19M Student | ₹40K in Savings | HDFC DigiSave (₹5K MAB) | How Much to Maintain for Pre-Approved Credit Card?

[Sagnik]

I’m a 19M student with no fixed income, working on building my CIBIL score. I recently opened an HDFC DigiSave account (₹5K MAB) and declared ₹1L annual income (self-employed professional) during onboarding.

I have two FD-based secured credit cards (ZET & SuperCard, ₹4.5K limit each), and I use them responsibly (low utilization (10%), full payments).

My Setup:​

• I have ₹40K in savings as churning capital.
• Planning to split it: ₹20K in HDFC, ₹20K in SBI (to avoid HDFC UPI failures).
• Actively using HDFC for UPI, bills, etc.

Questions:​

1. What balance should I maintain in HDFC to trigger pre-approved credit card offers asap?
2. Does account activity (UPI, bill pay) help, or is it all about balance?
3. Will opening an FD with part of the ₹40K help or hurt my chances? (e.g. 10k as balance and 30k as fd)
4. Should I upgrade to a higher MAB account (₹10K Regular Savings Account) for a better profile?
5. Is splitting the ₹40K across SBI/HDFC slowing my progress with HDFC?

Looking for advice from anyone who built their credit young or unlocked HDFC pre-approvals. Appreciate your help!