[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by noopster

HDFC is good. Their customer service is among the best I have experienced especially for the higher-end cards where you have a 2-ring response to your call. They are generally accomodating of requests for good customers. I had requested an extension of my credit limit once during an emergency and they did it promptly.

Thanks noopster, for your valuable advice.
Good to know that HDFC customer service is good because Kotak is worst in it.

Originally Posted by noopster

On the other hand, they once levied me a heavy financial charge (over 8000) for delaying my repayment by 2 days (I actually paid on the due date- it took 2 days to hit their account).

Kotak once freeze my savings account because I did not pay the card bill on time (actually 2 times consecutively). Late fees and all were also imposed. The real pain that time was that I was traveling and had only Kotak debit card which these people blocked. And this I tried to explain to the customer service but no use.

Originally Posted by noopster

But compared to my earlier interactions with ICICI, Kotak, ABN Amro (shudder!!!) HDFC is a walk in the park.

ICICI is a no-go for me. Had bad experience in past of fraudulent transaction case. They did not handle it well and I ended up paying for it (20k or so).

[driverace]

I observed this:

Filled Diesel worth INR 2800
I was charged INR 2889
Surcharge waiver INR 0080

So, I end up paying 2809 for 2800 worth fuel?
Is this how others see on their bills?

I used to have correct waivers before, have started observing this since last 2 months.

Anything I can do about it?

This is HDFC Platinum plus (chip) credit card.

Ace.

[Cocooner]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I am being offered HDFC Regalia card as I am opening a new savings account with them. First year annual fees is waived off and will be waived off for following years too if my spend is more than 4L in a year. This will be the case.

Currently, I have a Kotak League card which is fine but their customer care is bad, hence thinking of switching.

I heard good and bad things about HDFC cards so really confused if I should go ahead with it or look for Amex/Citi bank cards?

Any suggestions?

I've been using an Amex Platinum Travel Card since the past 2 years and find it great. You get a joining bonus of some points which can be used to redeem Rs. 4000 Indigo vouchers, another set of bonus points on reaching spends of 1.9 lakhs which get you Rs. 6000 Indigo vouchers, and finally, on reaching spends of 4 lakhs, you get a Rs. 10000 Indigo voucher as well as a Rs. 10000 Taj voucher.

I have gotten all of the above from them last year based on my spends, and am extremely happy with the customer service, which in my experience has been definitely better than HDFC, HSBC and ICICI.

Hope this helps!

P.S. I didn't have to pay any annual fees in the second year after some tough negotiations! The only fallback is that I didn't get the renewal bonus points (Rs. 4000 voucher), but that's okay.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by driverace

I observed this:

Filled Diesel worth INR 2800
I was charged INR 2889
Surcharge waiver INR 0080

So, I end up paying 2809 for 2800 worth fuel?
Is this how others see on their bills?

I used to have correct waivers before, have started observing this since last 2 months.

Anything I can do about it?

This is HDFC Platinum plus (chip) credit card.

Ace.

If your card was swiped at a non-HDFC EDC machine, you would be paying those charges. Make sure you always swipe at HDFC EDC's only.

[driverace]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

If your card was swiped at a non-HDFC EDC machine, you would be paying those charges. Make sure you always swipe at HDFC EDC's only.

Thanks for that info!
So - If I swipe a debt card ( say HDFC debt card on another machine ) - still I would pay the extra charge?

Further query:
How do I get a card with waived off annual charges like folks are getting here!?
I would love to have the Coral Credit card / Better rewarding card in HDFC too!
I manage most of my spending through Credit card. (definitely goes above 2L per year) & I have good credit history for past 4+ years.

Thanks much,

Ace.

[ani_meher]

You need to call up HDFC and ask them for upgrade of your card. Previously they would bulge easily, but now they are quite hard to upgrade.

For no annual charge card, again call HDFC and ask for lifetime free credit card. They will give all type of reasons saying that first year is free, you have to spend at least xxxx rs per month etc. Ask strongly for no conditions attached lifetime free card. Else hunt for other banks. Usually such offers are best around March, when it is year end and all the banks are window dressing their accounts.

If your wife (if you are married) is working, get a Woman's gold credit card from HDFC, that has some good cash back points. But read all the conditions very carefully whether it is really free forever and without any minimum spend condition.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by driverace

I observed this:

Filled Diesel worth INR 2800
I was charged INR 2889
Surcharge waiver INR 0080

So, I end up paying 2809 for 2800 worth fuel?
Is this how others see on their bills?

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

If your card was swiped at a non-HDFC EDC machine, you would be paying those charges. Make sure you always swipe at HDFC EDC's only.

Rs. 9/- is actually service tax @ 12.36% ( 12.00% Service Tax, 2.00% Education Cess and 1.00% Higher Education Cess ).

This amount is paid to Government and hence is not waived.

Some pumps do not collect this tax and hence full amount of fuel surcharge is reversed.

[CRV2010]

Originally Posted by driverace

Thanks for that info!
So - If I swipe a debt card ( say HDFC debt card on another machine ) - still I would pay the extra charge?

Further query:
How do I get a card with waived off annual charges like folks are getting here!?
I would love to have the Coral Credit card / Better rewarding card in HDFC too!
I manage most of my spending through Credit card. (definitely goes above 2L per year) & I have good credit history for past 4+ years.

Thanks much,

Ace.

All you can do is get a Lifetime Free Card or try the below suggestion

Once they charge you Annual fee just call up them ask for waiver / reversal or just tell them to cancel your card. If they feel your account is in good standing with no late payments and good card usage then they will try to retain you by reversing those charges.

[null]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I am being offered HDFC Regalia card as I am opening a new savings account with them. First year annual fees is waived off and will be waived off for following years too if my spend is more than 4L in a year..

I would never take any card, which requires us to pay annual fees/joining fees or puts conditions for fee waivers. All banks want to take advantage of the consumerization and its aftereffect (spend more & pay less) and dole out goodies to customers to get on to the credit card bandwagon. Being a cautious card user, I would not like to commit to any spend, unless there is real value (much > than the fees paid). It is too cumbersome for me to track spends and check on fees.

Coming to HDFC cards, they are pretty decent in terms of service. Try to negotiate for a full free card (instead of clauses).

[driverace]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

You need to call up HDFC and ask them for upgrade of your card. ...
Else hunt for other banks. Usually such offers are best around March, when it is year end and all the banks are window dressing their accounts.

If your wife (if you are married) is working, get a Woman's gold credit card from HDFC, that has some good cash back points. But read all the conditions very carefully whether it is really free forever and without any minimum spend condition.

I will check on my card upgrade-ability.

My wife is a freelancer.
Would she be still eligible for Gold Credit Card? ( I will check that too ).

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Rs. 9/- is actually service tax @ 12.36% ( 12.00% Service Tax, 2.00% Education Cess and 1.00% Higher Education Cess ).

This amount is paid to Government and hence is not waived.

This was not the case when I used the card before.
I will check this - by filling up through HDFC machine at bunk & verify.

Originally Posted by CRV2010

All you can do is get a Lifetime Free Card or try the below suggestion

Once they charge you Annual fee just call up them ask for waiver / reversal or just tell them to cancel your card.

I did not want a recurring hassle of calling them up yearly.

Thank you all!

Ace.

[madbullram]

I have been using Indus Ind (formerly Deutsche) Platinum Card for past almost 8 years and have been always happy. The part of the card is that you get reward point which you can redeem to pay back the outstanding. This is a permanent feature. Depending on the category of purchase you can get more points. On an average, I get around 4-5k per year which I used to pay back my outstanding.

Also, similar to Noopster, I also once had an issue of 3 days delay, where there was a charge of 9k + late fees. All it took me was one call, and I explained the issue. Within 15 days it was reversed and also the CC called up to confirm the same. Top notch service everytime with them.

Another feature I like is, they send me a year end report, which gives me a complete picture of the spend in various categories. It helps me analyze my spend pattern.

All in all, a very satisfied customer and I find the rewards point used to payback outstanding as very useful (there is no top limit on this unlike cash back cards).

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by Cocooner

I've been using an Amex Platinum Travel Card since the past 2 years and find it great.

Thanks Cocooner.
I have already signed HDFC card form few minutes ago based on noopster's advice. Probably I will persuade my wife to go for Amex looking at the miles benefit.

Originally Posted by null

Coming to HDFC cards, they are pretty decent in terms of service. Try to negotiate for a full free card (instead of clauses).

Thanks null!

Normally, I would negotiate hard to waive off the condition on spend but usually my spend is more than the limit they are asking for. So it isn't a concern as such.

My main concern is service and noopster and you both think it's much better so the decision is done.

In fact just signed the form five minutes ago.

Cheers!

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by driverace

I will check on my card upgrade-ability.

My wife is a freelancer.
Would she be still eligible for Gold Credit Card? ( I will check that too ).

This was not the case when I used the card before.
I will check this - by filling up through HDFC machine at bunk & verify.

I did not want a recurring hassle of calling them up yearly.

Thank you all!

Ace.

I had Citibank Indian Oil credit card which used to waive off any extra charges at IOC pumps. But they charge service charges for other company outlets.

Try to get a Citibank card which returns Rs. 1 for each reward points. I'm using this card for all my big purchases and redeem points towards outstanding bill.

Ask for an add-on card for your wife which most banks oblige without any conditions.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by driverace

Thanks for that info!
So - If I swipe a debt card ( say HDFC debt card on another machine ) - still I would pay the extra charge?

For debit cards, there is no fuel surcharge waiver, firstly. You would end up paying more than what you would pay, had you filled with cash. Never use debit cards to fill up. Use either your CC or cash.

Further query:
How do I get a card with waived off annual charges like folks are getting here!?
I would love to have the Coral Credit card / Better rewarding card in HDFC too!
I manage most of my spending through Credit card. (definitely goes above 2L per year) & I have good credit history for past 4+ years.

Thanks much,

Ace.

I have the Platinum Plus card which has no annual charges, if I spend the mandated amount within the specified time period.

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Rs. 9/- is actually service tax @ 12.36% ( 12.00% Service Tax, 2.00% Education Cess and 1.00% Higher Education Cess ).

This amount is paid to Government and hence is not waived.

Some pumps do not collect this tax and hence full amount of fuel surcharge is reversed.

No, this tax does not apply in this scenario.

[driverace]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I had Citibank Indian Oil credit card which used to waive off any extra charges at IOC pumps. But they charge service charges for other company outlets.

Try to get a Citibank card which returns Rs. 1 for each reward points. I'm using this card for all my big purchases and redeem points towards outstanding bill.

Ask for an add-on card for your wife which most banks oblige without any conditions.

Thanks a lot for that tip!

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

..Never use debit cards to fill up. Use either your CC or cash.

I have the Platinum Plus card which has no annual charges, if I spend the mandated amount within the specified time period.
..

I never used Debt card at bunks ( just asked )
Thanks a bunch for that info!

I got Platinum plus card too!
No annual charges either.

I will keep the cards bookmarked - and check if I get any offers from the banks.

Good day Guys!

Ace.