I have read most of the reviews here and was surprised to see the negative feedback for Manhattan credit card. I assume that most of the people cribbed here about Manhattan are first time credit card users.
I started using credit card from ICICI around 5 years back, and it was sick. If there is even one day of delay in paying amount, a hefty penalty will be levied, and we cannot do anything. (I will not go in detail why I called ICICI credit card sick as my review is not for ICICI credit card). I used it for more than 2 years, and once when I missed my last date, and I tried to use my credit card in 4 days after my missed my last date and found that the card was blocked. There was no mail, call, or warning that the card was going to be blocked. Moreover, I had used the card for 2 years and I had always paid on time except for a few instances when I was charged for 1-2 days of delay. I cancelled my card and switched to HSBC credit card.
HSBC credit card was the worst credit card that I could ever imagine. They said they would offer platinum card and told me that I had to submit only payslips. Also, promised that there was no annual fee. They did not keep their promise. They asked for my bank statement, HR letter, blah blah. Finally, they gave me a gold card, not a platinum card, that too with annual fee. Customer care was worse and I could not make any payment on time as I could hardly find any HSBC bank nearby. If I miss my payment, they would send an agent to collect the money. Apart from paying late fee, I also had to pay for agent collection fee. In an instance, I escalated my HSBC card issue to RBI ombudsman. Again, I do not want to go in detail to HSBC credit card review.
Finally, I tried Manhattan. I was telling myself - if this credit card too is not good, then I am not going to use any credit card. I am using this card for 2.5 years now. I am very happy after my bitter experiences with other cards. When I miss my last date by 1-2 days, late charges are levied. When I mail to customer care to consider reversal, they reverse it 75% of the time. I get 5% cash back in all big supermarkets like Big Bazaar, More, Total, M K Retails, etc. I accumulated good reward points and claimed as gift vouchers of Shoppers Stop and Life Style. There is no annual fee. There is no fee for additional card, provided you use the card at least once every 6 months.
There are only 2 things I don’t like from Manhattan. The first and primary one is their add-on products/plans. I was brain washed to buy "Card Protection Plan" and then again some "Value" plan. Later, I realized that they were all useless and I am not benefited out of those plans. I was able to cancel my CPP plan by just sending a mail to customer care.
The second one I hate from there is - we cannot use the card for petrol/diesel. There is a surcharge. I used to use my ICICI card in all the petrol punks and after I stopped using ICICI card, I find that I missing the facility.
One additional information is - the interest rate for the balance. The interest rate is very fluctuating and goes as high as 4% per month. If you are not going to pay your bill completely every month, then you find out how much other banks are charging.
With all my experience in using credit cards, I am very happy with Manhattan, and I did not think of changing to any other credit card. I also recommended this card to one my colleague who wanted to apply for a credit card, and he too is enjoying the 5% cash back benefit and no annual fee, and conveyed me that he liked the card.