Product launch: Now milestone rewards with ING Vysya debit cards

ING Vysya Bank and MasterCard today announced the launch of ING MasterCard Premium Debit Cards. Unlike other debit cards in the market this card comes with reward points based onspend-milestones.

While using debit cards for shopping is an increasing trend in India, redemption of rewards points isn’t. “Indian customers are using their debit cards to shop, debit spends are increasing by 38 percent. Surprisingly however, Indian customers redeem only 18 percent of their reward points,” saidShailendra Bhandari, MD and CEO, ING Vysya Bank.

This is primarily due to the way most reward points programmes work, where a certain number of points have to be accumulated, at times with certain tie-up merchants. They also come with expiry dates.

How this works:

Under the spend-milestone-based system, you need to spend a certain amount for two years, after which you could choose the reward from a number of choices the banks offers.

For instance, you should spend Rs 2 lakh (Rs 7,500 a month), Rs 4 lakh (15,000 a month) or Rs 6 lakh (25,000 a month) over two years with debit card.

These cards are available in three variants, Titanium, My World and World Exclusive. The fee for the card is in the range of Rs 0 to as much as Rs 750, depending on the variant you choose.

Other features: It offers zero percent fuel surcharge and other privileges like airport lounge access, higher ATM limit withdrawals and the like.

Firstpost take: Since it’s a debit card, you will have to open a savings account with the bank and maintain the respective balance based on the type of account you choose. We think that spending-milestone rewards is a good idea, since you don’t have the headache of keeping track of reward points on a regular basis. Though the bank does allow you to track your spends and reward points. Opening an account with the bank to get this debit card is not a good enough reason. But, if you are anyway planning to open an account, availing this debit card offer would work well for you.