HDFC Bank has pushed up the dining rewards on the HDFC Regalia Credit Card from 4 reward points to 6 reward points per ₹150 spent at restaurants, effective May 1, 2026. Because each reward point is worth ₹0.50, the new earning rate translates into an effective 2% return on dining spends, up from 1.33%. Existing Regalia cardholders are auto-enrolled into the revised earning structure, so there is no opt-in form, promo code, or manual activation required.
The change is narrowly targeted at restaurant transactions, and the rest of the card’s economics stay unchanged. The annual fee remains ₹2,500, with a fee waiver on ₹3 lakh annual spend. That means the card is still positioned as a mid-premium lifestyle product rather than a full-scale premium travel card. New applicants will receive the revised dining rate immediately once their card is approved and activated on or after the effective date, while existing holders get the uplift automatically. Compared with the earlier 4 points per ₹150, the incremental gain is significant for users who spend heavily on dining but do not want to move up to a higher-fee premium card.
For cardholders, the biggest winners are frequent restaurant spenders who already use Regalia for everyday lifestyle purchases. The new 2% effective dining return compares favorably with many mainstream cards that either cap dining rewards or offer only 1% to 1.5% value back. Against cards like SBI Elite or ICICI Sapphiro, HDFC Regalia now looks more attractive for dining-led usage, though it still does not match super-premium products such as HDFC Infinia or American Express Platinum on broader luxury benefits. The net impact is clearly positive: there is no fee hike, no lounge cut, and no redemption devaluation in the scraped update.
If you are an existing HDFC Regalia cardholder, you do not need to do anything to receive the revised 6 points per ₹150 rate from May 1, 2026. New applicants can apply through HDFC Bank’s Regalia product page, but should confirm approval timelines so that spending after the effective date earns the enhanced rate. The fine print to watch is that the benefit applies specifically to restaurant dining; it does not indicate a blanket 6-point rate on all merchant categories. Also remember that the annual fee waiver still requires ₹3 lakh in annual spends, so light users may not fully offset the ₹2,500 fee.