Since I have three cards and one of them was more then 2 years I think. I can offer some suggestions to you.
1) Do not go for ’’free ’’ cards . decide whether you can use a c. card at all or not. there are different types of cards and different fee for it.usually they give you ’’silver card’’ which is also international( you can use for foreign exch trans on net etc., ) but the problem is from the next year onwards you pay Rs 750/- or so / year
2) If you need a c.card at go through their fee.structure and decide. on my part
I have ICICI true blue card which charges me 400 Rs a year. btw this is a domestic card so you can not use it for FE transactions
3) If use it wisely the credit time is useful for non cyclic expenditure. ie., you have
a sudden expenditure and and you can pay with your next salary. Otherwise the
big advantage is cashless transactions alone.
4) The credit limit is a relative factor. The issuing bank watches your payment history and increases it gradually (once a year) and remember there is a upper limit for each type of card. I do not need a 1 lakh limit practically for the following reasons.
5) If you are really making a purchase involving >10k do not use c.card. bargain with the shop keeper. Ask for discounts on cash payment or finance schemes. some times finance schemes are quite attractive and convenient compared to c.card installments.
6) If you are using c.card for net transactions on internet you can think of
hdfc cards. They have introduced a virtual cards called as ’’netsafe’’cards which you can create yourself based on your actual card and it’s limit. This feature is useful
for online sites who go for instantaneous payment clearing mechanisms like rediff baazee indiatimes indianrail(irtc) etc., you will not give them your actual card number but this netsafe card number only. This netsafe card expires after 24 hours
so it is safe. You can give limit for this card your self and you can create as many cards as you like. So go to their site (hdfcbank.com/netsafe) creat a card and use it same day. This is quite useful since you need to trust only your banker
7) When you apply for a card fill the form yourself and do not leave it to the fellow
who brought the form to you. There may be some hidden charges which are repetetive in nature and you will feel bad later. For example I HAD OPTED for
’’credit shield ’’ and additional accident. Cover on my sbi card but thought otherwise later and wrote to them to stop deducting those charges. so be careful and decide whether you want them or not. They amount Rs 30-40 + variable part (depends on your purchase bill that month)
ps1: ( added on aug 10 2005) : I add that many of the comments are local for India alone. Secondly now in India many banks are trying to issue a card to you at any cost ( please please take our card .!!) if you are elgible. ICICI bank is giving away free cards for LIFE . They have done away with ’’fees’’ concept. And many other cards are giving other offers. So just open your eyes/ears and be watchful (and ofcourse careful naturally)
with best wishes
prasad