[Comrade]

Originally Posted by shipnil

How beneficial is paying society maintenance using card? I see the society intermediary apps like mygate / apnacomplex charging extra 1.8% for payment using CC. Do the points earned are higher in value than this additional percentage?

Infinia has 3.33% reward rate. So even with 1.85%+ gst, its still free to pay with the card, and these spends will help me reach the annual spend limit (10L).

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I see the society intermediary apps like mygate / apnacomplex charging extra 1.8% for payment using CC

I now use Flipkart Axis bank card which gives a 1-1.5% cashback on outside spends. Found it useful recently to pay engineering fees which carried a 1.2% CC fee. So it kinds of evens out.

[vinu_h]

Axis Bank My Zone is being given out life time free. Not sure till when.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by moloised

I have 4 Credit Cards and would like to get rid of one or two.
1. AMEX MRCC
2. ICICI Coral - Oldest, can't cancel for credit age
3. ICICI Amazon Pay
4. Citibank Rewards

Which among these provides the least value? Any good replacements that I should look into?

I know I am not eligible for the Infinia type cards, but anything below should be within my reach. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

PS: I am not an avid traveller but I pay for almost everything with my credit cards.

I too have AMEX charge and ICICI - Platinum as well as Amazon. On and off I get another card due to canvassing by my banks, but ultimately I let go of them as they all have annula charges, while my three main cards are LTF.

So my suggestion is get rid of the Citibank card. Between them AMEX and ICICI have all the bases covered, and if you do not want to raise the credit limit, there is no need for another card.

[murugaveln]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I keep on getting WA messages from Citibank asking mandate to transfer to Axis which I don't want to.

How do I close the account with Citi? Anyone who has done it successfully?

I also do not want to transfer to Axis. So I raised a query with Citi support and this is the reply:

----
In the event if you still conclude to close the card account, respecting your decision we request you write an email to us at head.customercare@citi.com from your registered email id providing us an explicit consent for card closure or by calling us at National Call-in number: 1860 210 2484 and overseas Call-in number: (91) 22 4955 2484.
----

Hope this helps. I will be closing my card this month.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by murugaveln

I will be closing my card this month.

So the WhatsApp link that Citi worked for me finally. I could not do it via App as my KYC is not updated.

I have almost used all the points for fuel Now there's some credit balance that I will spend.

The next day, I got a call from Axis telling me I was pre-approved, can be usual, or maybe Citi just passed them my details.

[ashwinsid]

Originally Posted by Comrade

As final try, I sent an upgrade form via registered post to Chennai office. And within a week got my Infinia card at home.

Thanks to your tip, I couriered a letter to the Chennai address mentioning I want to use DCB but acceptance is a challenge so kindly upgrade to Infinia. 2 days later I received Infinia!

[harry10]

I received my Hdfc card today.
However, they have misspelled my name on the card. Should I get it corrected or leave it for the time being?

[itwasntme]

Guys, was thinking of upgrading my 4 year old DBC to Infinia but wanted to check something first:

Have a lot of international travel coming up in North America and Europe with longish layovers, and a high end airport lounge would be great. Strictly from this perspective only, which is better?

DBC itself gets you entry into a huge number of lounges, but Infinia has a tie-up with Priority Pass only. Are the PP lounges greater in number and what is the general acceptance?

[condor]

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.

*

Originally Posted by shipnil

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

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.

Difficult to keep track of this.

Originally Posted by rkg

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.

Guys, thanks for the responses to my earlier query. After tracking a bit, understtod that the reason is as stated by Ravindran. I am pretty much losing on at least one litre of fuel per filling due to this:

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

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.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by condor

After tracking a bit, understtod that the reason is as stated by Ravindran. I am pretty much losing on at least one litre of fuel per filling due to this:

That's a lot to lose on each filling. Depends on which card you use and where you fill.

This is the general rule that i follow:
1. Any HPCL pump which accepts Amex - Use Amex GC. No surcharge.
2. Any IOC pump listed in Citibank website (mostly COCO) - Use Citibank card. Either no surcharge is collected or it's refunded if you stick to pumps mentioned in the list. Haven't encountered the scenario mentioned by thanixravindran yet.
3. Any other PSU pump - Use HDFC Infinia (previously was using Regalia). Surcharge expect for tax is refunded.
4. I don't fill in private bunks (Shell, Reliance etc).
5. Once i have identified pumps where rule 1&2 work, i try to stick to those always.

Most cards have limits on how much surcharge is reversed in a given month or each transaction. Example - I think Amex charges surcharge on fillings above 5,000 even on HPCL. Doesn't matter to me as i don't exceed 5,000 in a single filling.

[bharanidharang]

For fuel payments, none of the cards will give you points unless you have a fuel card. Its only the surcharge which is reversed if any but not the tax part. My current fuel consumption per month is close to Rs. 10000 split between 2 vehicles.

I am close to applying for a fuel credit card which which will give me points and at the end of the year free fuel with the points !

[condor]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

That's a lot to lose on each filling. Depends on which card you use and where you fill.

Originally Posted by bharanidharang

I am close to applying for a fuel credit card which which will give me points and at the end of the year free fuel with the points !

True. I stick to IOCL most of the time, unless there is a Reliance bunk. I dont want to add to the number of cards I have. Not many options in this situation for me.

[bharanidharang]

Originally Posted by condor

True. I stick to IOCL most of the time, unless there is a Reliance bunk. I dont want to add to the number of cards I have. Not many options in this situation for me.

Why dont you check for an IOCL credit card. While I agree on keeping limited cards, it could be useful for you to choose a fuel credit card and use it only for that and it will pay for itself over a 12 month period.

[SGK]

All,

Quick query on Amex rewards points, I used to recharge my Amazon pay wallet for (4*1500 Rs) every month to get the required 1000 points and now I don't see that option in Amazon pay to recharge the wallet via any CC? What are the options available to get this 1000 points?

I am not keen on using Amex card for my regular spends as I have ICICI Amazon pay which gives better VFM.