Credit card guides
Add-on credit cards: liability, fees, shared limits
What the RBI directions and issuer MITCs say about add-on cards: who pays, shared limits, add-on fees and which spends count towards waivers.
Airport lounge access on credit cards: how it works
How lounge visits are delivered and limited on Indian credit cards, with the spend conditions and per-visit cost worked out for named cards.
Amazon vs Flipkart co-brand cards: which fits your spending
What Amazon Pay ICICI and Flipkart Axis actually pay, where their caps and exclusions bite, and when a general online cashback card beats both.
Annual fee waiver guide: how to avoid paying card fees
How spend-based fee waivers work on Indian cards: thresholds on named cards, what spend counts, how the year is counted, and a fee-versus-reward example.
Balance transfer and cash advance costs on credit cards
How SBI Card and HDFC Bank charge for ATM cash advances and balance transfers, with the arithmetic for a cash withdrawal and the transfer fee.
Cash advance, over-limit and bounced-payment fees compared
What fourteen issuers' MITCs charge to withdraw cash, go over your limit or have a payment bounce, with worked examples and the minimum that usually decides it.
Credit card billing cycle and due date explained
How the statement date, billing cycle, due date and interest-free period fit together, with day counts taken from SBI Card and HDFC Bank's published examples.
Credit card devaluations in India: how to protect your rewards
Banks often cut reward rates, caps and lounge access. How to spot a devaluation, what usually changes, and how to limit the damage.
Credit card EMI conversion: no-cost EMI, fees and real cost
How card EMIs are priced, what RBI requires issuers to show for a 'no-cost' EMI, and a worked example using HDFC Bank's published rate and fee.
Credit card fraud: RBI rules, liability and how to report
What RBI's card rules and four issuers' MITCs say about card controls, tokens, lost-card liability, reporting windows and dispute deadlines.
Credit card interest and minimum due explained
How revolving interest is charged, what the minimum amount due covers, and a worked example using the published method and rate of SBI Card and HDFC Bank.
Credit card late fees and interest rates compared (2026)
Late payment fees and monthly finance charges from thirteen issuers' own MITCs side by side, and why the annual rates they print are not comparable.
Credit utilisation and your CIBIL score explained
How to calculate credit utilisation, what RBI rules say about card data reaching credit bureaus, and what we could not verify about its effect on a score.
Fees on rent, wallet, utility, fuel and education spends compared
Which card issuers charge 1% on rent, wallet loads, utilities, fuel and third-party education payments, and the monthly thresholds where the fee starts.
First credit card in India: eligibility and FD-backed options
What issuers state for first-time applicants, how FD-backed cards from ICICI, Axis and Kotak work on liens and limits, and what RBI says issuers must do.
Forex markup on credit cards in India and tips for using one abroad
Forex markup and GST on it, worked on ₹1,00,000 of foreign spend for named Indian credit cards, plus DCC and cash advance notes.
Fuel surcharge waiver explained
What a fuel surcharge waiver on an Indian credit card refunds, how per-transaction bands and monthly caps limit it, with rupee examples from named cards.
GST on credit card fees and charges: what is taxed
What the CBIC circular and GST rate notification say about credit card interest and fees, and how SBI Card and HDFC Bank show 18% GST in worked examples.
How a credit limit is set, changed and enforced: RBI and MITC rules
What RBI requires when a limit is set or changed, and what HDFC, SBI, ICICI and Axis MITCs say on shared limits, cash limits and over-limit fees.
How credit card reward points work in India, with expiry and redemption
How reward points are earned, valued, redeemed and sometimes lost on Indian credit cards, with worked examples and what to check before you apply.
How to choose a credit card in India: a 5-step method
A simple way to pick a credit card: list your spend, check exclusions and caps, price the fee, value the points, then confirm the terms.
How to read a credit card MITC before you apply
A plain guide to the Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) document: which clauses decide what a card really costs and earns you.
Lifetime free credit cards explained
What 'lifetime free' really means on Indian credit cards, the conditions to watch for, and how to judge whether a no-fee card is worth having.
Minimum amount due: how fourteen card issuers calculate it
The minimum amount due formulas in fourteen issuers' MITCs, from 1% to 5% of the balance, with what each asks on a ₹10,000 and ₹40,000 bill.
Paying rent with a credit card: fees versus rewards
What issuers charge and reward when rent goes on a credit card, worked out on ₹25,000 monthly rent for named cards, plus a formula for platform fees.
Points vs cashback credit cards: which suits you?
Why a reward point is not a rupee: real redemption values from Amex, AU and Federal compared with flat cashback, with the arithmetic.
RuPay credit cards on UPI: how it works and what to check
What RBI said about linking RuPay credit cards to UPI, how issuers describe the limits, and what UPI spend earns on named RuPay cards, from issuer terms.