Business
HDFC Bank Changes Lounge Access Norms For Debit Cards From January 10– Details Here
New Delhi: If you often use your HDFC Bank debit card for free airport lounge access, this update is important for you. The bank has changed how complimentary lounge entry works on its debit cards. Instead of simply swiping your card at the lounge, customers will now need a digital voucher to get access. Also, the minimum spending requirement has been increased, reported Moneycontrol. These new rules will come into effect from January 10, and will apply to eligible debit cardholders going forward.
How the New Lounge Voucher System Works
Once your eligibility is confirmed, HDFC Bank will send you an SMS or email with a link to claim your lounge access voucher. You’ll need to verify your request by entering an OTP sent to your registered mobile number. You will receive a voucher code or QR code after successful verification which must be shown at the airport lounge to get entry.
Minimum Spend Requirement Increased
Under the revised rules, HDFC Bank debit card users will now need to spend at least Rs 10,000 in a calendar quarter to be eligible for complimentary airport lounge access. Earlier, the minimum spend required was Rs 5,000.
However, this condition will not apply to HDFC Infiniti Debit Card holders. Customers using the Infiniti card will continue to enjoy free lounge access without any minimum spending requirement.
Eligible Transactions and Free Lounge Visits by Card Type
Only purchase transactions made using the debit card will be considered while calculating the quarterly spending requirement. Other types of transactions will not be counted, as noted by Moneycontrol.
Meanwhile, the number of complimentary lounge visits remains unchanged and continues to depend on the debit card variant:
Millennia Debit Card: 1 free visit per quarter
Platinum Debit Card: 2 free visits per quarter
Times Points Debit Card: 1 free visit per quarter
Business Debit Card: 2 free visits per quarter
GIGA Debit Card: 1 free visit per quarter
Infiniti Debit Card: 4 free visits per quarter
This means cardholders should check both their spending eligibility and card type to know how many lounge visits they can enjoy.
Which Transactions Count and Voucher Validity Explained
Only purchase transactions made using the debit card will be counted towards the quarterly spending requirement. As per Moneycontrol, the following transactions will not be included:
ATM cash withdrawals
UPI or wallet payments (GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, etc.)
Credit card bill payments made via debit card
Debit card EMI transactions
New debit cardholders will also need to meet the Rs 10,000 spending requirement to become eligible for complimentary lounge access.
Voucher Validity:
Once issued, the lounge access voucher will remain valid till the end of the next calendar quarter, after which it will expire if not used.
What This Means for Debit Card Users
With the updated lounge access rules, HDFC Bank is clearly encouraging higher card usage and digital verification. Customers who regularly use complimentary lounge benefits will now need to keep a close watch on their quarterly spending and complete the voucher process in advance. As per Moneycontrol, physical debit card swipes will no longer work from January 10, making it important for travellers to switch to the new digital voucher system.
Two ads promoting British beef and milk have been banned after television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham complained that they misled consumers about the products’ carbon footprints.
Both ads for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Let’s Eat Balanced campaign used the carbon footprint of British beef and milk to promote the products, firstly stating: “British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average*.”
The asterisk linked to text that stated: “Full lifecycle emissions of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg of beef.”
The ad for milk stated: “British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.”
Packham complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads, and specifically the carbon footprint claims, were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy.
The AHDB said the ads’ mention of carbon emissions would be understood in relation to the environmental impact of beef and milk that occurred between the “cradle-to-retail” stages.
But the ASA said the average consumer “being reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect” would understand the claims to apply beyond the retail stage and include actions such as cooking and wastage.
The ASA said: “While we acknowledged the potential difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the claims in the ads suggested those emissions were included and we therefore expected the evidence provided to also include them.
“We therefore concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the full life-cycle claims in the ads, which was how the average consumer was likely to interpret them.
“We reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full life cycle unless the ad stated otherwise.”
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, said: “Let’s Eat Balanced is doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards.
“Since the investigation began, we have conducted independent consumer research which found that the majority of respondents interpreted these adverts as relating to the production phase only, from farm to retail.
“This research provides important insight into consumer understanding and supports our belief that consumers were not misled by the information we shared in these two specific adverts.”
BENGALURU: India’s Gen Z workforce is embracing what experts describe as “portfolio careers” – balancing multiple professional identities and income streams simultaneously. New research from LinkedIn shows that 75% of Gen Z entrepreneurs in India now manage multiple income streams, significantly higher than the 62% among Gen X entrepreneurs. The findings point to a growing preference among younger professionals for flexibility, autonomy and diversified sources of income. “We’re also seeing the rise of the ‘portfolio era’, with more professionals creating multiple income streams and redefining what a career can look like. This shift is making entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before,” said LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman.Rather than depending on a single full-time role, many professionals are simultaneously building businesses, freelancing, consulting, creating online content and monetising specialised skills through digital platforms. The trend comes amid a broader rise in entrepreneurial activity in India. LinkedIn recorded a 104% year-on-year increase in members adding “Founder” to their profiles – the highest growth among all global markets.AI is also emerging as a major enabler of this shift. The report found that 85% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider AI and digital tools important to their business operations.
Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.
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