Small Typo: Last Column is for 10x categories

HDFC’s July 2026 SmartBuy terms now place a separate voucher cap inside the total monthly SmartBuy cap.

Effective From: 1 July 2026

What's Changed?

HDFC SmartBuy will now track Brand Voucher (Gyftr/Woohoo) purchases under a separate monthly reward cap.

This cap applies only to Brand Vouchers and is calculated within your overall monthly SmartBuy reward limit.

Brand Voucher Monthly Caps

• Infinia: 3,000 Reward Points
• Diners Black Metal & BizBlack Metal: 3,000 Reward Points
• Diners Black: 3,000 Reward Points
• Regalia, Diners Privilege & BizPower: 3,000 Reward Points
• Tata Neu, Other Credit Cards, Debit Cards & PayZapp: 1,000 points/cashback

AU Ananta Credit Card

Fees

• Joining fee: ₹2,000 + GST
• Annual fee: ₹2,000 + GST
• Annual fee waiver at ₹3,00,000 spend

Welcome Benefit

8,000 RP worth ₹2,000. Fully offsets the joining fee but generates no surplus value.

Rewards Structure

Category	Earn Rate	Effective Return
Shopping, Dining, Travel	5 RP/₹100	1.25%
Other Spends	2 RP/₹100	0.50%
Utilities & Telecom	1 RP/₹100	0.25%

>Utilities/Telecom capped at 100 RP per transaction (₹25 value cap per transaction)

Milestone Benefits (Total potential: 50,000 RP = ₹12,500)

Spend Threshold	Bonus RP	Value
₹2.5L	5,000 RP	₹1,250
₹5L	10,000 RP	₹2,500
₹7.5L	15,000 RP	₹3,750
₹10L	20,000 RP	₹5,000

Milestones add an incremental +1.25% at the full ₹10L ladder, pushing shopping categories to a blended ~2.5% effective rate at high spends. Without milestones, the rate stays at 1.25%.

Lounge Access

4 visits/quarter, conditional on AU Rewardz flight bookings above ₹5,000.

Other Benefits

• 1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at ₹200/statement cycle
• Air accident cover, flight delay and baggage delay coverage, baggage loss, passport loss
• Purchase protection and device protection

AU Lakshya Credit Card

Fees

• Joining fee: ₹1,000 + GST
• Annual fee: ₹1,000 + GST
• Annual fee waiver at ₹2,00,000 spend

Welcome Benefit

4,000 RP worth ₹1,000 or equivalent voucher. Offsets the fee, no surplus.

Rewards Structure

Category	Earn Rate	Effective Return
Grocery, Dept. Stores, Contactless	5 RP/₹100	1.25%
Other Spends	2 RP/₹100	0.50%
Utilities & Telecom	1 RP/₹100	0.25%

No milestone benefits.

Lounge Access

2 visits/quarter, conditional on meeting spend criteria.

Other Benefits

• 1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at ₹150
• Buy one get one movie ticket offers
• Up to 15% discount on Zomato and Amazon Fresh
• Basic insurance, no dedicated travel insurance suite like Ananta

AU Tejas Credit Card

Fees

• Joining fee: ₹500 + GST
• Annual fee: ₹500 + GST
• Annual fee waiver at ₹1,50,000 spend

Welcome Benefit

2,000 RP worth ₹500 or equivalent voucher.

Rewards Structure

Category	Earn Rate	Effective Return
AU Rewardz Portal	5 RP/₹100	1.25%
All Other Spends	1 RP/₹100	0.25%

Instant Discount Benefits

10% instant discount on Zomato, Amazon Fresh, Uber/Ola/Rapido, and bill payments, capped at ₹50 per transaction.

Milestone Benefit

500 RP (₹125) on completing 5 transactions of ₹500 or more.

Other Benefits

• Basic insurance and device protection

AU Prathama Credit Card

Fees

• Joining fee: ₹100 + GST
• Annual fee: ₹100 + GST
• Annual fee waiver at ₹75,000 spend

Welcome Benefit

None.

Rewards Structure

Category	Earn Rate	Effective Return
Contactless Spends	2 RP/₹100	0.50%
All Other Spends	1 RP/₹100	0.25%

Milestone Mechanism

Spend ₹5,000/month and incremental spends beyond this threshold earn at 2 RP/₹100.

Bonus Feature

500 RP (₹125) for setting up standing instructions.

Other Benefits

• 1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at ₹100
• Basic insurance and device protection

Side-by-Side Summary

Feature	Ananta	Lakshya	Tejas	Prathama
Joining Fee	₹2,000	₹1,000	₹500	₹100
Fee Waiver At	₹3L	₹2L	₹1.5L	₹75K
Best Earn Rate	1.25%	1.25%	1.25% (portal only)	0.50%
Milestone Rewards	Up to ₹12,500	None	Minimal	Minimal
Lounge Access	4/quarter	2/quarter	None	None
Travel Insurance	Full suite	Basic	Basic	Basic
Lifestyle Discounts	None	Yes	Yes	None

Verdict

These cards largely disappoint given the fees and the increasingly competitive Indian credit card market.

Within AU Bank's own lineup, better alternatives exist: AU Ixigo, AU LIT, and AU Cheq are meaningfully better options.

If your spending falls in categories with accelerated earn rates, there are far better cards available outside AU Bank entirely.

Hard to recommend any of these four for new applicants.