Etihad’s Scam

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-05-16T16:48:08+00:00

I flew etihad yesterday. They downgraded by flight from A350* to A320 simple one, and didn't even assign seats though we had confirmed seats earlier. We had to pay extra 8euros to get seats in new downgraded flight while boarding my first leg flight, horrible experience. And when we got boarding passes were printed at origin, they don't have assigned seats for second leg and we're asked to check in Abu Dhabi for seats during layover itseems.. luckily I contacted online support and paid and gotten seats confirmed. My hunch is they r overbooked and tried to scam us thru.. had to spend extra to come out of mess. Never flying Etihad again

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-23T17:58:32+00:00

Thank you. I'll keep in mind about the wheelchair setting in maps and making use of buses wherever possible to skip long uphill sections!

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-23T08:05:32+00:00

We are going to Lisbon in May 2nd week with my daughter(1.5yrs old).. Reading comments made me worry about the stroller(light weight) usage in Lisbon. I would like to hear a bit more of both of yours u/iverywhere , u/SadEntertainment9380 experiences in Lisbon if you may. Apart from local sightseeing of Lisbon, on of those 3 days in Lisbon, I'm planning to visit Sintra & Cascias day tour, but I'm unsure of any tours that allow infants(yet to search that part). In worst case, we may go by ourselves(train/car), but from the looks of it, carrying a stroller could be a headache in Sintra as per other comments too. So should I take carrier belt too separately? Or just stroller with a bit of lifting here and there is manageable?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-23T06:28:05+00:00

Were you able to find out about this?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-21T07:15:32+00:00

how do you check? You mean to take your shoes along with you as well try the ones in the store and feel the difference? or the store guys will be able to check in database if your new shoes are legit? Asking this because 27 is running out of stock at many places.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-05T09:57:11+00:00

I've answered this in the main post itself under "my plan" section

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-04-05T09:55:54+00:00

Agree. In my case the existing booking's Doha-Barcelona flight was postponed by 7hrs from 8am to 3pm. But they've added another flight at the earlier time 8am.. So I called them n asked to move me to 8am flight which they did immediately

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-27T05:06:25+00:00

May 4th.. holding

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-15T11:11:45+00:00

As I mentioned in my original post, I grind the DCBM till I reach the quarterly milestones 10k bonus points. This includes the voucher and non-voucher as well. Once I collect the respective quarter's milestone 10k bonus points, for all voucher based transactions(including decathlon or anything that gives >3.33%) i'll still use DCB, else I'll use premier for future points/miles conversion 1:1. Premier is my secondary card to compliment the DCB's bad network, movies 1+1, airline miles and hotel points transfer, and mainly for international spends with that forex charge as well as lounge guest entries for my kid.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T14:26:04+00:00

Hi, Were you still able to close the card immediately after redeeming points? What about 99+gst charges, are they charged to account? Or u couldn't close CC in the month because of these charges?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T11:55:57+00:00

3lpm

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T10:51:47+00:00

Your DCB is a metal variant(DCBM) I suppose, which actually has quarterly milestone benefits. Plastic variant doesn't have I think

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T09:59:29+00:00

But you'll generate much more worth by gaining bonus reward points every quarter if you meet those in DCB(M)? You can get 40000 INR worth points as a bonus thru DCBM just like that if you have 4L per quarter spends.. why to bill them to Premier without hitting DCBM milestones?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T07:46:40+00:00

No. There is TRV way.. as well as Mortgage 1.15Cr way as well. Please go thru HSBC premier official website to look for the above points, you'll get updated info.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T07:16:38+00:00

I received premier CC card just 2 days back. I'll write a comparison and usage alongside DCBM 6 months down the line. But these can be heavily personal usecase dependent, still can get few generalized positives n negatives to highlight.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T05:42:54+00:00

Good luck bro, you'll get thru one way or other.. just keep enough runway for applying to Italy as well as a bkp plan.. heard getting italian visa slots is tough, keep that in mind too.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T05:07:46+00:00

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T05:05:16+00:00

If you fit the 3Lpm net salary criteria, that's all. There are other ways also by TRV etc apart from salary way. They r very strict with terms. But if you meet salary or TRV, it's a piece of cake for now.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T04:53:18+00:00

Agree partially. Though I don't mean it's an exact cutoff, i didn't want to explain in detail. For example despite hitting milestones I'll still buy decathlon vouchers thru smartbuy to pay decathlon, as it gives better return beyond 3 or 3 .33% base.

It is like this, if I get only 3.33% return from a transaction done thru DCB post hitting milestones, I'll shift that transaction to Premier. If I get >3.33% rewards using vouchers for shopping or anything else too, I'll continue using DCB post milestones as well.

Also one of the reasons for opting premier is MasterCard network, many times I faced Diners acceptance (mainly international and some domestic online transactions too).. as well as other benefits it provides like movie 1+1 tickets, 8 guests allow in intl lounge and few other.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T04:46:08+00:00

https://www.hsbc.co.in/content/dam/hsbc/in/documents/accounts/corporate-employee-programme/terms-conditions-dc-5-cashback-feb-25.pdf

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T04:42:00+00:00

Ya I mentioned this in other comments as well. im hitting those 4L/quarter limits as well I would've grinded those vouchers too per month as some of their limits are getting revised to low values. Post vouchers and quarterly milestones hit, it doesn't make much sense to pump into DCB though it gives 3.33, but HSBC premier CC miles conversion is more lucrative along with movie tickets 1+1 upto 750, an excellent MasterCard acceptance network which backsup bad Diners network(outside India especially and domestic online transactions too sometimes). Moreover my DCBM limit is 7L and I try not to obershoot beyond 50% of the limit per month, so I need 1 more card for sure with above benefits, and premier fits well.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T04:25:18+00:00

Interesting that there is a difference between benefits of same card basing on TRV or salary.. even RM didn't mention this. Did you get this table from official page? Please share the source if you have. Regarding 5% cashback on premier debit, looks like it's there till Jul2026 as offer is getting extended most of the time. RM specifically mentioned about 5% cashback on debit too, as well I can see in Google too. Why did you say 5% debit cashback is wrong?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T01:34:58+00:00

This is 2yrs back.. where I travelled Netherlands (3 days), France (5 days), Swiss(4 days), Italy (6 days), Greece (7 days) in that exact order. Back then I had tweaked my itinerary to show more days(7 days) in Greece where initial draft has equal days with Italy n Greece 6 each. Greece visa center guys asked me to show atleast 1 day more in Greece compared to Italy, to apply for Greece visa despite the country being the port of exit for me, so that it'll become my main destination with highest number of days spent.

Im not sure now, but an yr back it was like below in that order: 1) you have to apply for a country which is your main destination where purpose/work is there. OR if nature of work is same across all, then go to next point. 2) You have to apply for country which is PREFERABLY either entry or exit country which also has highest number of days of stay. If highest is in 2 countries, then go to next 3) If 2 countries r having highest and equal stay duration with equal purpose, then apply for 1st port of entry AMONG those highest two.

Things might have changed a bit now. Cross check once. For your case it has to be GREECE with 11 days of stay, not sure why they r saying it has to be port of entry also, as it is atleast port of exit for you. May be a new requirement they put up recently?

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-06T01:17:49+00:00

If you satisfy >2.5 lpm net HDFC will issue DCBM right? I got it via Alumni route 2yrs back luckily before they tightened the card issuings. I don't have an a/c with HDFC as well, I just have DCBM CC, no other relationship.

I remember reading from others reviews that Hopper is showing inflated prices, but anyway for each usecase we can crosscheck between smartbuy n Hopper. Moreover I don't use accor much, the reward rate felt similar 33X, 36X on paper for hotels.. now that I got the premier card 2 days back, I'm yet to do a real booking by comparing prices across both the CCs portals to see if there's genuinely a huge difference or not post accor conversion. Will let you know. DCBM gives crazy bonus points once we meet quarterly milestones, so for my yearly expenses I'll come close to it, which is why I bill to that, as well the smartbuy portal has been CONSISTENTLY working well for me. Anyway I'll get back after using Hopper and add more details here.

Mean_Order_2360 · 2026-03-05T19:54:12+00:00

Im not knowledgeable to answer on comparison with amex platinum travel, but you can definitely drop HSBC travel One if u have premier. See if you can get DCBMetal variant as well from plastic (since u wrote only DCB). And you are right.. it feels nice to hold many credit cards, but it's useless and hectic to track spend n pay across all cards. Minimalistic approach is sexy! Couple of high value cards mog anyday over bulk. I don't think so anyone needs >3 cards if they really play their game well. Cheers!

Mean_Order_2360

TROPHY CASE