7 Different Types of Credit Cards in India: Cashback, Rewards, Premium, Travel & More
Credit card is similar to the debit card but to pay your bills with a credit limit for shopping and other transactions. The difference between a credit card and a debit card is that money is withdrawn from your bank when you use a debit card and money is credited to your bank account when you use a Credit Card. With the help of a credit card you can convert your purchases into simple EMIs. It works like loans that you take from a bank or from other organisations. You have to repay the amount of money that has been credited to you without any interest before the due date if you don’t wanna pay interest or penalty fee.Â
In simple language a credit card is a very important financial tool that enables you to buy products or to make other payments with borrowed money which you have to repay later before the due date. If you want to avoid interest and penalties you should pay the Credited amount within the timeframe. Each variant of the credit card comes with the specified card limit. Various parameters like your income profile, your CIBIL score and other factors decide your eligibility for a specific variant of Credit Card with pre-approved limit. With acquiring a credit card you can get unique preposition and benefits like welcome bonus airport launch access and accelerated points and much more. Before applying, you should check the benefits that you can avail and all the features of that credit card.Â
There are different types and variants of credit cards available. And when you want to get a credit card you will be overwhelmed by the so many choices in the market. So now you have to classify these on different bases to know more about the specific variant. There are many categories in which you can segregate all the credit cards such as cashback rewards, premium, travel, student, business, 0% introductory purchase APR, co-branded, store cards and secured credit cards etc. For your convenience in this article we have given brief information about all these types of credit cards.Â
1. Cashback credit cards
Cashback credit cards provide you with a special benefit of cashback for every purchase you make. There are many varieties of cashback credit cards depending upon the terms and conditions. One credit card can provide you the same amount of money for every purchase you make for example if you spend $1 on nothing you will get 2 cents back. Another credit card can give you more return in exchange for various items like vacations or meals. Some credit cards change the benefits after sometime for your different purchases giving you extra rewards after sometime. For instance a single card can provide you bonus points for purchasing food during one season and bonus points for online shopping during another. Some cashback credit cards give bonuses to new users who spend the specific money amount.Â
2. Rewards credit cards
As the name suggests, a reward credit card is a special type of credit card which gives you points, cash back or miles on buying things. The only condition is that you have to pay off all the money you spend on the card every month. Rewards credit cards are best for those people who pay their bills on time and statement balances in full with excellent money management skills because if you don’t pay your Credit bill on the time you have to give interest. Some reward cadet cards are only given to those people who have good credit.Â
3. Premium rewards cardsÂ
Premium reward cards are the one about which you hear a lot in news or online. They have many special benefits and large signup bonuses. These credit cards are used for travel and offer travel related benefits. Some types of premium revolt card are metal credit card and black credit card which are associated with exclusivity and luxury. Their sophisticated and unique design make them desirable for those who want to get a premium credit card experience. These credit cards have high annual fees but they give high value if you utilise them properly. Most of these credit cards are only available for people who have excellent credit. Chase sapphire reserve and the platinum card from American express are examples of the most popular premium reward credit cards. The annual fees for both cards is up to $550 with excellent opportunities and benefits.Â
4. Travel credit cards
Travel cadet cards are used to pay for travel such as hotels and airline tickets. These credit cards can provide other travel related advantages like priority service or travel insurance. There are many types of travel credit cards. Some travel credit cards can earn rewards which are convertible to multiple hotels and airlines programs. Some others provide points or miles that you can use for one co-branded hotel or airline company. Other categories are also available like providing bonuses for purchasing gas or food. Some of these cards provide new account bonuses to new users and some charge annual fees.
5. Business credit cards
Business credit cards basically 4 some business owners to segregate their personal purchases from their companies overall expenditure to earn benefits, rewards or extra features that are specially prepared for their business necessities. They work similarly like personal credit cards but they offer various benefits for business. Some Business credit cards do not take any annual charges, called no- annual fee business cards. Some other business cadet cards involve 0% APR business credit cards and cash back business credit cards. These credit cards are very good for the business owners who provide travel opportunities to their employees because they offer hotel points, airline miles and general travel rewards. For instance Ink business preferred credit cards provide transferable rewards to airline or hotel partners.Â
6. Student credit cards
There are student credit cards available for students at least 18 years old. Students who are older than 18 but younger than 21 can face strict verification requirements to avail the benefits of credit card. Made specially for the needs of the students. Students usually do not have any credit history no to Little income and a big spending habit. Some categories of student credit cards offer extra cashback in various categories in which students can spend more such as on grocery stores or in restaurants. Some other student credit cards to encourage good credit habits offer bonuses for paying bills on time and achieving good Marks.Â
7. Lifestyle credit cards
Lifestyle credit cards provide a bunch of good benefits like travel benefits, dining privileges, airport lawns access, health and wellness benefits, saving on fuel spent, movie tickets etc. They provide benefits like free air miles for travelling and help in bookings for vacations. By using these types of credit cards you can get savings on fuel discounts on movie tickets and insurance coverage for emergencies. If you love to travel, eat out and enjoy movies your life will be so much easier and fun by having this credit card. You just need to be more responsible and pay your bills on time.Â