If you’re the customer of number 1 largest bank in India, i.e, HDFC Bank then you might be already aware of their premier banking and their most popular HDFC Preferred Banking. For those, who are not aware of such banking, let me introduce you to it.

Premier Banking by HDFC Bank, is one of the exclusive invite-only rich banking experience and opens a gateway to special benefits for you. Premier Banking is again divided into 3 categories,

  1. Classic Banking (Open account with cheque of 1 Lakh+ to get it, or maintain 1L+ to get invite automatically)
  2. Preferred Banking (Open account with cheque of 2 Lakh+ to get it, or maintain 2L+ to get invite automatically)
  3. Imperia Banking (Open account with cheque of 5-10 Lakh+ to get it, or maintain 5L+ to get invite automatically)

So, that’s the basic criteria to be fulfilled if you want to get invited or get it at the time of opening an account.

However, it is not just limited to those criteria’s most of the time. They also have system and algorithm in place to invite their regular customers to the world of premier banking. In my opinion and experience, I must say that they take a look at our spending behavior, our balance maintenance, and our transfer histories i.e (NEFT, RTGS), etc.

What are the benefits of Premier Banking?

As we all know, there are usually two popular options while opening HDFC bank account which are,

Normal Saving Account (10K maintenance) & Max Saving Account (25K maintenance)

Now, there are three primary premier banking available in HDFC and all three offers some kind of rich banking experiences and offers to the customer. The dashboard looks something like this for normal accounts.

Normal Savings Account Dashboard

Classic Banking

  • A dedicated personal banker is allotted to you for all your banking needs
  • All types of Debit Cards are made LTF (Lifetime Free)
  • You can share classic banking with family by linking your family account under yours (Not joint account, just link) such that your family can also enjoy the same benefits
  • You don’t need to maintain the balance as it will be zero but you need to maintain it to prevent your account from being downgraded to normal saving account, however, your family linked under your account doesn’t need to maintain any balance.

Classic Banking Dashboard

Preferred Banking

  • A dedicated Relationship Manager is allotted to you for all your banking needs. You can do anything from your house with help of your RM and you’re given priority at the HDFC branches when you visit.
  • All types of Debit Cards are made LTF (Lifetime Free) and you will get customized Preferred Debit Card
  • You will get customized preferred golden cheque book, again this cheque will help you avoid crowd at the bank.
  • Special rates for forex, lockers, demat and trading account
  • 50% off on processing fees on loan and save with waivers on many charges such as free balance enquiries and cash withdrawals at non-HDFC Bank ATMs
  • Family benefits when linked under the account with preferred banking

Preferred Banking Dashboard

Imperia Banking

  • Dedicated Imperia Relationship Manager
  • Private Banking Services
  • Customized investment solutions
  • Customized cheque and debit card (LTF).
  • Family benefits for up to 8 members when linked to the imperia banking.

Imperia Banking Dashboard

How I Got Invited To Premier Banking?

I have already discussed about the various criteria’s required to get invited to the world of premier banking by HDFC Bank. However, in my case, I noticed that I was recently invited to their premier banking even without maintaining all the required balance. The high net worth transactions, and using their account for all the daily needs put me up on their radar for premier banking.

I was holding Regular Saving Account with 10K maintenance with them after switching from Kotak Bank after almost 4 years. The change was much needed and I’m totally happy with HDFC banking.

Upon turning HDFC Bank as my primary bank for the last 6 months, I was flooded with lots of offers and I maintained a good relation with the bank from the start. Just after 3 months of using my account, I was made pre-approved for their MoneyBack+ credit card which is the starter one but they will eventually upgrade me after 6 months or so.

Overall, to get invited to premier banking without much efforts of maintaining balance, you can try

  • Making it primary bank for all your needs and spend using this bank especially (High Net Worth Transactions)
  • Use NEFT, RTGS for transferring money or pay using cheque atleast once or twice
  • Try to maintain a good starting amount of 60,000 to 80,000, chances are that you will be directly invited to preferred banking
  • Last but not least, pay all your bills including the other CC bills using the HDFC Bill Pay.