Thread by @Ravisutanjani

All about Credit Cards 💳

Only 🧵 you will need to understand the effectiveness and unparalleled benefits of a credit card.

Learn how to avoid the debt traps, use them smartly to maximize the returns!

Long Read (Part-2) ⬇️ (Don’t miss 6️⃣)

If you haven’t attended the previous thread, consider reading it for a better context.

Let’s start now!

https://twitter.com/ravisutanjani/status/1409926710418501635?s=21

https://twitter.com/ravisutanjani/status/1409926710418501635

1️⃣ Fraud Protection

The credit card offers better fraud protection as compared to debit cards, most of them come with a fraud liability cover that saves you from any fraudulent event.

Just dispute the transaction immediately and the bank will do the job further.

2️⃣ Chargeback

Very underrated feature, suppose you made an online transaction or swiped your credit card offline.

If the merchant didn’t deliver the services/you got defected product, you can file a chargeback request and they will support you but in the case of DC, it’s tough.

3️⃣Reward Points/Cashback

Most credit card offers reward points on the transaction you make, there are great cards that gives as much as 3.5% INR cashback on every ₹100 spent.

If you spend (rent, grocery, d2d, shopping etc) around ₹3L yearly, CCs can save you significantly.

4️⃣ Promotional Offers

Credit Card also offers promotional discounts and Cashback offers during festivals.

If you’re a fan of🍏 devices or make a heavy purchases for electronics/large appliances they will help you save enough.

Amazon ICICI/Flipkart Axis offers 5% unlimited CB.

5️⃣ Joining/Annual Fee

The biggest problem with users, great things come with a cost and you may need to pay a premium for it.

Everyone wants lifetime free credit cards but they don’t offer attractive benefits, unlike premium credit cards.

So how do we find the right card?

If you spend more than ₹3L in a year consider doing some research,

My top 7 cards have annual fee of around ₹40k but I’ve been able to maximise benefits out of them.

But again there’s no point in paying such a fee if you don’t consume that much.

6️⃣ Exclusive Offers

Air India - ₹8000 (Amex)
Taj - ₹10000 (Amex)
Van Heusen- ₹2000 (SBI Card)

Got plenty of Pizza Hut, Myntra, Cleartrip and other brand vouchers for D2D spends, according to my spreadsheet the collective value could be around ₹200k to date.

7️⃣ International Transaction

Credit card comes handy when you travel abroad or have to make international transactions, my two card offers 0% forex markup which can be 2.5-5% for other credit and debit cards.

They also help you get good deals on flights ✈️ and hotels 🏨.

8️⃣ Concierge and Preferred Experience

Want to book a flight or hotel reservation? Just write/call them and they will arrange everything for you.

Few top tier premium credit cards offer such benefits, saves time.

More details: paisabazaar.com/credit-card/co…

9️⃣ Credit Limit and Interest Free Period

You get to enjoy 45 days of interest-free credit and a credit line to help you in emergencies.

Say I’ve to make a large payment, I can make it via CC and later on will settle by redeeming investments/salary before the due date.

🔟 Helps in Building Credit Score

With timely repayments and good usage it helps you build a good credit score, that will eventually make you a credit worthy and financially responsible person for bank and financial organisations.

Saviour if you want to avail home loan etc.

1️⃣1️⃣ Other Benefits

• Free Domestic and International Airport Lounge,

• Complimentary Personal & Travel Insurance Cover

• EMI, Auto Debit Facilities

I’ve tried to cover major perks and hope you got some insights why CCs are beneficial than Debit cards, UPI or Net banking.

But why most of the people fall in the debt trap?

The answer is their indiscipline, unawareness and mostly impulsive Purchase decisions.

But they wouldn’t consider themselves responsible instead preach credit cards as a bad product/utility.

https://twitter.com/Ravisutanjani/status/1416317997069725697

And that’s where the problem starts, we quickly buy narratives.

In India, you will find every family is almost aware of an

• LIC Uncle

• Bhaiya who’s BARBAAD due to CCs

• Uncle who lost everything in Stock Market

americanexpress.com/us/foreign-exc…

Now, let’s talk about some unpopular hacks that will make your life easy!

1️⃣ You can make an advance payment to credit cards regardless of billing date and limit. Super helpful for folks who feel scared about misusing credit line.

‘Load first and spend Later.’

2️⃣ Cash Withdrawal: I never recommended anyone using CC for any cash withdrawal. It’s a horrible idea unless needed, you will invite unnecessary surcharges and penalties.

3️⃣ Late Payment: Always settle your bill in full, if you can’t attest pay minimum due to avoid damage to your credit score.

Please note you start inviting heavy interest/late payment fees on any unpaid amount.

4️⃣ Waiver of Fee: If you made a genuine mistake, just request your bank for a waiver of fee/charges.

If not satisfied, escalate further with nodal Team for better resolution.

5️⃣ Guidelines

Stay updated with the new changes, billing and due date etc. Clear your bills as early as possible to avoid any unloved fault.

Check your email for any new promotions/updates, follow good handles/blogs to stay updated.

6️⃣ Safeguarding your Cards

• Turn off NFC/ATM withdrawal & Intl Transaction if not needed.

• Set Individual and max daily usage limit to avoid any Frauds, you can do it from Mobile or Internet Banking.

• Review the fraud/insurance cover available in your card variant.

Final Note - Make credit cards your friend, there’s no need to criticise and hate them unnecessarily. ✅

Start your credit journey if you feel the insights appealing, the idea is to have better control over finances, It’s truly rewarding. 💰💳

It takes efforts to reconcile information and digitise our insights. You can follow @MidnightMillenn and @Ravisutanjani for new updates.

Hope you enjoyed reading this thread, consider RTing the first tweet for more awareness. 🙏

Happy Investing 💰💸

https://twitter.com/ravisutanjani/status/1416413740061188112