[tejas08]

Originally Posted by aargee

Well...for earning such a huge reward, I also have to spend a lot right or are you saying it's possible to get 500 airmiles for a Rs 500 purchase & 500 airmiles is atleast Rs 250 something like that? Inorder to make these many points, I've to stick with same CC as well isn't it? And if I've multiple CC, then, earning reward points is also curbed & scattered across the cards isn't it?

What does it take to earn that many lakhs worth in points? Any idea how much money should I be spending to earn those many points? Any idea please?

Sorry but Thanks guys, I'm somehow not convinced; all these kind of offers were lucrative in 2000s (including 53 days of credit period), but these have remained unchanged barring few things such as 0% interest, CC linked to online purchases, MFA, insurance, wide acceptance & most importantly reliable billing.

Well I agree that this isnt like you spend 1 Lac and you get 1 Lac worth of benefits. But it isnt this way either that you spend 20 Lacs and then get 1 Lac Worth of benefits.

Before getting into how much to spend, it is important to learn on how to efficiently spend on different cards. Even before that, you need to have a positive mindset towards using credit cards. However, from the closing statement of your previous post, the mindset is clearly negative towards credit cards. So no point going into the details about how to go about these things before there is at least an attempt to understand the potential of credit card rewards.

All I can say is if you do end up deciding to give credit cards a try in the long run for its rewards and stuff, tag me or send me a PM. I will be glad to discuss about how to go about earning these levels of Airmiles / Points without going outside of your regular spending. The timeline of accumulation will definitely differ on the basis of total spending.

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by tejas08

I, for one, am a huge proponent of Credit Card usage. With the right set of credit cards, you can do your yearly vacation for free. Not just that, I no longer look at cashbacks and Gift Vouchers as rewards. I focus only on travel redemptions using Airmiles & Hotel Loyalty Points. Flying Business Class for Free or Staying in upscale hotels for peanut costs feels way better than getting some petty cashback, statement credit or Gift Vouchers just for the sake of redemption.

That's an eye opener for me. I have a bunch of 10 credit cards and not able to use any of them efficiently. Can you name some credit cards that I can apply for the benefits that you have listed.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by mercedised

That's an eye opener for me. I have a bunch of 10 credit cards and not able to use any of them efficiently. Can you name some credit cards that I can apply for the benefits that you have listed.

The key cards for Airmiles accumulation in India are:

1. HDFC Infinia / DCB (Singapore Airlines / Club Vistara / Intermiles)
2. All Amex Cards (8 Different Frequent Flyer Program Partners)
3. Citi Premier Miles / Citi Prestige (14 Different Frequent Flyer Program Partners)
4. HSBC Visa Platinum (Singapore Airlines / British Airways / Intermiles)
5. Axis Vistara Cards
6. SBI Vistara Cards
7. SBI Etihad Cards

I prefer top four because of the flexibility it provides in transfer partners. The bottom three are co-branded cards but good if you want to focus on that particular Airline.

There are other cards too which provide some transfer partners but not worth the effort to accumulate on those.

For Hotel Loyalty Programs Points:

1. All Amex Cards (Marriott & Hilton Programs)
2. HSBC Visa Platinum (Taj Innercircle Program)
3. Citi Premier Miles & Prestige (Taj Innercirle & IHG Program)

3 is not recommended as it gives very low value in Hotel Redemptions.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by tejas08

you need to have a positive mindset towards using credit cards. However, from the closing statement of your previous post, the mindset is clearly negative towards credit cards.

Boss, I don't know why you delude into such thoughts; I'm positive you don't know, I've owned credit cards (Citi, SCB, ABN Amro, now DBS, SBI & HDFC) since 1999 (Feb to precise) & had to pay late fee only twice until this minute. The last one was somewhere in 2006 or so!!

Originally Posted by tejas08

All I can say is if you do end up deciding...differ on the basis of total spending.

I'm not sure whether you got the point or not, if you indulge deeper, the rewards are only a gimmick & beneficial for the high spenders (or a curse for the ones who have to start spending more for the rewards); I came to post here with an intention to see whether there're like minded folks or to find a real value in these rewards. Unfortunately it seem to be scalding the other side!!

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by tejas08

I
I, for one, am a huge proponent of Credit Card usage. With the right set of credit cards, you can do your yearly vacation for free. Not just that, I no longer look at cashbacks and Gift Vouchers as rewards. I focus only on travel redemptions using Airmiles & Hotel Loyalty Points. Flying Business Class for Free or Staying in upscale hotels for peanut costs feels way better than getting some petty cashback, statement credit or Gift Vouchers just for the sake of redemption.
.

Cannot agree more. I have done 2 trips to Goa for free. How? Jet Privilege Miles. They were a boon in 2014 to 16. That's when I used them the most. In December last year, I got a free flight from Delhi to Kolkata on Intermiles. I have even flown business from Amsterdam to Mumbai and all because of my JP miles.

Its not like we have to spend additional (on top of what we already spend) amount to earn miles. We can just plan our usual expenditures around our credit cards and enjoy the benefits.

[vinu_h]

Just penning down my thoughts.

I applied for the Axis Select Card. Within a day was done with the backend work, but, then realised it's offerings do not just overlap with cards I already have but it's USP "Retail shopping" cash back, isn't defined at all. The bank rep or the site, are unable to clearly say what "Retail" stands for. To me that means anything from mom/pop shop to supermarket to anything else you can buy in a mall; and that is why I applied initially.

I've now withdrawn my application. Std Chartered's 3.33% is good enough for now.

[SgtRepeat]

Originally Posted by aargee

Although I haven't personally suffered, this credit period is what pushes most (undisciplined) folks into huge debt. Offlate this 50 days of credit has become more of irritation than convenience & after every purchase the very thought of making payment keeps popping on head

Sorry but Thanks guys, I'm somehow not convinced; all these kind of offers were lucrative in 2000s (including 53 days of credit period), but these have remained unchanged barring few things such as 0% interest, CC linked to online purchases, MFA, insurance, wide acceptance & most importantly reliable billing.

There's only one golden rule to use a credit card wisely - use only as much as you would with a debit card. The moment you start thinking you can spend as much as the credit limit or more than your bank account balance (barring emergencies), you're doing it wrong.

Credit cards like the ICICI Amazon Pay credit card will give you a cashback of at least around 300 in Amazon Pay balance for incurring a bill of ₹30,000. I use this to fund my postpaid phone bill every month.

About paying the credit card bill, pay the bill as soon as you get the bill statement. There are many apps that can get you freebies and even money for paying credit card bills, such as CRED, GPay, & Amazon Pay.

If the thought of making the repayment keeps popping into your head, you're definitely spending more than your purchasing power allows, which as I said above is the wrong way to use a credit card.

It's an extremely wise decision to use a credit card as long as you adhere to the golden rule. It keeps your credit score healthy & makes better financial sense.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by tejas08

With the likes of HDFC Infinia & DCB, you can earn enough points for a business Class Redemption ticket to Europe with a spending of less than 7 Lac Rs. That's 2 Lacs worth of ticket back on moving your spends of 7 Lacs Rs on a credit card.

So you are saying that by simply spending around 7 lakhs on these cards, one will get enough rewards points to be able to get a business class ticket to Europe? Is this some specific targeted spending on certain categories?

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

Any suggestions for credit card for school fee payment of child? It's around 25k spend every quarter and fee payment by credit card is accepted.

Many cards provide around 1 percent cashback for all spends. Is the fee paid at the counter or online? If it is online, it could be treated as online purchase and some cards provide a higher cashback on it. On the other hand, it could be counted as bill payment and some cards provide lesser cashback for that. For example, my Indusind Pinnacle provides 1% cashback on all offline transactions and 2.5% on all online purchases. So I would get a cashback of either 250 or 625 on the transaction in question. These rewards can be redeemed for cash credit for free as well.

[wildsdi5530]

I love the way Petrol pumps can charge a figure when paying by credit card, same is entered in the POS machine, and SMS confirmation. But when the bank statement comes, it's a very different figure with additions.

How can a retail outlet enable this option? Can I have these hidden extras in my POS machine?

I know some merchants charge 2% extra on the bill and swipe that amount. But that's in bad taste. If we can charge the extra amount without the customer's knowledge like the petrol pump POS machines, it would be great.

Any ideas?

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

I love the way Petrol pumps can charge a figure when paying by credit card, same is entered in the POS machine, and SMS confirmation. But when the bank statement comes, it's a very different figure with additions.

How can a retail outlet enable this option? Can I have these hidden extras in my POS machine?

I know some merchants charge 2% extra on the bill and swipe that amount. But that's in bad taste. If we can charge the extra amount without the customer's knowledge like the petrol pump POS machines, it would be great.

Any ideas?

This is what the Govt does to us. They charge any arbitrary type of tax/charge/surcharge on us and we have no option to pay. Card merchants do the same. They have some set % that they earn from the pumps but they wanted more and so they all started charging this service charge/tax or whatever you may want to call it. There is no option for us but to pay it since we want to use cards for payment. Some banks reverse it based on the client profile but simply because you give them good business in other forms.

These recent wallets are a good alternative. UPI is a very good mechanism to be honest to avoid a lot of charges. I am not sure how long can it continue though

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by tejas08

The key cards for Airmiles accumulation in India are:

1. HDFC Infinia / DCB (Singapore Airlines / Club Vistara / Intermiles

Hi, Thanks for the detailed response. The cards you have listed, are they only useful for if I am a frequent flyer (to which I am not!)?

[xotiq]

Originally Posted by SgtRepeat

There's only one golden rule to use a credit card wisely - use only as much as you would with a debit card. The moment you start thinking you can spend as much as the credit limit or more than your bank account balance (barring emergencies), you're doing it wrong.

Credit cards like the ICICI Amazon Pay credit card will give you a cashback of at least around 300 in Amazon Pay balance for incurring a bill of ₹30,000. I use this to fund my postpaid phone bill every month.

About paying the credit card bill, pay the bill as soon as you get the bill statement. There are many apps that can get you freebies and even money for paying credit card bills, such as CRED, GPay, & Amazon Pay.

If the thought of making the repayment keeps popping into your head, you're definitely spending more than your purchasing power allows, which as I said above is the wrong way to use a credit card.

It's an extremely wise decision to use a credit card as long as you adhere to the golden rule. It keeps your credit score healthy & makes better financial sense.

Doesn't the ICICI Amazon pay card give 3% for non prime and 5% for prime customers? So for 30k, its either an Amazon Pay balance of 900 or 1500.

[SgtRepeat]

Originally Posted by xotiq

Doesn't the ICICI Amazon pay card give 3% for non prime and 5% for prime customers? So for 30k, its either an Amazon Pay balance of 900 or 1500.

3% & 5% are only for purchases made on Amazon. For all other purchases it's 1%. That's why I said at least 300.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by aargee

...if you indulge deeper, the rewards are only a gimmick & beneficial for the high spenders (or a curse for the ones who have to start spending more for the rewards); I came to post here with an intention to see whether there're like minded folks or to find a real value in these rewards. Unfortunately it seem to be scalding the other side!!

I am no high spender [or delude myself that way :-) ].
The way I see it is:
There is a certain amount of money that needs to be spent, say groceries/utility bills etc. This is money one needs to spend, irrespective of if it is UPI/CC/Debit/physical.
Take for example, water bills - there is an ongoing offer for 10% cashback for water bill (there is some ceiling on the total amount). nonetheless, I get a marginal discount. As long as it lasts, I would welcome it.
The same is the case with the grocery shopping - our primary source is our local kirana shop. However, for some FMCG items like detergents where we are not so particular about mfg date or a certain type of rice etc, we use amazon. This is usually marginally cheaper than the kirana shop, but I also get additional discount via good reward points. Ending up in more than a 10% saving. On an annual basis this really stacks up.
The same with dining out/ordering food - most of the times the discount covers the delivery charges and then some.
In the end, one can use those points to go on a 5star holiday, Or the same reward points can be converted to buy groceries/clothes etc.

The key I think is not to get hooked to earning rewards and cashbacks, rather to learn to get rewarded for spending things we need. Rather than spending to get rewards.
I've saved quite a good amount thanks to credit cards and suggestions in this thread.

[kushagra452]

Are there any lifetime free cards which offer airport lounge access? I am using a SC Titanium and ICICI Amazon CCs. However, neither is accepted at the Plaza Premium Lounge at the Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi.