I am a credit card freak. I often do research on credit cards and keep an eye on the best available credit cards in India.
Many people avoid credit cards because they feel that they will spend more if they start using one. But you will be amazed by the money saving potential and benefits that some credit cards offer.
I am sure after reading this article you would be convinced of the need to apply for atleast one of the mentioned credit cards.
Most Important Point First: Always apply for a credit card directly from the bank website. Don’t apply from the online market place (XYZ-Bazaar) or telecaller, they will keep calling you to sell their other products.
Your financial information and documents are not safe with them.
I will help you choose the right card for your needs. You can ask your questions in the comments.
Honest Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are obtained in partnership with banking networks. You will be redirected to the bank’s website. I may earn a small referral income if your credit card gets approved (at no extra cost to you).
My purpose is to provide you with genuine information so that you can get fast approval of the best credit card.
I interact with a lot of people, who ask me for advice on applying for a credit card.
- The first category is first time applicants, who need an all-rounder credit card because either they have just started a new job or are working in a government organization.
- The second category of people who want to apply for a second credit card, to avail benefits on shopping, fuel and travel.
- The third and last category of people want to apply for premium credit cards even if that means annual fees of 5000 rupees or more.
Then Apply for 3 Credit Cards
- Standard Chartered Manhattan for 5% cashback on grocery stores
- Amex Membership Reward for bonus points, loading money to Paytm and redeeming points for Amazon vouchers & hotel vouchers
- Amex Travel Platinum for Travel benefits
For fuel benefits, go with SC Super Value Titanium (5% cashback)
Now..
Continue reading the article until the end.
Best Lifetime Free Credit Card in India 2022
Unlimited domestic and international airport lounge access.
#1. Standard Chartered Platinum Card
HDFC Diners Black is my favorite credit card by HDFC bank because the card offers unlimited free domestic and international airport lounge access.
You would get 5 reward points worth Rs. 5 on spending Rs. 150, direct saving of 3.3% on all your spends.
New Offer – Get the complimentary one-year membership for Club Marriott, Forbes Digital subscription, Zomato Gold, Amazon Prime, MakeMyTrip Double Black, and Times Prime with HDFC Dinners Black credit card.
Unlimited domestic and international airport lounge access.
#2. Standard Chartered Manhattan Credit Card
HDFC Diners Black is my favorite credit card by HDFC bank because the card offers unlimited free domestic and international airport lounge access.
You would get 5 reward points worth Rs. 5 on spending Rs. 150, direct saving of 3.3% on all your spends.
New Offer – Get the complimentary one-year membership for Club Marriott, Forbes Digital subscription, Zomato Gold, Amazon Prime, MakeMyTrip Double Black, and Times Prime with HDFC Dinners Black credit card.
#3. Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium
I am picking SC Titanium because you would get 5% cashback on fuel and utility payments.
Suitable card, if you are a first-time credit card applicant and most of your monthly expenses are on fuel, phone and utility bills.
Annual Fees – 750 rupees (Waived off if you spend 60,000 in the first year)
First-year fees can also be waived off when you use the card within 90 days of approval.
You should apply for this credit card if your monthly expense is at least 5,000 rupees (12*5K = 60K per year).
Benefits of SVT Credit Card
- 5% cashback on fuels
- 5% cashback on phone bills
- 5% cashback on utility bills
#4. Citibank IOC Fuel Credit Card
Citibank has collaboration with Indian Oil Petrol pumps. You can earn Turbo points when you pay using IOC credit card on Indian Oil outlets.
Not at all useful if you refill the fuel tank from HP or Bharat petrol pumps.
Annual Fees – Rs. 1000 (Waived off when you spend 30,000 per year)
Benefits of Citibank IOC Card
- 4 Turbo Points on spending Rs. 150 on Indian Oil Pumps
- 2 Turbo points on spending in Supermarkets
- 1 Turbo points on spending 150 elsewhere
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
- 1 Turbo Point = 1 Rs. Fuel
Best Credit Card For Online Shopping in 2022
Almost all credit cards and banks keep offering some discounts on online shopping. But this is the list of the credit cards which are designed to get big offers and discounts online.
- ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card
- SBI SimilyClick Credit Card
- SBI SimplySave Credit Card
- Amex Rewards Membership Card
- Standard Chartered Manhattan
- Standard Chartered Ultimate
- HDFC Diner Black
- HDFC Moneyback
#5. ICICI Amazon Pay Credit Card
ICICI Amazon Pay credit card made the top of the list in our collection of online shopping credit cards. Amazon launched this credit card in 2018 to give extra benefits to Prime customers.
Application Process – The problem is that you can not apply directly for this credit card. You would see an invite inside your Amazon Mobile App and receive an email from Amazon.
Make sure you add your existing ICICI credit card into Amazon account to get the invite. If you don’t have ICICI credit card then apply for lifetime free Platinum Credit Card.
Annual Fees – NIL
Benefits of Amazon Pay Credit Card
- 5% cash back on Amazon.in for Amazon Prime customers
- 3% cash back on Amazon.in for non-prime customers
- 2% cash back when paying to merchants using this card on Amazon Pay as a payment method
- 1% cash back on all other payments
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
#6. American Express Membership Rewards® Credit Card
American Express is the only credit card that gives rewards on adding money to wallets like Paytm, Amazon Pay and Freecharge. I earn 1,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points every month by doing 4 transactions of 1000 rupees.
Amex degraded the benefits of their Gold charge card when they launched Membership Rewards Card in 2018. I dropped Amex Gold card from our recommendation list.
Annual fee: First Year Rs. 1000 (Second year onwards Rs. 4500)
Note: Annual fees is waived off when you apply using the below link, also earn 2000 bonus points.
Benefits:
- 2000 referral bonus points when you apply using the above link.
- 1000 Bonus points for using your Card 4 times every month.
- Earn 1 MR point on Rs.50 spent on all spends except for spending
Credit Card Expert Tip
- Load 4000 rupees into your Paytm, Freecharge and AmazonPay wallet to earn 1000 bonus points (worth Rs. 400)
- Pay using wallets wherever possible on the online shopping
- You would save the money twice if you find a deal with wallets.
Drawback:
- No rewards on Fuel, Insurance, Utilities and Cash Transactions.
I applied for this card and got approved in 2016. I am loving the benefits so far.
(Best, if you already have any other cashback credit card. Use it for earning 1000 bonus points worth 400 rupees every month)
#7. SBI Simply Click Credit Card
It’s hard to get the approval of SBI Credit cards. But If you get your salary in SBI bank account then approval becomes easy.
Simply click card gives you direct 10x rewards when shopping on Amazon, Flipkart, Makemytrip, Cleartrip and many more vendors.
Annual fee: 499 (waived off by spending 100,000 in one year)
Bonus: Rs 500 voucher from Amazon
Not for first-time applicants – You should have an excellent credit history for getting the approval of this card
Key benefits:
- 10X rewards on online spends – Amazon / BookMyShow / Cleartrip / Foodpanda / FabFurnish / Lenskart / OLA / Zoomcar
- Earn 5X rewards on all other online shopping
- A welcome e-gift voucher worth Rs 500 from Amazon
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver (on 500+ transaction amount)
Cleartrip e-voucher worth Rs.2,000 on annual online spends of Rs. 1 Lakh (one more 2000 e-voucher on another 1Lakh milestone)
#8. Citi Bank Cashback Credit Card
Best for you if you watch movies and pay your bills online.
Annual fee: Rs.500
I hate their application process because it’s very difficult to fill up details in the online form. I don’t know why don’t they make the application easy like other banks.
Key benefits
- 5% cash back on movie tickets
- 5% cash back on telephone bill payments
- 5% cash back on Utility Bill Payments
- 0.5% Cash Back on all other spends
Drawbacks
- You must have excellent Credit History before applying.
- 80% Citibank card applications decline because people do not have a credit history.
- The online form is complex and lengthy, be patient and fill the information.
#9. ICICI Instant Platinum Card
Apply for ICICI Platinum card in case you get denied for Standard Chartered Platinum.
It is not easy to get your first credit card in India. ICICI bank offers you instant credit card against fixed deposit if you have a saving account with ICICI bank. You can simply log on to ICICI online banking and apply for the card.
If you worry for your CIBIL score just because you want to apply for a credit card, you must try ICICI Instant Platinum Credit Card.
Annual fee: 199 rupees (waiver on spending Rs. 2000 within 60 days of approval)
Who should apply?
ICICI credit card is a good option for Students, Housewives and Non-Salary people if they want to apply for credit card against a Fixed Deposit.
Key benefits:
- 2 payback points for every Rs. 100 spent
- 1 payback point for every 100 rupees on insurance & utilities
- Get ₹ 100 off on movie tickets twice a month.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver can be availed on fuel transaction of maximum ₹ 4,000 at HPCL pumps.
ICICI bank will offer you a credit limit based on the amount you keep in the fixed deposit. You will earn regular interest on your fixed deposit. The bank just wants to secure itself against the risk of fraud by the first-time credit card user.
#10. HDFC Moneyback Credit Card
I am listing money back credit card from HDFC because it’s the basic credit card that you can apply as a first-time applicant.
Let me quickly tell you the benefits
- 4 reward points per Rs 150 for online shopping
- 2 reward points per Rs 150 for elsewhere
- 1% fuel surcharge waived off (above 400 rupees transaction)
The only reason for adding this credit card in the best credit list is the approval rate. You can get the card approved against the Fixed deposit or if you have a salary more than 25,000 per month.
#11. Axis Buzz Credit card
If you are existing customer of Axis bank then get this card for online shopping. Low annual fees and great benefits on Flipkart.
Annual Fees – 750 Rupees
Benefits
- 10% instant discount on Flipkart from 1 to 5th of every month
- 5% instant discount on Flipkart from 6 to 31st of every month
- 2 axis eDGE reward points on every Rs 200 spent
- 6 axis eDGE reward points on online shopping
- make 3 transactions and get Flipkart voucher worth Rs 1000 within first 45 days of card setup
#12. IndusInd Iconia
IndusInd has only one credit card worth keeping. You can check with the bank to reduce the fees based on your relationship.
Annual Fees – One time fees of Rs. 10,000 (you can negotiate)
Benefits
- 2 Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on weekends
- 1.5 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent on weekdays
- 1% Fuel surcharge waiver
- 2 complimentary lounge access per quarter
- 200 off on movie tickets per month on BookMyShow
#13. RBL Platinum Maxima Credit Card
RBL bank also offers good discounts on online shopping.
Annual Fees – Rs. 2000
Benefits
- 10 Reward Points for every Rs.100 (dining, entertainment, utility bill payments, fuel and international)
- 2 Reward Points for every Rs.100 spent elsewhere
- free movie ticket free up to Rs. 200 from BookMyShow
- 2 complimentary visits every calendar quarter at domestic lounges
Best Credit Card For Travel Benefits in India 2022
Now I am listing premium & super-premium credit cards which are not easy to get approved without having a great CIBIL score and credit history.
You can jump to the end of the article if you are a first-time credit card applicant.
Keep reading about premium credit cards if you want to apply for a second or third credit card.
#15. Citibank Premiermiles Card
There are two best credit cards for travel – Citibank PremierMiles and Amex Platinum Travel. You can not go wrong with either. Apply for both if you can afford the annual charges. You can redeem miles for any partner airline, means you don’t have to stick with a single airline.
Best for people who have 2-3L of annual spend on travel.
Annual fee: Rs.3,000
Benefits:
- Get 10000 Miles on activation.
- Earn 10 Miles for every 100 spent on airlines.
- Earn 10 Miles per Rs.100 spent with online partner merchants.
- Earn 4 Miles for every 100 of all other spends
Note: 100 Miles = Rs. 45 with preferred partners (4.5% worth benefits)
#16. American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
American Express Platinum Travel Card offers great benefits for frequent travelers (like vouchers from Indigo and Taj)
Annual fee: First Year Rs. 3500 (Second year onwards 5,000 Rs.)
Click here to apply for Amex Travel Card
Benefits:
- Welcome gift of 5,000 Milestone Bonus Membership Rewards Points redeemable for Spicejet Vouchers worth Rs. 4000.
- Spend Rs. 1.90 lacs in a year and get Spicejet Vouchers worth more than Rs. 7,700.
- Spend Rs. 4 lacs in a year to get Spicejet Vouchers worth more than Rs. 11,800. Also, get a voucher worth Rs. 10,000 from the Taj Group.
- 1 complimentary visit to domestic lounges in India
Go for this credit card if your annual expenses are more than 2 lakh.
#17. ICICI JetAirways Saphiro Credit Card
ICICI has two variants of Saphiro Credit Card, you should get JetAirways Saphiro if you travel frequently by Jet Airways.
Annual Fees: Rs. 5000
Joining Gift
- 12,500 JP bonus miles
- Jet Airways Economy Class base fare waived off domestic air ticket
Benefits
- 0 JPMiles/₹100 spent on the card
- 5% discount on base fare when the ticket is booked directly from JetAirways
- dedicated check-in for select domestic flights of Jet Airways
- Complimentary Excess Baggage Allowance of 10 Kgs in Première and 5 Kgs in Economy
- 1% fuel surcharge waived off
- 4 complimentary rounds/ lessons of golf every month
- Buy one ticket and get up to Rs 500 off on the second ticket, twice every month, through BookMyShow
- 2 international airport lounge visits and 2 spa sessions at selected airports in India every year, through complimentary DragonPass membership
#18. Kotal Royal Signature Credit Card
Kotak came up with a premium card that has low annual fees yet powerful to be used for travel.
Annual Fees – Rs. 999 only
Benefits
- 4X reward points on every Rs. 150 spent on Hotels | Restaurants | Travel Agencies & Tour Operators | Package Tour Operators | Airlines and Air Carriers | International
- 2X rewards elsewhere
- 2 Complimentary access to Airport Lounges every quarter in India
- Fuel surcharge waiver on transactions above Rs. 500
- Railway surcharge waiver for transactions on www.irctc.co.in
Premium Credit Cards in India 2022
#19. HDFC Regalia Credit Card
Regalia was super premium credit card a few years back but HDFC approved Regalia for each & every customer. Last year they degraded the benefits of Regalia but it still falls under the premium credit card category.
Annual Fees – Rs. 2500
Benefits
- 4 Reward Points on every Rs. 150 spent
- 2% Foreign Currency Mark-up Fee
- 12 complimentary domestic lounge access per year
- 15 lakhs medical insurance for international travel
#20. SBI Prime Credit Card
Watch this video review.
Annual Fees – Rs. 2999
Benefits
- 20 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on standing instructions of Utility Bills payments
- 15 Reward Points per Rs. 100 spent on BigBasket
- 10 Reward Points per Rs.100 spent on Dining, Groceries, Departmental stores and Movies
- 2 Reward Points per Rs. 100 on all other retail spends
- 1% fuel surcharge at any petrol pump
- 4 complimentary visits per year to International Priority Pass Lounges
- 8 complimentary visits per year to Domestic VISA/Mastercard Lounges
- Get Pizza Hut e-Voucher worth Rs. 1,000 on achieving spends of Rs. 50,000 in a calendar quarter
- E-Gift Voucher worth Rs. 7,000 from Yatra.com/Pantaloons on achieving annual spends of Rs. 5 Lakhs
#21. Yesbank Preferred Credit Card
The reward ratio of yes bank preferred card is very good. The free lounge access (domestic and international) makes the annual fees worth for the credit card.
Annual Fees – Rs. 2500
Benefits
- 8 Reward Points on every INR 100 Retail Spends
- 1.75% Foreign Currency Markup
- 1% fuel surcharge at any petrol pump
- Domestic Lounge access (3 visits per quarter)
- 4 complimentary international lounge access through priority pass
Super Premium Credit Cards in India
#22. HDFC Diner Black Credit Card
This is the super premium credit card in India that you must have in your pocket. You would get a huge 33% cashback when you spend on their 10x partners.
For rest of the spending you would get 3.3% cashback worth of rewards.
Annual Fees – Rs. 10,000 (second year onwards Rs. 5000)
Additional Benefits
- 5 Reward Points for every Rs. 150
- 2% Foreign Currency Mark-up Fee
- Air Accident Cover of INR 1 Crore
- Emergency Medical Expenses Cover of up to INR 25 Lakh
- Travel Insurance Cover of up to INR 50,000 on baggage delay/loss
- Unlimited Airport lounge access to 700+ Lounges in India and worldwide
- 6 Complimentary Golf games (Green fee waiver) per quarter
#23. SBI Signature Credit Card (Elite)
SBI Signature Card comes with a bunch of offers from the online shopping portals with decent bonus reward points.
Annual fee: Rs. 4999 (+Welcome Gifts worth 4,999)
Key benefits:
- 10 points per Rs.100 spent on Dining, Departmental stores, Grocery & International Spends
- 2 points per Rs.100 spent on others.
- Earn 10,000 bonus Reward Points on achieving annual spends of Rs. 2 lakhs, 3 lakhs and 4 lakhs
- Earn 20,000 bonus Reward Points on crossing annual spends of Rs. 5 lakhs.
- 1 Reward Point = Rs. 0.25.
#24. Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit Card
I applied for this credit card the moment it was launched in 2018. Got the cashback of 10,000 after booking my tickets from MakeMyTrip, that covered the cost of annual fees for 2 years.
Annual Fees – Rs. 5000
Benefits
- 10,000 cashback on tickets booked through MakeMyTrip (One time benefit)
- 5 reward points on every INR 150 spent
- 5% cashback on duty free outlets, max 1000 per month
- 2% foreign currency markup
- 2 complimentary golf games per month
- 1 complimentary lounge access per month
#25. Yesbank Exclusive Preferred Credit Card
This is a high-end card from YesBank for their premium customers.
Annual Fees – Rs. 10,000
Benefits
- A welcome privilege of 50000 Reward Points
- 10 Reward Points on every INR 100 Retail Spends
- Complimentary TAJ InnerCircle Epicure Membership
- Unlimited Complimentary Lounge Visits through Priority Pass
- One complimentary Golf Lesson every month
- 1.75% forex markup
#26. ICICI Emerald Credit Card
ICICI launched their high-end super-premium credit card in Jan 2019.
Annual Fees – Rs. 12,000
Benefits
- 4 PAYBACK Points on every ₹100 spent
- Unlimited Lounge Access, Unlimited Spa Access at Airports
- Vouchers from Trident and Da Milano
- Zero Cancellation Charges for Travel
- 1.5% Forex Markup Fee
This qualifies for a must-to-have card for frequent travellers.
Who is the winner?
I trust and love Standard Chartered Manhattan card which is my favorite for last 8 years. I make more than 20,000 cashback and get annual fees waived off every year.
If you are first time applicant and looking for life time free card, then apply for Standard Chartered Platinum Credit Card.
(No brainer that it’s best reward credit card without any fees. Good for shopping and regular expenses)
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
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I want to apply for SBI Signature Credit Card (Elite)
i am a CA . i want a credit card. may i ..???
Hi
Good post!
I would like to know your opinion about emirates world card provided by standard Chartered bank vs SBI signature elite card.
Pros and cons
Thank you
Manhtattan card is too price? rs500 on joining and 999rs annual. Any other card similar to this. ?
if i have 4500 DMART groceries expense and 2000 other exp and online expense ? which is best card ? i already have citi cashback taking care of utility bills
I have two credit cards one is SBI Simply Click and other one is HDFC money back. but I got only 55K and 48K credit respectively. My basic limit was 40K after then its been increased to 48K . It’s been 12 months but there is no offer for me to increase my limit. What should I do in order to increase my limit? I’ve spent around 40K a month out of 48K and I used to spent 50K around from SBI card. is there any chances for credit limit increase ?
How do you use Paytm wallet and freecharge wallet to get more cashback? please describe . since offer is only for first time users mostly
Hello, I am from india. i have CITI cashback card. I want another card for extra usage more rewards/cashback. CITI cashback only gives 0.5% on other expense. Which would be best card for rewards/cashback ?
Apply for Manhattan to get 5% cashback on your grocery, or Standard Chartered Ultimate Credit card for best rewards.
Depending on your usage category, you can apply for credit cards.
For groceries is good. I usually buy from Dmart SuperMarket . That wont be eligible for 5% cashack right. Dmart is not in list. Any other options or this is best one?
Dmart supermart should be in the list. You can check with their customer care. I shop at Reliance and BigBazaar.
they dont have dmart in their list. and also 1st year manhattan charges are 750 and from 2nd yr its 999rs . i dont see any value addition after paying 999rs .since utility is covered in citi cashback . what is left was 4500 DMART groceries expense and 2000 other exp and online expense
if you have HDFC BANK SAVING ACCOUNT THEN HDFC REWARD DEBIT CARD is best for you. you will get more benefit when you spent and use from HDFC REWARD CARD. this card designed for shopping and grocery purpose.
Dear ” Sir
am a Salered Employee My Salary is 18k i want a bast credit card. Please Suggest.!
Go with Standard Chartered Platinum (Free for life. Easy to get approved)
I have account in axis bank but i want to have different bank or corporate’s credit card. Can I have it?
This is yes bank pls share ur mobile or CAll this number
hi
I am owner of 2 schools . my itr is 30 L per annum. no loans .unmarried and no dependants .
i travel alot . international and domestic .
please suggest me a credit card
that helps me :
earn miles for domestic and international travel
use airport lounges around the world
Hi Nitin,
I am a HSBC PLatinum credit card holder for the last 10 years. That was because I had a housing loan account with them. Now that the housing loan is getting over, I will be closing the HSBC account. I also have accounts with Citi and HDFC respectively. Citi is for my salary account and HDFC because I was their employee.
I use credit card for everything from groceries, utility bills and anything and everything where it can be used. Which card should I apply? My credit card yearly spends for the last 8 years have been to the tune of 5 lakhs pa. I would love a card which gives me a decent cash back on every spend. Which one would you recommend? I am salaried.
Thanks.
I tried to explain that in my article. You need more than one credit card to get maximum benefits.
Apply for Manhattan for groceries, one card from travel section and another for online shopping.
standard chartered not offering cards to residents other than popular cities like delhi, gurgaon, ahmedabad, kolkata etc. THEY MUST provide services in other cities too, wot to say more my app got rejected.
It would be better if you could tell how to use the reward points in each of the mentioned card, and how much are they actually worth for each card.
Take the below examples :
2 Reward points (worth Rs. 0.75 each, usable for e-vouchers/card payment) per 100 spent is 1.5% cash returns
5x rewards points (worth random value, can only be used for a specific rewards catalogue) per 100 spent is actually not much value.
Which is the best card I can opt where I will be spending(Monthly)
3000-6000 for groceries from BigBazaar/More/D-Mart
2000- 6000 for shopping from Central/SS/brand Factory
3000-5000 for online utility bill payment
0-4000 for Ticket booking in irctc/ksrtc/redbus
0-3000 for online shopping
Hi @pradeep
i want to apply for RBL credit card , but there too much options can you please suggest me the best one please? i have sbi simply click credit card right now.
Thanks bro
What about Axis Bank Credit cards? My uses comes on Online Shopping, Travel, fuel and Movies. Any suggestion suiting these? I do have existing bank loans but none ever missed to pay. Will it affect?
You can read about Axis Bank card at this link.
Hello, good article.
I have some queries. Monthly salary 55k from mercedes. I want to know about travel credit cards applicable for me which earns me Air miles. Please let me know
If you don’t have any credit history and credit card in your hand, then it’s difficult to get approved for premium travel credit card.
I recommend Amex Platinum Travel and Citi Miles but you should apply for a basic card first. Start with SCB Manhattan or Platinum Card.
What is your review of Yes Bank Preferred Card. I got a call from Yes bank executive for this cards. They are saying it is life time free. Benefits looks to be good. Currently I hold hdfc diners black.
i have checked all banks credit card . but Top valued credit card is from Hdfc bank Reglia and diners club black credit card.
very good reward point value. only point doesn’t matter. but how much its value per point.
maximum bank give 1 Point = 0.25 paisa while hdfc bank give 1 = 1 Rs . when you spend 150 rs u get 5 point but here 5 Point mean 5 Rs that really matters .
Hello sir , I want to know that can we transfer our credit card remaining balance to our bank accounts?
Hi,
I need your help in selecting the best credit card for me. I tried using many websites, but it ended up confusing me. I am a person who spends most on food. But I mostly dine at small places which may not be linked with any credit card. I also do shopping form online sites like Flipkart, Amazon, Tatacliq, Ajio etc. I also buy grocery from Big Bazar and online sites like Bigbasket. So I need a card which will give me most value out of my spending habits liking dining, online shopping, grocery shopping and occasional movies (like once in two months). I do not want to spend more than Rs. 1000 as annual fees. Kindly suggest me two best options dutiable for me.
Thank you
There is no single card that gives you max benefits on all categories. I use Standard Chartered Manhattan to get 5% cashback on grocery and use different cards for online shopping depending upon the deal. For simplicity, you can get SBI Simply Click to get 10x rewards on all popular e-commerce websites.
There is an annual fees on both, but you can get it waived if you fulfil their minimum spend criteria. So effectively you pay ZERO as annual fees.
How about SCB infinia? How does it compare with manhattan?
It’s not available to everyone 🙂
So no point of comparing with any other cards. If you are a priority customer of Standard Chartered then you can ask the bank to give you SCB infinia.
Thanks a lot Pradeep . Wrt this info I am thinking to go for ICICI platinum as my first credit card…
Dear Sir,
I want to have my first Credit Card. I am a middle class person with in hand salary of @ 58000/- and a Govt. Employee. Also I am having a good credit score of 784. I want to have a credit card which will give me cashback of grocessory, railway ticket booking, utility bill payments, telephone bill payments etc. and also for general spends. Possibly with minimum or no annual fees.
It is requested to suggest me the best credit card in current year.
Separate cards have separate benefits. You should start with any Standard Chartered credit card (Platinum card is free and Manhattan waive off fees based on your expenses).
Now dat SBI has launched SBI unnati credit card, is it good for 1st time credit card user.
As I want to buy MacBook pro 2015 model which is almost between rupees 98 to1 lakh on EMI on credit card, from online site.
Will this card work for me?
What benefits are you looking for? EMI is available on most of the credit cards.
I dont quite agree with these statements. I have Amex Travel Platinum, Citibank PremierMiles and Cash Back, HDFC regalia, and Diners, IndusInd, Yes Bank Exclusive.
Amex Travel is great but once you spend Rs 4 lacs, there is not much bonus you can get.
The redemption ratio in PremierMiles is not that great. Diners is good for the website where you get 10x points and Regalia, with its poorer redemption ratio, is to get enough spends so that its privileges are not affected. Yes back with 1.75 forex markup is the best for foreign transactions.
What I would really like to know is if there is any card giving unlimited cashback whether as redeemable points or otherwise – like upto 2.5% without an upper limit. My annual spends are around Rs 15 lacs. (including for on behalf for friends and family)
Hi dear i what are best choises for foreing students who study in india thanks
SBI Elite card Bonus pattern has changed
10000 reward points on 3 & 4 lacs
15000 reward points on 5 & 8 lacs
Annual fee waived off if spend more than 10 lacs
Nice article,
I was wondering if an article on balance transfer can be done
Great article!
I use HDFC REGALIA WORLD (Earn Huge Travel Cashback) & AXIS BANK PLATINUM (25% cashback on movies)
guys,
i have been using Amex platinum travel card since 2014 and let me tell you i am ripping the benifits. my yearly expense is more than 4 lakhs and in lieu for the past three years i have been getting indigo vouchers worth 16000 and Taj voucher for stay only of Rs.10,000 every year.
It costs you Rs. 5000 per year but then its woth it. even if you do not reach 4 Lakhs and you reach 1.9 Lakh also still you get Rs. 6600 indigo vouchers. gud bid….
Hi Pradeep,
First of all thank you for sharing such an important information with us and guiding us with your knowledge.
I am salaried person i spent almost 3-5 k every month on my hotel bills groceries and fuel bills.
I came across your blog today only i have applied for Kotak Mahindra Gold Credit card recently although i haven’t got it till now, so if you share some of your knowledge on that it would be great.
After reading your blog i have applied for your favorite Manhattan Platinum Credit Card.
Thanks & Regards
Tushar.
Hi Pradeep,
Standard chartered bank is reducing reward points from 5 to 3 points from next month for Manhattan Platinum card??
HI Guys
i am looking for Standard charted Emirates World card
i am a student although i have 4 credit cards from various banks.
for me based on my credit history, is there a chance to get credit card from Standard Charted(Emirates world or Manhattan platinum)
kindly let me know.
I think Regalia has removed Taj membership as it is not mentioned on their site.
Amex do they give card to people with less income like 4.5 lacs. I have many credit cards and have never defaulted in last 15 years or so.
I got a ICICI HPCL american express card. 2 payback points on Rs.100 spent. fuel surcharge waiver plus 2.5% cashback on fuel. Airport lounge access. All at 199 yearly. It is an additional card for me. For all online purchases i use SBI simplyclick.
Please suggest some topics/hacks/poinst for fresher who have just started earning with LPa varies from 3 to 5 lakh.
Hi Pradeep,
I am frequent flyer in india and do book hotels on personal pay and also use ola, uber etc on reguler basis + my personsl expences including groceries and restaurant expences during travelling. I am salaried, please suggest me the best credit card suitable for me.
Hi Pradeep,
I am also a credit card freak. Currently , I am using Amex gold charge card and Axis my zone credit card. I am planning to close my amex card and applying for hdfc regalia.
What is your suggestion on this?
I am frequent flyer in india and do book hotels on personal pay and also use ola, uber etc on reguler basis + my personsl expences including groceries and restaurant expences during travelling. I am salaried, please suggest me the best credit card suitable for me.
Hi!
I am using Air India SBI Credit visa platinum card but my usage is more of paying mobile bills, DTH TV recharge, utility and fuel. Please advice on which card will be more useful considering that mobile bills, DTH recharge, fuel makes upto close 5-6k of the bills.
U can go for standard chartered titanium card
I’m looking for card with Cashback. What is the difference between hdfc diner and regalia
Both Diner and Regalia are premium. A little difference is the features and benefits. Diner is not accepted as widely as Regalia (it comes as Visa/Mastercard)
hi Thanks for the information. Although I would like to ask you for some advise on specific reason I need Credit card for. I will be travelling for 20 days to Europe , and would have to book rooms in hotels/Hostels before hand. And also buy air tickets etc and hold on to the credit card for emergency purposes . Can you plz advise, which then would be best card for the purpose.
BTW i do not have any credit card. And do not use one in life.
Since you need a credit card on urgent basis, I would suggest you to apply for easy to get credit cards. Apply for 2-3 cards at the same time and keep the one that gets approved first.
I you have existing credit history and more than 1L take home salary, then apply for HDFC Regalia to keep foreign charges minimal (2%).
Apply for Amex Travel Platinum or Citi Platinum for best rewards on travel.
Standard Chartered Card can solve your current issue (Easy to get with 6L annual income + all rounder card)
Hi Pradeep,
How about IndusInd Signature credit card or IndusInd Iconia Amex credit card, can we get them for a nominal fee of Rs.1K one time.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will review those cards and include in my list in next update.
I have hdfc credit card and the limit is rs.40,000/- and also sbi elite card and the limit is rs.1,22,000/-. Since I have so many expenditures i am planning to get other bank credit card also. Plz suggest me some banks which will provide card to card credit cards.
Hi Pradeep,
I am frequent flyer in india and do book hotels on personal pay and also use ola, uber etc on reguler basis + my personsl expences including groceries and restaurant expences during travelling. I am salaried, please suggest me the best credit card suitable for me.
Bro, please help! I have ordered a product on paytm which costs 22700 and paid by credit card emi of 6 months. But in my card transactions, full amount is showing as outstanding. I didn’t understand how this emi works. I found that the emi conversion option in my card app takes too much high interest. If possible can you create post on this clearing all my doubts?
Hi Pradeep,
I have most of the cards mentioned by you. Nothing can beat Diners Club black atleast till the 10x program is running. I have accumulated over 1L points from last 5 months. Next best is the Amex Platinum travel which gives you a 8% return on your spending till 4L. Till date I only had one instance where the merchant didn’t accept Diners Club.
I am an US citizen using number of credit cards, visa, MasterCard and Discover cards. I am a doctor here and my earnings are in dollars. I travel every year to India and need a card. The only bank account has in India is with Punjab national bank. I own Citibank card here, would they consider those.
Thanks
Jay.
You can use US based credit cards for India as well. It would be difficult for you to get Indian credit card if you are not citizen.
Hi pardeep,
I heard about Forex card. Is it also a credit card? How good it is when travelling abroad?
Hi pradeep,
Can we convert SC Manhattan reward points in to cash ??
I am salaried and using HDFC titanium card since 2011 limit is 80k..
I am confused which will be the best..i used mostly in hotel booking,fuels and super market shopping..
You can not convert SC rewards into cash.. but you can redeem your points for Amazon e-vouchers.. That’s what I do. It is as good as cash, because you can buy anything from Amazon.
Hi Pradeep,
I keep myself up to date regarding the offers on credit card. I would like to mention that HDFC Diners Black Card is the best card available in India.
Reason:
33% cashback in form of points for shopping on Flipkart & other select merchants. Iphone 7 selling on Flipkart for Rs.57,000 would cost just Rs.38,190 after cashback. However, these points can only be used for flight tickets, hotel booking, movies, mobile & DTH recharge and not as statement credit
The second reason is buy 1 get 1 ticket free on movies with the free ticket price of Rs.500 (highest I have seen, else it usually between Rs.250 to Rs.350)
Third Reason is unlimited, yes you read it right, UNLIMITED complimentary access to both domestic & INTERNATIONAL airport lounges.
Fourth reason is free international travel insurance.
It also includes other benefits like concierge, golf etc.
The fees is Rs.10,000 for first year (get 10,000 bonus points worth Rs7,500) and Rs.5000 (5000 bomus points worth Rs.3,750) next year onwards. But like HDFC Reglia you can get this for free if you maintain good banking relationship with HDFC. Also there are other ways of getting fees waived like spending a minimum Rs.1 lac in first 90 days.
This card is great for offers and the only drawback is that diners has very limited acceptability at both online and offline merchants.
My review on the same card.
https://staging.cashoverflow.in/best-credit-cards-india-2016/comment-page-3/#comment-4687
I compared both Diner and Regalia from HDFC and decided to keep Regalia in my list because it’s widely accepted everywhere, and benefits are almost at par with Diner. I will write about HDFC Diner soon, so that people can make their own decision before selecting the best for them. Thanks again for a nice comment and value addition.
Can i get regalia for free if i have a saving accounts in HDFC?
Hello Pradip,
I am looking for HDFC credit card, can you please suggest me any card which is free or having annual fee 500 rs. thanks
HDFC moneyback credit will fit into your requirements.
Hello Sir,
What if i go for titanium times credit card?
I have one more query also, my salary acc is in axis bank i am having a gold loan in sbi which i am maintaining regularly then also my application in axis bank got rejected , meanwhile my app is approved in sbi, from bank bazaar free cibil score i came to know my cibil is 862, what should i do in this case and when can i apply again for axis credit card. Is there any way to know the decline reason of card?
Regards,
Chintan
Any upadte please give me suggestions..
You should try to find the reason of rejection from Axis. Rejection is not always because of score. If you got SBI card then I suggest you to apply after 3-6 months for your next card.
What are your reviews about citibank rewards credit card against cashback card? which one should we prefer?
Citi Cashback card is better than citi rewards card. You get direct cashback rather than rewards.
Thank you very much friend this will be my first credit card.
Hi Pradeep,
I am looking to get my first credit card.
I am govt. employee with 60K+ monthly salary.
could u suggest me a good credit card, my max spend is on shopping (online and offline), grocery, phone bill and movies, sometimes travel
thank you
Ideally you should own 2-3 credit cards for most benefits. Apply for Standard Chartered Platinum/Manhattan those are easy to get if you have 60K salary. After 6 months, apply for 2 more cards from SBI/Citi/Amex/HDFC to maximise your cashback.