Why LTF Cards?

[Sreerag]

Hello all.
Many banks are offering us LTF credit cards. For some it's a beginner or co-branded card, for some it's some super premium card. However, I would like to know, from the experienced to know the uses for LTF cards other than;

1. Offers associated with bank (ICICI, Kotak etc.)
or card issuer (Visa, RuPay, MC etc.)

2. Having more credit limit in Credit Score as well as having a *credit* emergency fund.

And I would also like to know, if I get a particular card for LTF, should I cancel the lower variant of the cards? Considering both scenarios that the credit limit is shared and not shared.

E.g. If I get HDFC Regalia as LTF, should I close MoneyBack+ (LTF; limit shared) and Kotak 811#DreamDifferent
(LTF; has lower limit than Regalia)
Considering Regalia has more benefits in every category.

This is a general example, I don't own these cards.

I have seen Sumanta and many others owning a humungous card collection, often many cards from same bank *cough* ICICI *cough*, especially as LTF, considering the limit is shared for all ICICI Cards, doesn't it make sense to close the lower cards for better card management.

Sorry in advance if this question was addressed earlier, I wanted an detailed answer as this will be helpful for CC newbies like me.

 

[Survivor35]

Me too. I once withdrew cash from a credit card thinking it was debit card (I think I was lost in some world) and later had to pay a hefty ₹500 fee plus GST.
After that every one of my card has ATM withdrawal disabled.

happened with me too

 

[2024]

First of all a credit card is not a loan , a credit card becomes a loan when you convert the outstanding amount as emi , or you dont pay the outstanding and ask for a payment restructuring plan only then it is considered a loan .

Please do not confuse credit limit with personal loan , as you don’t pay interest on the entire credit limit , neither you pay interest on the utilized amount too if you pay within stipulated time.

Regarding closing lower variants card , it’s completely a personal choice actually most of us here are credit card collectors so it’s a hobby of collecting all possible cards. Also keeping more than one card from a bank is quite usefull , as most of the non spending features are capped like lounge access , BMs access etc and if you have multiple cards from same bank this complementary access and BMS offers also increases , plus every e-commerce portal gives discount on several bank cards sometimes they too cap the usage , so if someone has 4 cards from icici , he can use the discount 4 times .
Plus you can’t anticipate which e-commerce/Swiggy /Zomato etc starts giving offers for which all banks so it’s good to collect card from each bank especially the LTF ones.

For credit card management there are multiple apps even TF has its own app , plus you got excel sheets , and I personally think the management of credit card is fun for cc enthusiast , so that credit card management should not be an issue.

Is banks calculate credit card limits as loan against individual, like I ve 30lakhs limit on my cards when I vl go for home loan etc then banks give me loan on my CIBIL n income or count card limits as loan n offer me loan amt accordingly less

 

[Bodhi]

First of all a credit card is not a loan , a credit card becomes a loan when you convert the outstanding amount as emi , or you dont pay the outstanding and ask for a payment restructuring plan only then it is considered a loan .

Please do not confuse credit limit with personal loan , as you don’t pay interest on the entire credit limit , neither you pay interest on the utilized amount too if you pay within stipulated time.

Regarding closing lower variants card , it’s completely a personal choice actually most of us here are credit card collectors so it’s a hobby of collecting all possible cards. Also keeping more than one card from a bank is quite usefull , as most of the non spending features are capped like lounge access , BMs access etc and if you have multiple cards from same bank this complementary access and BMS offers also increases , plus every e-commerce portal gives discount on several bank cards sometimes they too cap the usage , so if someone has 4 cards from icici , he can use the discount 4 times .
Plus you can’t anticipate which e-commerce/Swiggy /Zomato etc starts giving offers for which all banks so it’s good to collect card from each bank especially the LTF ones.

For credit card management there are multiple apps even TF has its own app , plus you got excel sheets , and I personally think the management of credit card is fun for cc enthusiast , so that credit card management should not be an issue.

Well put forth @anirban.choudhury

 

[Bodhi]

Mostly I mail bank and make my cash limit as 0
Most of my cards have a 0 cash limit

Like credit limits, don't cash limits impact the creditworthiness or CIBIL score etc. of a person?