Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank Card Review 2026: ₹299 Fee, First Citizen Points & FAQs
Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank Credit Card charges ₹299 and earns First Citizen points worth ₹1 at Shoppers Stop. HDFC publishes no earn rate and no lounge access. Fees and FAQs.
The standard Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank card is a ₹299 retail co-brand earning First Citizen points redeemable at Shoppers Stop.
As with the Black variant, HDFC publishes no earn rate, which makes the card difficult to assess and impossible to compare properly.
Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Entry-level retail co-brand card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Frequent Shoppers Stop customers on a minimal fee budget |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | ₹299 + GST, same on renewal |
| **Network** | Visa, Mastercard |
| **Base reward rate** | **Not published by the issuer** |
| **Reward currency** | Reward Points, valued at ₹1 each |
| **Welcome benefit** | Shoppers Stop voucher worth ₹500, redeemable on any transaction at a Shoppers Stop store |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.5% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
The card earns First Citizen points valued at ₹1 inside Shoppers Stop.
HDFC publishes no general off-band earn rate for this card. The rate table below shows 0% for everything outside the named categories because nothing else is stated anywhere — but that is an absence of information, not a confirmed zero. Spending outside those categories may earn something HDFC has not disclosed.
This card was unaffected by HDFC's 15 May 2026 rate change, which moved the Reward Point cards from ₹150 to ₹200 earning blocks. The co-brands were left alone.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| Everything else | 0.0% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
There is no lounge access and no travel benefit on this variant — those belong to the ₹4,500 Black card. What you get for ₹299 is First Citizen tier benefits and an unpublished earn rate.
Category Restrictions: Where You Won't Earn
- Where you earn nothing: Earns nothing at all: fuel; EasyEMI and e-wallet loading; rent, property management, maintenance and packers-and-movers; government transactions; education paid through third-party apps such as CRED, Cheq or MobiKwik (paying a college or school directly still earns); and online skill-based gaming. Points are also REVERSED if a retail transaction is later converted to SmartEMI.
- Point expiry: Reward Points are valid for 24 months from accrual and lapse thereafter — HDFC states 'Unredeemed Reward Points will expire/lapse after 2 years of accumulation'.
- Redemption fee: ₹99 per redemption.
Fees and Charges
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹299 + GST |
| Renewal fee | ₹299 + GST |
| Finance charges | Up to 3.75% per month (45% per annum). The rate applied depends on the card variant and the cardholder's profile. |
| Interest-free period | Up to 50 days, and only if the previous month's balance was cleared in full. No interest-free period applies once a balance is revolved or a cash advance taken. |
| Minimum amount due | 5% of the total outstanding, or the sum of 100% of EMI, fees, charges, interest and any overlimit amount plus 1% of the principal — whichever is higher. Subject to a minimum of ₹200. |
| Cash advance fee | 2.5% of the amount withdrawn, subject to a minimum of ₹500. |
| Cash advance interest | Up to 3.75% per month, charged from the date of withdrawal until repayment in full. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% on the INR-converted amount for most variants; premium variants carry 2%. |
| Dynamic currency conversion | 1.75% markup on transactions made in Indian rupees at an international merchant or an overseas-registered merchant, with effect from 15 May 2026. |
| Late payment | Nil up to ₹100; ₹100 for ₹101–₹500; ₹500 for ₹501–₹1,000; ₹600 for ₹1,001–₹5,000; ₹800 for ₹5,001–₹10,000; ₹1,100 for ₹10,001–₹25,000; ₹1,300 for ₹25,001–₹50,000; ₹1,300 above ₹50,000. |
| Overlimit | 2.5% of the overlimit amount, subject to a minimum of ₹550. |
| Payment return | 2% of the payment amount, subject to a minimum of ₹450. |
| Rent payment | 1% of the transaction amount on rent payments made through third-party merchants, levied FROM THE SECOND rental transaction of the calendar month — so the first rent payment each month is free of it. Rent and property-management transactions also earn no Reward Points at all, w.e.f. 1 January 2023. |
| Wallet load | 1% on wallet-loading spends exceeding ₹10,000 in a calendar month, excluding PayZapp, with effect from 1 October 2025. The fee applies to the total wallet-loading spend for the month, capped at ₹4,999. |
| Utility payments | 1% on utility spends exceeding ₹50,000 in a calendar month for consumer cards (₹75,000 for business cards), with effect from 1 October 2025. The fee applies to the total utility spend for the month, capped at ₹4,999. |
| Education payments | 1% on education transactions made through third-party applications such as CRED, NoBroker or Cheq, capped at ₹4,999 per transaction. Education paid DIRECTLY through a college or school website, or at its POS machine, attracts no fee. |
| Fuel transactions | 1% on fuel transactions exceeding ₹15,000 for consumer cards (₹30,000 for business cards), with effect from 1 October 2025. The fee applies to the total transacted amount, capped at ₹4,999 per transaction. |
| Online skill-based gaming | 1% on online skill-based gaming spends exceeding ₹10,000 in a calendar month, with effect from 1 October 2025, applied to the month's total and capped at ₹4,999. |
| Card replacement | ₹100 plus taxes. |
| Add-on card | Nil. |
| Reward redemption | ₹99 plus taxes on redemption through the rewards catalogue. |
| EMI processing | ₹199 plus taxes on retail EMI conversion. |
| GST | 18% on all fees, interest and charges. |
Is the Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank Credit Card Worth It?
At ₹299 the downside is small, but so is everything else. Without a published earn rate there is no way to say whether the card returns more than its fee.
Its plausible value is the First Citizen tier status rather than the points — faster tier progression and member pricing at Shoppers Stop can be worth more than a low single-digit earn rate.
Points spend only at Shoppers Stop, so this is a card for a household that already shops there.
Ask HDFC for the earn rate before applying. It is a short question and it is the only thing that would make this card comparable to anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the earn rate on the Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank card? HDFC does not publish one. That is an absence of information rather than a zero — ask the bank.
Does it give lounge access? No. Lounge access belongs to the ₹4,500 Shoppers Stop Black variant.
What is the fee? ₹299 plus GST. No waiver threshold is published.
What are First Citizen points worth? ₹1 each at Shoppers Stop, set by Shoppers Stop. No cash-out or statement credit.
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