Credit Card News & Guides

A devaluation occurs when an issuing bank reduces reward earn rates, lowers redemption conversion values, hikes spend criteria for lounge access, or introduces restrictive monthly category caps. When a devaluation is announced: (1) Check the official effective cutoff date, (2) Redeem all accumulated reward points before the deadline for high-value partner miles or shopping vouchers, and (3) Audit whether the revised benefits continue to justify the card's annual fee.

Banks have introduced a 1% convenience surcharge (plus 18% GST) and eliminated reward points on rental, education, and utility payments to curb manufactured spending and non-retail cash recycling through third-party payment platforms. Because non-retail payments carry high interchange processing costs, major banks have moved to disincentivize non-merchant credit card liquidity extraction.

Major card issuers (including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI Card) have linked airport lounge privileges to calendar quarter spending. Cardholders must achieve a minimum retail spend (typically ₹10,000 to ₹50,000) in the preceding quarter to unlock complimentary domestic lounge passes for the following quarter. Spends on rent, fuel, wallet loads, and EMI conversions do not count toward lounge eligibility.

Under RBI guidelines, if an unauthorized transaction occurs due to bank negligence or third-party security breach and you report it within 3 working days of receiving the SMS/email alert, you have zero financial liability. Reporting between 4 to 7 working days caps your maximum liability at ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 based on card variant. Banks must credit the disputed amount back to your account within 10 working days pending formal investigation.

Under the RBI tokenization mandate, e-commerce merchants and payment aggregators (such as Amazon, Swiggy, and Flipkart) cannot store your actual 16-digit credit card number, expiry date, or CVV. Instead, they store a unique encrypted digital token issued by the card network (Visa, Mastercard, or RuPay). Even if a merchant database suffers a security breach, attackers obtain only useless token strings, keeping your actual card details secure.

Yes. Under RBI regulations, all Indian card issuers must provide cardholders the statutory right to modify their credit card billing cycle and payment due date at least once through internet banking, the mobile banking app, or customer care. This allows cardholders to align their statement payment deadline with their monthly salary credit date, avoiding accidental late fees.

Under RBI directions, banks must process credit card cancellation requests within 7 working days of receipt, provided all outstanding dues are cleared. If an issuer fails to complete closure within 7 working days, they are legally liable to pay a penalty of ₹500 per day of delay to the customer until the card is formally closed. Unresolved delays can be escalated to the RBI Banking Ombudsman (cms.rbi.org.in).

Under NPCI guidelines, standard merchant payments via linked RuPay credit cards carry zero surcharge for consumers on transactions up to ₹2,000 at small merchants. The standard 20 to 50 days interest-free grace period applies just like a regular card swipe. Person-to-person UPI transfers from a linked credit card are not permitted under NPCI rules.

Under RBI fair practices guidelines, card issuers must provide prior written notification and valid reasons before reducing a sanctioned credit limit or initiating involuntary account cancellation. If your limit has been reduced unexpectedly, you can contact the bank's grievance officer and submit updated income documentation (salary slips or ITR) to request restoration of your original credit line.