Best Credit Cards in India

WHAT DOES BEST CREDIT CARDS OFFER?

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: Welcome Bonus and Monthly Bonus points
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card has a joining fee of ₹1,000 + GST and a renewal fee of ₹4,500 + GST from the second year onwards. The renewal fee is waived off if you spend more than ₹1,50,000 in the previous year. You get 2 membership reward points for every ₹100 spent on most of your spendings except on fuel, insurance payments, and utility payments. Spend ₹1,000 4 times a month and get 1000 bonus points for the first 5 months. Earn a welcome gift of 4,000 bonus membership rewards points.

Redeem your Points from the fabulous 18 and 24 Karat Gold Collection
18,000 MR points / 18 Karat Gold Collection

• Taj voucher worth ₹9,000
• American Express Domestic Travel e-voucher worth ₹7,000
• Amazon e-voucher worth ₹7,000
• Statement Credit worth ₹6,000

24,000 MR points / 24 Karat Gold Collection

• Taj voucher worth ₹14,000
• Tanishq voucher worth ₹10,000
• Statement Credit worth ₹9,000

American Express SmartEarn Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: Fair Joining Fee and bonus categories (Flipkart, Uber, Amazon, Swiggy)
If you spend a lot of money shopping on Flipkart and Amazon, ride on Uber cabs and order food on Swiggy regularly then American Express SmartEarn Credit Card is for you. It has a joining fee of ₹495 + GST and the renewal fee ₹495 + GST is waived off if you spend more than ₹40,000 in the previous year. You get a welcome gift of ₹500 cashback of statement credit when you spend ₹10,000 in the first 90 days.

Earn 10X Membership Rewards Points on all your spending on Flipkart and Uber for every ₹50 spent. There is a monthly max limit for 10X rewards at 500 points per merchant. Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points on Amazon, Swiggy, BookMyShow and more for every ₹50 spent. There is a monthly max limit for 5X rewards at 250 points per merchant. You get 1 membership reward points for every ₹100 spent on all other spendings except on fuel, insurance payments, and utility payments.

Axis Bank Flipkart Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: Fair Joining Fee and Cash Back
has a joining fee of ₹500 + GST and the renewal fee ₹500 + GST is waived off if you spend more than ₹2,00,000 in the previous year. You earn a 5% cashback on Flipkart, Myntra, and 2GUD spends and a 4% cashback on MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Uber, PVR, Curefit, and UrbanClap spends. You get a 1.5% cashback on all other spendings. Enjoy 4 complimentary lounge visits to selected airport lounges.

As a signup bonus, you get ₹3,300 worth of joining activation benefits that includes a ₹500 worth voucher from Flipkart, unlimited access to Gaana Plus membership for 6 months and 50% off for the next 6 months subscription, ₹500 off on domestic hotel on Goibibo on a minimum booking of ₹2,000, ₹500 off on domestic hotel on Makemytrip on a minimum booking of ₹2,000, 15% cashback up to ₹500 on your first transaction on Myntra, 20% instant discount up to ₹400 for new Urban Clap customers

Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: Travel Benfits
has a joining fee of ₹10,000 + GST and the renewal fee of ₹10,000 + GST is waived off if you spend more than ₹15,00,000 in the previous year. You get 12 Axis EDGE REWARDS Points for every ₹200 spent. Double points on purchases at MakeMyTrip, Yatra, and Goibibo.

Every year you get a complimentary one-way flight ticket worth up to ₹10,000 to your favourite domestic location. You can get up to 25% discount at 600+(5-star dining) fine dine restaurants across India. On BookMyShow you get up to ₹500 off on the second ticket for a maximum of 5 in a month. Avail up to 8 complimentary international lounge accesses per year with the Priority Pass card and unlimited domestic lounge access in India. 8 complimentary end-to-end VIP services at the airport. Credit shield of ₹5 Lakhs and Air accident cover ₹4.5 Crore

HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card
Credithita picked for: No Annual Fee
HSBC Visa Platinum credit card gives 6 points for every ₹150 when you spend on hotel stays. One unique benefit this card offers is every new cardholder gets a 10% cashback for the first 90 days. In addition to being a very good travel card, HSBC Visa Platinum credit card offers a BookMyShow voucher worth ₹500 on spending over ₹50,000 in a calendar month. The accumulated reward points on this travel card can be redeemed as Singapore Airlines Air Miles using which you can buy your future tickets or upgrade your travel class.

The SBI Ola Money Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: No Annual Fee
If you spend a lot of money on Ola cabs then SBI Ola Money Credit Card is for you. SBI Ola Money credit card offers a solid 7% cashback rewards on Ola rides with no annual fee and charges a fee from the second year onwards, and the renewal fee can be waived if you spend ₹1 Lakh in any calendar year. This card offers a very good burn rate, paying ₹1 for every reward point.

Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card
CreditHita picked for: No Annual Fee
If you spend a lot of money on Amazon shopping Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card is for you. Amazon Pay ICICI credit card gives you 3% cashback on your purchases on Amazon.in website. Exclusively for Amazon Prime customers, this card offers an additional 2% more cashback making a total of whooping 5% cashback on your online shopping giving you a 5% discount on every product you buy. One caveat is that this credit card is not for everyone and by invitation only. There is no upper limit on the rewards earned from this card with no expiry date on your accumulated earnings.

WHAT IS BEST CREDIT CARD?

The best credit card is nothing but choosing the right card for your lifestyle. The best credit cards are the ones that stand out in at least one major category, such as travel, shopping, rewards, cashback, interest rates, or annual fees.

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT CREDIT CARD?

Based on your lifestyle and spending habits choose the type of rewards that benefit you the most. Narrow your choices by asking the right questions and look for the card that offers you the best overall value.

If you spend a lot of money on groceries and utility bill payments? Look for cards with excellent rewards in that category. If you are a frequent traveler? Find the best credit card that gives you the advantage of converting points to air miles. If you spend more money on fuel look for the best credit card for fuel that offers Fuel surcharge waiver and high rewards on fuel. If you don’t want to pay the annual fee, look for the best credit card for no annual fee category. If you are keen on getting cash back then look for cards with the highest cashback. If you are a movie lover, look for a card that gives buy one get one offer on movie tickets.

Keep in mind to look for these additional card benefits like discounts on dine-in, airport lounge access, golf course access, insurance benefits, converting balance due into EMI, trip cancellation waiver and lost baggage insurance, foreign transaction fee, and no late payment charges.

Finally, every person's spending habits are different so one card won’t fit all. Overall find the best card that suits you.

TYPES OF CREDIT CARDS

Cashback Credit Card: Cashback credit cards reward you with points while you spend on your daily needs. You can accumulate these points and usually can be redeemed as a statement of credit or encash and deposit into your account or convert into gift cards. Find out our best credit cards for cashback section.

Travel Credit Card: Travel credit cards reward you with points while you spend on daily needs as well as on travel-related spending like flight booking. The travel credit cards will give rewards as cashback points or Air Miles. You can either redeem your cashback points as gift cards or redeem Air Miles on your future travel needs. Find out our best credit cards for travel section.

Reward Credit Card: These cards pay you back a portion of your spending by giving you cash, points, or miles. Find out our best credit cards for rewards section.

No annual fee Credit Cards: These credit cards have no joining fee and these cards can be considered as starter credit cards. No annual free credit cards are free cards where you don't have to pay a joining fee and provides similar benefits as other cards if you choose the right card. Find out our best credit card for no annual fee section.

Fuel credit cards: Fuel credit cards save you on fuel surcharge and gives excellent points on fuel purchases. You can redeem these points as gift cards or as a statement credit. Find out our best credit card for fuel section.

COMPARING CREDIT CARD FEATURES

Annual Fee

Some people are against paying a fee just for the privilege of carrying a credit card. But paying an annual fee is worth it if it fits in your lifestyle and if it's a right credit card that offers better rewards. To unlock valuable perks, such as airport lounge access or free checked bags or Free amenities.

Other Fees

Foreign transaction fee: Most credit cards charge a fee of up to 3% on purchases made outside India.
Cash advance fee: Most credit cards charge a fee of up to 3% and subject to a minimum of ₹250 to ₹500.
Late fees: Most of the credit cards will charge and some won’t.

Interest Rate

When you don’t pay your balance in full, your issuer bank will charge interest on the remaining balance on the card.

Rewards

Earn rate: What do you get for every Rupee you spent?
Redemption value: How much do you get for your rewards when it comes time to redeem them?
Redemption options: How much flexibility do you have in using your rewards?

Signup Bonus

To attract the customers a lot of credit card issuers provide very good welcome or signup bonuses, you can get some additional points or miles when you spend a certain amount of money in your first few months using your card. In most of the cases the signup bonus perks will match the joining fee.

Perks

Airport benefits: Lounge access. Free checked bags. Priority boarding pass. Elite status.
Hotel benefits: Discount at fine-dine restaurants. Free nights. Automatic room upgrades. Early or late check-in/check-out. Free amenities. Elite status.
Travel benefits: Travel Insurence. Air Accident Insurance. Discount on flight bookings. Free economy class tickets. Free Business class tickets. Elite status.

BOOST YOUR APPROVAL ODDS

1) Know your credit score

Before applying for the credit card know your credit score. Knowing credit score helps you to choose and apply for a credit card. Issuers also check your creditworthiness to make approvals, your score typically will be in a range between 300 to 900.

There are several credit bureaus that offer credit scores and find below the list of credit bureaus available in India

Credit Bureaus	Score Range
CIBIL Score	300-900
Experian Score	300-900
Equifax Score	300-850
Highmark Score	300-900

The credit score range 300-900 is divided into buckets to denote the credit profile of any individual. For example, if you consider CIBIL score then the buckets are:

Credit Band	Score Range
Poor	300-549
Fair	550-649
Good	650-749
Excellent	750-900

2)Read the credit report and dispute if any information is wrong

Carefully review information in your credit report. Credit reports contains information regarding your personal details, accounts, payment history, credit inquiries and any other negative remarks like missed bill payments etc. Personal information Credit reports show your personal information such as your First name, Last Name, Middle Name, aliases names, address and date of birth Trade account information Credit reports show a list of open credit accounts and closed accounts. Credit reports include a masked account number, creditor's name, the amount you owe, original loan amount, and payment history. Negative information on credit reports can include missed or late payments and charge-offs Negative marks Any accounts that are delinquent or derogatory has a very negative impact on your credit report. Delinquent accounts are past dues and derogatory accounts are more serious marks against them such as bankruptcy (Insolvency Resolution Process “IP”) and foreclosure (lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan) Credit inquiries The number of hard inquiries (or “hard pulls”) on your report. Normally when you apply for a credit card or any type of loan lender will check the credit report during processing your application to determine your creditworthiness.

3) Improve your credit score

On payment: The rule of thumb for maintaining a good credit score is to pay your monthly dues on time. Regularly paying monthly dues not only helps your credit score but also helps you avoid paying late fees and accumulating interest. You can set auto payments for most of the cards so that you won't miss a payment.

Utilization is less than 30%: Just because you have a high spending limit doesn't mean you should use all of it, keeping the utilization below 30% can help you maintain a high credit score. It is not only to maintain a high credit score, but you are also advised to have lower utilization of your credit, having a buffer on your credit limit can help you out during emergency situations, though 100% utilization cards affect your credit score.

Available credit: You should always target to have a high line of credit. You can increase your line of credit by having more credit cards and by controlling your spending.

Credit inquiries: You need to keep in mind that anytime you apply for a credit card or loan your lender will perform a hard inquiry on your credit profile, so you need to limit on these inquiries or plan these accordingly as any inquiry has an impact up to 2 years on your credit score.

4)Include all income in the application

Specifying all your income increases your credit repayment capabilities. For example, if you are a salaried employee and work also part-time, and getting a rental income. In this case, specifying all these incomes boosts approval odds for your application.