Team-BHP - The Credit Card Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 3122441)

Is that true? I couldn't find any reference for this. This page says that only the level of "current balance" (current unpaid amount) matters, not the credit limit.

I read it in 'I will teach you to be rich' book by Ramit Sethi. Experts can advise if this is not correct.

http://lifehacker.com/5961899/secret...dit-score-club

Not sure whether this applies to India though.

Also, from CIBIL page:
What are the major factors that affect my Score?
There are 4 major factors that affect your Score. These are described below:
2. High Utilization of Credit Limits: While the balances on your loans will only reduce over time as payments are made, you must be diligent about making timely payments on your credit cards. While increased spending on your credit cards may not necessarily negatively affect your Score, an increase in the current balance on the card over time is an indication of an increased repayment burden and may negatively impact your Score. It’s always prudent to not use too much credit.

Calculation of 'Too much credit' is the credit you have actually taken vs the credit limit you are allowed to. SO higher the credit limit, better is this ratio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRV2010 (Post 3118871)

I have been using Amex Gold Charge Card from last two years. Last week I have been charged with Annual fee of Rs. 5056 which was due this month.

Though I had successfully got the full amount waived off last year however this year I am not able to. I have been making full payments on time and has never missed any payment till today.

Even though when I said I will cancel the card if annual fee is not waived off and not interested in paying the annual fee. They have come up with two options

1. Pay 50% of Annual fee ie Rs. 2528 and get 5,000 Points.
2. Pay 25% of the Annual fee is Rs. 1264 and get no Points.

Amex Gold Card users please help me to avoid paying them any annual fee and tips for recovering the annual fee if it cannot be avoided.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRV2010 (Post 3120373)

Thanks LithiumSunset

I know it has got astronomical annual fee however i thought I could get it waived every year and also succeeded once but this time they are very keen on not waiving it off.

The card has got very good rewards structure, Just for using 4 times a month you can get 1,000 bonus points and for 18k points you can get 7.5k worth of croma voucher and many more..

I do have a Stan Chart Platinum Rewards Card and I use it depending on the statement date.

I too think of cancelling the card but still sometimes their customer care, fraud protection, rewards makes me postpone the decision.

These are exactly the reasons pushing me to continue with the card. Basically I charge this card four times every month for small expenses and voila I get 1000 reward points as bonus. Redeeming value works out to a nice enough percentage (between 15-20 percent) of total annual spend which is not very high on this card as it is not my primary card. I have asked them to call me on the weekend to confirm whether I want to continue or not. I will be pushing them to waive the utility bill payment SI condition as well, lets see if it works out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno (Post 3122551)

Saw this line at the bottom of my StanChart card statement for this month -
THE NEW RETAIL INTEREST RATE APPLICABLE ON YOUR CREDIT CARD FROM THE NEXT BILLING CYCLE IS 3.49% P.M. (APR OF 41.88%)

Annual interest on unpaid balance is ~42%. :Shockked: Man, that is some interest. Remember the interest being only around 2.5% P.M. some years ago.
Goes without saying that you are way better off financially by paying off the bill in full every month.

No change in interest in my Manhattan CC statement in May. Although the cashback amount per transaction has been reduced from 200 to 150. Seems like SC is cutting back on freebies one by one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkapoor777 (Post 3122612)

I have been given another option to continue using the same card, which is to enrol 4 utility bills for payment by giving standing instruction. 100% fee waiver has been offered (this is my second renewal). Maybe I am better at negotiating than you! lol:

These are exactly the reasons pushing me to continue with the card. Basically I charge this card four times every month for small expenses and voila I get 1000 reward points as bonus. Redeeming value works out to a nice enough percentage (between 15-20 percent) of total annual spend which is not very high on this card as it is not my primary card. I have asked them to call me on the weekend to confirm whether I want to continue or not. I will be pushing them to waive the utility bill payment SI condition as well, lets see if it works out.

Good to know that they gave you 100% fee waiver, bad they didn't even oblige :Frustrati.

Did you still get 5,000 points ?

Anyways I had got complimentary bookmyshow.com tickets two times each worth of Rs. 600 this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRV2010 (Post 3122622)

Well last year in May, I was given similar options to you (50% fee waiver and full 5000 points). When I insisted that I will not pay a penny, they agreed to waive off the full fee but said that I will not get any bonus points which was fine with me. But sometime in July (IIRC), my card account was credited with 5000 bonus points which I promptly redeemed before Amex changed its mind (which they didn't actually and I also never asked why these bonus points :D).

This time around, I have been told that while I will get the 100% fee waiver (provided I enroll for utility bills payment by SI), no bonus points will be credited. Even I got BMS vouchers twice over in 2012 and recently again (2 vouchers of 600 each) when I enrolled for Amex epay service (similar to Visa bill pay). They sure have pampered me so far. Long may it continue!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkapoor777 (Post 3122631)

You a Lucky Chap :D

Will try to talk to them again today and if not will cancel the card :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRV2010 (Post 3122622)

CRV just few min back I got 100% waiver :) better talk to them and show commitment that I will use their card as much as possible
This is 3rd year for fee wavier and I didn't got 5000 bonus points
If you are using gold card swipe/online purchase of 250 buck or more 4 times in a month get 1000 bonus points which is roughly equal to 250 bucks

CRV I need one info. In one of your post you have written
"The card has got very good rewards structure, Just for using 4 times a month you can get 1,000 bonus points and for 18k points you can get 7.5k worth of croma voucher and many more.."

Can we use these 7.5K without any condition ie if the product is already discounted we can still use or it is only applicable for MRP like lifestyle or shopper stop coupon

Quote:

Originally Posted by aka_iitd (Post 3122639)

Can we use these 7.5K without any condition ie if the product is already discounted we can still use or it is only applicable for MRP like lifestyle or shopper stop coupon

Well you should be able to use these vouchers as substitute for actual payment, whatever the final payable amount may be (irrespective of the fact that the goods are discounted already under another existing offer). For Shoppers Stop etc, the vouchers I get from Amex have been used for both MRP and discounted merchandise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajesh1868 (Post 3122675)

Didnt understand the reduction from 200 to 150. Isnt it 5% cashback for purchases above Rs 1000?

It is still 5% cashback for transactions over 1000 but the maximum cashback in a single transaction is now limited to 150, which essentially means that you should try and keep your transaction amounts upto 3000 for a single swipe. For example, if you swiped your card at a Department Store for say 5000 bucks, you will only get 150 as cashback. However in the same scenario, had you asked the store to swipe the card twice (once for 3000 and another for 2000), you would get a total cashback of 250 (5% on both swipes). I do this very often at places like Shoppers Stop and they don't have any issues doing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkapoor777 (Post 3122687)

Thanks for the info and I hope you have used the Croma vouchers before.
I remember I received some Prestige (kitchen appliance company) vouchers and there was a condition that product cost will roll out to MRP if coupons are used. Yes Lifestyle coupons are like cash and used many times.
I am little worried that products at Croma should not roll to MRP when using vouchers as I am planning to buy LED TV from them.
Any users of Croma vouchers please confirm

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkapoor777 (Post 3122687)

Thanks for that. Hadnt noticed this. I missed out negotiating for the Amex Gold Card renewal. Will remember next time. Got the waiver for Manhattan renewal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 3121930)

I have one of these cards. For (2), you have to spend Rs. 15K in the first three months. For (1), you have to spend Rs. 50K in the previous year to qualify for it in the next year. For (3), each bill has to be between Rs. 500 & Rs. 4000. Also for (3), you have to be very careful as they charge the surcharge and service tax, and then apply a credit - but they don't do the credit part promptly or accurately.

Again verified today with them about points (1) and (2). They confirmed that it is completely free card and no spending thresholds apply. They explained that no charges apply even if I do not spend a penny on this card. This so called 'offer' is only applicable to employees of TCS, Infy, Wipro and Cognizant, they said.
Will be careful about point (3) though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 3121935)

At which shopping malls? Pls post once you can get the answer.

Sure. Will post this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 3121935)

Also, why do you want to reduce the credit limit? Higher the limit, better the CIBIL score (IF you pay up full payment every month, which I think you will.)

I was under the impression that CIBIL score is affected negatively with higher Credit Limit. Wasn't aware that it's the outstanding payment which is important to manage for better Credit Score.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aka_iitd (Post 3122639)

nkapoor777, has answered it already :)

Called them again and they are not ready to waive the annual fee more than 75% this time for me.

This really got me unerved -

Quote:

The card information can also be used in online transactions because in some countries there are e-commerce sites that conclude a transaction without even the CVV2 number which is printed on the reverse of the credit card.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/18374002.cms

I was under the impression that you don't need the password for international sites. But now it seems you don't need the CVV2 either. :Shockked:

That raises other questions - I just got a HDFC credit card and called up their card customer care twice. Both times, the first thing they rep wanted was the card number! I was reluctant, but conceded as I thought at least he may not know the CVV or the validity. If its their policy to ask for the card number as the 1st thing, how can they ensure that no fraud will be committed by their customer care executives?

Is it a normal practice for all banks to demand the card number?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon (Post 3140016)

Is it a normal practice for all banks to demand the card number?

HDFC for me, asks me to write to them from my "registered email ID" and mention the last four digits of the card.

Citibank asks for my mobile number and the last four digits of the card.

Neither of them encourage giving out the full 16-digit card number to the customer care agent. Despite the bank's best efforts, rotten eggs do emerge. There have been many high profile cases in the past.

CNP transactions without the CVV2 are sometimes allowed in India too. I booked a resort in Wayanad a couple of months back with just the card number and mailing address.