April, you get nothing for Q1 and a voucher for Q2. Plan big purchases so they land in the same quarter.
The milestone vouchers are where most of the card’s value sits. Without them, it’s a 1.25% card with a fee.
How does Regalia Gold lounge access work now?
From July 1, 2026, you get 3 domestic lounge visits each calendar quarter, but only if you spent ₹60,000 or more on the card in the previous calendar quarter. International access is separate: 6 free Priority Pass visits a year outside India, with no spend condition.
The domestic rule looks back one quarter. Here is how that plays out:
| If you spend ₹60,000+ in… | You can use 3 domestic lounges in… |
|---|---|
| January to March | April to June |
| April to June | July to September |
| July to September | October to December |
| October to December | January to March next year |
So if you get a new card in August and fly in September, you probably won’t have lounge access yet, because you had no spend in April to June. CardAdvisor notes that EMI spends don’t count toward the ₹60,000.
₹60,000 a quarter is ₹20,000 a month, about $230. If your rent, groceries and phone bill already go on the card, you will likely hit it without trying.
For international lounges, you get a Priority Pass. HDFC’s page says it activates after at least 4 retail transactions on the card. The 6 visits are shared with any add-on cardholders. After that, or if you use Priority Pass at an Indian lounge, you pay US $27 + GST per visit.
How much can you get back from the Regalia Gold in a year?
At ₹1.5 lakh a quarter (₹6 lakh a year), you get about ₹18,500 back, around 3.1%, with the fee waived and lounges unlocked. At ₹30,000 a month (₹3.6 lakh a year), you get about ₹4,500 in points but pay ₹2,950 in fees, so you net about ₹1,550.
Let’s run two real budgets. Both assume you redeem points on SmartBuy flights or hotels at ₹0.50 each.
Budget 1: ₹50,000 a month (₹6 lakh a year)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Base points: ₹6,00,000 ÷ 200 × 5 = 15,000 points | ₹7,500 |
| Quarterly vouchers: 4 × ₹1,500 | ₹6,000 |
| ₹5 lakh flight voucher | ₹5,000 |
| Renewal fee | Waived (spent over ₹4 lakh) |
| Total back | ₹18,500 (about 3.1%) |
You also get domestic lounges every quarter, because ₹1.5 lakh is well over ₹60,000.
Budget 2: ₹30,000 a month (₹3.6 lakh a year)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Base points: ₹3,60,000 ÷ 200 × 5 = 9,000 points | ₹4,500 |
| Quarterly vouchers | ₹0 (₹90,000 a quarter is under ₹1.5 lakh) |
| Flight voucher | ₹0 (under ₹5 lakh) |
| Renewal fee | –₹2,950 (under ₹4 lakh) |
| Net back | ₹1,550 (about 0.4%) |
You still get lounges, since ₹90,000 a quarter clears ₹60,000. But on money alone, a free card would beat this. The gap between these two budgets is all milestones.
If you push most of Budget 2 through Myntra or Nykaa at 5X, or book hotels through SmartBuy, the numbers go up a lot. Most people don’t spend that way every month, though.
What does the Regalia Gold cost to use abroad?
The Regalia Gold charges a 2% forex markup plus 18% GST, so 2.36% on every foreign currency transaction. You earn about 1.25% back in points, which leaves you down about 1.1%. Paying in rupees at a foreign shop (DCC) costs 1.75% from May 15, 2026.
Say you spend $1,000 on a trip to New York, about ₹88,000:
- Forex markup at 2.36%: ₹2,077
- Points earned: 88,000 ÷ 200 × 5 = 2,200 points, worth ₹1,100 on SmartBuy
- Net cost: about ₹977
That’s better than cards with a 3.5% markup (most HDFC cards, per Paisabazaar), but worse than a zero-forex card. If a shop or ATM abroad offers to charge you in rupees, say no. You’ll pay the 1.75% DCC fee on top of the shop’s own bad exchange rate.
What fees and charges should you watch on the Regalia Gold?
The main costs are the ₹2,500 + GST annual fee, 3.75% monthly interest on unpaid balances (45% a year), late fees from ₹100 to ₹1,300, a cash withdrawal fee of 2.5% (minimum ₹500), and 1% fees on some rent, utility, education and fuel payments.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee | ₹2,500 + GST |
| Interest on unpaid balance | 3.75% a month (45% a year) |
| Cash withdrawal | 2.5% of amount, minimum ₹500 |
| Forex markup | 2% + GST |
| DCC fee | 1.75% |
| Card reissue | ₹199 |
| Priority Pass visits beyond 6 | US $27 + GST each |
Late payment fees depend on how much you owe:
| Amount due | Late fee |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹100 | Nil |
| ₹101 to ₹500 | ₹100 |
| ₹501 to ₹1,000 | ₹500 |
| ₹1,001 to ₹5,000 | ₹600 |
| ₹5,001 to ₹10,000 | ₹750 |
| ₹10,001 to ₹25,000 | ₹900 |
| ₹25,001 to ₹50,000 | ₹1,100 |
| Over ₹50,000 | ₹1,300 |
Interest is the big one. At 45% a year, carrying ₹50,000 for one month costs about ₹1,875, which wipes out a full quarter’s milestone voucher. Pay in full every month.
HDFC also added 1% fees on some payments from August 1, 2024: rent paid through apps like CRED or PayZapp, utility bills over ₹50,000 in a month, education fees paid through third-party apps, and fuel over ₹15,000 in one transaction. Each is capped at ₹3,000 a transaction. Paying school or college fees directly on the institution’s site has no fee.
Who is eligible for the Regalia Gold, and can NRIs get it?
HDFC’s eligibility page asks for Indian nationals aged 21 to 60 with net monthly income over ₹1 lakh if salaried, or aged 21 to 65 with an income tax return over ₹12 lakh a year if self-employed. Several review sites quote higher figures, ₹1.5 lakh a month and ₹18 lakh a year.
| Salaried | Self-employed | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 21 to 60 | 21 to 65 |
| Income (HDFC eligibility page) | Over ₹1 lakh a month net | ITR over ₹12 lakh a year |
| Income (Paisabazaar, BankBazaar) | ₹1.5 lakh a month (₹1 lakh for govt employees) | ₹18 lakh a year |
Banks don’t approve on income alone. Your CIBIL score and existing HDFC relationship count too. A lot of people get the Regalia Gold as an upgrade offer on an older HDFC card rather than through a fresh application.
If you live in the US, your US credit history and FICO score don’t carry over. Indian banks check CIBIL, which won’t have a record of your US cards. The Regalia Gold’s eligibility rules are written for people with Indian salary or Indian tax returns. NRIs usually get Indian credit cards against a fixed deposit in an NRE or NRO account. If that’s you, ask HDFC NRI services which cards they’ll issue on that basis before you apply.
How do you apply for the HDFC Regalia Gold?
Apply on HDFC Bank’s website, through NetBanking if you already bank with HDFC, or at a branch. You’ll need your PAN, Aadhaar or another address proof, and recent salary slips or your ITR. Existing HDFC cardholders should check for an upgrade offer first.
- Check for an upgrade offer. Log in to HDFC NetBanking or the MyCards app. If you hold an HDFC card, you may see a pre-approved upgrade with no paperwork.
- Check your CIBIL score. A score above 750 gives you the best chance.
- Gather documents. PAN card, Aadhaar or passport, last 3 salary slips or last 2 years of ITR, and a recent bank statement.
- Apply online. Go to the Regalia Gold page on hdfc.bank.in and fill in the form. HDFC may do video KYC.
- Watch for first-year-free offers. HDFC sometimes waives the joining fee. Card Maven and CardExpert both mention these offers.
- Activate Priority Pass. Make at least 4 retail transactions to unlock international lounges.
- Spend ₹1 lakh in 90 days if you want the Swiggy One and MMT Black Gold memberships.
Is the HDFC Regalia Gold worth it?
The Regalia Gold is worth it if you spend at least ₹1.5 lakh a quarter on the card and redeem points for flights or hotels. Then you get about 3% back plus lounges. Below ₹4 lakh a year, the fee eats most of the rewards, and a free card may serve you better.
Get it if:
- You spend ₹5 lakh or more a year and can hit the quarterly ₹1.5 lakh milestone
- You fly a few times a year and spend ₹60,000 a quarter, so the domestic lounges stay unlocked
- You shop at Myntra, Nykaa or Reliance Digital regularly
- You book travel through SmartBuy or stay at Accor hotels
Skip it if:
- You spend under ₹30,000 a month and won’t hit ₹4 lakh a year
- You mostly want cash back and would redeem points as statement credit
- You carry a balance from month to month (45% interest beats any reward)
- You travel abroad a lot and want a zero-forex card
The card used to be easy to recommend. After the 2026 changes, it rewards people who put a lot of spending on it and punishes casual use. Be honest about how much you’ll actually spend before you apply. If you’re not sure how many cards you even need, read how many credit cards you should have. And if you’re new to cards in general, our debit vs credit card guide covers the basics.
Already have the card? Tell us in the comments how you’re dealing with the new lounge rule, and share this with that friend who still thinks they get 12 free lounge visits a year. If you have a question about your own spending, send it through our Contact Us page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual fee for the HDFC Regalia Gold credit card?
The joining and renewal fee is ₹2,500 plus 18% GST, so ₹2,950 a year. HDFC waives the renewal fee if you spend ₹4 lakh in your card year. Cash withdrawals and balance transfers don’t count toward that ₹4 lakh.
How many reward points does the Regalia Gold give per ₹100?
It gives 2.5 points per ₹100, because the rate is 5 points per ₹200. Before May 15, 2026 it was 4 points per ₹150, or about 2.67 per ₹100.
What is the value of 1 Regalia Gold reward point?
One point is worth ₹0.65 on the Exclusive Gold Catalogue, ₹0.50 on flights and hotels through SmartBuy, up to ₹0.35 on vouchers and ₹0.20 as statement credit.
Does the Regalia Gold still give free lounge access?
Yes, with a condition. From July 1, 2026, you get 3 domestic lounge visits a quarter if you spent ₹60,000 in the previous calendar quarter. You also get 6 international Priority Pass visits a year with no spend condition.
What is the forex markup on the Regalia Gold?
It’s 2% plus 18% GST, which is 2.36% on foreign currency spends. You earn points on these spends, worth about 1.25% at the SmartBuy rate.
What income do you need for the Regalia Gold?
HDFC’s eligibility page lists net monthly income over ₹1 lakh for salaried applicants and ITR over ₹12 lakh a year for self-employed applicants. Some review sites quote ₹1.5 lakh a month and ₹18 lakh a year.
Can I get the Regalia Gold if I live in the US?
It’s hard. The card is for people with Indian income and a CIBIL history. Your US credit score doesn’t transfer. NRIs usually need a card issued against an NRE or NRO fixed deposit, so check with HDFC NRI services.
What are the Regalia Gold milestone benefits?
You get a ₹1,500 voucher for each calendar quarter with ₹1.5 lakh spend, a ₹5,000 flight voucher at ₹5 lakh annual spend and another ₹5,000 flight voucher at ₹7.5 lakh.
