BIG NEWS: IDFC First Credit cards Devaluation Announced 2026 | IDFC Millennia | IDFC Ashva & Mayura

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Hi everyone, welcome to Card Academy. So there was a time when people used to call IDFC First Bank credit cards a hidden gem.

[00:00:06]Lifetime free cards, unlimited lounges, lifetime valid reward points, movie offers and a very premium feel. Ok? But now it seems that the bank is gradually withdrawing all the benefits. And now IDFC has announced another major devaluation.

[00:00:20]And this time not just one card but Wealth, Mayura, Ashwa, Millennia, Power almost all have been impacted. So in today's video we will understand exactly what changes have happened, how much impact has been made on which type of cards and whether IDFC cards are worth it now or not. So do watch the video till the end because some changes are genuinely quite painful. They are quite bad. Let's begin.

[00:00:46]Lifetime reward points are no longer lifetime. Yes. Do you know what was the biggest USP of IDFC? Lifetime valid reward points. That means the points will never expire.

[00:00:55]Banks literally marketed this thing for like years.

[00:00:59]But now, from the statement sale of July 2026, the validity of reward points earned will be only 24 months on many cards like Wealth and Millennia. And honestly, it's a great round grade. For example, if you use the card casually, collect points for two to three years and use them for travel or expense redemption. So now the problem is that if you do not use your points on time then those points will expire. And this is the thing that hurts premium users the most. Because the whole game of premium cards is to accumulate points and then later you can redeem them. So that flexibility is now ending. The second change is in movie ticket benefits. No Bogo movie offer is available almost directly on cards.

[00:01:48]But now Wealth Mayura Ashva users will have to spend ₹00 in the previous month to unlock this movie benefit.

[00:01:57]First, lounge access should be spend based. Then now movie benefits have also become spend based. Meaning, the spending conditions that the banks are imposing behind the Slowly Slowly Every Free benefit are going to cause a lot of problems to the users.

[00:02:10]Think honestly if someone is a premium card user. Isn't it? He is already paying the annual fee. If he is a high segment customer, then spending ₹2000 for movie tickets and imposing a condition on him seems very weird.

[00:02:20]And if we look at the other side of this part, if someone is already a high spender user then spending Rs 20,000 is not a big deal for him. It is a small amount.

[00:02:29]So let us now talk about the third change.

[00:02:31]This is a major change. Now reward points will be available only up to your assigned credit limit in one billing cycle. For example, your credit limit is ₹2 lakh. Ok? And you spent ₹3 lakh in the billing cycle. So, you will not get the reward points that you should have got on the extra ₹1 lakh that you spent. And this will directly affect business users or high spenders.

[00:02:53]Obviously, many people use cards for heavy transactions for the purpose of rewards optimization. So the bank is basically saying that you can spend but you will get limited rewards. Okay, now let us talk specifically about the wealth card. There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that you will now get 10X reward points on dining, travel and international spends from the first transaction itself. Earlier you had to cross a spend threshold of ₹00 to unlock accelerated rewards.

[00:03:23]So technically this is a positive change.

[00:03:25]But what is the problem? The problem is that the bank gave one benefit but reduced three benefits. Like lifetime validity has been removed. Movie spend conditions have come into effect and rewards are capped. So net net users are not happy.

[00:03:39]Changes have also come for millionaire users. Travel booking rewards have been reduced. There was a 33% bonus on hotels and 13% on flights. Now you will get 20% off on hotels and 10% off on flights and now the travel rewards have also been reduced in the Power Card. That means the overall trend is clear. Banks are reducing reward liabilities. It is becoming expensive for banks to give more rewards to users.

[00:04:02]So to be honest, this is not happening only with IDFC Bank.

[00:04:05]Almost every bank is slowly devaluing. Why?

[00:04:09]Because credit card usage has been explored in India.

[00:04:12]End users have also become smarter. People now maximize rewards. Lounges are abused. Literally optimize movie benefits and manufactured spends. And what is its result? The result is that the cost to the bank is increasing.

[00:04:29]And what do banks do because of this? They impose spend conditions. Reduces the reward rate.

[00:04:35]Introduce validity. Isn't it? That has a validity of 2 years.

[00:04:38]So IDFC Bank is also doing the same thing now. So the final question is should you close your IDFC card?

[00:04:44]According to me it depends on your usage. If you are a casual user, you have a lifetime free card. If you occasionally use the lounge or go to the movies, you can keep this card.

[00:04:55]But if you want to maximize the rewards. The travel is heavy. Had taken the card for premium benefits.

[00:05:02]So honestly the value proposition has become quite weak. And then there is this continuous devaluation that every bank is doing. So now what do you think about IDFC First Credit Cards, I know many people will say in the comments that these credit cards are useless cards, they are such cards, they are such cards.

[00:05:18]But do you think IDFC First credit cards are worth it or not? Please do tell us in the comment section. And which IDFC First credit card do you use? Please do tell this also in the comments. Will you continue or are you thinking of switching? If you like the video then like it.

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