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Hello RKG,
Thanks for the input. I guess I too will wait for the communication further instead of jumping the gun. Will keep you all posted.
Cheers

I have had good experience with HDFC in last 10 years. They have upgraded me to lifetime free Superia card. I dont think they will be pushing a paid card without informing.

"Lifetime" in this context is the lifetime of the card (till the marked Valid Till date) and not your lifetime. :)

The card would be free throughout its validity period and the bank may or may not replace it with another lifetime free card depending on how they earned based on your spending pattern. Banks typically get 2.5% of the transaction cost as their fee from the merchant. So the "free" card that is used heavily provide the bank with more revenue than a "paid" card which is used sparingly.

Thanks a lot. This is all news to me.

GoI is asking for citizen inputs to new proposals to increase card usage (and consequently reduce cash usage):

https://mygov.in/sites/default/files...6.6.2015-1.pdf

Your inputs can be given via the mygov.in website.

Removing the most hated cost of using a card - fuel surcharge - is also mooted.

I am using HDFC since 2005 with hardly any issues. Have been upgraded very frequently . Now they are offering top end Regalia to me and i am debating.
All premium cards have a yearly fees. This fees can be offset and card is absolutely free in case you use it far a certain amount every quarter. Now what you need to do is check your average usage and then go to the HDFC site and read the fine print. It lists the amount to be spent for the yearly fees to be waived off.
I have never paid annual fees in my Signature card in last 5 years.
with the govt now thinking of giving income tax benefits for using credit/debit card ( to curb black money), there will be a surge in demand for credit cards in case that happens.

Hi Guys,

What is the annual charge for a credit card? I know they offer to waive off charges if we use the credit card for a specific amount but ignoring that, what are the usual charges for getting a credit card?

Go for the Regalia. I am having this for last 4-5 years and absolutely no problem. Am not sure of the spending limit to get fees waived off. They have never charged me any fees so far, may be because of moderately high use (Rs 60-80k every month). Petrol surcharge waiver and reward points which can be sued to buy flight tickets are really good benefits of this card.

I have not been too happy with HDFC's rewards and redemption. There are not many good choices and the valuation of points is on the lower side, compared to ICICI or others.
As a result, I have cut usage of this card and do most transactions with ICICI.
I had around 14000 points accumulated over many years and hardly got anything good.

For example, I got a Cleartrip voucher for Rs. 2000 as one of the redemption options. After getting delivery, I noticed that it is only for flight bookings (and not for hotel/ accommodation). This was not mentioned in the redemption website. The voucher is still lying unused after 6 months.

Saanil
It varies for each type of card. Generally first year annual fees is waived off after minimal spend. No other charges.
Go to the site and under the heading fees and charges you will find this listed.
Just to elaborat for HDFC card use the link http://hdfcbank.com/assets/pdf/cc_common_MITC.pdf.
This file gives the spend required so that annual charges are reversed.
In case of specific card query pm me, will try to find on net

Hi all,

As a first timer in the credit card area, what kind of questions do i need to ask if I want a new credit card ? Some questions that come to my mind are ::

1. What is the annual fee ?
2. Is there any points rewartd program ?
3. Any other hidden charges applicable ?

It may sound stupid but I have never owned / used a credit card in my life till date and I am compelled to get one as I need to make some exam fee payments as International transactions and my current debit card which is a Maestro card does not allow these transactions.

So as a newbee please suggest what all things to keep in mind while getting a credit card ?

Are the rewards program really helpful ?

How does the petrol card work ? Do i need to fill up at a station which has a payment kiosk from my CC issuing bank to get points on petrol fill up?

Sorry if these questions sound naive, but as i said I have never used a CC before, so have no knowledge in this regards.

Dieseltuned

Perhaps you could share the voucher in the give away thread so that someone will use it :)

It is perfectly fine to ask these questions before only.
Credit card if used correctly is one of the best instruments of transaction with very good saving and rewards. Have used the same for 16 yrs and have immensely benefited. Now to your question one by one

1. What is the annual fee ?
Like you have cars which vary from a Alto to Vitara in Maruti stable and Eon to SantaFe in Hyundai stable, each credit card provider has cards from basic to Super Premium. Now you rightly guessed that each has a different annual fees. But then here is the clause which most credit card providers have. Each card has a minimum spend, which in case achieved the yearly fees is reversed, so it is free for that year. Example is in HDFC Teachers Platinum card if you spend 10000 in first 90 days then first year subscription is free and if you spend 50000 in entire year, next yr subscription is free.
Here is the catch. If you take a card and do not use it you pay annual fees, which may range from 300 to 5000 annually depending on type of card.
SO DECIDE HOW MUCH YOU WILL AND CAN SPEND AND THEN APPLY FOR THAT KIND OF CARD

2. Is there any points reward program ?

Again same analogy. Yes there are reward points and they vary from card to card. The more premium the card the more the reward points for different spends. You see if you have a card where you spend Rs 1 Lakh a month obviously the card company profits more and it gets you better points

3. Any other hidden charges applicable ?

In case you have fiscal discipline, you will not pay a penny on the contrary you will have reward points and can use these effectively. In case you are forgetful and laid back, then credit card can levy heavy interest on late payments, generally to the tune of 1.99% per month.

In case you plan to take a card following are a must.

a. Use it judiciously. Do not keep it in a corner as it will then cost money.

b. Be aware of your credit cycle (Billing period). Spend at start of billing period to avail benefit of paying after 50 days without any interest. You can save a lot.

c. For payments of credit card make an ECS request with your bank for full amount due. That way you will never default and never have to pay interest .

d. By chance if you have spent much beyond your means due to some circumstances, you need to reduce the damage to minimum, by paying the minimum amount due by due date and rest as soon as you can arrange as interest is calculated daily.

e. Which ever store accepts credit card ,don't use cash because you are then earning two things , interest free period and reward points.

Hope i have answered some queries

All Cards come with Annual Fee. Annual fee in Life time free cards is waived off after you spend certain amount in a year.

All cards come with reward program. It is best you compare cards from multiple banks and pick up the one which suits you the best.

Mostly no, but it is best to cross check once with the Bank.

They are definitely helpful depending on card and reward program.Usually Paid cards come with better reward program.

Yes. For example I use Citi Indian oil card, they have a tie up with Indian oil so whenever I fill up in Indian oil I get 4 Turbo points for every 150 spent. 1 Reward Point = 1 Rupee


Hope that helps :)

I just redeemed points for two Croma vouchers worth Rs.1000 each. Lets see if there is any catch. Hoping to use it in next few weeks.

Typically, you would accumulate reward points for every transaction you make. Eventually, it would reach a point where those would be worth vouchers worth a few thousand rupees and you can use that to buy something as a free reward. There are no such rewards for using cash all along just for the sake of comparison.

Again, the difference between lower tier cards and the premium cards is again the rate of accumulation of rewards points. For example, a silver/gold card might give 2 points per Rs. 200 while a Platinum or higher tier card might give 6 points for the same amount, making you reach the targets earlier and effectively get 3x the rewards for the same spend.