[rkg]

Originally Posted by heydj

I have American Express Gold Card. Against 18K points got Rs 7.5k at conversion rate of almost 0.42.

Delving deep into spend against points - if I spend Rs 4k in four Rs 1k individual transaction every month then I get 1k points. This means every 18 months I get 18k points or if I spend Rs 72k then I get 18K points, which further I redeem for Rs7.5k.

That means I get 10.42% of my money back provided I do the spends as given above.

Can someone confirm if there is any other credit card that gives better returns?

What about the annual fee of 4K which needs to be paid for Gold card? it will be 6K for 18 months(1.5 years)
In addition acceptability is less compared to Visa/Master card

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by heydj

Delving deep into spend against points - if I spend Rs 4k in four Rs 1k individual transaction every month then I get 1k points.

The big flaw in your plan is that you will swipe your card 4 times each month for exactly Rs. 1,000 each time.

[heydj]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

The big flaw in your plan is that you will swipe your card 4 times each month for exactly Rs. 1,000 each time.

Fees got waived, for lot of credit cards fees is there but we all know its not always charged.

As for swiping it 4 times its not a issue, amount needs to be 1k+ and that can happen with fuel, utility bills, eating out etc.

My question was is there any other credit card with better returns.

[rkg]

Originally Posted by heydj

Fees got waived, for lot of credit cards fees is there but we all know its not always charged.

As for swiping it 4 times its not a issue, amount needs to be 1k+ and that can happen with fuel, utility bills, eating out etc.

My question was is there any other credit card with better returns.

Amex gold card is a charge card.

Generally AMEX does not waive off annual fees easily like other cards

As already mentioned acceptability is less

[MaxTorque]

Can I use a card issued in India, when I am holding NRI status?

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by rkg

Amex gold card is a charge card.

Generally AMEX does not waive off annual fees easily like other cards

As already mentioned acceptability is less

AMEX is more than happy to waive it off if you have a good spend pattern and spend beyond atleast a certain threshold every year. I try to charge almost every card transaction on my AMEX, and haven't paid a single penny in annual fees over the last 5 years I've had AMEX cards.

Acceptance is also getting better by the day, and works well for the outlets I frequent in a city like Bangalore.

I really don't think any other card comes close from a benefits POV, except perhaps the very elite ones with a hefty fee.

[amtak]

Where can I use my Amex Gold Charge card in Mumbai Airport for a free or paid lounge access?

[msdivy]

Is LIC into credit cards? Found these sites,
http://www.liccards.co.in with Axis bank
http://www.liccards.com with Corporation bank

Both with no joining or annual fees.

[tibby]

Thanks for the information.

Standard Chartered Bank & Kotak Mahindra Bank Credit Cards have 6-digit PINS.
HDFC is the first time I came across 4-digit PINs for Credit Cards.

6-digit PINs would be more secure.

[binand]

Originally Posted by tibby

6-digit PINs would be more secure.

Given that your card gets blocked if the PIN is entered incorrectly more than N times (N is typically 3 or 5), this needn't be a real concern.

On the other hand, it is likely that mandating longer PINs will result in an increase in forgotten PIN issues.

[tibby]

Originally Posted by binand

Given that your card gets blocked if the PIN is entered incorrectly more than N times (N is typically 3 or 5), this needn't be a real concern.

On the other hand, it is likely that mandating longer PINs will result in an increase in forgotten PIN issues.

You are right on the blocking bit; but talking of 'probability', it would be easier to guess a 4-digit number compared to a 6-digit one.

[binand]

Originally Posted by tibby

You are right on the blocking bit; but talking of 'probability', it would be easier to guess a 4-digit number compared to a 6-digit one.

We'll, the probability that someone could correctly guess a 4-digit PIN in 3 tries is 0.0003. I wouldn't lose much sleep over it. ;-)

[tibby]

Originally Posted by binand

We'll, the probability that someone could correctly guess a 4-digit PIN in 3 tries is 0.0003. I wouldn't lose much sleep over it. ;-)

A probability of 0.000003 would give me better sleep.

[binand]

Originally Posted by tibby

A probability of 0.000003 would give me better sleep.

Sure, but then why stop there? Go for a 10, 50 or even 100 digit PIN. You might even be considered as 21st century's Rip van Winkle.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by binand

Sure, but then why stop there? Go for a 10, 50 or even 100 digit PIN. You might even be considered as 21st century's Rip van Winkle.

That's why RBI should additionally allow user-defined variable-length PINs. That way, those like @Tibby can enter a PIN as long as they like.

On another note, a month ago I had gone to Apollo Pharmacy and bought some medicines for Rs. 1,300. On paying by credit card, the attendant pointed the machine in an uncomfortable position and I entered the PIN without looking (That machine anyway doesn't display the amount in the PIN entry screen). She tells me that perhaps I didn't enter the PIN correctly since it was asking for the PIN once again. I re-entered the PIN and got hit with a charge of Rs. 1,30,000 odd.

Turns out she forgot to press Enter after keying in the amount. When I entered my PIN, that got appended to the amount that was already there.

Took me about an hour until they figured out how to void the transaction.