Credit card reward points expiry — what is the validity period?
Suhana Mero
Asked 12 May 2026
Do reward points on Indian credit cards expire? If yes, after how many months of inactivity? Which banks have the longest validity?
6 Answers
I was worried about the high joining fee but the welcome benefit voucher was credited within 30 days of crossing the spend threshold. Net cost: zero. The trick is to time your application so that you make a big purchase (appliance, travel booking) in the first 45 days.
Short answer: no, EMI on credit card is not cheaper than a personal loan for large amounts (>₹50,000). The processing fee (~₹199-₹599) plus the interest (~14-16% reducing) usually adds up to slightly more than a personal loan rate of 11-13%. But for small-ticket EMI (₹10-20K), it is fine.
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.
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.
I had the same dilemma. The way I decided was: list down my top 3 monthly spend categories, calculate the rewards on each card, and pick whichever gives the highest cashback on MY pattern. Generic 'best card' lists are useless for personal decisions.
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.
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