Verified 6 Aug
Mahika Kandpal
Asked 5 Mar 2026
Yes the rewards sound amazing in marketing, but the redemption catalogue is full of products at inflated MRP. The statement credit redemption is almost always the best value. Skip the merchandise, skip the flight bookings, take the cash.
Tip from someone who made this mistake: never max out the credit limit in the first 6 months. Banks track utilisation, and high utilisation right after approval often triggers a credit limit decrease or even an account review.
On credit limit increase: most banks auto-review every 6 months. If you use 30-70% of the limit and pay in full, you'll get an automatic increase. Don't call and ask for it explicitly — banks take it as a sign of credit hunger and sometimes lower the limit instead.
Dispute process that worked for me: I called customer care within 24 hours, raised a dispute via the netbanking portal (uploading the receipt showing I never visited the merchant), and got a provisional credit in 5 working days. Permanent credit came after the bank's investigation in about 30 days.
Sign in to post your answer and help the community.
Sign in to postWhy sign in? We moderate Q&A to keep it spam-free.
blog
The card network matters more than the bank for acceptance and forex. Here's how each one stacks up in India.
blog
Every swipe moves money across multiple rails. The network's fee is small per transaction but massive in aggregate.
glossary
A Mastercard premium tier card.
glossary
A Mastercard basic card.
I am 21, just started working with a ₹25,000/month salary. Which credit card is best to begin my credit journey with in 2026?
