Looking for your first credit card, but your card application keeps getting rejected due to inadequate credit history or some other reason? There is a simple and quick way to get around this problem if you have some money in your bank account. I am talking about a bank FD backed credit card. And in this… Continue Reading
On a recent visit to Reliance Smart Bazaar, a credit card executive aggressively pitched Reliance SBI Prime Card. He mentioned the card offered a 20% instant discount on purchases at the store. Well, this offer was obviously too good to be true. At grocery stores/supermarkets where the margins are wafer-thin, 20% discount was clearly not… Continue Reading
Certain banks offer you a lower rate of interest on loans if your CIBIL (Credit) score is good. The definition of ‘good’ is subjective but anything above 750 or 800 is a good credit score. Why would a bank offer a lower rate of interest with borrowers with a good credit score? Habits don’t die… Continue Reading
The festive season has begun. It starts with Ganesh festival (at least in some parts of the country), then Navratri, Diwali, and all the way to Christmas and the New year. The retailers also want to cash in on the festive mood and launch sales deals, discounts, and cashback offers during the period. This is… Continue Reading
Do you use credit cards for cashbacks, discounts, and rewards points? Many of us do. What if the bank were to suddenly reduce such benefits on your credit card? Why Would Your Bank Reduce the Benefits? Yes, the customer may get annoyed and feel cheated. You may use the card less or even stop using… Continue Reading
You open Amazon/Flipkart to purchase your favourite gadget. You notice you can get a discount if you pay using a credit card from a particular bank. And you get a higher discount if you purchase on EMIs using the same credit card. Interesting, isn’t it? Why higher discounts on EMI purchases? But first, why discounts… Continue Reading
The keyword here is “plan”. We don’t focus on instances when your big purchases are forced, say your mobile phone or laptop conks off suddenly. Or your bike or car is suddenly showing problems and the cost of repair is too high and not justified. There is not much you can do about such instances.… Continue Reading
We plan for regular monthly expenses. We call it budgeting. We plan for long term goals through a diversified asset allocation portfolio. However, we tend NOT to plan properly for non-monthly but periodic expenses. Common examples are: Insurance premiums Travel and Vacations Birthdays and Anniversaries Vehicle maintenance Gadget purchases Annual Subscriptions We know that these… Continue Reading
While checking out from your favorite shopping app, you could get one of the following payment options on your credit/debit card or Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Full payment (no cashbacks or discount) Interest-based EMI (without cashback or discount) No-cost EMI Upfront discount Cashback Upfront discount/cashback and interest-based EMI Upfront discount/cashback and no-cost EMI Over… Continue Reading
You want to buy a laptop online and you don’t want to look beyond Amazon and Flipkart for this purchase. Let’s further assume that, on both the sites, the laptop is listed at the same price. However, there are discounts and cashbacks on specific cards. In such a case, unless you have a preference for… Continue Reading