Starting my credit card journey – stick to HDFC & Axis?

[Ravi Teja]

Net Income: ₹13.5 LPA

Current Cards:

• HDFC MoneyBack+ (LTF, recently taken)
• Considering Axis Airtel Credit Card (to start relationship with Axis)

Plan:

• Stick to HDFC + Axis ecosystem
• Keep only 2 credit cards in the long run and upgrade them over time

Monthly Spend: ~₹40k

Background:
I’m new to credit cards and don’t have deep knowledge yet. My idea is to start simple and then gradually upgrade within these two banks.

I do know about some premium cards like Axis Atlas or HDFC Marriott Bonvoy, but I’m not sure I can utilise them fully right now.

Ask:
Given my income, spend pattern, and preference to stay within HDFC + Axis, what’s the best upgrade path or card strategy I should follow for the next few years? Any pitfalls to avoid?

 

[major23]

To start you should go for cards that have easy to understand rewards structure and benefits. Airtel axis is good for airtel service payments and utilities - direct cashback. You can look for SBI cashback as well. Slowly you can upgrade to Axis atlas/HDFC Regalia when opportunity comes. Also considering the spends on UPI nowadays you can look for HDFC tata neu cards.
One think that I have personally realised is premium cards make sense only if you have those spend patterns e.g. you can make 15% returns on premium cards spends but only when you spend like >5-6Lakh. So instead of defining spend patterns based on card choices it should be the other way around.
Only advantage of having cards from multiple banks is different stores tying up with differenct back like Myntra gives discount on ICICI, flipkart on Airtel etc.

 

[Ravi Teja]

To start you should go for cards that have easy to understand rewards structure and benefits. Airtel axis is good for airtel service payments and utilities - direct cashback. You can look for SBI cashback as well. Slowly you can upgrade to Axis atlas/HDFC Regalia when opportunity comes. Also considering the spends on UPI nowadays you can look for HDFC tata neu cards.
One think that I have personally realised is premium cards make sense only if you have those spend patterns e.g. you can make 15% returns on premium cards spends but only when you spend like >5-6Lakh. So instead of defining spend patterns based on card choices it should be the other way around.
Only advantage of having cards from multiple banks is different stores tying up with differenct back like Myntra gives discount on ICICI, flipkart on Airtel etc.

got it , thanks