HDFC SmartBuy portal down again - Alternative methods?

by ishita.sen · 26 Dec 2025, 10:27 am · 829 views · 20 replies

26 Dec 2025, 10:27 am

I'm beyond frustrated at this point. The HDFC SmartBuy portal crashed AGAIN during today's Amazon Great Indian Sale, right when I was about to book flights for ₹45K (which would've given me 4,500 accelerated points).

Error message I'm getting:
"Service temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Desktop browser (Chrome, Firefox)
Mobile app
Incognito mode
Different internet connection

My questions:

Is anyone else facing this issue right now?
Are there any workarounds to still earn 10X rewards on flight bookings?
Can I book directly on the airline website and then request HDFC to manually credit bonus points (has anyone successfully done this)?
Does calling the Infinia/Diners Black helpline help in such situations?

This is becoming a pattern - every major sale, every festive season, SmartBuy crashes. The portal can't handle traffic spikes. Meanwhile, I'm losing out on significant reward point opportunities.

For context, I have the HDFC Infinia and was planning to book 3 domestic flights + 1 international. The 10X would've gotten me around 15,000 extra points (₹7,500 value on miles transfer). Now I'm stuck.

Has anyone found reliable alternatives or gotten HDFC to honor the bonus points when booked outside SmartBuy during technical issues?

19 Comments

ananya.reddy · 27 Dec 2025, 04:52 pm

Same here! Been trying since 2 PM. It always crashes during big sales. HDFC's tech infrastructure is a joke for such a large bank.

deepika.menon · 6 Jan 2026, 02:06 pm

Pro tip: Keep the customer care number on speed dial. The moment you see an error, call and get a complaint ticket number. Use that as evidence later for manual credit requests.

varun.malhotra · 28 Dec 2025, 04:23 am

Try the SmartBuy mobile app instead of the website. Sometimes the app works when the website is down. Worked for me during last Diwali sale.

sneha.nair · 1 Jan 2026, 02:54 pm

Alternative method that worked for me: Book directly on the merchant site, take screenshots of the booking confirmation and timestamp. Then raise a complaint via email to grievance.reditcards@hdfcbank.com with evidence that SmartBuy was down. I got manual bonus points credited once (took 45 days though).

siddharth.patel · 6 Jan 2026, 04:32 pm

Does anyone know if HDFC has officially acknowledged this issue? Any statement or compensation announced?

aditya.singh · 29 Dec 2025, 11:13 am

I called the premium customer care number (on the back of Infinia card). They told me to 'wait and try later' - absolutely useless. No compensation, no manual point credit option mentioned.

kavya.krishnan · 31 Dec 2025, 01:06 am

Missed a ₹32K flight booking because of this exact issue last month. The fare increased by ₹4K by the time SmartBuy came back online. I was FURIOUS.

divya.pillai · 2 Jan 2026, 05:10 am

This happened during Amazon's Prime Day sale too. I've learned to book important things 2-3 days before major sales start to avoid the rush.

sneha.nair · 3 Jan 2026, 07:46 pm

The real issue is HDFC hasn't invested in server capacity for SmartBuy. They're running a 2015 architecture in 2025. Compare this to Axis Edge Rewards portal - never seen it crash.

amit.verma · 14 Jan 2026, 12:38 am

File a complaint with RBI Ombudsman if HDFC refuses to credit points. I did this for a different issue and got resolution in 30 days.

karthik.sundaram · 4 Jan 2026, 03:20 am

Anyone tried using a VPN? Sometimes changing your location helps with server load distribution. Use a VPN to connect through a different state/city.

meera.bhat · 5 Jan 2026, 02:58 pm

I've given up on SmartBuy for time-sensitive bookings. Now I only use it for hotel bookings where I have flexibility on dates.

divya.pillai · 8 Jan 2026, 04:57 am

The irony is they send promotional emails saying 'Book on SmartBuy for 10X rewards' and then their own platform can't handle the traffic they're generating!

rajesh.nambiar · 10 Jan 2026, 12:46 am

I switched my primary spends to ICICI Emeralde for this exact reason. Their merchant portal actually works. HDFC needs to wake up.

meera.bhat · 11 Jan 2026, 07:46 pm

For those asking about manual credit - I tried 3 times. Success rate: 1/3. They approve it only if you have substantial proof and if it was genuinely during downtime (they check their logs).

neha.gupta · 13 Jan 2026, 04:34 am

The worst part? No communication from HDFC about estimated downtime or when it'll be fixed. We're all just refreshing blindly.

pooja.desai · 13 Jan 2026, 12:45 pm

Has anyone tried the old desktop version of SmartBuy (not the responsive site)? Sometimes legacy systems work better under load.

vikram.iyer · 15 Jan 2026, 03:16 am

I'm holding off on my Infinia renewal because of these repeated issues. The card is great but SmartBuy reliability is crucial for the value proposition.

neha.gupta · 16 Jan 2026, 04:24 pm

Update: Just got through! Portal is working now (7:45 PM). Booked my flights. But the sale prices are gone. Lost ₹6K on fares.

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