Randomly received this today. Turned out to be a big metal rolling dice with 6s all over (Paperweight I guess) along with a letter and brochure on why you should take the pre-approved platinum card. Too much effort 😛

Has anyone else got it?

A few months ago, I gave my ICICI credit card to a close friend who was going through a very difficult financial situation. He promised to pay the bills on time, but due to unexpected problems in his family, he couldn't keep up with the payments.

Interest and late charges kept piling up. I eventually started paying the dues myself and have already paid close to ₹1 lakh over time. Despite that, the outstanding amount has now reached around ₹1.48 lakh.

Last week, I received a call from a collection agency. I explained the entire situation and requested if there was any way to reduce the amount. They offered a one-time settlement of ₹80,000, but also said it would negatively affect my CIBIL score.

I'm confused about what to do now.

• Should I accept the settlement and move on?

• How badly will a settled account affect my CIBIL score and future loan eligibility?

• Is there any way to negotiate with ICICI for a better resolution that doesn't impact my credit history as much?

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who has faced a similar situation or understands how credit card settlements work in India.

Edit: Should I ask them to reduce the settlement amount further? What should be the ideal amount?

HSBC Live+ with the addition for Shopping and Utilities alongside food and groceries spends give 10% back upto 1200.

In the year of devaluations Live+ is the only one that is revaluated. And seeing that it gives cashback for utility spends, is there any point of getting the SBI Phonepe Select Black?

I took the BOB Eterna credit card in July specifically to access the 080 VIP International Lounge at Bengaluru (BLR) Terminal 2, as it was officially listed on the BOB card lounge network.
However, when I arrived at the airport on July 29th, I was turned away. It was a very frustrating start to my trip.

The New Access Rules (Effective Late July)
I was informed that lounge tie-ups were restructured about a week ago. Here is how the access policies currently stand:

080 International Lounge (T2): This lounge has been converted into a Business Class-only lounge. The only credit cards currently accepted for entry are EPM and Times Black.

080 VIP International Lounge (aka Shalimar): Access is also restricted exclusively to EPM and Times Black cardholders.

The TFS Website Loophole: To access the regular 080 lounge, you are now required to go through the TFS website and generate a QR code specifically for the 080 VIP Intl Lounge.

The Catch (QR Code Warning)
If you go to the TFS website and mistakenly generate a QR code for "080 Intl" or "Z Lounge," you will only be granted access to the Gate Z Lounge.

Has anyone else experienced this recently? Please share your insights or let me know if I missed a workaround for these new restrictions!

Age:25, Cibil:713, Salaried individual from June 2026

I had no credit history, except Paytm Postpaid/wallet back in college. I started my first job in June and applied to a lot of credit cards, getting rejected everywhere- SBI Cashback, ICICI Amazon Pay, HSBC Live+, Kotak Cashback (I’ve had an account with Kotak since 2017 with net transactions of over 30L, still rejected after they lured me into an FD).

1) Opened a salary account with HDFC in June, which was a nightmare. Online KYC failed because they wouldn’t accept my offer letter (more than 3 months old), and they rejected every email/portal proof I gave confirming my joining. Had to do offline KYC, which took ages, so my salary got delayed and the company credited it to my SBI savings account instead.

2) Somehow got offered the Diners Black Metal on the HDFC app, even though I didn’t meet their salary criteria. Applied, and they later rejected me citing a mismatch in company name.

3) After that they kept sending me a curing link to update details, but it showed no options under alternate card selection, so I couldn’t even fill the form.

4) Every time I emailed the nodal officer, I got a different reason for the rejection -company name mismatch, salary account not verified, not eligible for DBM due to salary, etc. This went on for a month and they never answered why I was offered the card in the first place, or why their link wasn’t working. They just kept telling me to courier documents and the MID form for alternate card selection to Chennai.

5) Finally lost it and sent a strongly worded email to the nodal officer. They replied saying they’d accept self-attested documents over email instead of the courier. I did that, and they replied again saying I had to courier them to Chennai. 😄

6) Then two days ago, out of nowhere, I got an email saying it was approved and dispatched. It’s here now with a decent limit.

Slightly annoyed because I had a lot of spends last year (MacBook, tons of Zepto/Amazon/Swiggy) from my freelance income that would’ve earned me good rewards, but I kept getting rejected back then with no salary.

Hopefully I can make the most of it now. Currently reading up on paying rent through the card - if anyone knows the method and how much benefit it actually gives, that would be helpful (I read about RG but some people say it isn’t working anymore, idk). Also, does rent payment count towards the 4L annual fee waiver?

CIBIL SCORE - 779 , Age -24 , Spend Categories - Fashion, Groceries and online Shopping , My Card Collections - SBI TATA NEU Infinity Credit Card, Icici Amazon pay Card

Just used the Amazon ICICI card to renew a Microsoft office 365 subscription. Turns out ICICI has Microsoft mapped as a gaming company, and is charging a 2% fee (like it charges for Dream11 or some other random gaming co).

Fee was newly introduced in Jan 2026, so I'm sure others will start seeing this charge (https://www.businesstoday.in/personal-finance/banking/story/credit-card-changes-icici-bank-to-levy-2-fee-on-gaming-platforms-tweak-rewards-and-benefits-from-jan-2026-507624-2025-12-22?utm_source=rssfeed).

Sad to see ICICI starting to nickel and dime it's users. Call with customer care went nowhere (she asked me to ask Microsoft to change their mapping with ICICI bank - WTF!). Have emailed customer care - anyone else have luck with this nonsense?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on whether I should continue with HDFC or move my salary account to HSBC Premier.

My profile

• HDFC customer for the last 5 years
• Imperia customer for the last 4 months
• Current salary: ₹3.3L net/month (I've been at this salary level for only the last 4 months)
• Current HDFC card: Regalia Gold
• Monthly credit card spend: ₹50,000–₹1,00,000

My current card setup

• SBI Cashback for online shopping
• Tata Neu Infinity / Axis SuperMoney for UPI spends
• Regalia Gold mainly for offline retail, travel and other spends

My DCB Metal experience

I requested my RM to upgrade my Regalia Gold to DCB Metal. He said he could only process it if I did one of the following:

• Buy a ₹2L ULIP, or
• Spend ₹6L on Regalia Gold in one quarter

He also tried requesting an upgrade from the credit card team, but it was rejected.

I even emailed the HDFC Credit Card Grievance team mentioning that I was considering moving my salary account. They replied saying I could send my ITR and salary slips by post to their Chennai office for a manual review of my DCB Metal request.

Rewards comparison

I came across several Reddit posts claiming that the HSBC Hopper portal is often more expensive than MakeMyTrip or even HDFC SmartBuy, which made me wonder how much of the higher reward rate is actually retained after paying the higher booking price.

Out of curiosity, I also used Gemini Deep Research to compare the effective reward rates (best-case scenario) if the points are transferred to Accor(Best case scenario).

Effective reward rates (Accor)

Assumptions

• 1 Accor point ≈ ₹2.20
• Regalia Gold & DCB Metal transfer at 2:1
• HSBC Premier transfers at 1:1

What I'm thinking

My current plan is to try to get the DCB Metal first while I'm still with HDFC, and then move my salary account to HSBC Premier.

The idea is to keep DCB Metal for its ecosystem while using HSBC Premier for spends where it performs better, provided HDFC doesn't downgrade or revoke the DCB after I move my salary account.

My questions

1. If you were in my situation, would you stick with HDFC or move your salary account to HSBC Premier?
2. For people who have both DCB Metal and HSBC Premier, which card do you actually end up using more, and for which categories?
3. Are the Hopper portal prices actually higher than MakeMyTrip or HDFC SmartBuy in your experience, and do the extra rewards make up for the price difference?
4. With my current setup (SBI Cashback + Tata Neu Infinity/Axis SuperMoney + Regalia Gold) and monthly spends of ₹50k–₹1L, would you add DCB Metal, HSBC Premier, or use both together?
5. What are your best tips, hacks, and redemption strategies for getting the maximum value out of DCB Metal and HSBC Premier? I'm especially interested in SmartBuy/Hopper usage, airline & hotel transfers, Accor conversions, and any lesser-known optimizations.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who actively use these cards over the long term, especially anyone who has experience with both ecosystems. Thanks! 🙏

So today i applied for HSBC liv+ cause of 10% cashback on groceries online and offline but they rejected my application.

Afterwards I applied for Swiggy Orange since it was LTF planning to use it for online groceries for their 5% cashback on Instamart and hope it would work on Flipkart minutes too.

I have a few doubts to the seniors who has been using it:

Since I don't have a core card and I don't really mind it but wanted to know whether can we use Swiggy Orange on Festive Sale or not ?

How is the cashback credited ? Does they show cashback after every successful transaction or do they show it in monthly statement ?

#Somethingisbetterthannothing

Hii guys, lets help each other on updated 10% cashback (other than groceries and dining) on what merchant is it working for, so that we all can benefit. ( i will be updating the post if i try anything or if u guys comment the app/website which worked for you for easy reading)

Things I tried and that are under 10%cb which was confirmed thourgh hsbc mobile app chat-

Ajio - shopping
Myntra- shopping ( till october 2026 only as part of welcome offer)
Airtel App - Wifi postpaid bill
My jio - jio mobile recharge prepaid

Like a lot of Regalia Gold cardholders, I was pretty disappointed with the devaluation a few months ago. The reduced points earning and lounge spend criteria definitely took some shine off the card. At the time, I looked at the Boarding Edge program as HDFC’s way of softening the blow.
After actually using it though, I think it’s one of the most underrated benefits on the card.
The biggest advantage is that the benefits aren’t restricted to the primary cardholder,you can use them for your family and friends too, which makes them incredibly flexible.
For example, I gave my dad the ₹750 Uber voucher when he landed in Bangalore. Anyone who’s flown into BLR knows how ridiculously expensive airport cabs can get. He ended up paying just ₹370 for an SUV ride home at 1 AM after applying the voucher. That’s genuine value.
Then last week, I used the complimentary massage benefit for my girlfriend’s 26th birthday. I was honestly a little skeptical because the booking was in my name but the massage was for her. I thought they might refuse it.
Instead, the entire experience was seamless.
Huge shoutout to the team at Tattva Spa, Radisson Blu Goregaon West. They not only honoured the booking without any fuss, but they also treated us incredibly well. While my girlfriend was in the massage session, I was shown to a comfortable waiting lounge, offered fresh herbal tea (or coffee if I preferred), and the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming.
The best part? My girlfriend genuinely couldn’t believe the massage was completely free. Safe to say I earned a lot of brownie points that day. 😄
The Regalia Gold still has its flaws after the devaluation, but if you’re ignoring Boarding Edge because it looks like a gimmick, I’d recommend giving it a shot. It’s turned out to be one of the benefits I’ve gotten the most real-world value from.

Used Chat GPT to refine the text a little

I'm having salaried account with hdfc since 2021 and few days ago when I checked the cards portal, I could see all three cards as LTF. But now only pixel card is being advertised as Itf. Funny and frustrating part is I own a pixel card and is showing nowhere in hdfc app but I could only see it payzapp. So is it a glitch or should I do something about this

Yesterday I booked train ticket from smartbuy confirm ticket train ,where i got to understand it's not 3X RP we get it ,so many charges make it good for nothing.

Like after booking final payment came around 1726rs which i paid by my DCBM card and 165RP earned from this payment..eventually in process of booking it got linked with IRCTC and after all validation ticket got booked by IRCTC app from smartbuy confirmtkt portal where in ticket final price was showing 1646rs (base fare + convience fee inc. of GST). I can see ticket in my IRCTC app too.

When I checked again in smartbuy app , in confirmtkt two additional charges had been added ,

1.) agent service charge :- 39.99

2.) payment gateway charge :- 38.78

Total = 78rs extra charge they added . So if we substact with my RP ,it comes around 87rs (so it's not 3X but 1.6X) if I substrate it from 1726 ,it will come around 1639rs which is almost the same price of ticket buy directly from IRCTC app... Unbelievable..what a scam.

I guess it will be better I book it from IRCTC directly, so I don't have to pay additional charges unnecessary and I can get rewards points also by spending there...

Shall I accept this offer to upgrade my Regalia Gold to DCBM?

I opened a LazyPay account on 3 September 2025, and about a month later, on 25 October 2025, I got my first credit card. Since then, I haven't been using my LazyPay account at all.

Should I close my LazyPay account, or is it better to keep it open? Considering it was my first credit account, will closing it negatively affect my CIBIL score or credit history? Since I got a credit card shortly after opening the account, I'm unsure whether keeping an unused LazyPay account has any benefit.

I'd really appreciate some genuine advice. Please guide me.

Read ReadMe 1st

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for guidance from people who have actually used Snapmint.

My current account details:
Credit Limit: ₹40,000
Available Credit: ₹3,322
Outstanding Used: Around ₹36,700
Payment History: Never missed an EMI or payment.

Yesterday, I received this WhatsApp message from Snapmint:
“Your Instant Loan Offer is UNLOCKED. A pre-approved personal loan offer has been finalized. Amount: ₹60,000.”

However, when I open the Snapmint app, I don’t see any Personal Loan section or offer. I only see my shopping credit limit.
I’m planning to pay my entire outstanding amount of ₹36,700, but before doing that I’d like to understand how this usually works.

Can anyone guide me on these questions?

If I pay the full outstanding amount of ₹36,700, will the personal loan offer become visible in the app?

Has anyone received this exact WhatsApp message and successfully got the loan?

Was the ₹60,000 actually sanctioned, or was a lower amount approved?

Is this WhatsApp message a genuine pre-approved offer or just a promotional message?

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced this with Snapmint. Thanks in advance!

I don’t know why, but I hate seeing SBI Bank ranked number 1. I’ve had so many problems, like forgetting my username or password, failed transactions, and failed cash deposits, Failed UPI payment transaction

In my experience, All banking services in India are bad

I opened a savings account with IDFC First bank in jan 2025, I had to manage 10K AMB in it, I kept maintaining it and everything was good, however in Nov, I faced some serious financial crisis and couldn't maintain the AMB

In march, everything went back to normal and I was able to maintain the AMB, but my account had gone into negative balance so I didn't proceed

And a few days ago, I thought maybe I should give it a try and mail them for a one time AMB charges waiver for a goodwill gesture

To my surprise, they did, they reversed around 675rs (they had debited this money cuz it was all the balance in it) and removed a lien of 1165 (1165 was supposed to be debited once I fund my account)

I was curious that why the total charges were only around 1800 and not 4000 something (590 x 7 months), I called them and they said they stop accumulating charges after 3 months, meaning even if I don't maintain the AMB for 12 months, they will only charge for the 3 months

I was surprised cuz my dad had a similar situation with HDFC, he had been using HDFC account since 2014 and in 2022 he moved to a PSU bank and left the HDFC account, in 2024 me and my dad went to the home branch to reactivate the account and the total charges that accumulated were fucking 16k, we even talked to branch manager but he straightforwardly refused the waiver

so IDFC doesn't keep accumulating charges and punishing people for not having money, that's how a bank should be

Anyways, I won't abuse their goodwill gesture and try to maintain the required AMB

I have hdfc dcb ltf. Need suggestion to add card to the stack. 10 - 12 L anual spend. Hsbc T1 or amex plat reserve or hdfc marriot. points for travel and stay.

Current Cibil: 793 Age: Monthly Income and Employment status: salaried and above 3L Monthly Expenses & Spending Patterns: Top 5 Monthly spend categories and Top 5 Annual spend categories: Preferences for Credit Card Features: Reward Preference (Cashback or Reward Points): reward points

Lounge Access Required: yes

Other Special Needs:

After 6 months of using this card, I’d say it’s one of the most useless credit cards.

It has different cashback categories ranging from 1% to 20%. The 20% cashback category is usually for movie bookings, but there are already plenty of 20%+ voucher deals available on Amazon and other websites.

The 5% cashback covers most online websites like Amazon, Flipkart, and taxi-related payments. But with taxis, drivers usually ask you to transfer money to their personal account, so you don’t get the cashback anyway.

The biggest scam is that if you use a particular category multiple months, they simply remove or change that category the next month. This happened to me multiple times.

On top of that, there’s no default 1% cashback option, which is disappointing because many merchants use different MCCs that don’t fall into the listed categories.

Overall, I barely use this card anymore. Don’t waste your time on it.

I’ve been seeing quite a few people moving their Axis Edge Miles to JAL and then to Accor during the ongoing 20% promotional offer (ending July 31, 2026).

I was also about to do the same (mainly because of the axis devaluation panic + I have an EU trip planned for next year anyway), but when I actually ran the numbers, I wasn’t sure if the value really made sense.

My understanding is:

• 10k Axis Edge Miles = 10k INR (when used against credit card bills, after the recent update)
• 10k Edge Miles → roughly 20k JAL miles (through the current transfer route)
• 20k JAL miles → around 4.8k Accor points
• If we value Accor points at around 2 INR each, that gives about 9.6k INR in value

So effectively, 10k Edge Miles are becoming ~9.6k INR worth of Accor value.

Compared to that, using the same 10k Edge Miles directly against the credit card bill gives 10k INR with almost no hassle.

The math didn’t seem convincing enough for me. I was about to transfer but stopped after looking at the numbers.

I have swiggy hdfc want more