Credit card

-

 Ref (really gives a good gist): https://youtu.be/QJ2i-oHJf7g?si=AAVd2aI8ohxB6ZpE

Some tiny hacks like buy gold from https://www.maximize.money/ from the amazon pay wallet added through ICICI EPM card (20% rewards). Or Paying Insurance/utility through Tata Neu (5% rewards).

The Credit Card Awards 2025

Here are the categories and the recommended cards:

1. Best Credit Card for UPI

  • Card: Yes Bank Kiwi credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits: This card offers exceptional returns on UPI payments.
    • The standard lifetime free version gives a direct 1.5% cashback.
    • By opting for the ₹1,000 "Kiwi Neon" subscription, the cashback increases to 2% on all UPI spends.
    • The subscription unlocks yearly milestones: spending ₹50,000 on UPI earns an extra 1% cashback, and spending ₹1 lakh earns an extra 2%.
  • Why it's the best: If you spend ₹1.5 lakh in a year through UPI or online transactions, the card effectively provides a 5% cashback (net 4.1% after the subscription fee). This rate is significantly higher than any other card in the market for UPI spends.

2. Best Lifetime Free Credit Card

  • Card: IndusInd Tiger credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • Lounge Access: 8 free domestic and 2 free international lounge visits annually, with no minimum spending requirement.
    • Lifestyle Perks: Free golf access and two free movie vouchers a year, each worth ₹500.
    • Points Transfer: Allows transferring points to airline partners like Singapore Air, a feature rarely seen on free cards.
  • Why it's the best: It is a free card that offers premium benefits typically reserved for high-fee cards, making it an excellent value proposition.

3. Best Card for Lounge Access

  • Card: HDFC Marriott Bonvoy credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • With a fee of ₹3,000, it provides a joining benefit of one free night award at a Marriott hotel (up to 15,000 points).
    • It offers 12 domestic and 12 international lounge visits per year.
    • You can get up to three add-on cards for your family members.
  • Why it's the best: It is ideal for frequent travellers and families due to the high number of both domestic and international lounge visits provided.

4. Best Forex Credit Card

  • Card: Scapia credit card by Federal Bank.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • Zero forex markup on international transactions.
    • It is a lifetime free card and also offers some domestic lounge benefits.
    • It is crucial to select the Visa variant for international travel, as the RuPay variant may not be accepted abroad.
  • Why it's the best: It's a straightforward, no-cost option for anyone travelling abroad, eliminating forex fees entirely. The video also notes that for premium cardholders, it can be more profitable to use a card whose reward rate exceeds its forex fee (e.g., the ICICI Times Black offers a net positive return).

5. Best Credit Card for Dining and Groceries

  • Card: Easy Diner Signature credit card by IndusInd Bank.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • When used with the Easy Diner app, you can pre-book tables at restaurants for up to 50% off.
    • Paying the discounted bill with this card gives an additional 25% off (up to ₹1,000).
  • Why it's the best: The combined discounts from the app and the card can lead to substantial savings, particularly at five-star hotel restaurants that partner with Easy Diner.

6. Best Credit Card for Fuel

  • Card: RBL Extra card (an Indian Oil co-branded card).
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • Offers a 7.5% return on fuel purchases at Indian Oil outlets, given as points.
    • Includes a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
    • The benefit is capped at a monthly fuel spend of about ₹12,000.
  • Why it's the best: It provides one of the highest return rates available specifically for fuel, a major monthly expense for many households. For those who prefer Bharat Petroleum, the SBI BPCL Octane is a good alternative.

7. Best Credit Card for Cashback

  • Card: Tata Neu Infinity credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • Earn 5% cashback (as Neu points) on purchases across the Tata ecosystem (e.g., Big Basket, Westside, Air India).
    • This can be combined with another 5% back when using the Tata Neu app, potentially reaching a total of 10% cashback.
    • Crucially, it gives points on utility and insurance payments, categories that are often excluded by other cashback cards.
  • Why it's the best: Its versatility across the vast Tata ecosystem and its inclusion of essential payments like utilities make it the top choice for overall cashback.

8. Best Travel Credit Card

  • Card: Axis Atlas credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • Standard earning is 2 points per ₹100, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners at a 1:2 ratio. For Accor hotels (brands like Raffles, Banyan Tree, Sofitel), this translates to an effective return rate of about 8%.
    • On flight bookings, the card earns 5 points per ₹100. When transferred to Accor, this results in an incredible 20% return rate that can be redeemed for hotel stays.
  • Why it's the best: The powerful combination of a high points transfer ratio and accelerated earnings on travel bookings allows users to accumulate points for free luxury hotel stays very quickly.

9. Best Credit Card for Luxury

  • Card: ICICI Times Black credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • It offers a strong return rate and provides luxury perks based on spending milestones.
    • For example, spending ₹2 lakhs gets you a ₹10,000 Klook voucher, useful for booking international experiences like Disneyland. Spending ₹5 lakhs unlocks Tata Cliq luxury vouchers.
  • Why it's the best: It strikes a balance between tangible luxury benefits and a solid rewards structure, making luxury spending more valuable. It is presented as the modern alternative to cards like the AMEX Platinum Charge.

10. Best Credit Card for High Spenders (UHNI)

  • Card: Axis Magnus Burgundy credit card.
  • Rewards and Benefits:
    • The base return rate is 4.8%.
    • For monthly spending above ₹1.5 lakh, the rate is boosted to an exceptional 14% on all subsequent spends.
    • There is no cap on the number of points you can earn, and it gives points on rent payments up to ₹50,000 a month.
  • Why it's the best: This card is built for high spenders. Its simplicity, lack of points capping, and highly rewarding accelerator program incentivise consolidating all large expenses onto one card for maximum returns.




Others:
Credit CardAnnual Fee (Joining/Renewal)Annual Fee WaiverReward Earning StructureMax Reward Value (Effective)
ICICI Emeralde Private Metal (EPM)₹12,499 + GSTSpend ₹10 Lakh in the preceding year.Base: 6 Reward Points (RP) per ₹200 spent ($\approx$ 3.6% back). Accelerated: Up to 12X RP on flights/vouchers via the iShop portal.15% - 36% (on accelerated categories)
1. HDFC Infinia Metal Edition₹12,500 + GSTSpend ₹10 Lakh in the preceding year.Base: 5 RP per ₹150 spent ($\approx$ 3.33% back). Accelerated: Up to 10X RP on travel/vouchers via the SmartBuy portal.16.5% - 33% (on accelerated categories)
2. Axis Bank Magnus (Standard/Burgundy)₹12,500 + GST (Standard) OR $\approx$ ₹30,000 + GST (Burgundy)Spend ₹25 Lakh in the preceding year (Standard Magnus).Tiered: 12 EDGE Rewards (ER) per ₹200 (up to ₹1.5L/month). Accelerated: Up to 35 ER per ₹200 (above ₹1.5L/month).3% - 14% (Highly dependent on spend tiers & devaluations)
3. HDFC Diners Club Black Metal₹10,000 + GSTSpend ₹8 Lakh in the preceding year.Base: 5 RP per ₹150 spent ($\approx$ 3.33% back). Accelerated: Up to 10X RP on travel/vouchers via SmartBuy.16.5% - 33% (similar to Infinia, but lower monthly caps)
4. Amex Platinum Charge Card$\approx$ ₹60,000 + GSTNo Waiver. Charge Card model, high fee is justified by the benefits/credits.Base: 1 Membership Reward (MR) Point per ₹40 spent. Overseas: 3X MR on all international spends.High Value Redemption for business/first class flights via transfer partners.
5. HSBC Premier Credit Card$\approx$ ₹20,000 + GSTWaived by maintaining HSBC Premier banking eligibility (high relationship balance).Base: Competitive reward points on all spends. Accelerated: High reward rate on international spends.Strong value when redeemed for air miles (1:1 with many partners).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Timing tab of chrome dev tools

-
Timing breakdown phases explained Here's more information about each of the phases you may see in the Timing tab: Queueing (no-color, transparent, white ) . The browser queues requests when: The request was postponed by the rendering engine because it's considered lower priority than critical resources (such as scripts/styles). This often happens with images. The request was put on hold to wait for an unavailable TCP socket that's about to free up. The request was put on hold because the browser only allows  six TCP connections  per origin on HTTP 1. Time spent making disk cache entries (typically very quick.) Stalled/Blocking (grey) . Time the request spent waiting before it could be sent. It can be waiting for any of the reasons described for Queueing. Additionally, this time is inclusive of any time spent in proxy negotiation. Proxy Negotiation (grey): Time spent negotiating with a  proxy server  connection. DNS Lookup (Dark green) . Time spent p...
Read more

Notes: Can't hurt me by David Goggins

-
Src: https://www.amazon.in/Cant-Hurt-Me-Master-Your/dp/1544512287 Must read book,   Introduction David Goggins' memoir, "Can't Hurt Me," is a raw and inspiring account of his extraordinary journey from a troubled childhood to becoming a decorated Navy SEAL, ultramarathoner, and triathlete. Through his vivid storytelling and unwavering honesty, Goggins reveals the depths of human resilience and the power of the mind to overcome adversity. Chapter 1: I Should Have Been a Statistic The book begins with a harrowing depiction of Goggins' early life. Raised in a dysfunctional family, he endured physical and emotional abuse, poverty, and a lack of opportunities. Yet, amidst the darkness, Goggins found a glimmer of hope in his own determination. He developed a rebellious spirit and a refusal to be defined by his circumstances. Chapter 2: Truth Hurts As Goggins enters the military, he faces a new set of challenges. The rigorous training of the Navy SEALs pushes him to his ...
Read more

HDR photography and What is Auto bracketing | Become a photographer with Shubham Part-4

-
Image
What is HDR photography High Dynamic Range imaging How HDR work Instead of just taking one photo, HDR uses three photos, taken at different exposures. And combine all them together into a single photo. Over exposed Normal Under exposed When you should use HDR Landscapes : Big landscape photos usually have a lot of contrast between the sky and land, which is difficult for your camera to deal with in just one photo. With HDR, you can capture the sky’s detail without making the land look too dark, and vice versa. Portraits in sunlight : We all know that lighting is one of the most important aspects of a good photo, but too much lighting on someone’s face—like harsh sunlight—can cause dark shadows, bright glare, and other unflattering characteristics. HDR can even that all out and make your subject look better. Low-light and backlit scenes (see above): If your photo is looking a little too dark—which often happens if your scene has too much backlight—H...
Read more