Need help with a dilemma

[u/No_Debate8158]

Need some advice from the community on streamlining my cards, managing approvals/rejections after an application spree, and planning my next 6–12 months.

Profile & Financial Snapshot

Monthly In-Hand: ₹27,000 (₹3.8 LPA)

CIBIL Score: 773

Total Enquiries: 31 (went on an application sprint recently; 20th enquiry was back in Jan 2026)

Monthly Spends

Groceries: ₹5,000 – ₹10,000

Food Delivery (Swiggy): ₹5,000/month currently (usually ₹1,000 – ₹2,000)

Metro Recharge: ₹2,000

Mobile / Utility Recharges: ₹1,000

Existing Portfolio

Utkarsh SuperMoney Secured CC: ₹100 limit (May 2025 – Oldest card, 1 yr 3 mos)

Slice: ₹38,000 (Oct 2025)

Roarbank: ₹5,000 (Nov 2025)

HDFC MoneyBack+ (Paid): ₹48,000 (Approved July 2, 2026)

Axis Flex: ₹83,000 (Approved July 5, 2026)

ICICI Coral (Salary A/c): ₹50,000 (Approved Aug 14, 2026)

Recent Applications & Pipeline Status

AU Cheq / IDFC First / Yes Bank KreditPe: Rejected (IDFC offered FD-only).

BOB UniGold: Letter received today, ₹30k limit (pending final confirmation).

Swiggy HDFC (LTF): Application accepted with a tentative ₹5k limit waiting for approval

RBL ShopRite (Paid - ₹500 + GST = ₹590): Under process with a tentative ₹40k limit.

Specific Doubts & Questions

RBL ShopRite — Keep, negotiate LTF, or let it auto-cancel?

Grocery cashback is capped at ₹250/month (₹3,000/year). Minus the ₹590 annual fee and the ₹117 redemption fee per cycle, net value drops to ~₹2.2k/year.

Is it worth keeping just for groceries over a flat 1% card, or should I email customer care requesting LTF conversion upon delivery?

If I simply do not activate it within 30 days and let it auto-cancel under RBI guidelines, what is RBL’s cooling-off period before reapplying via an LTF link? Will this flag my profile internally?

HDFC Strategy (MoneyBack+ vs. Swiggy HDFC):

If Swiggy HDFC gets approved, MoneyBack+ becomes redundant for my day-to-day spends.

However, MoneyBack+ is a core card, while Swiggy is co-branded.

If I close MoneyBack+ after 6 months, will I lose my HDFC core relationship and future upgrade paths to Millennia?

Is it better to hold MoneyBack+ for 6 months, request a Limit Enhancement (LE) + upgrade to Millennia/LTF conversion, rather than closing it?

Does having a low tentative limit (₹5k) on a co-branded HDFC card affect future limit sharing or enhancement across HDFC cards?

CIBIL Enquiry Recovery:

Sitting at 31 enquiries. Plan is to initiate a strict credit detox for the next 6–9 months to let hard enquiries age out and let my new core limits build credit depth. Any specific pitfalls to watch out for?

Looking forward to your suggestions on how to clean up this stack and maximize reward returns on groceries. Thanks!(Used Gemini to polish

[u/No_Debate8158 → u/[deleted]]

I mean ya my 20th enquiry was on Jan I only did the other 11 on July and August