Credit card suggestions please

[nickchets]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to TechnoFino community & I've found it to be really helpful with providing guidance related to finance. I’m trying to build my credit card portfolio & have started to acquire some cards since turn of last year(I know I'm late to the party!). Nevertheless, I would really appreciate your help & welcome any suggestions/pointers.

Below are my requirements:
Age : 35, married with house-wife & a 3 year child
Monthly Income : ~180k in hand
Cibil : 802

Expenses/month :

• Grocery - 12k
• Utility Bills (Electricity, etc.) - 2k
• Medicinal Expenses if applicable - 4k
• Society Maintenance/Property tax - 3k
• Fuel/Car maintenance - 4k
• Movies and Dining - 7k
• Education - 12k
• Loans(Home/Car) - 30k
• Vacation - 30k
• Misc (one off purchases) - 20k
  
  Rest goes into Savings/Investments

Cards I currently own & their spend categories :

• HDFC Tata Neu Infinity (Since Dec 24/ LTF) -
  UPI (1.5%), Utilities (5%), Education (1.5%), Medicines (10%)
• SBI BPCL Octane (Nov 24, 1500/year waived off on 2L spends) -
  Fuel(6%), Offline Groceries(2.5%), Dineout & food ordering (2.5%)
• Federal Celesta (Jan 25, LTF) -
  Movies(B1G1 on BMS)
• AU Ixigo (Feb 25, LTF) -
  International Spends (1.5% with 0 Forex), Travel bookings (10%), Online spends (2.5%)
• Amazon ICICI (Feb 25, LTF) -
  Amazon Shopping (5%), Uber (5%) & Gift Cards (~2-5%)
• IDFC WoW (Feb 25, FD based) -
  Random spends for building wife's CIBIL

Preferences :
I'm generally frugal but have some international travel plans in next few years. So, looking to venture into miles accumulation game, though I'm not really versed with it. Prefer LTF but not opposed to spending a fee if its worth it. Thanks!

 

[hender]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to TechnoFino
Monthly Income : ~180k in hand
Cibil : 802

Expenses/month :

• Grocery - 12k
• Utility Bills (Electricity, etc.) - 2k
• Medicinal Expenses if applicable - 4k
• Society Maintenance/Property tax - 3k
• Fuel/Car maintenance - 4k
• Movies and Dining - 7k
• Education - 12k
• Loans(Home/Car) - 30k
• Vacation - 30k
• Misc (one off purchases) - 20k
  
  Rest goes into Savings/Investments

Cards I currently own & their spend categories :

• HDFC Tata Neu Infinity (Since Dec 24/ LTF) -
  UPI (1.5%), Utilities (5%), Education (1.5%), Medicines (10%)
• SBI BPCL Octane (Nov 24, 1500/year waived off on 2L spends) -
  Fuel(6%), Offline Groceries(2.5%), Dineout & food ordering (2.5%)
• Federal Celesta (Jan 25, LTF) -
  Movies(B1G1 on BMS)
• AU Ixigo (Feb 25, LTF) -
  International Spends (1.5% with 0 Forex), Travel bookings (10%), Online spends (2.5%)
• Amazon ICICI (Feb 25, LTF) -
  Amazon Shopping (5%), Uber (5%) & Gift Cards (~2-5%)
• IDFC WoW (Feb 25, FD based) -
  Random spends for building wife's CIBIL

Preferences :
I'm generally frugal but have some international travel plans in next few years. So, looking to venture into miles accumulation game, though I'm not really versed with it. Prefer LTF but not opposed to spending a fee if its worth it. Thanks!

Six on opening ball 🏀 802, and saying new...🙌

 

[s1t2y3a3m6]

Grocery - 12k

HSBC live+

Education - 12k

If you are paying directly to school then Axis ace, atlas

For utility first buy apay voucher at 5% disc then pay also can consider axis airtel

For other online shopping SBI CB

 

[MDFinance]

You can consider below cards:

Utility: Airtel Axis (25% cashback on Airtel Services upto Rs 250 & 10% cashback on other utilities upto Rs 250.. Also get 10% cashback on Big Basket, Zomato & Swiggy upto Rs 500)

Grocery: HSBC Live+ (10% on groceries, dining, online food orders upto Rs 1000).. HDFC Swiggy can also be considered if you order frequently on Swiggy Instamart and prefer LTF.

Movies & Dining: Indusind Eazydiner Signature (Two free movie tickets of Rs 200 each every month & upto 50% saving on Eazydiner through Eazydiner Prime membership & card discount).. you can also consider using your IDFC Wow card for BOGO ticket upto Rs 300 on BMS through Visa Infinite offer if prefer LTF.

Fuel: IDFC First Power+ (5+1.5% through HP Pay App on HPCL fuel stations.. you'll get complimentary roadside assistance too with this card)

Vacation: HDFC Marriott Bonvoy Card (Pay Rs 3540 and get one free complementary night every year at Marriott Properties & 12 domestic + 12 international lounge access which add on card members can also use ).. You can also get LTF ICICI Card like Coral/ Rubyx (if eligible through corporate list) for free Railway Lounge Access without spending criteria. I really enjoyed the experience of Railway Lounge.

Online Shopping & Medicines: HDFC Millennia (LTF only else SBI Cashback) for 5% cashback on major e-commerce sites + 10% cashback on Pharmeasy through HDFC Smartbuy Portal.

I hope my answer will help you in deciding the best cards for you as per your need.

 

[nickchets]

Six on opening ball 🏀 802, and saying new...🙌

actually I'm new to credit cards.. have couple of loans for over a decade.. hence the CIBIL 😛

 

[hender]

actually I'm new to credit cards.. have couple of loans for over a decade.. hence the CIBIL 😛

Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr - you have new card, journey travelled so far is good, it will be better, in next few months, than BEST afterwards.

 

[nickchets]

HSBC live+

If you are paying directly to school then Axis ace, atlas

For utility first buy apay voucher at 5% disc then pay also can consider axis airtel

For other online shopping SBI CB

I'm already holding one SBI CC (BPCL Octane), would they approve another card?
Also my Axis Airtel application was rejected citing internal policy (I'm guessing too many cards applied too soon)

I'll definitely explore HSBC Live+ for offline shopping though..

 

[s1t2y3a3m6]

I'm already holding one SBI CC (BPCL Octane), would they approve another card?

Yes but apply after a gap of 6 months

Also my Axis Airtel application was rejected citing internal policy (I'm guessing too many cards applied too soon)

Apply my zone/Neo through branch then wait for 3 months to get pre-approved airtel.
After getting airtel close other

I'll definitely explore HSBC Live+ for offline shopping though..

That's good if you are in eligible service pincode

 

[credit_noob]

Six on opening ball 🏀 802, and saying new...🙌

He says he is new but he looks like impact player😀

 

[nickchets]

Yes but apply after a gap of 6 months

Apply my zone/Neo through branch then wait for 3 months to get pre-approved airtel.
After getting airtel close other

That's good if you are in eligible service pincode

thanks! appreciate the tip about Axis Airtel!!

 

[nickchets]

You can consider below cards:

Utility: Airtel Axis (25% cashback on Airtel Services upto Rs 250 & 10% cashback on other utilities upto Rs 250.. Also get 10% cashback on Big Basket, Zomato & Swiggy upto Rs 500)

Grocery: HSBC Live+ (10% on groceries, dining, online food orders upto Rs 1000).. HDFC Swiggy can also be considered if you order frequently on Swiggy Instamart and prefer LTF.

Movies & Dining: Indusind Eazydiner Signature (Two free movie tickets of Rs 200 each every month & upto 50% saving on Eazydiner through Eazydiner Prime membership & card discount).. you can also consider using your IDFC Wow card for BOGO ticket upto Rs 300 on BMS through Visa Infinite offer if prefer LTF.

Fuel: IDFC First Power+ (5+1.5% through HP Pay App on HPCL fuel stations.. you'll get complimentary roadside assistance too with this card)

Vacation: HDFC Marriott Bonvoy Card (Pay Rs 3540 and get one free complementary night every year at Marriott Properties & 12 domestic + 12 international lounge access which add on card members can also use ).. You can also get LTF ICICI Card like Coral/ Rubyx (if eligible through corporate list) for free Railway Lounge Access without spending criteria. I really enjoyed the experience of Railway Lounge.

Online Shopping & Medicines: HDFC Millennia (LTF only else SBI Cashback) for 5% cashback on major e-commerce sites + 10% cashback on Pharmeasy through HDFC Smartbuy Portal.

I hope my answer will help you in deciding the best cards for you as per your need.

thanks!! appreciate the detailed category wise suggestions 🙂

 

[Virtual King]

I would really appreciate your help & welcome any suggestions/pointers.

You can check out this thread Best Credit Cards 2025 | Category-wise Credit Card Recommendation By TechnoFino.
Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[temp77]

I'm already holding one SBI CC (BPCL Octane), would they approve another card?
Also my Axis Airtel application was rejected citing internal policy (I'm guessing too many cards applied too soon)

I'll definitely explore HSBC Live+ for offline shopping though..

apply for hsbc live + via Cashin - a cashback webapp, offering highest in the market cashback of 3500 - DM for link

 

[MDFinance]

I'm already holding one SBI CC (BPCL Octane), would they approve another card?

I already had two SBI cards (SBI Gold & More and Simply Save) and yesterday I got my new SBI Cashback card with a separate credit limit of Rs 1,01,000. However, approval depends on case to case basis.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Some general tips that I follow: Your spends are very usual for a normal family. You have some good cards too.
But in general try to reduce the number of cards, and try to avoid spreading the spends on too many cards. It will be difficult to manage and the benefits/cashbacks/rewards that you get will be spread out too much too thin and you won't see anything siggnificant.
Stick to big banks - HDFC, ICICI, Axis or SBI.

Coming to the cards, You are mostly in cashback cards - Amazon Pay ICICI, Tata Neu infinity are good ones.
Try to get HDFC Swiggy as well for for, grocery, and online puchases (10 - 5%)

Then with your salary you can get ICICI Sapphiro LTF which is best for B1G1 movie offer (personally I am happy getting 1000 off on BMS using Sapphiro than 200 off with some lower cards.)

Overall:
Any combination (3 of these) below are good enough to cover almost all spends for beginners to mid-spenders. These are the top cashback cards out there so far.

• HDFC Tata Neu Infinity
• ICICI Amazon Pay
• SBI cashback
• HSBC Live+
• Axis Airtel
• HDFC Swiggy

For high spenders, heavy travellers and hotel stayers can get in to one of the 4 ecosystems for reward points and miles game -

• AMEX (Plat Travel and MRCC)
• Axis (Atlas or Magnus)
• HDFC (Regalia Gold, DCB or Infinia).
• ICICI (Times Black or Emeralde Private Metal)

 

[nickchets]

Some general tips that I follow: Your spends are very usual for a normal family. You have some good cards too.
But in general try to reduce the number of cards, and try to avoid spreading the spends on too many cards. It will be difficult to manage and the benefits/cashbacks/rewards that you get will be spread out too much too thin and you won't see anything siggnificant.
Stick to big banks - HDFC, ICICI, Axis or SBI.

Coming to the cards, You are mostly in cashback cards - Amazon Pay ICICI, Tata Neu infinity are good ones.
Try to get HDFC Swiggy as well for for, grocery, and online puchases (10 - 5%)

Then with your salary you can get ICICI Sapphiro LTF which is best for B1G1 movie offer (personally I am happy getting 1000 off on BMS using Sapphiro than 200 off with some lower cards.)

Overall:
Any combination (3 of these) below are good enough to cover almost all spends for beginners to mid-spenders. These are the top cashback cards out there so far.

• HDFC Tata Neu Infinity
• ICICI Amazon Pay
• SBI cashback
• HSBC Live+
• Axis Airtel
• HDFC Swiggy

For high spenders, heavy travellers and hotel stayers can get in to one of the 4 ecosystems for reward points and miles game -

• AMEX (Plat Travel and MRCC)
• Axis (Atlas or Magnus)
• HDFC (Regalia Gold, DCB or Infinia).
• ICICI (Times Black or Emeralde Private Metal)

thanks man!!
HDFC Swiggy was offered to me LTF via swiggy app but for some reason, HDFC rejected my application.. no response to my email as well..
I'm considering waiting for a bit & applying for SBI cashback.. Regarding Sapphiro, I rarely watch movies(like once in 1-2 month), so Federal celesta suffices for now.. I certainly need a good card for dineout(online & offline)..
And as for Axis Atlas, though its really appealing, I read that its worth it only if one can spend at least 7.5lac & there's bunch of exceptions for that card.. since my spends aren't that high, I'm pondering would it make sense to get it or not..

Thinking of waiting till Amex starts to give out cards again & try my luck there..

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

thanks man!!
HDFC Swiggy was offered to me LTF via swiggy app but for some reason, HDFC rejected my application.. no response to my email as well..
I'm considering waiting for a bit & applying for SBI cashback.. Regarding Sapphiro, I rarely watch movies(like once in 1-2 month), so Federal celesta suffices for now.. I certainly need a good card for dineout(online & offline)..
And as for Axis Atlas, though its really appealing, I read that its worth it only if one can spend at least 7.5lac & there's bunch of exceptions for that card.. since my spends aren't that high, I'm pondering would it make sense to get it or not..

Thinking of waiting till Amex starts to give out cards again & try my luck there..

Good.
1. For dineout also, Swiggy HDFC is good enough, many times I have got more than 30-40% off of participating hotels.
(I havent felt bad becuase I don't have Eazydiner card, and we family go out very rarely for eating out)
Write mail to HDFC asking why they rejected. They may reopen the application and ask you for extra docs to process the application.
(not sure because hdfc can be different with different people, no unified experience)

2. Atlas - Only thing you need to take care is - you need to book ticket from either original airlines website or their own some travel edge portal or so. + a lot of things are excluded category, so whether it will count for milestone or reward points - need to be checked.
If you are booking from MMT or booking.com, atlas wont get you the best return.