The
Indian credit card market is red hot at the moment. With the market
predicted to grow at 25% until 2012, and just 25 million adults having
credit cards (out of a billion population) every single bank on the
planet wants a piece of the pie. The consumers in India enjoy a huge
number of choices of cards. Sides, the banks and the consumers see a lot
of problem between each other. India does not yet have a unique
nationalized id like social security number in US, or Tax File Number in
Australia for all of their citizens. The problem for the banks with
this is that there is a huge risk to give out these credit cards that
can never be traced if the holder changes his or her address. The
consumer on the other hand complains about exorbitant hidden fees, fines
and non-existent customer service. There are still not a lot of
regulations for the credit card industry. Any one on the road is given a
credit card (even by non-bank employees who work as sale sub-vendors to
banks) with out any proper checks or verification (a la US sub-prime
mortgages). Well but India is one market that any bank cannot ignore, so
as time goes by proper regulations will be put in place to get things
in order. The idea of this article is to give a list of credit cards out
there for the consumers in India and their features.
The growth potential for Indian credit card industry.
The article reviews card of the top banks operating in India like Citibank, HSBC, Barclays, ICICI, HDFC and a few others.
Availability of Information and ease of use of the bank websites
The information in this article is directly from the banks websites (as of 14th May 2009).
Here are some comments about the website itself.
HSBC
The
HSBC site was very easy to use and had the information like interest
rates and fees easily accessible. They were just a 3-4 clicks away. The
entire website was laid out in simple direct format with nice little
examples. They had a 7 page “Terms and Conditions” page hidden behind a
small font link. There were some unpredictable links to some important
pages that worked on and off.
Make sure you read the terms and conditions
Citibank
The
Citibank website was a little sluggish and little more complicated.
Getting the interest rate information required 5 or more clicks. The
website’s credit card looked more like a marketing flyer rather than
information brochure. The website was trying to make you special while
all you needed was the interest rate on a card. Links to some important
pages when clicked took for ever to show up. All the rates and fees for
every single card were listed on the same page.
Looked more like marketing flyer than information site.
More than 5 clicks to get to the rates and fees.
ICICI
This
site was easy to use and had the information like interest rates and
fees easily accessible. They were just a 3-4 clicks away and were
organized on the same page for all Credit cards offered. The site offers
you a usage guide, even though the idea was right the execution was all
wrong. Take a look at this, the title says “How to read the Monthly
Credit Card Statement” but has nothing other than a screen shot of mock
statement and a few 2 liners. They have explained the obvious and not
described complex items. There are so many numbers on the screen and
it’s hard to tell what is what.
No proper details on the User Guide
HDFC
This
site was having quiet a bit of information on its site. The key
information like interest rates and fees were accessible in 3-4 clicks.
The website had detailed, separate fees and rates section for each card.
They had a FAQ and Credit Card Usage Guide section. FAQ had 6 question
and answers but the Usage Guide did have a lot of information on there.
It explained by text alone (no screen shots) the terms in the statement.
Barclays
Have
to give it to them they had the shiniest site among all, but couldn’t
find the rates and fee even after fiddling around the site for sometime.
The information on the website looked more like marketing flyer rather
than plain simple information. The terms and conditions were listed in a
malformed PDF file that had to be downloaded. The rates and fees
information could not be found any where on the site.
Terms and conditions as PDF file, that was so awkwardly sized, with tiny fonts.
Kotak
This one website there is nothing to complain about. The website is
created beautifully and all the required information is carefully
organized. Information related to rates, fees, benefits, FAQ and
examples illustrating scenarios are built around the credit card.
Finally found a website that satisfies all the criteria.
Kotak has a well designed, organized,website. Simplicity seems to be the objective of the site.
Explains in simple terms how you save.
Enough on the websites, now for the credit cards themselves.
Basic Credit Card Guidelines
- Having too much plastic is not good for your financial health. As much as you can try to avoid having too many credit cards.
- Carefully monitor all the credit cards you have through online banking (Paper statements are a pain).
- Register for SMS or email alerts if your bank offers them.
- Try
to avoid taking cash advance they charge you very high interest for
cash advances. If need some money, try to apply for a personal loan that
are offered at a much lower rate.
- Always pay off the minimum balance for every statement cycle.
- Try to pay off more, even if it a very small amount you would save a lot of money in the end.
- Try to get add-on cards for family members rather than having separate cards, so it is easier to monitor your credit cards.
Info: Recommended
credit card below are for low credit spending individuals, who do not
tend to spend too much using credit cards and follow the above
guidelines.
The conditions for recommending these credit cards are a combination of the rules below,
- Low Interest Rates - Your card might have any amount of sugar coated features but this is what counts the most.
- Low Fees or No Fees - Some banks might give you a low interest rate but for a high annual fee, so watch out.
- Benefits
- Anything else does not matter than the above two (1&2), but if
you get added benefits why not? But you should never pay higher fees or
interest rate for the benefits. The benefits might be cash back, fuel
surcharge, air miles, shopping discount,...
DEUTSCHE BANK SMART GOLD CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 2.95%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits:
Choose from 4 options Shopping - For shoppers,Travel - Frequent
Flyers,Party - For consumers frequenting restaurants, bars, pubs,
Theatres,Home-Utility Bills Groceries,
Free Security Insurance - Protection against unauthorised transaction and fraud
Deutsche Bank Smart Gold Credit Card - One of the most balanced card
SBI GOLD CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Cash Back 2% on all purchases,Balance Transfer-Low Interest options available
SBI SILVER CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits:Cash Back 2% on all purchases, Balance Transfer-options available
BOBCARD EXCLUSIVE YOUTH CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: Joining Fee of Rs 750/-, No renewal Fee for next year
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free, Medical Emergency withdrawal allowed
There are several variation of this card, also take a look at them for best choice.
BOBCARD EXCLUSIVE WOMEN CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: Joining Fee of Rs 750/-, No renewal Fee for next year
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free
Con: Only for women.
This is only for women, but there are several variation of this card, also take a look at them for best choice.
BARCLAYS BANK SMART BUDGET CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 2.95%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Free Cash Advance for a limited time,
0% Balance Transfer, consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI
Cons: Available only in metros and for businessmen.
KOTAK MAHINDRA FORTUNE CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Interest free cash withdrawal for 48 days (flat fee 149 for 10000 applies),
Railway surcharge 1.8% waiver for online or in person ticket booking,
Discounts in select flights and hotels,
Consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI-no fee no interest for 3 months,
No fee transaction on any VISA ATMs.
Cons: Available only in metros and for business.
KOTAK MAHINDRA TRUMP CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Interest free cash withdrawal for 48 days (flat fee 149 for 10000 applies),
Railway surcharge 1.8% waiver for online or in person ticket booking,
Discounts in select flights and hotels,
Consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI-no fee no interest for 3 months,
No fee transaction on any VISA ATMs.
Cons: Available only in metros and for businessmen.
Two well balanced cards from Kotak Mahindra Bank.
BOBCARD VISA/MASTERCARD CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No Joining Fee, Renewal Fee of Rs1000/-
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free
NEXTGEN BOBCARD GOLD CREDIT CARD
Best Features
Fees: No fee forever
Interest Rate: 2.5%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Con: Only for students.
Currently there are three Vodafone offers related to Cafe Coffee Day
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