[binand]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

I wonder why people call credit card as addiction etc. If you understand that it is simply an extension of you bank account and you should never spend beyond a limit, why so much of a bad rep?

For the simple reason that it isn't an extension of your bank account. :-)

It is, as the name clearly says, a line of credit. And in most cases, it can exceed the capacity of your bank account (the cumulative credit limit of all my cards is 5x my monthly post-tax income). The bad reputation is due to the fact that some people cannot handle credit responsibly; they end up spending way beyond their means.

[ani_meher]

I meant what you corrected me, I treat it as an extension of my bank accounts. However some people do get into trap of paying over the heads and not paying in full. If you do that, then surely you will get in trouble sooner or later.

However, blanket advise of avoiding credit card is not correct either. Used with proper care and self discipline, a credit card is very helpful.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Nope - this is not correct , you can continue to have funds in your prepaid card till validity of card .

Oh OK. I now see what I've been missing - FEMA limits are applicable on these cards. So you can load only a max of $10K on the card in a year.

[rajesh1868]

My Amex was up for renewal and I called up for cancelling it. They offered me a 75% cut which I took. I was also informed that they have some tie up with ICICI and any ICICI swipe machine will be allowed to swipe an AMEX .This is expected to be officialy announced soon. This should make it acceptable in most of the small stores.

[S_U_N]

My HDFC personal banker called up and said that a select list of customers (19 out of 10000 in the branch) have been given a free upgrade option.
The card being offered is JetPrivilege HDFC Bank World Credit Card.

Now, I was not able to confirm if the fuel surcharge waiver is still there (earlier 14 August was reported as the last date?) or if this covers only HP/ BP/ etc.

Anyone here using this specific card?


BTW: This is a chip card and my previous one was not.
So, the next time I go to the restaurant which has the swipe-only option, do I need to go there and enter the PIN?

[manduvindupondu]

DBS International Debit card issued in India offers 7.5% cash back (Yes, you read it right. Its 7.5% cashback) for fuel transactions till 30 September. It is the best cashback for fuel in India . Make the most of it. The last date is 30 September 2014

[binand]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

My HDFC personal banker called up and said that a select list of customers (19 out of 10000 in the branch) have been given a free upgrade option.
The card being offered is JetPrivilege HDFC Bank World Credit Card.

At least they bothered to tell you beforehand. In my case, they just shipped the card and the first I knew was when I got the SMS that "your new card has been despatched". I simply returned the card to HDFC Bank and told them I need my reward points (which they converted to JP Miles) back or I'll take the matter all the way to the Ombudsman. Customer Service didn't solve it; but Grievance Redressal did manage to return me my original Visa Signature card and reward points.

They tried to sell to me a card change ("with a higher credit limit, and personal accident cover and some other insurance scheme and some more such junk") but without my reward points; I stood my ground. Eventually they had to take the loss. The JP account they opened for me still has those miles and I have my reward points back.

Why did I go through all this pain? I first opted for a JP co-branded card way back in '04 or so (when it was with Citibank). After a few years I realized that I am not flying enough with Jet to justify holding the card - those miles are not usable for anything else. Citi swapped it for a Premier Miles card and this year already I have booked 7 sectors on Indigo using the reward points on this card (generally, around 3000 points for a BLR-COK flight).

The big lesson for me is that single brand co-branded cards makes zero sense.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Now, I was not able to confirm if the fuel surcharge waiver is still there (earlier 14 August was reported as the last date?) or if this covers only HP/ BP/ etc.

BTW: This is a chip card and my previous one was not.
So, the next time I go to the restaurant which has the swipe-only option, do I need to go there and enter the PIN?

I think all HDFC Cards have full fuel surcharge waiver.

And yes, you need to enter the PIN at restaurants too. Some of them will ask you for your PIN so that you are not inconvenienced; some would ask you to walk to the cashier's desk and some of them would have invested in wireless portable PoS devices. You know which ones would then get your repeat business.

[manduvindupondu]

OBC (oriental Bank of Commerce) International debit card says it charges 1% (Yes only One percent) on currency conversion markup. Also, they charge 80 INR for USD cash withdrawals and 120 INR for other countries.
The 1% currency markup seems too low to be true. Can someone please confirm?

Also, Union Bank of India Debit card says 2.5% currency conversion markup. Can you please verify? I need to take a debit card to Thailand as the Forex rates offered here are too lousy.
Even with the 3.5% markup (general standard across all banks), it works out cheaper. Any pointers/thoughts/suggestions for Thailand?
Of couse I am carrying USD (equivalent to 11000 THB per person) to show as proof for Visa on Arrival in Thailand.

[trek]

Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust

My HDFC bank credit card recently got compromised. Luckily the amount was only INR6.09/- doen at some international merchant which showed up as BRIGANTNCLUB . I got the card blocked . Now even though i have asked for a replacement card HDFC wants 100INR plus Taxes for card replacement. MY annual billing to HDFC with this card has been about >6lacs per year . I find it offensice they ask such meagre amount .

Now Hdfc doesnot have a OTP facility as fixed option on online/offline transactions. They only have verified by visa code / otp option for online domestic transaction .

Is there any bank in India which offers OTP as mandatory option for all domestic/international , online/offline transactions for there credit cards with zero surcharges on any petrol bunks and under 2% foreign currency markup fees.

I faced a similar situation with my HDFC card which was compromised and I was told to apply for a new one.

I too am looking out for options which have lower foreign currency mark up fees. Did you switch to any other brand? Any recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

[rajeshchand]

SBI cards currently offer domestic and international transactions only with OTP through registered mobile. I find this to be the most secure way of transacting on unknown territories when it comes to online shopping, of course i have found some international websites doing the swipe without OTP. When it comes to such websites i prefer using the card through paypal which ensures that those merchants don't have your card details.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

My HDFC personal banker called up and said that a select list of customers (19 out of 10000 in the branch) have been given a free upgrade option.
The card being offered is JetPrivilege HDFC Bank World Credit Card.

Now, I was not able to confirm if the fuel surcharge waiver is still there (earlier 14 August was reported as the last date?) or if this covers only HP/ BP/ etc.

Anyone here using this specific card?

So, the catch was I have to forcefully convert 40% of my points into airline miles.
I was not happy with that.

The suggestion from my personal banker was to redeem all the existing points ASAP.

Now, it turns out HDFC is really poor when it comes to redemption options.

The value of 1 Rs is about 3.5 points. In some cases (such as buying a cordless phone,) the actual value is even less: 1 Rs = 6 or 7 points.

So, that is really bad.

Anyway, I redeemed on some coupons/ gift vouchers from various stores.
There is no information on the validity on the website. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

SBI cards currently offer domestic and international transactions only with OTP through registered mobile.

As long as you are transacting from home this is fine, but many of us when travelling abroad may have a Matrix or a similar card, so this will not really work. Also, till a few months ago I was on Reliance CDMA so was unable to use my phone abroad. Yes, I could get a SIM on GSM with the same number, but did not bother.

[binand]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

As long as you are transacting from home this is fine, but many of us when travelling abroad may have a Matrix or a similar card, so this will not really work.

I think Matrix offers a forwarding facility.

But your point is very valid. Instead of individually crafting half-baked two-factor authentication solutions, I wonder when our banks will get onto something that is truly universal and portable like TOTP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-ba...word_Algorithm

[ashwinsid]

Last month, HDFC sent me a generic (not addressed to me) letter saying that as per RBI mandate, all credit cards are being replaced with a new Chip+Pin card. I had a HDFC World Mastercard with chip.

The letter was accompanied with another letter addressed to me and it said HDFC World Mastercard product is being discontinued and hence they will be sending me an HDFC Superia Mastercard. Credit limit everything is same as World Mastercard. At the time of receiving this letter, my World Mastercard had about 27,000 reward points.

This week, I received the new Superia Mastercard. Logged into my credit card netbanking account and registered the card.

Immediately I noticed that all balance in my old card is 0 (which is normal) but in the new card, the reward points was 11,000. Over 16,000 points missing.

Have written to Mr. Parag Rao (head of Credit Card division) and also customer care. Yet to hear from them.

Anyone else have faced this issue?

[mac187]

I have been using HDFC credit card for 8 years now. Would request bhpians to share information of other good credit cards out there. I am currently on HDFC visa signature card. Any card with good payback and fuel surcharge waiver would make the cut.