HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card

HDFC Bank · Open to apply

HDFC's entry rewards card. It pays 10 CashPoints per ₹200 on BigBasket, BookMyShow, OYO, Swiggy and Uber (up to 2,500 a month) and 1 per ₹200 on everything else, but a CashPoint is worth only ₹0.15, so the best case is about 0.75% and the usual case under 0.1%. Fee ₹500, waived at ₹50,000 spend a year.

Annual fee
₹500 + GST a year
Joining fee
₹500 + GST
Fee waiver
Annual fee waived on ₹50,000 spend per card year
Base rate
1 CashPoint per ₹200 on other spends: 1 CashPoints per ₹200 (about 0.07% at cash value)
Lounges
None on record
Forex markup
3.5%
Data
From bank documents, checked 6 Nov 2026

Main earn rates

  • SmartBuy at IGP, Jockey and PharmEasy, 10% CashBack: 10% in SmartBuy CashBack on top of the base rate (about 10% at cash value)
  • SmartBuy flights and hotels, 5% CashBack on top of the base: 5% in SmartBuy CashBack on top of the base rate (about 5% at cash value)
  • SmartBuy at Myntra, Nykaa, redBus, Zoomcar, Apple (Imagine Tresor) and MakeMyTrip holiday packages, 5% CashBack: 5% in SmartBuy CashBack on top of the base rate (about 5% at cash value)
  • SmartBuy instant brand vouchers, 5% CashBack: 5% in SmartBuy CashBack on top of the base rate (about 5% at cash value)
  • SmartBuy ConfirmTkt train tickets, 1% CashBack: 1% in SmartBuy CashBack on top of the base rate (about 1% at cash value)

Earns nothing on

  • No CashPoints on fuel
  • No CashPoints on rent or government-related payments (from 1 January 2023)
  • No CashPoints on wallet, gift card or prepaid card loads or voucher purchases
  • No CashPoints on EMI (from 1 September 2024), including Smart EMI and Dial an EMI
  • No CashPoints on online skill-based gaming (from 1 July 2025)
  • No CashPoints on education fees paid through third-party apps (from 1 September 2024)
  • No CashPoints on cash advances

Where the sources disagree

  • rounding unit on the RuPay page: HDFC's RuPay credit card page still says "1 CashPoint for every ₹150 on other spends" and offers 5X on EMI. The Freedom T&C published 15 May 2026, the May 2026 notice and the product page say ₹200 per CashPoint and the EMI feature was removed on 1 September 2024. The T&C is used.
  • rent, fuel, utility and education fee terms: The T&C (15 May 2026) repeats the 1 August 2024 text: 1% on rent capped at ₹3,000 a transaction, fuel above ₹15,000 capped at ₹3,000, utilities above ₹50,000 a transaction, education through apps capped at ₹3,000. The MITC v4.15 has the ₹4,999 caps and a monthly utility test. The MITC is used (issuer file).

Terms the calculator does not value

  • The ₹50 + GST fee on each statement-credit redemption (minimum 3,334 CashPoints) is counted once a year in the calculator; a cardholder redeeming every month pays about ₹600 a year before GST.
  • SmartBuy cashback applies only to purchases made through the SmartBuy portal and only if the calculator's portal option is on. Freedom is assumed to sit in the SmartBuy table's "Other credit card" column; the card's own T&C only says SmartBuy and PayZapp offers apply as per their terms. PayZapp offers are not entered.
  • CashPoints post in the first week of the month after settlement, not the month they are earned. 10X CashPoints need the merchant's terminal and merchant IDs to be set up, so some transactions at the five merchants may not qualify.

Sources

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