Credit Card Suggestions & Queries !

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dipen01

dipen01

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Hey guys,

Normally I am opposed to Credit Cards because I am not comfortable spending money which is not mine. But I am facing inconvenience for International Shopping as well as I have been recommended to get issued , at-least 1 credit card - for rainy day.

Hence please suggest Banks whose Credit Card Services are recommended and ones which needs to be strictly avoided.

Some Queries :

1) Also what kind of hidden costs am I looking at ? i.e AMC / Card Charges / Service Charges etc !

2) Can I withdraw cash from my Credit Card ? How the situation settled i.e extra charges/ Interests etc ?

3) Is there something like linking Savings Acc with Credit Card ? Is it beneficial ?

4) What if I miss my deadline of Payment ?

5) Advantages / Disadvantages of converting Payments to EMI on Credit Card.

6) How is the Credit limit decided ? My HDFC Account is Preferred Acc. I was told by my Banker that I will get 1.5L limit. Is it more / less ?

Appreciate your suggestions.

Cheers.
 
take my advice use debit card, for international shopping, open HDFC bank account, and use their virtual credit card service for make cards and use them, they are more safer then physical card, also this will also limit you spending.

Also if you plan to get a credit card, don't forget to discuss with CE in detail about the TOS, there are many hidden charges in Credit cards.
 
dipen01 said:
Hey guys,

Normally I am opposed to Credit Cards because I am not comfortable spending money which is not mine. But I am facing inconvenience for International Shopping as well as I have been recommended to get issued , at-least 1 credit card - for rainy day.

Hence please suggest Banks whose Credit Card Services are recommended and ones which needs to be strictly avoided.

Some Queries :

1) Also what kind of hidden costs am I looking at ? i.e AMC / Card Charges / Service Charges etc !

2) Can I withdraw cash from my Credit Card ? How the situation settled i.e extra charges/ Interests etc ?

3) Is there something like linking Savings Acc with Credit Card ? Is it beneficial ?

4) What if I miss my deadline of Payment ?

5) Advantages / Disadvantages of converting Payments to EMI on Credit Card.

6) How is the Credit limit decided ? My HDFC Account is Preferred Acc. I was told by my Banker that I will get 1.5L limit. Is it more / less ?

Appreciate your suggestions.

Cheers.
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Being.smart said:
take my advice use debit card, for international shopping, open HDFC bank account, and use their virtual credit card service for make cards and use them, they are more safer then physical card, also this will also limit you spending.

Also if you plan to get a credit card, don't forget to discuss with CE in detail about the TOS, there are many hidden charges in Credit cards.
Click to expand...

I have not seen single hidden charges by hdfc citibank hsbc in my 8 yrs of credit card use, its lifetime free no annual charges or fees,
 
1. Some cards are free for life, but some cards offering lot of rewards etc charge a yearly fee, but in most cases you should will be able to get it waived off if you are having sufficient transactions on the card.

2. You can, but don't do that. Interest will be charged from the day you make the withdrawal unlike normal transactions where you have a 20-50 day interest free period (provided you pay the full due always)

3. Well, if you have the CC with the same bank as your savings account it will be linked by default and will be shown under the same netbanking account. But people say not to do that, if there is any dispute, the bank can debit your savings account.

4. You will be charged interest at the rate of about ~3% pm depending on the bank.

5. You can spread the payment of a higher value transaction over a longer period. The credit limit will be blocked and will be released every month as each EMI is being charged to the card. Suppose you make a transaction of Rs 70k, this entire 70k will be blocked from your available credit and as each EMI gets posted every month, the credit is released.

The interest rate will be lesser than the rate which is applied if you do not convert to EMI. But go for this only if you are not able to pay the amount in full.

Some online stores offer interest free EMI like eBay etc which becomes very beneficial.

6. It's based on your credit history / age of account etc / transactions / avg balances etc etc
 
1. the annual fee is not waived off until you have reached certain afro-mentioned limits set by the bank. it again depends from bank to bank and the type of account you hold. It totally at the discretion of the bank.

2. not sure of this option, as i have not withdrawn case on this. i use my debit card but i use a HDFC CC and th worst part was my credit limit was not revised for after 6 months but my credit cash limit was revised infact three times more than the originally set in under three months

3. #Varkey has said the best

4. again interests vary from bank to bank

5. for this an interest of anywhere from 0.99% to 1.5% minimum interest will be charged on the depreciating principal amount. there is also a 1% to 1.5% processing fee plus service tax applicable. again depends bank to bank

6. bank's discretion
 
It is incredibly convenient for sure.some points in favour:

1.MY credit limit is more than the funds in my account. I never keep more than 90 k on a single account.it came in handy in emergency when I needed instant money in a hospital. I had double the income at my disposal.

2.no waiting for change and quick payments in stores.

3.get a card that waives of fuel surcharge! I have one where no surcharge applies for amounts greater than 500.

4.instant EMI option for bigger purchases without any paperwork!

5.some good discounts show up!

6.its more like an emergency source of funds if required immediately!

7.credit card usage is a good way to build creditworthiness.I realised this when I wanted a card and my credit limit was cut in half as I had never taken a loan or prior credit cards!!!!!

Another thing I want to add is I still use virtual credit cards even when using my CC.

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk
 
I am also planning to get a CC for emergency needs, if i dont use the card for a long period will they reduce the limit ? I have a HDFC Classic bank a/c & thinking of linking the CC to this a/c as i will get a card with a good limit through my bank a/c.
 
delguy19 said:
I have not seen single hidden charges by hdfc citibank hsbc in my 8 yrs of credit card use, its lifetime free no annual charges or fees,
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Yup. There aren't any hidden cost on most of the cards from HDFC,CITI (i have used these two and can vouch for it )

If there is any AMC/Card charge, then it is usually mentioned on the website/info brochure . So, the CC holder should read terms and condition carefully.

Coming to your question.

1. Answered above.

2. Yes you can. Charges are different from different banks and their cards.Yes interest is applicable from the day of withdrawl. Its never advised to withdraw cash using a CC.

3.No. You can have a credit card even w/o a Savings account. There are some benefits on having a savings account with the bank you have a CC from.

4. No advantage on converting it to EMIs unless its 0% interest and no processing fees.

5. Limit is decided from you CIBIL score and your salary slip.
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Or if you have a good history with the bank.
 
Thanks everyone for the valuable inputs..
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Please also share which Bank Services should be preferred for Credit Card, taking into account :

1) Various Offers (Cash Back / Discounts / Dining etc)

2) Less Interest Rates

3) Higher Interest Free Payment Cycle.

4) Your overall experience

Thanks..!
 
1. These vary widely. Sometimes it is one bank, sometimes it is the other.

2. In general public sector banks charge lower rates compared with private/MNC banks.

3. In general similar - not much variation ~58 days - this has a lot to depend on the time of purcahse vs. the billing cycle. Be careful.

Normally I would always encourage anyone to pay within the time limits. The EMI/charges are exorbitant - unless someone has a crisis, it is utter waste of money to buy stuff one can't afford at that point in time, esp., to buy stuff that depreciates over time!
 
dipen01 said:
Hey guys,

Normally I am opposed to Credit Cards because I am not comfortable spending money which is not mine. But I am facing inconvenience for International Shopping as well as I have been recommended to get issued , at-least 1 credit card - for rainy day.

Hence please suggest Banks whose Credit Card Services are recommended and ones which needs to be strictly avoided.

Some Queries :

1) Also what kind of hidden costs am I looking at ? i.e AMC / Card Charges / Service Charges etc !

2) Can I withdraw cash from my Credit Card ? How the situation settled i.e extra charges/ Interests etc ?

3) Is there something like linking Savings Acc with Credit Card ? Is it beneficial ?

4) What if I miss my deadline of Payment ?

5) Advantages / Disadvantages of converting Payments to EMI on Credit Card.

6) How is the Credit limit decided ? My HDFC Account is Preferred Acc. I was told by my Banker that I will get 1.5L limit. Is it more / less ?

Appreciate your suggestions.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

1) Also what kind of hidden costs am I looking at ? i.e AMC / Card Charges / Service Charges etc !

Not many. Renewal is mostly free. No annual charges in most of the cards.

2) Can I withdraw cash from my Credit Card ? How the situation settled i.e extra charges/ Interests etc ?

Yes you can. Usually its 30-40 % of the Credit limit . You will have to pay 3% monthly for the amount you withdraw. Suggest not to use this feature unless very necessary

.

3) Is there something like linking Savings Acc with Credit Card ? Is it beneficial ?

If you have HDFC account and CC then you can add then in net banking . Not much beneficial if you are comfortable paying through Cheque.

4) What if I miss my deadline of Payment ?

Penalty . Usually around 300 bucks + Interest . Highly recommended not doing this .

Also hampers credit rating.

5) Advantages / Disadvantages of converting Payments to EMI on Credit Card.

Lots of advantages . About 500 bucks as processing fee for 20K is not bad.

6) How is the Credit limit decided ? My HDFC Account is Preferred Acc. I was told by my Banker that I will get 1.5L limit. Is it more / less ?

I dont know and 1.5L is good and a little on the higher side.

You get 50 days . If your billing cycle is 10tth to 10th then payment will be on 30th . Eg Bill gets generated on 10th Feb you would have to pay on 1st march. So if you buy on 15th Jan you would have to pay on 1st march .
 
One more imp. thing regarding late payment.

Suppose you fail to pay your bill on due date (suppose on jan 30th). Then you will be charged interest for the purchases made between billing date(suppose on jan 10th) and the due date.Penalty will be charged separately which varies on the amount billed.
 
HDFC/Citi Bank/ Standard Chartered.(SC)

All these are good.

If you are looking for cash back offer on bill payment then SC is good.

If you drive a lot or shop a lot.Then CITI. There is a Indian Oil card which offers free fuel on reward points. A lot of standard website/stores offer EMI on Citi Cards. A lot of request can be processed over phone. Phone banking on CIti is quite good

HDFC do have good offer like CIti. But CC is not that great compared to Citi.You can get the card easily compared to Citi.
 
The best CC presently is Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum IMHO. It has got 5% cash back on super market purchase and 5x reward points. I'm using this card for past 3 years and I didn't face any problem. For more details visit this site:

http://www.manhattan.co.in/
 
Konquerror said:
The best CC presently is Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum IMHO. It has got 5% cash back on super market purchase and 5x reward points. I'm using this card for past 3 years and I didn't face any problem. For more details visit this site:

http://www.manhattan.co.in/
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I am looking for a Manhattan Card.

After filing the lengthy form ,here is the error i get.
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Can you help ?

Not Found

The requested URL /smailexec/smail was not found on this server.
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Any inputs from others ?
 
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