Credit Cards In India :- How To Get It & Which Is Better ?

Notice: Outdated Information. The information published here is outdated as of 10 March, 2014.

This question was so popular when PayPal stopped permitting Indian users to do online transactions using the balance in their PayPal account. Many of us, including me, contacted banks for getting credit cards as this was the only option for making payments to non-Indian merchants. So far I’ve tried many credit cards available from various top most banks in India and here is the review and standard procedure to get it.

In this review, I’ll be covering credit cards of ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, SBI and HDFC.


Requirements for getting Credit Cards

A Bank Account:- The very basic requirement. You must have a bank account with the bank. Most of the banks won’t give you credit card if your account is less than 3 months old.

Salary Slip:- This is required if you are a salaried person. The credit limit will depend on your salary which can be increased later by requesting via customer care phone number for most of the bank. I found SBI increases it automatically every 6 months if you have some good number of transactions.

Income Tax Return Receipt(ITR):- This is required if you are a self-employed person.

ICICI Bank Credit Cards

ICICI offers various types of Credit Cards both VISA and MasterCards powered. At present, they do not offer Credit Cards based on Salary Slip or Tax returns to their customers in Kerala. They offer this only in select cities such as Bangalore. But luckily, you will be able to get ICICI Credit Cards against Fixed Deposit(FD), that is called Instant Credit Cards. As the name suggests, it is an instant credit card with the name “INSTANT CREDIT CARD” embossed on it. To get it, you need to have an account with ICICI. Walk into any branch of ICICI with at least Rs.20,000/- and open a Fixed Deposit. Walk out with your Instant Credit Card. The benefit of this instant credit card is the low interest fee. If I remember correctly, the interest rate is 2.49% per month which is quite lower than other credit cards based on Salary Slip or Tax Return ( which ranges anywhere from 3% to 4% ).

Instant card has 3 flavors, Gold/Platinum/Titanium Credit Card. Note that you will be getting 9.25% interest for your Fixed Deposit. The card comes with 85% of the Fixed Deposit account as credit limit. More over, when you spend Rs.100 using this card, you will be getting 3 reward points which can be redeemed at www.payback.in for stuffs like computer, mobile, camera accessories and petrol card( this is my favorite). ICICI has tie up with PayBack, and PayBack has tie up with a lot other shops such as Big Bazaar. So you also will be able to redeem these points at Big Bazaar and get some items free of charge. You can’t cancel the FD without cancelling the credit card first. For cancelling credit cards, you must clear all the dues in it. That’s the catch in this Credit Card against FD System. I must say, bank is quite safe in this case as they don’t have or have minimal risk of repayment issues from customers. ICICI Bank has award winning internet banking facility, using which you will be able to see the transactions online and pay the due amount instantly. You can also set auto-debit facility so that your ICICI Account will be debited at the end of due date to avoid late payment fees.

Edit:- I was informed by ICICI Bank that we can get a new credit card instead of the card in which INSTANT CREDIT CARD as the name printed on it, with our name printed on it by applying for a duplicate card which will cost you Rs.100 + service tax ( Rs.110.30 Total ). So if you need your name printed on it, just go for it.

SBI Credit Cards:- SBI offered credit cards based on Salary Slip or Income Tax upto a few years back. But they do not offer it right now. However, you will be able to get a credit card against Fixed Deposit of minimum Rs.20,000/- with 70 or 75% credit limit. It is VISA powered. This card is not an instant card, and will take 7-14 days to deliver it. You will see your name printed on it. As a SBI Card user for the past two years, I find it quite expensive to keep as their charges are high. SBI also offers reward points. 1 Point for every Rs.100 spent. This point can be redeemed at www.sbicard.com website. They only have few items on their website for buying with the points. SBI has internet banking facility, using which you will be able to see the transactions online and pay the due amount online from any other banks, as they use BillDek gatway. The repayment is not instant, and you will have to wait 2-3 days for the paid amount to get credited in your credit card.

Canara Bank:- Canara bank credit card is mostly a joke. They have introduced credit cards just one year back. Getting a credit card approved is really a tough job. You will have to submit Income Tax Return(ITR). They don’t accept Salary certificate for credit card. Only ITR is accepted. Once submitted every documents required, it will take at least 2 months to process the cards. Your name will be printed on it. It is VISA powered credit card. As they have recently introduced credit cards, they don’t have a website where you can see the transactions done using the credit card, which really sucks in my opinion. You also won’t be able to pay online from your canara bank account in similar way other banks provide. Another fact is that, you won’t get monthly statement either via Email or by post. You will be in such a dark if you take this card. I’ve received Canara bank card before 4 months. However, I didn’t receive a monthly statement. They often forget to respond to your emails, and I don’t think they are planning to introduce a website for viewing transactions online in near future.

However, Canara Bank credit card has a couple of feature which other bank credit card lacks. One feature is the zero interest fee for Cash Withdrawals through ATM if paid within the due date. For more information about card features, refer Canara bank website. They also offer reward program, in which you’ll get 1 points for every Rs.100 purchase and every point is equal to Rs.0.50.
I dare to use my Canara bank credit card as there is no website for viewing due amount and make payment, and if I forget to make payment before due date, I may get late payment interest as well.

HDFC Credit Cards:- HDFC is famous for their high fee for banking. The same is with their credit cards as well. Getting a credit card from HDFC is just easy. Open a savings account with HDFC. Keep a quarterly average balance of Rs.20,000. Please don’t mistake that it is the minimum balance, but quarterly average balance(QAB). So, for calculating QAB, your account must be 3 months old. Once you keep QAB above 20k, just goto HDFC Bank and apply for the credit card. You will get the card within 7-14 days. If you have a salary account in HDFC bank, all you’ve to do is to submit the salary certificate to the bank and they’ll provide you credit card. In that case, there is no need to maintain QAB. HDFC bank also has reward program but I don’t have more details about it as it doesn’t seem very popular. I cancelled HDFC Bank Credit Card after two months because of the excessive markup fee they charge for foreign currency transaction. As most of my transactions are in USD, HDFC Bank charges a currency conversion fee which they call as MarkUp fee which is somewhere 3%-5% of the transaction amount. This is in addition to the Currency Conversion Fee charged by VISA Credit card processor. HDFC has internet banking facility, using which you will be able to see the transactions online and pay the due amount online from your HDFC bank account.

So, these are the biggest players in Credit Cards as of now. Have you decided to go with a bank for credit card ? Let me give you some hints

If you have Rs.20k to deposit as Fixed Deposit, go with ICICI Instant Credit Cards. You’ll get 3 reward points for every 100 Rs you spent which can be redeemed to buy Petrol. Another plus point with ICICI Instant Card is that, it is MasterCard powered, not VISA. The advantage is that MasterCard has less or almost no charges for currency conversion, which means, you won’t be charged extra money for foreign currency payments like you get charged for VISA cards. If you do not have money to deposit, go with Canara bank credit card. For this you must have ITR. You must also have some spare time for playing hide and seek game with Canara Bank. If you can show some good transactions and keep Rs.20k QAB for the first 3 months and Rs.10k QAB for the rest, and you do not have many foreign currency transaction, I recommend you to go with HDFC credit cards.

My Card:- So far I’ve used or inquired about cards provided by various banks in India and my favorite card is my ICICI Credit Card. I get few hundreds of rupees worth Petrol free every month by redeeming the reward points collected and I don’t have to pay extra amount as markup fee for foreign currency transaction. As a member of ICICI Privilege Member club, I also enjoy priority service at ICICI Branches!. So my vote goes for ICICI.

Decided now ? Let me know which one is good in your opinion.!

164 thoughts on “Credit Cards In India :- How To Get It & Which Is Better ?

  1. Do they increase the limit on ICICI Instant Credit card after months of usage or it remains same for the life time? And as many card holders get, by using Instant card, can we get other cards or other bank cards easily after fair usage for few months?

    1. I asked this question to 2 ICICI staffs, both gave me different responses. One told me that credit amount can not be increased. For higher limit you should cancel the fixed deposit along with credit card and start a new fixed deposit for higher amount. You will get a new card in this case. Other told me that the fixed deposit can be topped up and the credit limit can thus be increased.
      It was an old method to get credit card from different bank showing fair usage on a card. Now the procedures are little more tough on various banks

      1. Thanks a ton for your prompt and helpful reply. I have been searching for these informations for many days. And the bank guys, they will go round and round but for no good. Just, 1last ques, if I open a savings a/c with HDFC and maintain a QAB of 20k or more, do I have to submit ITR or salary slip during credit card processing. I have none, as I am newly into business. Please suggest they best way of getting a card as I need it desperately.

        1. No. You don’t have to submit any additional documents. Just need to maintain QAB only. But it will take around 4 months after opening account to get you the card.

          1. Got my HDFC Savings A/C and planning for a card against FD from ICICI. Great help thanks once again. 🙂

  2. Good one,

    The customer care wont answer all the queries. Thanks for sharing your experience vivek.

    Thanks

    Regards

    Yogesh Aher
    xhostindia.com
    gnextitsolutions.com

    1. If the funds on the card are not drawn from a bank, then the answer is no. If you have the PIN nuembr for the card then you could use it at an ATM for a cash advance, of course the interest is usually higher based on the terms and conditions of the company who provided the credit card to you.

      1. sir they will take how much time and if deposit immediatley how many days to get the card how much of limit is they will given.

  3. I applied for Instant ICICI Credit Card against my FD of 25,000 from my ICICI net banking account.
    They opened my FD within few hrs but still waiting for my credit card to arrive.
    ICICI credit card helpline says to wait for 3 weeks.
    Not that Instant I would say.

    1. You need to goto ICICI Bank and apply FD. You will get the card instantly. If you apply through online, you will not get it instantly as there will be delay processing it and sending you via post/courier.

      Hope this helps

  4. I have an SBI salary account. If I want to get an HDFC credit card than will I have to open a separate account in HDFC

    1. Only if you require a card against your fixed deposit.

      Otherwise no bank requires you to maintain a savings account with them to be eligible for their credit card. The primary things they look for are your salary slips and your CIBIL score.

  5. Hi
    i have a account in HDFC bank, i am working in pvt ltd , there is no PF deduction, thats why i didnt get salary slips, but net salary 15000 , the cheque should be deposited on HDFC from last one year. Am i ELIGIBLE to get Credit card
    please reply.

    i have form 16(2011-2012) , address proof and IT return form (assessment year 2012-2013)

  6. Hello,

    I want ICICI titanium card, but i dont have account in it and not have any FD in it, so am i able to get the Credit card or 1st i have to open my Saving account on ICICI bank.

    Please reply fast, didnt get exact answer from the customer care.

    Regards,
    Tapan

    1. Hi
      First you will have to open an account with them. You can get the card only after opening FD account. I am not quite sure if you can open a FD account without opening a savings account. All you have to do is to goto the branch with a minimum of 20k, and come back with the credit card.

  7. If i want this instant credit card with my name printed on it, then how i should apply by which i will the card with my name printed on the card. I have an account with ICICI. Whether i should apply it online or directly by visiting to the branch?

  8. Hello,
    I funded some online programs & forex trading through my HDFC credit card using solid trust pay 2 months ago with $800. Can I bring USD back to my credit card now? Is it allowed? Or I have to bring those USD to my bank account only?
    Please reply.
    Warm Regards.

    1. I believe it depends on the payment gateway. You should consult it with the payment gateway if they can deposit money in your credit card

  9. I had a question for you Vivek-
    Do you know any other bank, other than HDFC, where maintaining Quertey Avg. balance is enough to get a card without any additional documents.

  10. hi
    hdfc is offering credit cards to selected company employees. The offer is no annual maintenace charge and no fd needed. is it goood to have hdfc card, if i am using it only for INR transcations..

  11. I am the classic banker of HDFC Bank for the past 3 months. Can I apply for credit card?
    If yes then what is the procedure and what doccuments are required to submit.

    1. Only 4 benglore customer.If u working any IT ya softwre company salary should be 25 k net . And if u holding any other credit card minimum 1 year credit limit 30 k and above u can apply sbi credit card. We have 2 option .
      1. Salary to card.
      2.card to card. Only 4 emplyer. Nt 4 self emplee.
      3. Dob may be 1951 to 1985 to 1988 we are requre vry simple doc thats id add photo.if any one intrest plz mail me phn no .dob. Company name. Position .holding card.crdt lmt .salary net. Pincode. I wl help sure ..nazirb9@gmail.com

  12. Hey vivek….
    Today I visited ICICI bank and deposited 20k as fixed deposit. They have given me instant credit card but that instant credit card is VISA powered. I told him that I need credit card which is MASTER card powered. But they said their instant credit cards are only powered by VISA. Please suggest me what do do as i want to reduce my foreign currency conversion fees.

    1. Hi
      May be you got GOLD card which may be VISA powered. When I went to the bank last year for credit card, they told me that the Gold cards are out of stock so they issued me Platinum card. They also informed me that there are 3 types of instant credit cards, Gold, Platinum and Titanium. There are certain benefits for different card ( different fee structure, different minimum fixed deposit amount etc) . I deposited 50k for higher credit limit and they gave me Platinum. May be you should contact ICICI customer care to inquire more about it

  13. Hi Vivek,
    Good Post, can you help me out. I do owe a ICICI bank silver credit card. I asked for limit increase but i was declined as my salary didnt match their criteria. I want to do a international transaction that would come up to INR 2 lakhs after currency conversion, I asked for an option of prepayment to my credit card account, say like depositing 1.5 lakhs before making transaction, will that help me in doing my transaction as limit + pre payment will sum up to what I require. Support guys say we are not sure . 🙁
    Other option I thought after reading your block was instant card, How will it help me to do international transaction of INR 2 lkhs, Of what amount I have to make FD for it, i have savings A/C with ICICI, If I make FD of 2 lkhs will i be allowed to make a international transaction of same amount ? And if yes while repayment i will break that same FD and clear dues, is it possible ?
    Thanks in advance, Regards

    1. Hi
      You do not need to take an instant card. Just top up your current credit card with 1.5 lakh rupees and you would be able to do 2lakh transaction without any problem. I always do it.

  14. Hi,
    Kudos for the elaborate and helpful post !
    I have a query and would be obliged if you can help me out.
    Currently I have a ICICI priviledge acc , a HDFC classic account and a Kotak Ace account i.e. all top notch that these banks can offer. Like u I also do fequent online purchases from US and UK online via paypal for which I used my HDFC credit card. To my ignorance I was unaware of the markfup fee till few days back and end up paying more than what even paypal charges after conversion.
    From your post ,its clear that HDFC is definately the worse in this criteria, but I wanted to know out of the other two – ICICI and Kotak , which one should be the one I go with for my next credit card for international purchases. Also please specify the name of the exact ICICI credit card that u are using which doesn’t charge you any markup and provides all benefits that u enmerated.
    Cheerio !!!

    1. Really don’t have any experience with Kotak cards. For international purchases, I recommend a credit card with MasterCard logo as I believe MasterCard has less/no markup fee and processing charges are lower than VISA cards.

      I use ICICI Platinum Instant Credit Card which is a MasterCard. For every 100 spent on my card, I get 3 PAYBACK points. I redeem payback points at http://www.payback.in ( ICICI Bank transfers the points to http://www.payback.in every month) for petrol card which I can use at every HP Petrol Pumps across the country.

      More over, last month they had an offer for spending money abroad, and I just got a Sony DVD Player free from ICICI Bank. http://www.icicibank.com/online-services/offer-zone/TCFQ/Holiday_to_remember_offer_TnCs.html

      I recommend that when you get a card, insist on the MasterCard variant, and I recommend ICICI Credit Card than Kotak. Remember, if you make full payment against outstanding, no interest is charged on your Card. Interest is charged only if you chose to make part / no payments on your Card.

  15. OK.. gr8.. thanks .. I’ll check with my personal banker about this one..
    One question – min amount of FD required to get this card ?
    Cheerio!!!

      1. Oh.. its ok.. no issues.. I thought I may need to open FD for like 2 lacs or more for a TITANIUM card.. 🙂
        So u get around 80-85% of the FD amount as credit limit, right ?

          1. HI..

            Total I called my personal banker for ICICI and asked her to check details about the particular ‘Instant Titanum cedit card’ that U mentioned U used.
            She checked with the credit card guys and informed me that every card given by ICICI incl this one do charge 3.5% + taxes as FCY currency markup fee (same like the HDFC one I use)..
            To make things clear what I want is – when I purchase via paypal I should be charged only current international conversion rate (For instance 1$ ~ 55.5Rs currently).. Are U only charged that much and no additional markup fee

  16. Hi
    There may be some fee called Markup fee. However, its not like what HDFC charges. For the records, I just checked the last transaction in my credit card.

    My credit balance was : 16389.66
    Today I did a transaction $3.75 which is in USD.
    According to Google’s currency converter, the curresponding amount is : Rs.209.4375

    https://www.google.co.in/search?q=%243.75+in+INR&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

    When I checked the credit balance again after the payment, it was Rs.16,180.95

    That means, I had to pay Rs.208.71 which is 72paise lower than today’s amount. I am not saying that this math will always be lower, sometimes it would be 70 paisa higher than today’s conversion rate.

    This is not the case with HDFC/VISA cards. They charge certain percentage, which would be very very very much higher than this 70 paise. Now, you can do the math 🙂

    1. OK…
      As per ur information it seems that no markup fee have been charged ..
      Now .. can u please check ur credit card summary over netbanking and check if there are any charges mentioned with “FCY conversion markup fee” shows…
      For example I did a transaction of 340$ over paypal which by simple conversion cames out as 18907.31.. Additionally they charged 633 as markup fee and 12% service tax over it.. which in total comes nearly 4%. However this is shown in statement after 24-48 hours of transaction.
      So if you can check your credit card history for previous transaction, you may find charges like this.. If not, then I will definately go with it 🙂

      Cheers !!

      1. Hi

        I am an instant credit card user of ICICI Bank since September 2011. That is an year now. I check every monthly statements. There is no additional fee charged on my credit card. I can assure you this, 1000%.

        The transaction can be viewed online only after 24-48hours. However, there is no additional fee like HDFC.

        1. Gr8.. thats decided then… I’ll apply for the ICICI card first thing tomorrow or monday..
          Thanks a lot for helping me out…
          Cheers !!

          1. Hi,
            I understand from the ICICI website that a 3.5% mark-up fee is charged, not really convinced why they wont.., my bad am not a money expert, sorry let me rephrase, on one hand the bank website and telephone guys say 3.5% applicable and Mr.Vivek says it isn’t and since you were saying you are applying for the card please update with your comment, am facing the same issue now…

        2. hai vivek,
          nice post. i got right and enough information which i’s expecting from bankers but not was cleared. thanks a lot.
          pls help me. i want to know. when i check with banker he said period for repay of credit bill is 45 days. duration for credit limit is 30 days.
          when my 30 days is finished can i get more credit amount or first i’would have to pay previous bill than only i would get further credit. pls help me out.
          regards

  17. hi, ill having a salary account wid hdfc bank from more than 3 months..my salary is 20000 cn i got the card frm hdfc bank also one important thing i dont hv pen card but ill applied it 2 days back….cn u help me ill got a card or not.

  18. hi i have icici nre salary a/c i want credit card,i working in marchant navy,they dont give me salary slip,my salary is 78000 i aske bank for card but they say my place which one i stay this black listed area otherwise they give card but this is not my fault so try once & reply me

  19. Hi Vivek I have opened a new savings a/c at hdfc, I want an insta credit card what shall be the minimum fixed deposit for getting the credit card, thanks for the blog.

    1. Just open a Fixed Deposit for above Rs.20,000/- and you would get credit card against that FD from HDFC. However, its not instant as far as I know. You would get it by courier/post after 7-14 days.

      I highly recommend ICICI for instant credit card.

  20. bro how much time it will take to get a credit card from canara bank and they send me the card by post or i have to collect it at branches

  21. i had apply for a icici instant credit card 15 days back,i gave 20k cheque for fd but till now fd is not created.pls help me what shoud i do?

    1. Hi
      Most probably your cheque is not credited or bounced. As I am not bank employee, I can’t say anything. Opening a fixed deposit won’t take more than 30 minutes. Contact your branch.

  22. There was a guy called ganesh who was forcing me to take the medical card which hdfc issues with the creid card ,i was telling him i don’t want it but he was telling that he is the contact person for my hdfc credit card and he will not look at my credit card issue if i don’t take the medical card ,i felt very bad at that moment it was hardly 2 days i got the credit card i felt like closing the card

  23. Hai vivek

    I got the icici instant platinum credit card, and normally how many days it will take to get it activated? in that kit I got only card and user guide there is no pin.

    Its not having look of a credit card, look like debit card :p

    1. I really dont remember the activation time. But 2 to 4 days is sufficient for this. You can either try to do any transaction or try calling customercare. For pin generation, you need to call the customercare number and follow the IVR

      1. Thanks vivek, one more thing, is it possible to apply for replacement through phone banking? I need it to print name on card.

        1. Yes, I asked via Netbanking for name printing and they said they can issue a new card with the name printed. I am sure they will accept replacement card request through phone. Let me know if you get replacement card. It would cost you Rs.100.

  24. If i deposit 30k and limit is 25k and we start using d card,for eg. My limit is 25,000 and i spend 10,000 i will be getting interest for only 15000 or for the whole 30k deposited?

  25. Hi vivek,
    I wud like to knw one thng frm u dat I hav one new hdfc credit card.is it posible to get others bank card against card aftr few months.waitin fr ur reply
    Regard,
    Sam

    1. I don’t think this is possible right now. That scenario is changed in this current situation. Every bank has enough credit card users now, so that they have tightened the requirements for credit card. Though you may get a final word on this only from your bank.

  26. I am using Canara Bank Credit Cards for the last 10 years. They are not new to the field. If you have good credit rating you can get the credit card sanctioned in 15days.Very low annual fees and very low interest for revolving credit. Recently they introduced a website for online viewing of credit card statements.They are already sending e mail statements and sms.Very good Credit card in india. The review above is totally wrong.

    1. Hi

      I’ve been with canara bank for their credit card since 1-2 years only. And I haven’t seen any website in which I can see the transactions and get statements. Could you please provide me the link to their recently introduced website? The review I’ve posted here is my own experience. It took 3-4 months for me to get.

  27. hi, i m smita and well i Don’t wanna credit cards on fixed deposit but i can open an account. will tht can b possible

    1. Hi
      You would need to submit your ITR and or salary certificate for credit card. And most banks do not provide credit cards if your salary is under 15-20k. You will have to contact a credit card representative

  28. Hello Vivek,

    If you remember I had a long discussion about the HDFC and ICICI credit cards few weeks back and finally I had decided to go with instant titanium credit card.
    I had some work issues so this got delayed. However I visited my home ICICI branch and asked for the same. However they told me that they only hasve the recently upgraded ‘Platinum Visa’ Instant card in stock and asked to check other branches if I only need the particular titanium mastercard.
    I also checked two other nearby branches but same thing. SO should I go with ‘Platinum Visa’ if the titainium one is not available. Will this be better than HDFC Platinum Visa that I have currently ?

  29. Hi
    If you are planning to do international transaction, a VISA card will cause you more money when you do transaction in other currencies. And I don’t believe ICICI would take separate currency conversion or mark up fee like HDFC on their VISA cards. So, VISA cards would be perfect if you are not doing a lot of USD or other currency transactions. I also think that Platinum card has lower interest rate.

    1. Hey Mate,
      So here is my experience with the so called ICICI ‘Instant Titanium Mastercard’ that you so much boast about !
      My brother has one of these and I used it to purchase an item from UK thru paypal which costs 120 pounds. By conversion it came out to be around INR 10,061. As soon as the transcation is done approximately same amount (Rs 10,067 to be exact) were deducted from my account which was ok.
      However after processing done within 24-48 hours I checked my statement again and the total deducstion was Rs 10,470. So that is exactly Rs 403 extra for FCY markup fee +taxes on that. This is at par with what I am charged with my HDFC platinum Visa.
      After this I called the ICICI CC and asked them if that correct and they told me that every card that any bank provides is bound to have atleast 3.5% FCY markup fee + taxes by RBI rule for foreign currency conversion and this card is no exception.
      Now if you are saying that u are not charged that fee can you tell me which service (paypal or direct CC payment) you use for this transaction?

        1. I already asked you that question that ‘have u checked the status of credit card after 24-48 hours’ as FCY markup fee and other processing takes that much time to reflect in the statement and you had told me that u did and u are 100% sure there are no such charges with this card.

        2. i guess u should check all the loop holes with card u using for charges on ur transactions before writing such article. as ur blog is followed by many it may be misleading and biased..
          but still the information u posted is awesome..

  30. Hi Vivek,
    Thanks for your valuable info. I will definitely go for ICICI instant Platinum Credit card. But my question is that,is it mendetory to open a Savings account first at ICICI or only FD is required..?

  31. If i deposit 30k and limit is 25k and we start using d card,for eg. My limit is 25,000 and i spend 10,000 i will be getting interest for only 15000 or for the whole 30k deposited?

  32. Today i applied 25k FD for instant ICICI CC and i can use RS.21,250 ( 85%) margin. ICICI guys said that they are issuing only VISA logo and it is only Platinum type. Interest for 180days is around 6% but i took 185 days to get more interest i.e 7% roughly. Interest is 2.49% if we make some dues. They said we can ask for NAME on card only once activation which takes 4 days. Once activated we can aplly online or via customer care for card with NAME which they may charge 100RS+service tax and total can be around 115RS.

    So you will get NAME on card only after getting card without name and need to apply later.Card issued immediately but activation takes 4 days. This is from Hyderabad.Thanks

  33. Hi! Vivek, as far as I’ve experienced this is the best post till now. I want to know, does address make any difference to get an instant credit card from icici. As I reside in a negative (rural) area in faridabad haryana. But I’d like mentio one thing here, many of my friends in our colony have icici credit cards. Plz.help me out asap.

  34. Hi Vivek.I am thinking of applying for ICICI Instant Platinum credit card(Visa).I also read about ICICI Titanium credit card(Mastercard).Which one is better?Also iam thinking of making an FD of Rs 50 k for 190 days.SO what will be the validity? of my card(only for 190 days or more)

    1. I suggests MasterCard. However, recently one guy notified me that both card has markup fee. So both are just the same. Your card would be invalid if you cancel the FD. It would be active as long as you keep your FD active.

  35. hi vivek,
    i have SBI,ICIC account my salary account is in ICIC monthly pay is 17-18k…am i get the credit card from ICICi or SBI….i apply in hw many days ill get this

  36. i have a saving account in hdfc bank average Monthly Balance is 10K can i eligible for hdfc credit card, my salary account is in icici bank for last 2 year and my net salary is 12.5k after pf deducting.

  37. I am Lavanya.N holding ICICI account in Delhi Vikaspuri Branch branch for more than four years. On 11th of December 2012, myaccount statement showed that there were three VPS transaction made using my ICICI Debit card. But the card was with me. So Immediately I called customer care and asked to block my card to stop further invalid transactions happening from my card.
    When I enquired customer care, I was asked to file a fraudulent case and as said I gave a complaint about this issue in Police station on 12th Dec 2012. And on further enquiry with ICICI customer care I came to know that all the three VPS transaction was made in 3 different shops in Bangalore.
    Hereby I kindly request you to suggest necessary action to find out the fraudulent that has happened and help me in getting back my money which is altogether a total sum of Rs.5640/- .
    Following are the transactions made in Bangalore.
    No Value Date Transaction Date Description Withdrawals Available balance Time
    11/12/2012 11/12/2012 VPS/SMART-NANDI/20110111124321/0 2,330.00 6,920.66 12.44
    11/12/2012 11/12/2012 VPS/TRINETHRA S/20110111130344/0 2,310.00 4,610.66 13.04
    11/12/2012 11/12/2012 VPS/KANTI SWEET/20110111164251/0 1,000.00 3,610.66 16.43

    Please help me in finding this fraudulent transaction that has happened from my ICICI account. I have also filed a complaint in ICICI as well as here, http://www.consumercourt.in/net-banking/6828-icici-net-banking.html at consumer court site but so far no action has been taken on this case.

    1. You can open a dispute by calling the ICICI customer care credit card section. That’s only thing you can do as far as I know. They will block the transaction and will ask for giving a written complaint.

  38. Vivek I have question, how does a icici instant credit card look like, does it look like 100% credit card or a prepaid/debit card . And also want to know about Hdfc insta credit card look like.

    Plz reply

  39. Hi vivek, I’m having SB account in HDFC Bank and ING Vysya Bank which are having AQB of 10k and 5k respectively. I’m having Fixed Deposit of 25k in HDFC and 100k in ING Vysya. Now i want to avail a credit card because i’m a heavy online shopper and like to purchase items on 0% EMI so thinking of getting HDFC Credit card. My main concern is that i’m eligible for instant credit card from HDFC or not…if yes, then can i purchase products on EMI from that Card…what will be the joining fees and annual fees for that card as others ( ICICI & KOTAK ) are not having any annual and joining fees for the same ..help me buddy

  40. Hello
    I am having HDFC savings a/c.
    I want to open a/c for credit card in HDFC. I am student. No employment. Can I get credit card in HDFC bank without any job certificate

  41. Hi Everyone,
    Well i too had this problem of choosing the best credit card for travel as i wanted to save more on hotel bookings and flights and as everyone else i too was hesitant to take a credit card as there are many hidden charges but while i was searching this on google i came across this website http://www.credeboffers.com which helped me in comparing different bank credit cards and you can even see the offers available on every card.
    So finally i chose IndusInd Platinum select Credit card which helped me save Rs.20,000 within 6 months as i travel a lot.you can check this website and it may help many more people like me.
    The card which i selected is on this link. http://credeboffers.com/?p=6296

  42. Hi Vivek do ICICI bank view CIBIL score too before providing Credit Card against FD – If yes what should be the score.

  43. Are there any Online Use only Credit cards in India? I remember HDFC used to have it for CC holders.
    thanks

  44. HI vivek…thanks a ton for this info, please let us know if we can avail a EMI plans on this instant card from icici bank…and does it will hit cibil? As to buy electronics on emi plan…many vendors have the eligibility criteria to have credit card to avail the same..so will this instant card will help us to avail emi plans.. Thanks in advance and really appriciate ur response…

  45. sir, i get sbi monthly 5000 rs deposite card but they put on cibil that they have due 50000 rs. i use card and pay by ecs regular but my cibil report negative because on high due?

  46. They renew the credit limit automatically, Do not charge anything extra apart from what was mentioned like no annual / no joining fees.

    Cons : First the Customer service is pathetic, IVR does not have an option to enter the credit card number, PIN / TIN is NOT an option at all with HDFC. Even if you chose to speak in English, you have to come down to Hindi so that the customer service rep understands you. Not much information available with the reps on what’s going on.

    Internet banking is not a default feature, you have to apply for a ATM PIN first and then they send you the user ID, I spent like 2-3 weeks to get the first information and was informed that the ID would be sent by post when I called again to get the user ID.

    I was informed to break the card in four pieces and put that in the ATM to close it, I called up about 3 weeks later to find out if the card was finally closed but it wasn’t so now I finally have to submit an application mentioning my card number to get this F closed.

    I hope that is all I have to do GET RID OF THIS CARD

  47. Can I apply for HDFC bank credit card? I have my salary account in HDFC and is having average amount of rs16,000-21,000 from past few months. My salary is 12k/month. Suggest me.

  48. Can I get a credit card from HDFC if my salary is 15,000 rs.
    Which credit card is best for online purchases with EMI’s option and which card is best for paypal purchases,

  49. Now, ICICI offers VISA Instant Card ? Do they have same markup fees?

    Also, i am mostly doing USD Transactions, which card you recommend for me?

    Thanks!

  50. Very useful review, thanks. One question, can Indians living overseas (holding PAN card NRO bank account and OCI card) apply and get a Indian credit card? Some Indian merchants do not accept foreign credit cards. Thanks for reponse

  51. Hello
    i’m a student and not doing job.
    There after can i get credit cards from any bank.
    Is it possible.

    1. Unfortunately no. Why do you need a credit card if you are a student and how are you supposed to pay your credits if you don’t have a job

      1. I’m also a student but I need credit card to buy softwares. I searched for various sites but no help. But now I am happy to know that an FD will help me to get cedit card. I don’t need a higher credit limit. I am happy even on 10,000. Here one thing I wanted to know that what is minimum amount to be fixed to avail a credit card from ICICI bank?

  52. Hey dude,
    What happens to the Instant Card once the FD matures ? Will the card become invalid?
    And what happens to the card, if the customer breaks FD ?

  53. Hi Vivek…

    Before 1-2 years, I was using PayPal USD balance to purchase from ebay.com.

    As you know, with RBI’s rule we can’t do that.
    And now I would like to do it again…

    I have only debit card, so after a ling searching, I found only ICICI and Axis bank debit card were accepted by paypal…

    So with some more google search I found a site Entropay (Its in association with visa, so I think it can be trusted).
    ( I have not deposited money to it till now, but planning, min amount is $5.)
    Here you will get a virtual credit card from the site. We have to deposit min $5 to entopay account(Indian debit card can be used to deposit)…And then we can add our virtual Visa card from entopay to PayPal…

    With the help of some forum I found they charge 90cent /20USD (I think its 4.95% as mentioned it the site)deposited to their account….

    So we don’t need any Credit card, FD, Salary certificate, IT…etc Just need Indian Debit card..
    Please review the site.
    So whats your opinion, Please checkout and reply

    1. i was about to open an account with them. there charges are too high because reloading charges amounts to 4%+4$ its too much for purchasing and the paypal charges extra 3rs for 1usd. i felt its too much for me.
      its my opinion.

  54. Hi Sir,
    i have saving bank account with axis bank and now i am planing to apply credit card against FD. Please advise if axis have some best card or i have to go through with another bank.

    Thanks.

  55. Hi ,
    I am having 20k salary and same getting credited in my HDFC bank a/c. I applied for credit card and personal loan several times from HDFC , CITI and ICICI bank but my application got rejected due to no history (NH). I read your complete blog and review which is very good.

    I will open a FD in ICICI and get instant credit card. Credit card transaction and their due payment will improve my cbil score.

    Thanks
    Jitendra

  56. Hi,

    I have HDFC salary a/c for than a year and yesterday I have submitted all the documents for credit card.How long will it take to get the credit card?

  57. i have doubt..! whats the maximum limit of FD for instant credit card? i heard its 3lakhs ,so we can use 85% of 3lakhs-> is it true? can i deposit more than 3 lakhs, say- 10lakh and get 8.5lakhs as credit limit?… is this possible in icici bank?..if not ,kindly reply with axis bank can offer this?.. if this is possible its great while redeem points.!!

  58. which bank credit card provider not charging FCY CONVERSION MARKUP Fee for internaional transaction,WHICH BANK CREDIT CARD free from FCY CONVERSION MARKUP Fee for internaional transaction

  59. Sir,
    my credit card limit is 16000 and if I purchase goods of 49000 with emi of 3600 for 12 months then what should be the minimum amount I will pay to the bank monthly.

  60. Hi Team,

    My salary is annual income Rs.165000, shell i eligible for credit card applying and if am eligible which bank will give more than credit card limit based on my salary. and send me all bank credit card limits.

    Please advice me .

  61. Hi if i go for ICICI bank credit card against fixed deposit, when can i return that fixed deposit amount. i was little confused about fixed deposit. if i draw the FD amount is any possibilities to keep credit card. can you please explain.

  62. Thanks a lot for sharing such a great information about getting the credit card. I personally need it just because of foreign payment where RBI restricted PayPal to use debit cards. As you suggested nice idea of ICICI Bank and PayBack card that is sure going to save my bit amount of interest and that is great idea to use them.

  63. Hiii

    if i have a credit credit from icici bank but i dont did any transaction in a month will i have to pay some interest to the bank or not?

  64. What should be the duration of the FD to apply for the instant credit card and if you pay all your bills on time and build a good credit rating then can you also apply for additional credit cards from other banks!!

  65. HAI VINOTH ,

    I AM USING SBI ADVANTAGE PLUS GOLD&MORE CARD WHICH IS GIVEN BY SBI AGAINST FD FOR RS.25,000, IN MONTHLY Rs.2500/- BASIS. KINDLY SUGGEST WHEN COMPARE TO ICICI INSTANT PLATINUM CARD FOR RS.20,000/-FD. AND WHICH IS THE BEST BETWEEN VISA OR MASTER?

  66. i dint have icici ac,so if i want to fd with 20k is anough or i need to pay amount for average mothly balance like min 10k

  67. Thank You Vivek Sir

    You provide me more than information which actual i really want. I don’t know how i say to you to my more than good word Thanks.
    Vivek Sir,
    It is also request to you please email me because you advice is more than important to me.
    Thanks
    with regards
    Rahul Sangelia

  68. Greeting sir,

    i have a salary account in ICICI Bank my pay is 40,000/- per month. few agencies took document and took 3 months and now its closed. best place to apply credit card is through online or in nearest bank branch or esle agencies only is better, kindly suggest me where do i get credit card at earlier

  69. Dear sir ,

    As per your post and my knowledge. I would like to ask you. Can i get instant EMI facility on ICICI crdit card against FD.

  70. Hello,

    Adding few more detail – That will help you to decide.

    Citi bank No ofCredit card holder -2765489 & No of Transaction Per month -17353642

    AMERICAN EXPRESS No of credit card holder -845852 & No of Transaction Per month -3275056

    HDFC Bank No of Credit card holder – & No of 8499465 and Transaction Per month -25735193

    ICICI Bank No of Credit card holder – & No of 5407671 and Transaction Per month – 9862948

    SBI Bank No of Credit card holder – & No of 5206379 and Transaction Per month – 10298457

    Get all credit card,debit card,netbanking,wallet and UPI payment related offer & discount detail @ttps://www.pocketclue.com/

Leave a Reply to anurag Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.