[Raccoon]

^^^Thats a really sad state of affairs with Axis.

Got my ICICI Platinum CC today. Strangely, there is no chip... just the magnetic strip. I thought all Banks had shifted to Chip cards by now?

Also, tried hard to get a Mastercard. But despite repeated requests, they said only VISA is available. I'v heard that Mastercard charges nil or lower forex tnx fee (mark up fee or whatever) compared to Visa. In any case since I already have Visa, I wanted a Mastercard.

Anybody knows if this is true that Mastercard does not charge extra for foreign currency transactions?

Anyway, the covering letter says you get 3 Payback points per Rs. 100 spent. Each payback paint is worth exactly 25p and mentioned very clearly. In that, the rewards stytem is way more transparent than HDFC, where even the point value has to be deduced on your own. The start up kit also contains useful info for beginners regarding credit cards, CIBIL, etc.

Other advantages of ICICI over HDFC -

• Payback points can be converted to cash (best option IMO)
• Rewards catalogue is MUCH better than HDFC
• There do not seem to be any redemption/handling charges like in the case of HDFC
• ICICI gives 3 Payback points for every Rs. 100 whereas HDFC gives 2 for every Rs. 150; Rupee value per HDFC point being roughly 25p, as deduced in earlier posts.

Interest free period for ICICI is 48 days and HDFC is 50 days.

I'v never been a fan of ICICI but I have to say ICICI wins in almost every parameter over HDFC when in comes to rewards. So I intend to use their over HDFC on most occasions.

Of late, ICICI has also started giving reward points for various Netbanking and Debit Card transactions including bill payment, etc. which is probably an industry first. Does any other bank do this currently?

[sindabad.sailor]

After having nearly spoilt my overseas vacation this time due to extremely ineffficient customer care of Nationalised Bank with whom I am banking for near 10 years and have their Credit card as well, I am desperately looking for a good aditional or alternative credit card.
At the same time I am thinking of getting one for my home maker wife.
I pay all my ULIP monthly premiums through my credit card and hence better the rewars better it would be for me.
I travel abroad often on company business and also have company issued priority pass hence can pass this benefit from the new card.
We make at least one oversea vacation every year but look for cheapest airfare and not necessarily Jet Airways.
On the backdrop of this, pls suggest me and my wife a good credit card. We do not have Citi HSBC and StanChart at home town and hence not keen on these.
Does HDFC or ICICI co branded cards make any sense to me? I am looking into applying / obtaining my cards coming week and hence early advices requested.
Also any drawbacks of activating auto debit from my account? I had my card bills automatically debited from my a/c on BOI card and never had any issues with it so far.
Rgds.

[noopster]

My experience with co branded cards is that they often tie you to one provider that you will not necessarily be happy with. Rather, apply for a Platinum or Signature card from HDFC. Excellent customer service and probably the only card I have used so far that does not get declined for no earthly reason, as I suspect your experience with the PSU bank turned out.

You can also call them and confirm pending foreign visits, upcoming transactions etc, which is a good feature to have.

[Saanil]

Hello,

I have a very simple question. I am usually a debit card user and never even possessed a credit card until recently. I got a credit card because I had to register for an exam and those guys do not accept debit card.

So Citibank issued me a VISA card. So I went for this because they were issuing me this card for free but on one condition - I will be able to use it for a year and then in order to use it afterwards, I would need to pay a fee OR that fee would be waived if I spend Rs 20k during the 1st year using that credit card. I took that deal because I knew I would be spending more than 20k on that exam so I got the extension fee waived.

Now I used this card for another transaction. I got a message from Citi saying: Total Amount Due: Rs 9k, Minimum Amount Due Rs 450, Due Date: 5th July, 2013.

Now I understand that I need to pay 9k by 5th July. But what does Rs450 stand for?

Also I understand that if I fail to pay by 5th July, the bank will charge me a hefty interest rate - I just want to get an understanding how much interest rate do they charge - I know this will vary from bank to bank but can some one please give me an approximate rate?

I know I should be aware of these things before taking the card but I did not intend on using this card except for my exam registration hence did not ask a lot of details from the Citi representative.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Also I understand that if I fail to pay by 5th July, the bank will charge me a hefty interest rate - I just want to get an understanding how much interest rate do they charge - I know this will vary from bank to bank but can some one please give me an approximate rate?

Interest would be around 30 to 50% per annum (2.5 to 4% monthly that is also compounded monthly). Ignore Minimum amount, just pay in full always.

Credit card the the most expensive credit.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hello,
Now I understand that I need to pay 9k by 5th July. But what does Rs450 stand for?

To elaborate further, if you pay Min. Amount Due, you will not incur any late payment charges/penalty (+Service Tax on that amount!). But you will incur interest on the whole amount (+ST on interest amount). So as Netfreak mentioned, you should always pay the full amount due by the due date, unless you are in dire straits financially. In which case, at least pay the Min Amount Due and avoid the penalty and I guess also a bad credit rating.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Interest would be around 30 to 50% per annum (2.5 to 4% monthly that is also compounded monthly).

Originally Posted by Raccoon

To elaborate further, if you pay Min. Amount Due, you will not incur any late payment charges/penalty (+Service Tax on that amount!).

Got it. This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Also I used to wonder that if I am paying the full amount before the due date then how are credit card companies making money (given that they are also offering me the card for free)? Then I read somewhere that if I make a transaction for Rs 100, a small fraction of it is divided between the transaction parties.

[k2max6]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Got it. This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Also I used to wonder that if I am paying the full amount before the due date then how are credit card companies making money (given that they are also offering me the card for free)? Then I read somewhere that if I make a transaction for Rs 100, a small fraction of it is divided between the transaction parties.

Credit card companies generally charge the merchant 1.5 -2% for every transaction. The money comes as a lot of people pay minimum amount due and another lot misses the payment date.

[sindabad.sailor]

Talked to HDFC card deptt today to get a shocker that they have stopped issuing credit cards to NRE/NRO account holder since 1st May.
Has anyone got first hand information?

[aditya101]

I am looking for card company giving waiver at BPCL petrol pumps ... any suggestions? My current ICICI bank card gives waiver on HPCL only.

[Raccoon]

^^^HDFC debit card has waiver on BPCL. However they debit first and credit after a month or so... so you need to keep track. And HDFC Platinum CC has surcharge waiver for any bunk (which I hope includes Shell. Anybody knows for sure?). However its applicable between Rs. 400 - 5,000 only.

But as I'v mentioned earlier, HDFC is perhaps gives the lowest benefits when it comes to rewards. So you may want to think twice.

IIRC, some Stan Chart card not only gives waiver, but even pays back 2.5%. There may be other options too.

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by aditya101

I am looking for card company giving waiver at BPCL petrol pumps ... any suggestions? My current ICICI bank card gives waiver on HPCL only.

You can check out SC's super value titanium card.
Quoting from its website:

• 5% cash back on fuel at all petrol pumps in India. You’ll also receive a 2.5% surcharge reversal and 2.5% cash back on the transaction amount, be it BPCL, IOC, HPCL or Reliance
• 5% cash back on all telecom payments including phone bills across all service providers, be it Vodafone, Airtel, MTNL , Reliance, BSNL or TATA Indicomm
• 5% cash back on all utility bill payments, allowing you to save more on electricity, gas and water

I use this card exclusively for fuel (largely at Shell) and it's been great so far.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

And HDFC Platinum CC has surcharge waiver for any bunk (which I hope includes Shell. Anybody knows for sure?). However its applicable between Rs. 400 - 5,000 only.

HDFC (Visa Signature) and Axis (Corporate) are two cards that I know offer surcharge waiver at ALL petrol pumps (including Shell, and possibly even Reliance/Essar if these were running).

[sindabad.sailor]

What are the advantages of credit cards issued against FDs. Limit is 85% of the FD amount. Rest all apparently seems similar to the regular credit cards except that prior liquidating the FD one needs to surrender and clear the credit card bill but on the other hand card issuance is same day as that of application.
I personally think HDFC Visa Signature card is better. Any tricks to get it free instead of paying annual fees?

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by nareshov

You can check out SC's super value titanium card.
Quoting from its website:



I use this card exclusively for fuel (largely at Shell) and it's been great so far.

Which card is this?
I too am looking for a card that has cash back and does not restrict us to any one oil company.