MY CREDIT CARD PORTFOLIO 2024

[Casper]

Hello All,

I am new to this platform and wanted your expertise on how to improve and build my current card portfolio which looks like

Apay card LTF issued in June 24
ICICI PLATINUM CHIP CARD LTF issued 6yrs back (Combined)

Had Moneyback upgraded to Hdfc regalia first LTF + issued 5 years back
Hdfc Milennia DC LTF issued 1.5 yrs back
(COMBINED)

IndusInd Legend LTF issued 4 months back (got option to upgrade to Pinnacle by spending 15k first year and then LTF declined as of now)

KOTAK PVR PLATINUM issued a year back 1000+gst (movie buff)

Axis flipkart issued 3 yrs back 590rs

OneBOB card issued in June (FOMO)

Amex MRCC (closed)
Amex smartearn ( closed )

Experian 806
Crif 790
Cibil 791

My salary is around 1.5lakhs and am looking for CORE cards LTF like sapphiro or Regalia gold or better for lounge benefits and that inner satisfaction

I used to have salary accounts with HDFC (using now as day to day account maintaining minimum balance) and ICICI (dormant) and the cards were issued with them

Would really appreciate your inputs on how to get my current cards to max benefits and how to grab upgrade offers as I rarely see any these days

 

[Karunakara]

Portfolio depends on your spend pattern. I suggest you to make a profile of your spending in different categories like;
Online shopping
offline shopping
Fuel
Bill pay
Food delivery and restaurant
Travel including hotel, flight and train travel
Insurance
Education fee

Average monthly expenditure on cards

Now pen down what benefits you expect from CC like;
Airport Lounge access
BOGO Movie tickets
Golf lessons
Free flight tickets etc

Next you may explore category wise best card for returns.

Finally, you may enrich your portfolio by adding one Rupay card, one cashback card, one rewards card.

I would also say Amazon Pay CC is OK. But LTF cards suck your probable returns on expenditure. Rather you may go for paid ones with comparable welcome and renewal Benefit.

if you ask a specific question like, what is the best card for fuel? What is the best card for bill payment or what is the the best card for annual expenditure of 5L? You would get more relevant responses.

 

[Casper]

@Karunakara

Thank you for your response

I am new here and have never discussed my card portfolio openly

I do relate to your response and

Online shopping and offline shopping I put it on my Millenia/ Flipkart axis card as they get me 1% back
Fuel I pay cash as I don't have much fuel expenses rely on UBER so 4% back from Axis or hdfc
Bill pay no such requirement
Food delivery and restaurant I have a swiggy hdfc card in my brother's name which we use
Travel including hotel, flight and train travel - have no idea
Insurance - I generally put it on HDFC or Legend card basis billing cycle
Education - fee N/A at the moment

 

[Gogineni]

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[Skylar]

Hello All,

I am new to this platform and wanted your expertise on how to improve and build my current card portfolio which looks like

Apay card LTF issued in June 24
ICICI PLATINUM CHIP CARD LTF issued 6yrs back (Combined)

Had Moneyback upgraded to Hdfc regalia first LTF + issued 5 years back
Hdfc Milennia DC LTF issued 1.5 yrs back
(COMBINED)

IndusInd Legend LTF issued 4 months back (got option to upgrade to Pinnacle by spending 15k first year and then LTF declined as of now)

KOTAK PVR PLATINUM issued a year back 1000+gst (movie buff)

Axis flipkart issued 3 yrs back 590rs

OneBOB card issued in June (FOMO)

Amex MRCC (closed)
Amex smartearn ( closed )

Experian 806
Crif 790
Cibil 791

My salary is around 1.5lakhs and am looking for CORE cards LTF like sapphiro or Regalia gold or better for lounge benefits and that inner satisfaction

I used to have salary accounts with HDFC (using now as day to day account maintaining minimum balance) and ICICI (dormant) and the cards were issued with them

Would really appreciate your inputs on how to get my current cards to max benefits and how to grab upgrade offers as I rarely see any these days

@Karunakara

Thank you for your response

I am new here and have never discussed my card portfolio openly

I do relate to your response and

Online shopping and offline shopping I put it on my Millenia/ Flipkart axis card as they get me 1% back
Fuel I pay cash as I don't have much fuel expenses rely on UBER so 4% back from Axis or hdfc
Bill pay no such requirement
Food delivery and restaurant I have a swiggy hdfc card in my brother's name which we use
Travel including hotel, flight and train travel - have no idea
Insurance - I generally put it on HDFC or Legend card basis billing cycle
Education - fee N/A at the moment

Bro, your portfolio includes an excellent mix of banks. Could you share your monthly spending?

and is it bob one card? If you have the BOB One Card, it’s currently one of the most rewarding cards.
.
.
.
.
I recommend watching videos regarding "HDFC Smart Buy portal" use your HDFC regalia Gold with smart buy portal, it will be more rewarding.

And Recent release "Axis Cashback credit card" as you already have flipkart card from them it will be easy for you to get that card. Axis cashback card has spent based cashback
^ 0.75% on offline transactions and travel spending.
^ 2% on online spends up to ₹5,000.
^ 5% on online spends between ₹5,001 and ₹40,000.
^ 7% on online spends above ₹40,000.
^ Total monthly cashback capped at ₹4,000.
^ 0.5% on utility transactions, capped at ₹100 per statement.

And Coming to ICICI
ICICI has a quarterly review system, their system automatically assigns LE and LTF offers depending on the card user.
This quarter July, august and September. If you use it as your primary card, you might get an offer in the next quarter, which is October.
I'm having a sapphire Paid upgrade available in app, I asked costumer support if they can make it LTF and they said depending on my spend system will automatically generate offers they can do it. And same other users of ICICI said in other forums.


And I like your idea of sticking to core cards, that really good over the years with upgrades we can get to top card of the bank.

 

[Karunakara]

@Karunakara

Thank you for your response

I am new here and have never discussed my card portfolio openly

I do relate to your response and

Online shopping and offline shopping I put it on my Millenia/ Flipkart axis card as they get me 1% back
Fuel I pay cash as I don't have much fuel expenses rely on UBER so 4% back from Axis or hdfc
Bill pay no such requirement
Food delivery and restaurant I have a swiggy hdfc card in my brother's name which we use
Travel including hotel, flight and train travel - have no idea
Insurance - I generally put it on HDFC or Legend card basis billing cycle
Education - fee N/A at the moment

I see a well thought out strategy in usage of cards. But the collection of your cards seems to be leaning towards CB. For example your Millenia, Axix Flipkart and HDFC Swiggy cards are replaceable by each other. If you have HDFC Swiggy Card should you also have Millenia and Flipkart card.

Unless your speeds are more than 20000/- per month on Flipkart, it can also be replaced by other cards like;

1. Amex MRCC on referral code of someone
(For your insurance and 4 transactions of 1500/- each per month which gives 1000 MR bonus points plus regular rewards)

2. Tata nue Plus or Infinity (for insurance, if your biller listed in Tata Nue app, and slso for UPI transactions

3. You can add ICICI Amazon Pay card to your portfolio being LTF


Thanks for sharing your strategy

 

[Casper]

I see a well thought out strategy in usage of cards. But the collection of your cards seems to be leaning towards CB. For example your Millenia, Axix Flipkart and HDFC Swiggy cards are replaceable by each other. If you have HDFC Swiggy Card should you also have Millenia and Flipkart card.

Unless your speeds are more than 20000/- per month on Flipkart, it can also be replaced by other cards like;

1. Amex MRCC on referral code of someone
(For your insurance and 4 transactions of 1500/- each per month which gives 1000 MR bonus points plus regular rewards)

2. Tata nue Plus or Infinity (for insurance, if your biller listed in Tata Nue app, and slso for UPI transactions

3. You can add ICICI Amazon Pay card to your portfolio being LTF


Thanks for sharing your strategy

@Karunakara

Thank you for your response and yes I am more leaned towards Cashback as that was the primary motive for getting a credit card to get anything back from daily payments.

I have recently added the Amazon pay card as combined with Platinum chip amazon was not offering it due to different number being linked the day I realised it same day got the invite.


I had two Amex but closed due to non acceptance and low offer count.

I am in process to get the Tata neu infinity LTF but heard it may act as barrier if I wish to get a LTF regalia gold/DCB in future so holding that for now.

 

[Casper]

Bro, your portfolio includes an excellent mix of banks. Could you share your monthly spending?

and is it bob one card? If you have the BOB One Card, it’s currently one of the most rewarding cards.
.
.
.
.
I recommend watching videos regarding "HDFC Smart Buy portal" use your HDFC regalia Gold with smart buy portal, it will be more rewarding.

And Recent release "Axis Cashback credit card" as you already have flipkart card from them it will be easy for you to get that card. Axis cashback card has spent based cashback
^ 0.75% on offline transactions and travel spending.
^ 2% on online spends up to ₹5,000.
^ 5% on online spends between ₹5,001 and ₹40,000.
^ 7% on online spends above ₹40,000.
^ Total monthly cashback capped at ₹4,000.
^ 0.5% on utility transactions, capped at ₹100 per statement.

And Coming to ICICI
ICICI has a quarterly review system, their system automatically assigns LE and LTF offers depending on the card user.
This quarter July, august and September. If you use it as your primary card, you might get an offer in the next quarter, which is October.
I'm having a sapphire Paid upgrade available in app, I asked costumer support if they can make it LTF and they said depending on my spend system will automatically generate offers they can do it. And same other users of ICICI said in other forums.


And I like your idea of sticking to core cards, that really good over the years with upgrades we can get to top card of the bank.

@Skylar

Thank you for your response and my monthly spend is around 50k combined as doing WFH once I shift back rent payments on the cards would increase it.

I would certainly checkout your suggestion for the smart buy portal and see if the regalia first card comes to any use currently only using when there is a offer on amazon or flipkart.

About axis the flipkart axis card was a good package and I will see if they make it LTF and that would be the only relationship I wish to keep with them

Thank you for the heads up on ICICI as now as I have recently acquired the Amazon Pay card I will route all my spend on that card for the time being so that a better picture appears of my spending at ICICI till the time they don't me a good upgrade as for past 6 yrs Platinum chip.being my first card which I used only in offers due to low returns and never saw a better upgrade apart from suggestions like MMT card joining fee then LTF which are not reflecting now post Apay card was added to profile.

 

[Skylar]

Thank you for the heads up on ICICI as now as I have recently acquired the Amazon Pay card I will route all my spend on that card for the time being so that a better picture appears of my spending at ICICI till the time they don't me a good upgrade as for past 6 yrs Platinum chip.being my first card never I saw a better upgrade apart from suggestions like MMT card which are not reflecting now port Apay card was added to profile.

I'm not using ICICI as my primary card now so from last 8months the offer didn't change for me it's still showing
sapphire dual - Paid, MMT with only joining fee and ICICI Manchester United Signature paid.

About axis the flipkart axis card was a good package and I will see if they make it LTF and that would be the only relationship I wish to keep with them

Name of the card: Axis cashback.
It's a new release (Citi bank to axis bank)
As your spends are going above 50k online then 7% CB on this card up to 4000/-

 

[Casper]

I'm not using ICICI as my primary card now so from last 8months the offer didn't change for me it's still showing
sapphire dual - Paid, MMT with only joining fee and ICICI Manchester United Signature paid.




Name of the card: Axis cashback.
It's a new release (Citi bank to axis bank)
As your spends are going above 50k online then 7% CB on this card up to 4000/-

Thank you for your response and can you please share the link as I cannot locate any such card

I see Axis Ace Axis Neo and my zone some are LTF as of now

 

[Casper]

@Skylar @Karunakara

Hi,

Sorry to bother you guys but I was offered a dual Rubyx ICICI card basis my salary and I already hold a Platinum chip and Amazon pay card with combined limit with them

Is it worth to get the Rubyx ICICI card with LTF feature and how is the card is real world usage

I was told it is 1 down version of Sapphiro and just wanted to check if by getting the rubyx card I will be close to get the Sapphiro or high end card ?

 

[Karunakara]

@Skylar @Karunakara

Hi,

Sorry to bother you guys but I was offered a dual Rubyx ICICI card basis my salary and I already hold a Platinum chip and Amazon pay card with combined limit with them

Is it worth to get the Rubyx ICICI card with LTF feature and how is the card is real world usage

I was told it is 1 down version of Sapphiro and just wanted to check if by getting the rubyx card I will be close to get the Sapphiro or high end card ?

ICICI is well known for its low rewarding credit cards. Except for it low end Amazon Pay and top end Emerald Pvt Metal Card, all other cards are not worth holding. Since Rubyx is offered LTF you may get it.

If your aim is to get Emerald Pvt Metal Card, you may start here.

 

[Skylar]

@Skylar @Karunakara

Hi,

Sorry to bother you guys but I was offered a dual Rubyx ICICI card basis my salary and I already hold a Platinum chip and Amazon pay card with combined limit with them

Is it worth to get the Rubyx ICICI card with LTF feature and how is the card is real world usage

I was told it is 1 down version of Sapphiro and just wanted to check if by getting the rubyx card I will be close to get the Sapphiro or high end card ?

Rubyx will be a great replacement for Platinum.
Like you get slightly better rewards rate when use that card for 10% instant discount during sales. Except during sale, we would never use ICICI cards


I Found these two point on their site interesting!

- 2 complimentary access per quarter to select airport lounges in India, both on VISA variant. 2 complimentary access per quarter to selected airport lounges in India, one each on MasterCard and American Express variants.

- Avail 25% discount upto Rs.150 on purchase of minimum 2 movie tickets per transaction on BookMyShow and Inox on VISA variant. The offer can be availed twice a month on BookMyShow and Inox each. (One ticket each on MasterCard and American Express variants.)

 

[Casper]

@Skylar @Karunakara @Gogineni @TaxWiser

Hi guys,


Sorry to bother you but I recently got offered a swiggy hdfc ltf card and just wanted your suggestion if I should get that card as I already have regalia first and Millenia dc card

With regalia first I literally get no benefit after devaluation and even when I want to upgrade it's giving me option for Millenia with a fee when I already have a supplementary ltf Millenia dc card

Just had to check if I get this co brand card would it hamper my eligibility for better core cards

 

[SanthoshSomu]

@Skylar @Karunakara @Gogineni @TaxWiser

Hi guys,


Sorry to bother you but I recently got offered a swiggy hdfc ltf card and just wanted your suggestion if I should get that card as I already have regalia first and Millenia dc card

With regalia first I literally get no benefit after devaluation and even when I want to upgrade it's giving me option for Millenia with a fee when I already have a supplementary ltf Millenia dc card

Just had to check if I get this co brand card would it hamper my eligibility for better core cards

How to get millennia DC for LTF?

 

[Casper]

How to get millennia DC for LTF?

I got the Millenia as supplementary card to my Regalia first card around 3 years back. I guess they do not offer it LTF anymore even for me When I see to upgrade my Regalia First I see Millenia but a fee version despite holding LTF Millenia

 

[wcgxlr8]

@Skylar @Karunakara @Gogineni @TaxWiser

Hi guys,


Sorry to bother you but I recently got offered a swiggy hdfc ltf card and just wanted your suggestion if I should get that card as I already have regalia first and Millenia dc card

With regalia first I literally get no benefit after devaluation and even when I want to upgrade it's giving me option for Millenia with a fee when I already have a supplementary ltf Millenia dc card

Just had to check if I get this co brand card would it hamper my eligibility for better core cards

You can only hold 3 HDFC cards at a time, so make sure that this doesn't prevent you from getting a Tata Neu or some other card. Ideally, you can use SBI cash back card as well for online spends, but if you are optimising your spends via smart buy portal, then it is good to keep using HDFC core cards. Also, you should get an offer to upgrade Regalia based on your income , you can reach out to HDFC cards department and send an email request.

 

[Casper]

You can only hold 3 HDFC cards at a time, so make sure that this doesn't prevent you from getting a Tata Neu or some other card. Ideally, you can use SBI cash back card as well for online spends, but if you are optimising your spends via smart buy portal, then it is good to keep using HDFC core cards. Also, you should get an offer to upgrade Regalia based on your income , you can reach out to HDFC cards department and send an email request.

Thank you for your response and I spoke with the HDFC Team and as per them LTF upgrades are not possible and they are ready to give me the Regalia gold but with a fee

I asked about Swiggy LTF option here just because the benefits resemble to Millenia and as my Millenia is a supplementary to regalia in future if I cancel or upgrade to a fee card the benefit may be revoked so was thinking of a backup plan

Had no idea that we can only hold 3 HDFC cards

So basis this what would be your advise?

 

[Skylar]

@Skylar @Karunakara @Gogineni @TaxWiser

Hi guys,


Sorry to bother you but I recently got offered a swiggy hdfc ltf card and just wanted your suggestion if I should get that card as I already have regalia first and Millenia dc card

With regalia first I literally get no benefit after devaluation and even when I want to upgrade it's giving me option for Millenia with a fee when I already have a supplementary ltf Millenia dc card

Just had to check if I get this co brand card would it hamper my eligibility for better core cards

Card upgrades with HDFC depend on the existing limit. May I know your current limit on that card? Some people believe that using a co-branded card won’t lead to core card upgrades, but if your co-branded card offers better returns, it’s wise to use it, especially the HDFC Swiggy card, with LTF it is indeed great offer.


As your limit increases in the future, you can call customer service and request upgrades.

 

[Skylar]

Had no idea that we can only hold 3 HDFC cards

I'm having MB+, Tata Neu and Swiggy cards
You can hold 1 core and 3 co-branded cards.
and if your NRV with HDFC is high you can get 2 core cards, Like infina users are getting BIZ black as floater card.