Smart Credit Card Tips for Indians

Plastic money is invading the Indian consumer. Here are some smart credit card spending tips for you such that you don't land in a credit trap.

• It is always tempting to own as many credit cards as possible. But restrict yourself to the best 3 [No Annual fees + Lowest APR on Purchases]. Usually One VISA, One MasterCard and One AMEX. These could be issued by any bank or it could be a co-branded card. I have found that having VISA/MasterCard and Amex helps maintain a healthy credit balance.
• Make a list of all your credit cards with issuers name, address and phone number. Also write credit card number, validity and keep this in a safe place and never carry this with you. Make sure the card companies phone numbers work. My HDFC Credit Card has listed Bangalore number as 55224332 which is not operational.
  
• Carry the best two cards. For example, you may have Retail card, so while going for weekend shopping, just carry the retail card.
• Have the credit card bill payment date spread atleast 10 days apart.
• Use only one card with the lowest limit for online purchases. Always use the same card.
• Be extra careful when accpeting offers such as Balance Transfers and Cash Back as their are always traps which are hidden by credit card companies.

In the years to come, every Indian will be under survilleance of credit buearus and hence it is very essential to maintain a fair credit history to avail loans for homes or cars in future.

Tags: Credit Card India, Smart Credit, Credit History India, HDFC Card

Co-Branded Credit Cards Boom in India

With rising disposable income in India, Indians are looking for credit cards to suit their specific requirements. This has led to a BOOM in co-branding of credit cards with leading national and international banks.

• There are over 50 co-branded credit cards in India
• Some of the co-branded credit cards are HDFC Bank Idea Cellular Credit Card, ICICI bank HPCL Card, Indian Airlines-Amex Card and Indian Oil - Citibank card.
• These cards come for various verticals such as Fuel, Travel, Auto, Cash Back, Telecom and Retail

Some co-branded cards like LG SBI card various incentives for card holders - Discounts on Annual Maintainenance contracts, flexipay @ 10% interest rate, balance Transfer of Rs 75,000 at 0% for 75 days etc.

Another co-branded card, Indiatimes - ICICI card gives security upto maximum of Rs 20,000 on internet transactions + 4 reward points for every Rs 200 spent + 5% cash back on airline tickets etc.

Choose a card carefully to suit your requirements like - Retail Card or Airlines card if you are a frequent flyer. Make sure you have a copy of all the terms and conditions before you apply for a card.

Tags: Credit Cards India, HDFC Credit Card, SBI Credit Card, ICICI Credit Card

Indian credit card industry to witness robust growth

The robust growth in the Indian economy is also witnessed in the credit card industry. Higher disposable income by relatively younger workforce in Mid 20s has made India a perfect market for credit card companies.

Here are some statistics and projections of the Indian credit card industry.

• Visa, which accounts for 70% of the total card industry is the market leader in India.
  
• Visa expects total cards in circulation (both debit and credit) to double to 100 million by 2010 from around 45 million now.
• Credit Card purchase volumes in the country are likely to triple to $21 billion by 2010.
• India is currently the fastest growing Mobile Market in the world and is also among the fastest growing credit card markets in the world.
• India has a total 45 million cards under circulation (13 million credit and 32 million debit) and a 40% year-on-year growth.
• 68% of payment cards in India are debit cards as against 2% in 1998
• ICICI bank is India's largest Credit Card issuer.

With the entry of Wal-Mart in India, we will see India becoming the fastest growing Retail market in the world within the next few years.