[The Deal ] One of the HSBC card agents called me an offered me their gold card for free (for life!!).. I tried it.. I called the card company on receipt of the card to make sure it was free for life as nothing of that soft was written on the brochures that they sent along with the card…
[The Catch ]I was told that the card is free only for first year … This was a huge set back…. And I immediately wanted the card cancelled…
Their customer care guys called me from Mumbai.. [The Deal ] and have promised me that they would waive off the annual charges every year… [The Catch ] …but I would need to call them every time during renewal, to get the annual waived..
[The Deal ] Good Card.. good credit limits.. [The Catch ] They have silly conditions like… I have to be a member of Delhi golf club, if I need a photo card!!!! (isn’t that weird??) They don’t provide updates on sms.. a service which is provided by Citibank.
[The Deal ] 0% balance transfer for 3 months … Credit card holder gets 80% of his credit limit as the limit to which he can transfer the balance from other credit cards. it was extremely useful to me as I spend around 30K on my other credit card during vacation traveling. I could easily break down the amount to 10K per month for 3 months without any interest!!!! [The Catch ] Although this was free at first...These days.. they charge a proceesing fee of 2% on the amount taken....Also remember to pay up in 3 months if you have availed this facility.. or else they charge interest..
[The Deal ] 0% fuel surcharge….. They are aiming only at four wheel owners. [The Catch ] To avail this facility you need to buy fuel at least for Rs. 400/- I have come to know that Abn Amro credit card also offers the same facility without any minimum amount limitations!!!
[The Deal ] If you are frequent traveler on flights.. this card could bring some Travel benefits to you as you get 3% off on domestic tickets.. and 2.5% on international sector tickets.. also the tickets are home delivered to you.. [The Catch ] They have tie up with ITH – India Travel House… you HAVE to book through them.. nobody else would do…
[The Deal ] If you are a good card user.. u get good Insurance Benefits also.. especially airline travel insurance.. [The Catch ] Dude.. just holding the card wont do.. you have to USE it.. no money if you die without spending!!!
[The Deal ] Loan on phone facility enables you to convert any of your purchases (above Rs. 5000/-) to a loan.. meaning you could pay back in EMI’s…. [The Catch ] but I would not recommend this facility to anyone.. as there are many hidden charges.. such as processing charges. Prepayment charges etc.. instead you should opt for a personal loan from a nationalized bank…
[The Deal ] Customer Care .. my experience with their customer care has been good… Although they have an extremely unfriendly “telephonic” menu while you call them.. once you are used to it.. the navigation gets easy… also the executives come on line pretty fast and solve most of your queries… [The Catch ] Their call centre is based in Mumbai.. be prepared to send STD faxes.. in case you want to send any written communication to them…for eg.. I wanted to send my outstanding transfer form to them faster… hence I wanted to fax it.. so had to use STD!!!!
[The Deal ] Global Access to your HSBC India account a good option if you have any type of savings / deposit account with them… you could use your credit card itself to withdraw money or transfer funds (no need for a separate ATM / Debit card)… from all over the world!!!!! [The Catch ] You NEED to have an HSBC account.. no other bank account would do.. and for their account you need to maintain a balance of Rs. 10k..(in case of a simple savings account)
[The Deal ] You get one Reward point for every one hundred rupees spent on the card. [The Catch ] This is not a big deal…. you get 1 point for every Forty Rupees spend on an AMEX card!!
So I could observe that with every deal that they put forward… they also threw in a catch!! Hence.. a decent card if you are really careful about your spending.. and take care about all [The Catches ].. Also I would definitely not recommend this card if they don’t give it to you free for life… Nor worth spending 2000 bucks every year!!
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Please do let me know if I missed something or I have put forth any wrong info…
kunchu