[kushagra452]

What's the best way to apply for a HDFC Regalia CC. I filled in a firm online and promptly got a call from an alleged HDFC bank customer representative. She asked me to Whatsapp my PAN card Aadhar copy. When I asked her to first share her company ID card, she refused. I have not proceeded with the process.

Is it possible to apply for a HDFC CC at a local branch?

[condor]

Guys, can you pls check how much surcharge is there for fuel purchases ?

I know card companies give a credit on the surcharge, but despite the credit, I found I am still paying an additional 2.5%. This is when I compare:

Bill vs charge on CC - credit of the surcharge.

Will check using a debit card next time.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

What's the best way to apply for a HDFC Regalia CC. I filled in a firm online and promptly got a call from an alleged HDFC bank customer representative. She asked me to Whatsapp my PAN card Aadhar copy. When I asked her to first share her company ID card, she refused. I have not proceeded with the process.

Is it possible to apply for a HDFC CC at a local branch?

Like you are hesitant to share your personal details. Employee will also be hesitant to share details especially company id etc.(she might also think it could be a scammer) I think best way would be to go to the bank and maybe get it done.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Is it possible to apply for a HDFC CC at a local branch?

The bank can send an executive to your home to get the form filled and documents collected.

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, can you pls check how much surcharge is there for fuel purchases ?

My HDFC card charges 1%+tax. The 1% is reversed the next day but not the tax part.

[condor]

Originally Posted by shipnil

My HDFC card charges 1%+tax. The 1% is reversed the next day but not the tax part.

Card issued by HDFC. But I see a 5% surcharge, and reduced by 2.5.

How much do you fill up for ? I do a typical of 3.2 - 3.9k per fill.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by condor

How much do you fill up for ? I do a typical of 3.2 - 3.9k per fill.

I usually fill between 2.5k to 3k. Not sure in June if it is revised as the last refill I did was in May and there was not much running in June.

[Nissan1180]

I want to share my bad experience with Cred.
I was introduced to the app by a family member, and it seemed like a harmless app. However, I have realised that it can be dangerous for your credit score.
I paid the bill through the iMobile application in May this year. Surprisingly, it did not reflect on Cred and I ignored this because I thought they may need some time to sync the data with the ICICI servers.
This month I checked my credit score on Cred and it had dropped by a few points because it detected that I missed a payment deadline. I reached out to them to correct the error but they do not have a customer care. They only reply to emails, and there’s no live chat option either.

For all its flashy advertisements and pedigreed leadership, Cred has a lag in collecting the payment information from the bank. They keep sending you a message daily to encourage you to pay early because they know that there can be a delay in transferring that amount to the bank.

Using Cred can reduce your credit score without you being responsible for it. Also, they take forever to get rid of your cards. You cannot close the account without waiting for a few days after sending a request to their email ID.

I have realised that these third party payment apps are dangerous, and it is better to deal with the Bank directly. The few hundred rupees of customer acquisition costs Cred spends on inducting a customer is not worth the trouble it can bring if things go wrong.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, can you pls check how much surcharge is there for fuel purchases ?

I know card companies give a credit on the surcharge, but despite the credit, I found I am still paying an additional 2.5%. This is when I compare:

Bill vs charge on CC - credit of the surcharge.

Will check using a debit card next time.

I think most banks/credit cards charge 1% as fuel surcharge. I guess fuel surcharge has 18% GST on the surcharge value too. For some cards and banks, the waiver is only from their end. This will appear as separate line item in your statement and reversal of surcharge will also be shown. GST will not be reversed by most banks. But if you swipe your CC in other bank POS machine, the acquiring bank can levy surcharge and it may be 2.5%. This will not reflect separately as line item in your statement but included in the main amount and hence there will be difference between charge slip and billed value in statement. This is the reason most banks ask you to use their own POS machine.

In debit cards, surcharge itself is generally lower than 1% and many debit cards like ICICI or HDFC waive off the surcharge itself. They do not provide debit card reward points though. Some like Axis debit card provide the waiver only on Axis machine. I learnt it the hard way few years ago when I forgot my wallet, I swiped my wife's Axis debit card in non axis machine and it had 2.5% surcharge.

Citi debit card is the best as they not only provide surcharge waiver on any machine but give you 2 points worth Rs 2 for every Rs. 150 spent on fuel. So I never bothered about POS machine or other cards for fuel in the last 15 years.

[Everlearner]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

I want to share my bad experience with Cred.
I was introduced to the app by a family member, and it seemed like a harmless app. However, I have realised that it can be dangerous for your credit score.
I paid the bill through the iMobile application in May this year. Surprisingly, it did not reflect on Cred and I ignored this because I thought they may need some time to sync the data with the ICICI servers.

Do you really depend on CRED to track your card outstanding or just use it for payments and getting rewards? If its the latter you need not worry about whether CRED reflects the payment or not. Its the bank's confirmation that matters.

This month I checked my credit score on Cred and it had dropped by a few points because it detected that I missed a payment deadline. I reached out to them to correct the error but they do not have a customer care. They only reply to emails, and there’s no live chat option either.

CRED does not generate any credit score or even inform the credit bureaus of your payments. It merely collects information from your messages, emails etc., and downloads your credit report from the bureau.

For all its flashy advertisements and pedigreed leadership, Cred has a lag in collecting the payment information from the bank. They keep sending you a message daily to encourage you to pay early because they know that there can be a delay in transferring that amount to the bank.

Using Cred can reduce your credit score without you being responsible for it. Also, they take forever to get rid of your cards. You cannot close the account without waiting for a few days after sending a request to their email ID.

As said above cred cannot impact your credit rating. With any 3rd party payment apps, its better to have a 3 day buffer and pay early so that the payment gets reflected in bank's records before due date.

I have realised that these third party payment apps are dangerous, and it is better to deal with the Bank directly. The few hundred rupees of customer acquisition costs Cred spends on inducting a customer is not worth the trouble it can bring if things go wrong.

There are inherent risks when you are adding a layer your money passes through between you and the bank. You can take a call based on whether you believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

Personally, I always pay via 3rd party apps like cred, amazon, mobikwik, paytm etc., for the reward points or offers and haven't faced any issues in last 3-4 years.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Is it possible to apply for a HDFC CC at a local branch?

The CC executive normally handles a set of branches but is based at one of those branches. If you visit the branch where the executive is based, you can apply on the spot. At other branches you will have to submit your details and the executive will contact you for completion of the application.

[Funny]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

This month I checked my credit score on Cred and it had dropped by a few points because it detected that I missed a payment deadline.

As Everlearner mentioned above, CRED does not report anything to the credit bureau regarding delayed payments, it's not even authorized to do anything of that sort since that level of authorization lies only with the card issuer. The only scenario where CRED can impact your credit score is when you have taken loan from CRED (Cred Cash) and defaulted on the loan re-payments.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, can you pls check how much surcharge is there for fuel purchases ?

I know card companies give a credit on the surcharge, but despite the credit, I found I am still paying an additional 2.5%. This is when I compare:

Bill vs charge on CC - credit of the surcharge.

Will check using a debit card next time.

Amex charges 1% + GST at most petrol pumps, but no charge in Indian Oil COCO pumps - they have a list of pumps where there is no charge.

[rkg]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Amex charges 1% + GST at most petrol pumps, but no charge in Indian Oil COCO pumps - they have a list of pumps where there is no charge.

AFAIK, AMEX has no surcharge at HPCL fuel stations. you will be billed exactly for the amount used. No addition of surcharge and reversing it . However there is a limit of 5000/- at a time. Beyond 5000, there will be surcharge even at HPCL
At all other fuel stations AMEX has 3% surcharge

Originally Posted by condor

Card issued by HDFC. But I see a 5% surcharge, and reduced by 2.5.

How much do you fill up for ? I do a typical of 3.2 - 3.9k per fill.

Fuel surcharge is @1% for VISA and Master card since few years. Some banks reverse the surcharge and GST also (Standard chartered). Other banks like HDFC reverse only surcharge, but not GST.

But all banks have a range like 500-4000 or 3000 with in that range surcharge is reversed. Above that surcharge is levied.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

.....
There are inherent risks when you are adding a layer your money passes through between you and the bank. You can take a call based on whether you believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

Personally, I always pay via 3rd party apps like cred, amazon, mobikwik, paytm etc., for the reward points or offers and haven't faced any issues in last 3-4 years.

There could be other issues involved too! Recently I'd paid my power bill via PayZapp. The routing was:

Bill --> PayZapp --> BBPS --> Axis CC

My power bill was paid in time as expected. However, a few weeks later my Axis CC bill showed an entry for a "Cloth Stores" charge that I did not remember. I was almost at the point of filing a dispute for that unrecognized charge when I decided to dig deeper with the charge amount, and to my surprise, found that the amount and the date matched my power bill payment!

I wonder if there is a loophole that is somehow being exploited by these intermediaries for tax evasion purposes, where they receive money from legitimate sources, and then make the payments from whichever other accounts that suit their purpose!

I have noticed such things at other times too, -- like an online Jio recharge was categorized as a "Moto" store purchase! But that was at least in the same ball park. But "Cloth Stores" for a power bill payment?! At the very least it makes making sense of CC bill entries very difficult indeed.

-- Anyone else noticed such funny accounting?
.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by rkg

AFAIK, AMEX has no surcharge at HPCL fuel stations. you will be billed exactly for the amount used. No addition of surcharge and reversing it . However there is a limit of 5000/- at a time. Beyond 5000, there will be surcharge even at HPCL
At all other fuel stations AMEX has 3% surcharge

I am always billed with 1% surcharge on any fuel station apart from HPCL which is exempt. Guess you are mistaken about 3% surcharge.