HDFC Bank PIXEL Play Credit Card

HDFC Bank · Open to apply

HDFC's digital cashback card, run from the PayZapp app: 5% on two brand packs you pick, 3% on one e-commerce platform you pick and 1% on everything else, plus 5% on SmartBuy and 1% on UPI for the RuPay card. The 5%, 3%, SmartBuy and UPI tiers are each capped at 500 CashPoints a month. The ₹500 fee is waived at ₹20,000 in 90 days and ₹1 lakh a year.

Annual fee
₹500 + GST a year
Joining fee
₹500 + GST
Fee waiver
Annual fee waived on ₹1,00,000 spend per card year
Base rate
1% on all other spends: 1 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 1% at cash value)
Lounges
None on record
Forex markup
3.5%
Data
From bank documents, checked 6 Nov 2026

Main earn rates

  • 5% at BookMyShow and Zomato (Dining & Entertainment pack, if chosen): 5 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 5% at cash value)
  • 5% at MakeMyTrip and Uber (Travel pack, if chosen): 5 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 5% at cash value)
  • 5% at Blinkit and Reliance Smart Bazaar stores (Grocery pack, if chosen): 5 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 5% at cash value)
  • 5% at Croma and Reliance Digital stores (Electronics pack, if chosen): 5 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 5% at cash value)
  • 5% at Nykaa and Myntra (Fashion pack, if chosen): 5 PIXEL CashPoints per ₹100 (about 5% at cash value)

Earns nothing on

  • No CashPoints on fuel
  • No CashPoints on wallet loads, gift or prepaid card loads and voucher purchases (MCC 6540)
  • No CashPoints on rent or government-related payments
  • No CashPoints on EMI, including purchases converted to EMI later
  • No CashPoints on online skill-based gaming (from 1 October 2025)

Where the sources disagree

  • joining and annual fee: The product page banner calls the card "Lifetime Free" (an earlier copy of the page said "only when you apply online"), while the page's Fees & Charges section and the PIXEL MITC give ₹500 + GST with a waiver on ₹20,000 in 90 days and ₹1 lakh a year. The ₹500 with waivers is used. HDFC's microsite FAQ also says "lifetime free with no joining or renewal fees".
  • cap on the 1% category: The 22 December 2025 T&C and the microsite say the 1% category is unlimited; the 30 July 2026 T&C and the PIXEL MITC ("Fair Usage Policy as of Oct'25") cap it at 15,000 CashPoints a month. The cap is used.
  • spend beyond the 500 CashPoint caps: The 22 December 2025 T&C says spend beyond the 500 CashPoint cap on packs and the 3% platform "shall not be considered"; the 30 July 2026 T&C says 1% applies beyond the cap. The newer T&C is used.
  • Swiggy Dineout offer: The T&C (both versions) says the Dineout offer was valid till 31 December 2025, twice a month and ₹200 per transaction; the microsite says the same 10% offer runs to 31 December 2026 with a ₹300 a month limit.

Terms the calculator does not value

  • The packs and the e-commerce platform can be swapped every 3 months; the calculator values the single best pick for a whole year. Most pack merchants (BookMyShow, MakeMyTrip, Uber, Blinkit, Reliance stores, Croma, Nykaa, PayZapp) have no spend line of their own in the calculator, so those options add value only where a profile names the merchant.
  • Pack and e-commerce earn depends on HDFC having the merchant's terminal and merchant IDs; transactions from IDs not on HDFC's list earn only the 1% base rate.
  • Customers who pick Myntra, Nykaa or MakeMyTrip in a pack, or PayZapp as the 3% platform, also get 5% on those merchants through SmartBuy, and PayZapp 3% customers get 5% on SmartBuy spends through PayZapp. Neither is modelled.
  • CashPoints are worth ₹1 only inside PayZapp (wallet and brand vouchers); there is no statement-credit or travel redemption. The minimum balance to redeem is 1,000 CashPoints.
  • The FD-backed version of this card (no income proof, credit limit 90% of an FD of ₹56,000 to ₹5,00,000) earns the same rewards; the calculator values the unsecured card.
  • Groceries, utilities and telecom: the general MITC's monthly caps (clause m, "Reward Points earned on Grocery transactions will be capped per month to ... 1000 reward points for the rest of the cards", from 1 January 2023; clause n, utility and telecom "capped at 2000 Reward Points per calendar month", from 1 September 2024) are not applied. The PIXEL cards have their own "KEY FACT STATEMENT CUM MOST IMPORTANT TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR PIXEL CREDIT CARDS" (s4; also printed in MITC v4.15), whose Reward Points section caps only insurance ("W.e.f 1st Oct 2025 CashPoints / Reward points accrued for insurance transactions will have a maximum cap of 2000 per month") and the 1% category (Fair Usage Policy, 15,000 CashPoints a month), with no grocery, utility or telecom cap; and clauses m and n speak of "Reward Points" only, where the MITC writes "Reward Points/CashPoints" when it means both. Grocery, utility and telecom spend earn the card's own rates: the base 1% inside the 15,000 cap, or the Grocery pack's 5% at Blinkit and Reliance Smart Bazaar inside the pack cap.

Sources

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