HDFC Bank Solitaire Credit Card Review 2026: Discontinued, 0.3% Base, Vouchers & FAQs
HDFC Solitaire is discontinued. It earned 3 Reward Points per ₹200 at ₹0.20 — 0.3% — with 50% more on dining and grocery and ₹1,000 vouchers at ₹75,000 half-yearly spend. For existing holders.
The HDFC Bank Solitaire Credit Card is discontinued and no longer open to new applicants. This review describes the product as it stands for existing holders.
Marketed as a premium women's card, it earned 3 Reward Points per ₹200 — about 0.3% — with a 50% uplift on dining and grocery, and a ₹1,000 shopping voucher at each ₹75,000 of half-yearly spend.
HDFC Bank Solitaire Credit Card Quick Overview
| **Card type** | Discontinued premium women's card |
|---|---|
| **Best for** | Existing holders only — closed to new applications |
| **Joining / renewal fee** | ₹500 + GST, same on renewal |
| **Network** | Visa, Mastercard |
| **Base reward rate** | **0.3%** |
| **Top reward rate** | **0.45%** — Dining and grocery |
| **Reward currency** | Reward Points, valued at ₹0.2 each |
| **Lounge access** | None published |
| **Forex markup** | 3.5% |
Reward Structure: How You Earn
The card earns 3 Reward Points per ₹200 — 0.3% at the ₹0.20 redemption rate — with 50% more on dining and grocery, which is 4.5 points per ₹200.
HDFC moved this card from ₹150 to ₹200 earning blocks on 15 May 2026 — a 25% cut to accrual. Any page quoting a ₹150 basis predates the change.
| Spend | Effective rate |
|---|---|
| Dining and grocery | **0.45%** |
| Everything else | 0.3% |
| Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government, gaming | **0%** |
Solitaire is one of only two HDFC legacy cards that publishes its redemption rate, and it is worth noting because it anchors the valuation used across the rest of the range: 100 Reward Points = ₹20, or ₹0.20 a point.
A ₹99 redemption fee applies per redemption, which the reward schema has no field for. On a small redemption it swallows most of the value — at ₹0.20 a point, ₹99 is 495 points. Redeem in large blocks or not at all.
The half-yearly milestone is the best part of the card. ₹75,000 of spend in six months earns a ₹1,000 shopping voucher, so up to ₹2,000 a year — which at ₹12,500 a month of spending is a far better return than the 0.3% base rate provides.
Milestone Benefits
| Spend | Benefit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ₹75,000 a year | ₹1,000 shopping voucher | ₹1,000 |
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 | ₹500 + GST |
| Renewal fee | ₹500 + 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 HDFC Bank Solitaire Credit Card Worth It?
The card is closed, so the only live question is whether to keep it.
Keep it if you clear ₹75,000 every six months. Two ₹1,000 vouchers a year against a ₹500 fee is a clear positive, and the fee is the same as most entry cards.
Close it if you do not. At 0.3% with a ₹99 redemption fee, a card that misses its milestones returns almost nothing.
The earn rate, fee and redemption value here come from a third-party aggregator, because HDFC's own page no longer carries the card's detail. Only the block change is confirmed by HDFC directly.
The legacy point valuation is an estimate. HDFC publishes no redemption table for this card. ₹0.20 is anchored on the two legacy cards that do publish one — Solitaire at ₹0.20 and Titanium Edge at ₹0.10 — so ₹0.10 is a live possibility here too, in which case the rate above is double what it should be.
HDFC's Fair Usage Policy caps the legacy range at 15,000 Reward Points earned per statement cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is the HDFC Solitaire card still available? No. It is discontinued and closed to new applicants. Existing holders keep the card.
What was the Solitaire earn rate? 3 Reward Points per ₹200 — 0.3% at ₹0.20 a point — with 50% more on dining and grocery. It earned per ₹150 before 15 May 2026.
What is a Solitaire Reward Point worth? ₹0.20 — the card publishes 100 Reward Points = ₹20, one of only two published redemption rates in HDFC's legacy range.
What is the milestone benefit? A ₹1,000 shopping voucher for every ₹75,000 of spend in a six-month period, so up to ₹2,000 a year.
Is there a redemption fee? Yes, ₹99 per redemption. At ₹0.20 a point that is 495 points, so redeem in large blocks.
What does it not earn on? Fuel, rent, wallet loads, government payments, third-party education apps and online gaming earn nothing, and points are reversed if a purchase is converted to SmartEMI.
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