IDFC FIRST Power+ Credit Card
IDFC FIRST Power Plus delivers the best uncapped flat reward rate of any standard-issue credit card in India at 1.5% on all transactions, paired with 12 domestic lounge visits and zero forex markup at ₹2,999 per year. This is the card for people who spend across many categories and do not want to track rotating partners or category caps — the flat 1.5% just works everywhere, every time.
By Ashutosh · Updated June 2026
Most premium mid-tier cards in the ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 fee bracket force you to choose: high rate on specific categories or moderate rate across the board. Power Plus refuses this trade-off by offering 1.5% flat with no cap on earning. On a monthly spend of ₹1 lakh across categories — rent, groceries, electronics, dining, travel — you earn ₹1,500/month or ₹18,000/year against a ₹2,999 fee. That is a 6x return on fee before accounting for the lounge value. The 12 lounge visits at ₹800 to ₹1,000 each add ₹9,600 to ₹12,000 in lounge value, making the effective annual value over ₹25,000 for a moderate spender. The zero forex is the final piece: no category-tracking on international trips, no switching to a separate travel card. Compare HDFC Regalia at ₹2,500/year: Regalia offers 1.33% base and 18 lounges, but Power Plus's higher 1.5% flat rate wins for high spenders in the ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh/month range where the extra 0.17% adds up significantly.
High spenders who want one card that earns well across all categories without tracking merchant partners, rotating cashback, or category-specific accelerators.
Your monthly spend is below ₹30,000 to ₹40,000 and concentrated in specific categories like Amazon or dining where accelerated cards deliver 3% to 10% — the flat 1.5% will underperform focused accelerators at low spend volumes.
6 pts/₹100 on select categories (~1.5%), 3 pts other (~0.75%) · Points never expire · Zero forex · 20,000 welcome points
PROS
- 1.5% flat on most categories
- Zero forex
- Excellent lounge access (12/yr)
- Generous welcome points
CONS
- ₹2,999 fee
- 1.5% is decent but not exceptional for the price
- Flat Earning Across All Spend Categories: The 1.5% flat rate applies to electronics, apparel, travel, food delivery, subscriptions, offline retail — essentially any transaction that is not in the standard exclusion list. At ₹50,000/month spend: ₹750/month cashback equivalent or ₹9,000/year. At ₹1,00,000/month: ₹1,500/month or ₹18,000/year. The earning compounds significantly as your spend grows, and there is no cap that blocks you once you exceed a threshold.
- Domestic Airport Lounge Access: Twelve domestic lounge visits per year covers most frequent domestic travelers. Business trips of two to three per month mean 24 to 36 one-way legs annually — twelve complimentary visits covers roughly every other trip. Key lounges available include IndiGo lounges, Plaza Premium, and airport-operated lounges at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. At ₹800 average walk-in rate, ₹9,600 in annual lounge value is included.
- International Travel Spends: Zero forex markup on all international transactions saves 3% to 3.5% versus standard Indian cards. On a ₹2 lakh international trip spending pattern (hotels, dining, shopping), Power Plus saves ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 in forex charges while earning 1.5% rewards on the same spend — an effective 4.5% to 5% advantage over a standard card used internationally.
- Rent and High-Value Transfers via Pay Platforms: Some rent payment platforms pass through as eligible transactions. At 1.5% flat with no category exclusion for rent-via-card services, a ₹25,000/month rent payment earns ₹375/month or ₹4,500/year. Verify that your specific platform is not excluded before relying on this, as IDFC FIRST's exclusion list may include certain fintech payment intermediaries.
- Salary Spend Month Consolidation: For salaried professionals who hit a high-spend month — appliance purchase, vacation booking, wedding expenses — concentrating spend on Power Plus captures 1.5% on the entire amount with no monthly earning cap. A ₹5 lakh appliance or home renovation spend earns ₹7,500 in a single month with no ceiling.
Amazon Pay ICICI gives 5% on Amazon for Prime members at zero annual fee. Power Plus earns 1.5% on the same purchase — a 3.5 percentage point gap. For Amazon-heavy shoppers, Amazon Pay ICICI is non-negotiable as a supplement, and Power Plus should not be the primary card for e-commerce.
HSBC Live+ earns 10% on dining, Swiggy, Zomato, BigBasket, and Blinkit (capped at ₹1,000/month). At ₹8,000 to ₹10,000/month dining and food delivery spend, Live+ hits the cap and earns ₹12,000/year on that category alone — versus ₹1,440/year at Power Plus's 1.5%. The 10% rate is simply in a different league for this specific spending pattern.
If your goal is to fly business class using points, Axis Atlas's 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on travel categories (transferable to Air India, Singapore Airlines, and others at 2:1) is far more powerful for premium redemptions. Power Plus rewards redeem as IDFC FIRST points with more limited high-value transfer options.
If you only use four to six lounges per year and can work with 1% rewards, IDFC FIRST Ashva at ₹999/year saves you ₹2,000 annually and still has zero forex. Power Plus is a step up only if the extra 0.5% and four additional lounges justify the ₹2,000 fee difference.
Amazon Pay ICICI handles all Amazon purchases at 5% (free card), while Power Plus captures everything else at 1.5%. This two-card setup has no meaningful coverage gap — e-commerce through Amazon Pay ICICI, all other spend through Power Plus, both with zero or minimal friction in choosing which card to use.
HSBC Live+ takes dining, Swiggy, Zomato, BigBasket, and Blinkit at 10% (capped ₹1,000/month), while Power Plus captures all remaining spend at 1.5%. For households spending ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000/month across categories, these two cards together maximize earning across nearly every segment. Both have strong international travel credentials with zero forex.
View HSBC Live+ Credit Card →HDFC Millennia earns 5% on Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, and partner merchants, while Power Plus captures everything outside those partners at 1.5%. Combined, you get accelerated rates on major platforms and a strong baseline everywhere else, with Power Plus's zero forex filling the international gap that Millennia does not address well.
Is the 1.5% flat rate really uncapped on IDFC FIRST Power Plus?
Yes, there is no monthly or annual cap on the 1.5% base earning rate as of June 2026. Unlike cards such as HSBC Cashback (capped at ₹1,000/month) or AU Xcite ACE (capped at ₹1,000/month), Power Plus continues earning at 1.5% regardless of your monthly spend volume. Certain excluded categories like fuel surcharge components, cash withdrawals, and some rent platforms still apply — check the MITC for the complete list.
How does Power Plus compare to HDFC Regalia for frequent travelers?
HDFC Regalia at ₹2,500/year offers 1.33% base rewards and 18 lounge visits, plus access to HDFC's extensive offer ecosystem. Power Plus at ₹2,999 offers 1.5% (higher earn rate) and 12 lounges (fewer). If lounge count is your priority, Regalia wins. If earning rate matters more — particularly for non-category, non-travel spends — Power Plus's higher flat rate generates more value over time. Regalia also has better HDFC-specific offers tied to their merchant partnerships.
Can Power Plus replace a dedicated travel card for international trips?
For most mid-range international travelers, yes. Zero forex markup plus 1.5% rewards on international spend is a strong combination — better than most dedicated travel cards in this fee segment. Where it falls short is in airline mile accumulation: if you want to transfer points to Singapore Airlines or British Airways for business class redemptions, HSBC TravelOne or Axis Atlas have purpose-built transfer partnerships that Power Plus lacks.
What is the fee waiver threshold for Power Plus?
IDFC FIRST typically waives the ₹2,999 annual fee if you spend above a specified threshold in the preceding year — commonly around ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh annually. At this spend level, 1.5% rewards are generating ₹4,500 to ₹6,000 per year anyway, making the effective cost of the card zero or better. Confirm the exact waiver threshold in your welcome kit as IDFC FIRST does revise these periodically.
Are reward points earned on Power Plus transferable to airline programs?
IDFC FIRST Power Plus rewards are credited as IDFC FIRST Reward Points, redeemable primarily through the IDFC FIRST bank portal for merchandise, travel bookings via the bank portal, and statement credits. As of June 2026, IDFC FIRST does not have direct airline mile transfer partnerships equivalent to Axis Atlas or HSBC TravelOne. If airline mile transfers are your core goal, Power Plus is not the right card for that strategy.
Is ₹2,999 worth it if I only spend ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per month?
At ₹25,000/month, 1.5% earns ₹375/month or ₹4,500/year. Subtract the ₹2,999 fee and your net reward is ₹1,501/year before lounge value. Add four to six lounge uses at ₹800 each and you are at ₹4,701 to ₹6,301 net positive. So yes, even at moderate spend, Power Plus is financially positive — but if your spend is this low, IDFC FIRST Ashva at ₹999 with 1% gives a better fee-to-value ratio.
How does IDFC FIRST Power Plus handle fuel transactions?
Fuel purchases typically earn a 1% surcharge waiver at all petrol stations, reducing the effective fuel cost by 1%. Whether the base 1.5% reward rate also applies to fuel depends on whether the fuel category is excluded from rewards — IDFC FIRST has historically excluded the surcharge component but allowed reward earning on the base fuel amount. Check the current MITC document to confirm the exact treatment, as fuel reward rules change frequently across card issuers.