HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card

1) What are the key features of Freedom Credit Card?

• Earn 10X CashPoints i.e., 10 CashPoints per ₹150 spent - BigBasket, BookMyShow,
OYO, Swiggy & Uber (Applicable on non-EMI/ Retails spends)
• Earn 5X CashPoints i.e., 5 CashPoints per ₹150 spent on EMI spends at Merchant
locations
• Earn 1 CashPoint per ₹150 spent (Excluding Fuel transactions, Rent Payments, Govt
Transactions, Wallet loads / Gift or Prepaid Card Loads / Vouchers)
• Interest rate of 0.99% on retail/ non-EMI spends outstanding applicable for first 90
days from card issuance date (Not applicable on Insta loan, Insta Jumbo Loan,
SmartEMI, EasyEMI, Balance transfer or Cash transactions)
Note
• With effect from 1st January 2023, Rent payments and Govt Related transactions will
NOT earn Reward Points
• With effect from 1st January 2023, Reward points earned on Grocery transactions will
be capped per month to 1,000 reward points.

2) What is Freedom 10X CashPoints feature?

• The Freedom 10X feature gives the cardholder 10 times CashPoints for spending on -
BigBasket, BookMyShow, OYO, Swiggy & Uber
• 10X CashPoints feature is applicable on non-EMI / retail spends across App, Website
on these merchants
• EMI transactions on these merchants will be eligible under 5X CashPoints feature
• The Maximum CashPoints that can be earned under this feature is 2,500 CashPoints
per Calendar Month

3) What is Freedom 5X CashPoints feature on EMI Spends?

• The Freedom 5X feature gives the cardholder 5 times CashPoints for EMI Spends.
• Below types of EMI’s are considered for the 5X CashPoints feature.
o Merchant EMI/EasyEMI
o Aggregator EMI
o Brand EMI
• SmartEMI/Dial an EMI (DAE) is not considered under this feature
• If the cardholder did a transaction from the merchants under 10X CashPoints feature
and opted for an EMI, then the cardholder will get 5X CashPoints only
• Only EMI principal amount will be rewarded with CashPoints. Interest & processing
fees, Tax amounts will not be eligible for CashPoints
• The Maximum CashPoints that can be earned under this feature is 2,500 points per
Calendar Month
• If the EMI transaction is preclosed, the cardholder will be awarded only 1 CashPoint
Per ₹150 on the remaining outstanding amount
In case of Cancellation/reversal/refund of EMI transactions, CashPoints posted will get
reversed from the cardholder’s account
4) What is 0.99% interest rate feature on Freedom Card?

• The 0.99% interest rate is a feature on Freedom Credit Card which offers Freedom
Cardholders only 0.99% interest rate on retail / non-EMI spends. It is applicable only
for a period of first 90 days from the card issuance date. (Post the offer period, regular
interest rate shall be applied. Refer Most Important Terms & Conditions document for
applicable interest rates)
• In other words, as per the feature, currently, the following shall be applicable:
o 0.99% per month (i.e. 11.88% annually) for 1st 90 days from card issuance date
o 3.60% per month (i.e. 43.20% annually) from 91st day onwards
• Cardholder can choose not to avail the offer (by making full payment towards retail
outstanding) during the program period
• During the period of this benefit, if Cardholder opts-in to repay only the Minimum
Amount Due (MAD) by the Payment Due Date (PDD), Late Payment Charges (LPC) will
not be levied. However, if customer does not pay the MAD; both Late Payment Charges
and Finance Charges / Interest Charges will get levied.
• During the offer period Cardholder is advised to pay the Minimum Amount Due (MAD)
to keep the account in good standing. In other words, if the Cardholder fails to pay the
MAD by the payment due date, then the credit card account will start ageing (towards
delinquency) as per Bank’s norms
• The offer is applicable only on Retail / non-EMI spend outstanding and not applicable
for Insta loan, Insta Jumbo Loan, SmartEMI, EasyEMI, Balance transfer or Cash
transactions etc.
• Cash Withdrawal, Cash on Call & Insta Loan will continue with Rate of Interest as
mentioned in the Most Important Terms & Conditions document.
• The benefit is applicable only to cardholders to whom the card has been issued on or
after October 01, 2021. i.e., this benefit shall not be applicable to cardholders to whom
the Freedom card has been issued before October 01, 2021. Additionally, this benefit
will not be applicable to existing cardholders who are upgraded or migrated to
Freedom card.

The following illustration will indicate the method of calculating the interest rate of 0.99% on
Freedom Credit Card. Assuming Card is issued on 15th of Oct'21 and statement generation
date is 10th of every month
 Interest rate of 0.99% illustration
Outstanding
Date Transaction Amount ( In Rs )
amount ( In Rs )
15-Oct Card Issued on 15th Oct
16-Oct Purchase of household items 10,000.00 10,000.00
19-Oct Purchase of garments 5,000.00 15,000.00
25-Oct Purchase of groceries 5,000.00 20,000.00
Total amount due: Rs. 20,000.00
10-Nov Statement generation date ( First Statement Cycle ) 20,000.00
Minimum amount due : Rs.10,00.00
Minimum amount Due paid ( Late Payment charges will be applicable
20-Nov
besides finance charges if minimum amount due is not paid ) 1,000.00 19,000.00
25-Nov Purchase of groceries 2,000.00 21,000.00
30-Nov Purchase of garments 4,000.00 25,000.00
10-Dec Interest Amount to be paid ( Calculated at 0.99% rate ) 213.19 25,213.19
Total amount due: Rs. 25,213.19
10-Dec Statement generation date ( Second Statement Cycle ) 25,213.19
Minimum amount due : Rs.1,270.00
11-Dec Total Outstanding Amount ( Inclusive of applicable taxes ) 25,251.56
Minimum amount Due paid ( Late Payment charges will be applicable
15-Dec
besides finance charges if minimum amount due is not paid ) 1,270.00 23,981.56
25-Dec Purchase of household items 1,500.00 25,481.56
31-Dec Purchase of tickets 750.00 26,231.56
10-Jan Interest Amount to be paid ( Calculated at 0.99% rate ) 254.61 26,486.17
Total amount due: Rs. 26,486.17
10-Jan Statement generation date ( Third statement Cycle ) 26,486.17
Minimum amount due : Rs.1,330.00
11-Jan Total Outstanding Amount ( Inclusive of applicable taxes ) 26,532.00
12-Jan Purchase of household items 3,000.00 29,532.00
Minimum amount Due paid ( Late Payment charges will be applicable
20-Jan
besides finance charges if minimum amount due is not paid ) 1,330.00 28,202.00
25-Jan Purchase of groceries 2,000.00 30,202.00
02-Feb Purchase of garments 4,000.00 34,202.00
Interest Amount to be paid ( Calculated at 3.6% interest rate post 90 days
10-Feb
& 0.99% till 90 days on outstanding amount ) 1,054.76 35,256.76
Total amount due: Rs. 35,256.76
10-Feb Statement generation date ( Fourth statement Cycle ) 35,256.76
Minimum amount due : Rs.1,770.00
11-Feb Total Outstanding Amount ( Inclusive of applicable taxes ) 35,446.62

Refer below table for detailed interest amount calculation on outstanding amount which is
posted on the statement generation date:
 Amount
Interest Calculation
( In Rs)

Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.20000.00 from 11th Nov to 19th Nov (i.e for 9 days) 58.59

Interest Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.19000.00 from 20th Nov to 24th Nov (i.e for 5 days) (After
30.92
amount payment of Minimum Amount Due on 20th Nov)
to be Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.21000.00 from 25th Nov to 29th Nov (i.e for 5 days)
34.18
paid on (Includes Rs.2000 purchase of groceries on 25th Nov)
10th Dec Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.25000.00 from 30th Nov to 10th Dec (i.e for 11 days)
89.51
(Includes Rs.4000 purchase of garments on 30th Nov)
Total Interest amount to be paid 213.19
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.25251.56 from 11th Dec to 14th Dec (i.e for 4 days) 32.88
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.23981.56 from 15th Dec to 24th Dec (i.e for 10 days) (After
Interest 78.06
payment of Minimum Amount Due on 15th Dec)
amount
to be Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.25481.56 from 25th Dec to 30th Dec (i.e for 6 days)
49.76
paid on (Includes Rs.1500 purchase of household items on 25th Dec)
10th Jan Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.26231.56 from 31st Dec to 10th Nov (i.e for 11 days)
93.92
(Includes Rs.750 for purchase of tickets on 31st Dec)
Total Interest amount to be paid 254.61
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.26532.00 for 11th Jan (i.e for 1 day) 8.64
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.29532.00 from 12th Jan to 13th Jan (i.e for 2 days)
19.22
(Includes Rs.3000 purchase of household items on 12th Jan)
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.29532.00 from 14th Jan to 19th Jan (i.e for 6 days)
Interest (Includes Rs. 3000 purchase of household items on 12th Jan & Interest calculated at 3.6% post 209.72
amount offer period of 90 days)
to be Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.28202.00 from 20th Jan to 24th Jan (i.e for 5 days) (After
paid on payment of Minimum Amount Due on 20th Jan) 166.89
10th Feb
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.30202.00 from 25th Jan to 1st Feb (i.e for 8 days) (Includes
285.97
Rs.2000 purchase of groceries on 25th Jan)
Interest on outstanding amount of Rs.34202.00 from 2nd Feb to 10th Feb (i.e for 9 days)
364.32
(Includes Rs.4000 purchase of garments on 2nd Feb)
Total Interest amount to be paid 1054.76

Note:
o Interest Calculated = (outstanding amount*interest rate p.m.*12 months*no of days)/365
o GST @18% is applicable on interest amount
o Late payment Charges will be applicable besides finance charges, if Minimum Amount Due (MAD) is not
paid within Payment Due Date. Refer Most Important Terms & Conditions document for detailed
information on Late payment fee and other fee related information

5) What are the benefits the Cardholder will get by paying at least Minimum Amount
Due (MAD) of the total outstanding amount?

Customers are advised to pay at least the Minimum Amount Due regularly before the payment
due date. Doing so shall ensure:

• Late Payment Charges are not levied on the card account

• Pay the balance amount in subsequent months without any impact on credit history/
score
• Manage your finances better in the event of a crisis
To note, by paying MAD, interest will still be applicable on the balance outstanding amount
(Total Amount Due – Minimum Amount Due). Therefore, customers are advised to make
payment in full within the payment due date to avoid interest charges being applied

6) What are the Welcome and Renewal benefits on the Freedom Credit Card?

• Cardholder will receive a welcome benefit of 500 CashPoints (Applicable only on

payment of Joining membership fee)
• Cardholder will receive a renewal benefit of 500 CashPoints (Applicable on payment of
membership fee)

7) What are CashPoints?

• CashPoints are an exclusive Rewards metric system created for our Credit
cardholders. CashPoints can be utilized towards Cashback redemption against the
statement at the rate of 1 CashPoint = ₹0.15

Please note that CashPoints will be posted as Reward Points only

8) How can a cardholder use the CashPoints earned?

• The CashPoints earned by the cardholder can be redeemed against the statement
balance at the rate of 1 CashPoint = ₹0.15, and can be done via Net Banking login,
Phone Banking, or physical redemption form
• CashPoints can also be used for redemption against travel benefits like Flight &
Hotel bookings wherein Credit Card members can redeem up to a maximum of 50%
of the booking value through CashPoints at a value of 1 CashPoint = ₹0.15 and rest
of the amount will have to be paid via the Credit Card
• For redemption as cashback against statement outstanding, Cardholder must have
CashPoints equivalent to ₹500 (i.e., 3,334 CashPoints)
• Minimum transaction of ₹150 and multiples of ₹150 is considered for CashPoints
posting
• Unredeemed CashPoints will expire/lapse on or after 2 years of accumulation

Note
• With effect from 1st January 2023, Reward points redemption for flights & hotels
bookings are capped per calendar month at 50,000.
• With effect from 1st February 2023, Reward points redemption for CashBack
redemption are capped per calendar month to 50,000 rewards points
• With effect from 1st February 2023, cardmembers can redeem upto 70% of
product/Voucher value through Reward points on select vouchers/products and pay
the remaining amount via Credit card.

9) What are the other benefits on Freedom Credit Card?

• 1% Fuel Surcharge Waiver

o 1% Fuel Surcharge waiver on fuel transactions (Minimum transaction of ₹400,
Maximum transaction of ₹5,000 & Maximum waiver of ₹250 per statement
cycle)
 o The rate of surcharge may vary depending on the fuel station and their
acquiring bank. Taxes as applicable shall apply further

• Exclusive Dining Privileges

▪ Experience the Good Food Trail Dining program at premium restaurants
across top cities. Up to 15% off at 2000+ premium restaurants in select
cities.

10) Cardholder is not getting CashPoints posted on all the spends, why so?

• CashPoints posting shall not eligible for the following spends/transactions on the card,
o Fuel Spends
o Rent payments and Govt Related transactions
o Wallet/Prepaid Reloads and voucher purchases
o Cash Advances
o Payment of Outstanding Balances
o Payment of card fees and other charges
o SmartEMI / DAE
• With effect from 1st January 2023, Rent payments and Govt Related transactions will
NOT earn Reward Points.
• With effect from 1st January 2023, Reward points earned on Grocery transactions will
be capped per month to 1,000 reward points

11) Is there any capping for CashPoints earned on Freedom Features?

• Please note that there is a calendar month capping on CashPoints accrued on the
below mentioned features.
o Maximum capping for spends under 10X feature is 2,500 CashPoints per
calendar month
o Maximum capping for spends under 5X feature on EMI spends is 2,500
CashPoints per calendar month

12) What will happen to cardholder existing CashPoints earned in the Freedom?

• The available CashPoints in cardholder account will be intact and there would be no
changes to it

13) Cardholder did a transaction on merchants under 10X feature category, but didn’t
get CashPoints as per feature, why so?

• CashPoints on 10X feature will be calculated basis the Terminal / Merchant IDs (TIDs &
MIDs) shared by the respective merchants. If in case the TID / MID is not available in
the set-up, such transactions shall not qualify for the benefit

14) How does a cardholder calculate CashPoints earned on monthly spends?

CashPoints are calculated on the spends made within the calendar month cycle. Only
settled transactions within the calendar month will be considered for CashPoints
posting.
 To check for the CashPoints accrued, refer to current and previous statement received.

For example: Cardholder statement is received on every 18th of the month. The
CashPoints accrued for transactions from 1st of January till 31st of January will be
calculated and posted on the 1st week of February and the same can be seen when
cardholder receive the statement on 18th of February. For calculating the same on
cardholder end, refer to January month statement and February month statement.
Below shows an illustration on how to calculate CashPoints earned:

JAN STATEMENT : Billing Cycle - 18th of every month

TRANSACTION AMT CASHPOINTS TYPE: CASHPOINTS
S.NO TRANSACTION AT: COMMENTS
DATE (In Rs.) TRANSACTION CATEGORY ACCRUED
1 21th Dec Restaurant Bill Payment 900 1 Point Per Rs. 150 6 Eligible for CashPoints in Dec'20 calendar month
Rent Payment via
2 22nd Dec 12,000 1 Point Per Rs. 150 80 Eligible for CashPoints in Dec'20 calendar month
PayZapp
3 01st Jan Big Basket Grocery 6,000 10X CashPoints 400 Eligible for CashPoints posting
Merchant EMI Flipkart
4 04th Jan 4,500 5X CashPoints 150 Eligible for CashPoints posting
Principal amount
Merchant EMI Flipkart Interest component of EMI is not eleigible for
5 04th Jan 400 - 0
Interest amount CashPoints posting
BookMyshow - Normal
6 7th Jan 600 10X CashPoints 40 Eligible for CashPoints posting
Purchase
7 9th Jan Fuel Transaction 500 - 0 Fuel transaction is not applicable for CashPoints
Big Basket grocery
8 10th Jan 1,500 10X CashPoints -100 To be considered under reversal of Cashpoints.
reversal
9 11th Jan Myntra Shopping 1,500 1 Point Per Rs. 150 10 Eligible for CashPoints posting

10 12th Jan Uber Travel 450 10X CashPoints 30 Eligible for CashPoints posting

11 13th Jan Netflix Subscription 450 1 Point Per Rs. 150 3 Eligible for CashPoints posting

12 14th Jan Swiggy 150 10X CashPoints 10 Eligible for CashPoints posting

Not considered, Minimum transaction amount is

13 14th Jan Swiggy 120 0
Rs.150
Jan CashPoints Total
14 543
earned Points

FEB STATEMENT : Billing Cycle - 18th of every month

TRANSACTION AMT(in CASHPOINTS TYPE: CASHPOINTS
NO TRANSACTION AT: COMMENTS
DATE Rs.) TRANSACTION CATEGORY ACCRUED
1 19th Jan Restaurant Bill Payment 1,200 1 Points Per Rs. 150 8 Eligible for CashPoints
2 22nd Jan Bill Payment via PayZapp 1,500 1 Points Per Rs. 150 10 Eligible for CashPoints
Tata Cliq - Normal 3,000 1 Points Per Rs. 150 Eligible for CashPoints
3 24th Jan 20
Purchase
4 27th Jan Fuel Transaction 400 - 0 Fuel transaction is not eligible for CashPoints
5 12th Feb Amazon Grocery 3,000 1 Points Per Rs. 150 100 Eligible for CashPoints in Feb'21 month calendar
6 13th Feb Netflix Subscription 400 1 Points Per Rs. 150 20 Eligible for CashPoints in Feb'21 month calendar
7 14th Feb Swiggy 450 1 Points Per Rs. 150 3 Eligible for CashPoints in Feb'21 month calendar
Jan CashPoints
8 Total points 38
earned
Total points Total 581 CashPoints of Jan'21 will be available
9 earned for Total points 581 for redemption post Feb'21 month statement
Jan'21 generation

15) How much CashPoints will the cardholder earn if he/she does Prepaid/Wallet loads
and Voucher purchases?

• The cardholder will not be eligible for any CashPoints on prepaid/wallet loads and
voucher purchases. All the transactions carried out through the Merchant Category
Code (MCC) of 6540 (as defined by card networks Visa, MasterCard & RuPay) will be
considered under 1% CashPoints
16) If a cardholder places an order in Uber Eats, whether cardholder will be eligible for
5% CashPoints as per product feature?

• A cardholder will be eligible for 1 CashPoint per ₹150 spent in Uber Eats. The 10X
feature on Uber is eligible for travel/commute related spends only. The Uber
transactions carried out through the MCC code of 4121 (as defined by card networks
Visa, MasterCard & RuPay) will only be considered for 10X feature

17) When will the earned CashPoints be posted in the cardholder statement?

• The total CashPoints earned in a calendar month will reflect in the subsequent
statement of the cardholder

18) How much CashPoints will be earned if cardholder spends through

SmartBuy/PayZapp?

• All the transactions through SmartBuy/PayZapp will get 1 CashPoint per ₹150 spent.
All other existing SmartBuy/PayZapp offers will be applicable as per SmartBuy/PayZapp
Terms & Conditions

19) Who is eligible for a Freedom Credit Card?

Cardholder Profile Criteria

Salaried Age: Min 21 Yrs. & Max 60 Yrs., Income: Gross Monthly
Income> ₹ 12,000

Self Employed Age: Min 21 Yrs. & Max 65 Yrs., Income: ITR > ₹ 6 Lakhs
per annum

20) Can contactless transactions be done on the Freedom Credit Card?

• The HDFC Bank Freedom Credit Card is enabled for contactless payments, facilitating
fast, convenient and secure payments at retail outlets (Check for the contactless
network symbol on the card plastic)

Please note that in India, payment through contactless mode is allowed for a maximum
of ₹5,000 for a single transaction wherein Cardholder is not asked to input Credit Card
PIN. However, if the amount is higher than or equal to ₹5,000, the Card holder has to
enter the Credit Card PIN for security reasons.

21) What are the Fees and Charges applicable on the Freedom Credit Card?

• First Year Membership Fee – ₹500/- + Applicable Taxes, Renewal Membership Fee – ₹
500/- + Applicable Taxes
• Spend ₹50,000 in 12 Months and get Renewal Fee waived for next year
Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Effective 1st July 2017, Goods & Services Tax (GST) is applicable on all Fees, Charges and
Interest transactions.

The applicable GST would be dependent on place of provision (POP) and place of supply (POS).
If POP and POS is in the same state then applicable GST would be CGST and SGST/UTGST else,
IGST.

GST for FEE & Charges / Interest transactions Billed on statement date will reflect in next month
statement.

GST levied will not be reversed on Any dispute on Fee & Charges / interest.

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