The Credit Card Couch

  In this edition, let's talk about the different types of credit cards that are available in the Indian market. Just a note here, I will be discussing the cards based on the basic Indian context. There are cards such as Chase, Charles Schwab and Amex US which I will not be covering since they are not for everyone. We will be dividing the whole universe into 2, first we will see the cards based on their Annual Maintenance charges(AMC), and next based on their use cases.  So let’s begin with AMC based categorization - Entry level cards : These cards, as the name suggests, are your entry into the world of credit cards. The best part with them is that you don’t have to put a lot of thought into how to use them or how to get any benefits from them. They are simply to give you a small credit line without any further benefit in using them. Key Features :  Low or no AMC Very low fee waiver limit Low Credit Limit (usually within INR 1 lac) Very Straight forward Terms & Condit...

So, on a quaint Sunday evening, while sipping from the proverbial tea cup, I sat to write the latest article for this new blog that I have started. Thought of a few things that I should write on, and the one thing that I think will resonate most for now with majority of the readers is the general benefits of using a credit card as a financial tool. I would like to mention it again, credit cards are a financial tool and not just a means of paying for something when you do not have money handy. This way of thinking is what will eventually lead you towards financial freedom as well, though I do not want to go towards that so early in our discussions. I will try to keep most of the articles on this blog crisp and concise, in line with the ever decreasing attention span of our populace! So let's get on with it. As discussed previously, most of the regular folks tend to keep a safe distance from credit cards. That is majorly because of a number of misconceptions around it and the genera...

  Starting this new blog to discuss different credit cards and how to maximize their rewards ethically . I know there are a lot of forums for this, but my purpose of starting this is to document my learnings about credit cards and try to explain it to anyone who wants to begin their journey with them. As my circle goes, a lot of folks are quite apprehensive of using credit cards. And few also look down upon them. So I thought the best way to explain would be writing about it and sharing details one piece at a time. So my journey with these oft looked down upon plastic began way back in 2017. Back then even I was wary of them, since I had seen a few very close people get stuck with the credit loop. And to be honest that scared the living daylight out of me. My first credit card, which I had got with my salary account for free, was rotting away in a drawer somewhere. But a couple of years into my own corporate life, one of my seniors explained to me that they would only use cards for...