Kotak Privy League Signature Credit Card Review

Due to their extremely low reward rates, we at Card expert have historically not preferred Kotak credit cards. However, it appears that things are changing a bit lately, so I finally decided to investigate Kotak credit cards.

The Kotak Mahindra Privy League Signature Credit Card is the best option if you’re searching for a premium all-around credit card. Customers can choose from a variety of reward points in several categories with the card, which is available in two versions: Privy League Paid Card and Privy League Free Card. Customers who are looking for travel and lifestyle perks, such as savings on cinema tickets, concierge services, shopping, and more, will find that this card more than meets their demands and requirements. To learn more about this card’s credit card review, keep reading.

An overview of the Kotak Privy League Signature credit card, which is provided to Kotak’s high-end banking clients, is provided below.

Overview Kotak Privy League Signature Credit Card

• Premium Credit Card Rewards: 0.5% to 2.2% Type: Premium Credit Card
  
  
• Fee per year: 2500 INR plus GST
  
  
• Favorite for Accelerated category spending USP: Benefit from quarterly awards

This is a good card for Privy League clients if you can reach the expenditure thresholds necessary for the quarterly milestone incentives. Since there are so many other cards available in the market, I don’t see any value in the paid variant.

Joining Fee (for everyone)

• Free Card (No Renewal Fee): – 2500 INR + GST for Nil Renewal Fee (Paid Card)
  
  
• Waiver of Renewal Fees: – Spend 5,000.
  
  
• For Kotak Privy League customers with a Prima (2L balance or more), the card is free. It also has a premium version (renewal fees may apply), but in my opinion, most people shouldn’t pay for it.

Design

The card’s design appears pretty elegant with the Privy League logo on it, without a doubt. The genuine appearance is superior to the photograph.

Permanent Reward

• Accelerated Rewards Plan: You can select either the shopper’s (or) traveler’s plan.
  
  
• RP value = 0.25 INR

 A shopper’s budget typically includes expenditures for clothing, jewelry, consumer goods, dining out, and shopping at department shops.

The Traveler’s Plan comprises expenditures made at travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, and international locations.

Milestone Prizes

You’ll only be qualified for one of them, not both.

Therefore, if you can spend 8L through expedited rewards, you would receive a reward rate of up to 2.2%, which is competitive with HDFC Regalia.

But because you can’t always spend inside the range of accelerated rewards, that is rather difficult to achieve.

As a result, if you spend 8L in a non-accelerated category, your reward rate would be dismal for a premium card at 1.44%.

Quarterly Rewards

• 6400 Bonus Points every 3 months (Value: 1600 INR)

• Prerequisite: Make a monthly $1,000 payment

During the pandemic, this advantage was recently added; previously, you would have received 4 PVR tickets, each costing 400 INR.

Note: This advantage could only be available for paid versions.

Access to Airport Lounges

Since they already have a banking relationship with them, they could have also provided Priority Pass cards for no charge. However, as of the right moment, you only receive the PP membership with no free access.

Rewards

• Per Rs 100, the Privy League Signature card awards 2 to 5 reward points. The card offers the Shoppers’ Plan and the Traveller’s Plan as its two reward program
  
  
• Shopper’s and traveler’s plan accelerated categories: 5 RP/Rs 100 ~2.25%
  
  
• All other expenditures: 2 RP/100 Rs, or 0.5%

The first is intended for both online and offline transactions, as the plans indicate, while the second will benefit frequent passengers.

• Shopper’s Plan’s accelerated categories include clothing, groceries, consumer durables, multi-brand online, and department stores.

• The Traveller’s Plan has accelerated sections for airlines, hotels, duty-free shopping, overseas purchases, and travel agencies.

Monthly Milestone Bonus

Get 6400 RP each quarter for spending a minimum of Rs 1000 each month with the Quarterly Milestone Benefit. 1600 rupees.

The bonus only applies to paid cards.

This is one of the card’s better features. Spending at least Rs 3000 and receiving RP for Rs 1600 is quite kind. This is a transitional “pandemic” benefit that will shortly be replaced with the original benefit of 4 PVR tickets.

Annual Milestone Compensation

The annual milestone benefit does not significantly increase value. It ought to have been at least 1% more in return given the amount that was needed to be spent.

Reward Redeemed

On the Kotak Rewards site, accumulated reward points may be cashed. Each reward point is worth 25 for all available options. These are some of the redemption choices:

• Domestic Flights and Hotels

• Product Catalog

 • Recharge for Mobile

• Gift cards from retailers like Amazon and Flipkart

• Credit for statements

Free access to airport lounges

The free cards do not receive any complimentary entry with Priority Pass. Domestic Access: 2 free trips per year to Dream Folks lounges in India with a Visa card. International Access: 4 free visits per year using Priority Pass.

Key Advantages

For transactions between Rs. 400 and Rs. 4000, there is a 1% fuel surcharge waiver. For free cards and paid cards, the maximum waiver is Rs 4500 per calendar year and Rs 300 per month, respectively. Yes, the gasoline price waiver has a larger ceiling on the free cards.

• IRCTC reservations are eligible for the waiver of railroad surcharges. The maximum exemption is Rs 500 per year.

Program for Simple Rewards

For reward points, you can pick between the shopper’s plan and the traveler’s plan. 25 paisas are worth one reward point. You can earn 5X rewards points for every Rs. 100 spend if you use the shopper’s plan or traveler’s plan. On selected categories, both plans offer 2X reward points for every Rs. 100 spend. You should be aware that while the reward points received through the Privy League Free Card are from slightly different categories, the reward points earned through the Privy League Paid Card are from distinct categories.

Receive Rs. 100 for every 400 reward points.

The card has an annual cost of Rs. 2,500, therefore collecting rewards is rather spectacular. Once you have earned reward points, which are determined by the plan you selected, you may exchange them for a variety of items, like flight tickets, 10,000 items, mobile recharge, BookMyShow e-vouchers, etc. You can use easy rewards to redeem the reward points, but first, you must convert them into easy points.

You can also use the automatic redemption feature, which credits Rs. 100 to your account every three months after you’ve accumulated 400 reward points.

Quarterly Bonuses

Spending Rs. 1,000 per month will get you 6400 reward points every three months. For instance, if you spend Rs. 1,000 in July, August, and September, you’ll be able to earn an additional 6400 points in October. This is a limitation of the Privy League Free Card because it only applies to the paid version.

Milestone Initiative

Even though it has a standard annual cost, Kotak Mahindra Privy League Signature Credit Car also provides several milestone rewards when you meet the following spending threshold:

Priority Pass membership is complimentary with a Privy League paid card.

With a free priority pass membership, you may take advantage of complimentary beverages, free internet access, and much more for a happy experience at the airport. Additionally, you are entitled to four free visits and VIP access to more than 1300 lounges in more than 148 nations and 600 locations worldwide.

Only primary card holders are eligible for the complimentary priority pass membership; when the complimentary visits expire, they will also be charged USD 27.

Services of a Premium Concierge

With the Kotak Mahindra Privy League Signature Credit Card, you can take advantage of several concierge services, including making reservations for lodging and dining, helping with flight bookings, purchasing tickets for special events, receiving information on spas and fitness centers, and helping with referrals.

Waived Off Annual Free of Rs. 2500

The yearly charge of Rs. 2500 for this card can be waived by maintaining an Insignia or True Optima Banking Relationship or by spending Rs. 5 lakh in the preceding year.

Other Interesting Advantages

• Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% of the fuel surcharge at all Indian gas stations can be saved;

• Railway Surcharge Waiver: 1.8% to 2.5% of the railway surcharge can be waived. However, the annual maximum for the relief of the railway surcharge is Rs. 500.

• The EMI Facility lets you split any purchase over Rs. 2500 into manageable EMIs. It is advised to carefully read the terms and conditions before choosing this facility.

• Low-Interest Rate: You can take advantage of a 2.49% monthly interest rate.

• Security: Receive up to Rs. 2,50,000 in annual protection from fraudulent transactions.

Rewards program (Paid Card)

For every Rs. 100 spent on a credit card in special categories, 5 reward points are gained, and 2 are earned for all other retail purchases.

• The Buyer’s Plan

• Select categories, including clothes, groceries, consumer durables, multi-brand online businesses, and department stores, and provide 5 Reward Points.

• Get 2 back on all other retail purchases.

• A travel itinerary

• Earn 5 Reward Points on certain purchases from travel agents, duty-free shops, hotels, and airlines.

Earn 2 on all other retail purchases, with a value of 25 cents for each reward point.

Rewards Redeeming

Depending on your chosen plan, you can use your reward points to buy airline tickets, 10,000 different items, mobile recharges, and other items through easyrewardz by converting your Privy League Credit Card points into easy points.

Additionally, you have the choice of automatic redemption, which credits Rs 100 to your account every three months after you have accumulated 400 reward points.

Each reward point is worth 25 cents.

Priority Pass

You can enter more than 1300 VIP lounges in more than 148 countries and 600 locations across the world with VIP access* with a FREE Priority Pass Membership and 4 free visits. Enjoy free internet access, drinks, and a laid-back atmosphere to make your airport waiting more comfortable.

Travel comfortably

Only in India, receive two free visits per quarter to Dream Folks Lounges.

Take advantage of amenities including fine dining, cozy seats, widescreen TVs, newspapers, and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Benefits (Never End)

• You’ll receive immediate assistance from top-notch concierge services.

These include helping with flight tickets and making hotel and meal reservations.

• Purchasing tickets for special events and performances

 • Learning about spas and fitness centers

• Providing referrals

Call us at +91 22 4232 0244 to make a reservation or send us an email at kotak-concierge@aspirelifestyles.com with any questions.

Who Has Access to This Card?

With its unmatched combination of lifestyle features and potent rewards, the Kotak Mahindra Privy League Signature Card is without a doubt a premium credit card. In addition, you can select between a free and a premium version based on your needs and preferences.

The card once more dazzles you when it comes to rewarding points by offering options for those who want to earn points for shopping and those who want to earn points for travel. As a result, you can once more select the choice that is more practical for you.

For those who are ready to make purchases in several different categories to accrue reward points, this card comes highly recommended. People who don’t want to spend money in many different categories shouldn’t choose this card.

Kotak Mahindra Privy League Signature Credit Card Restrictions

Consider the following restrictions of this credit card before applying:

• There are too many categories under which reward points can be earned.

Bonus reward points are only available for paid variants, and the value of a reward point, which is 25 paise, is minimal for a premium card.

• The card does not provide a welcome incentive, which may disappoint you if you are hoping for cashback.

Comparative Analysis of Other Credit Cards That Are Similar

Final Reflections

Kotak Bank’s Privy League Signature is a respectable product. The quarterly milestone benefit is a welcome addition, despite the incentive rate being in the range of 0.5% to 2.2%. Both options—4 PVR tickets or 1600 reward points—offer substantial returns on only Rs 3000 invested in a quarter.

This Kotak Bank credit card is a solid option that we can have in our wallets. The main drawback is that interacting with Kotak Bank’s customer service might be difficult.

Bottom-Line

Rating for Cardexpert: 3.7/5

By spending just Rs. 1000 every month, you can get an exceptional value of Rs. 6400 every year. Apart from Kotak Merchant offers and other advantages, that should be the main justification for anyone to hold this card (as a premium variant).

The Kotak Privy League Signature credit card is best suited for Kotak newcomers who want to learn more about their premium credit cards.

I hope Kotak soon introduces a lovely ultra-premium credit card given that the company is gaining some traction with fresh launches like the Indigo credit card. For several reasons that we will discuss in due course, the white card is not all that terrific.

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