Credit Card Rewards and Offers: Maximising Benefits in the Indian Market

Rewards credit cards have become quite popular in India, with more and more people signing up to take advantage of points, miles, and cashback offers. These cards allow you to accumulate rewards on your spending, which can be redeemed for an array of attractive benefits. Now, while these cards seem alluring, certain intricacies are involved in maximising the rewards. The average cardholder applies for a card with a friendly welcome bonus, earns some points on daily expenses, and leaves it at that. But clever users go deeper and can extract much higher value. Let’s learn more about credit card rewards and offers.

Types of Rewards Credit Cards

Most credit card offers come in two primary forms:

 Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Most credit card companies provide travel benefits to their customers and also offer credit cards with travel rewards. Cardholders can earn points or miles when they purchase travel with the card. They can use these credit card reward points to book hotel rooms or trips with any significant hotel or airline worldwide.

Points Rewards Cards 

When cardholders use these cards to buy things, they get a certain number of points for every dollar spent. After accumulating the reward points, they can be redeemed for gift cards or plane tickets anytime within the validity period.

Benefits of Rewards Credit Cards

The reward point schemes with credit cards vary from card to card. But most reward point schemes offer similar kinds of perks.

Rewards on Every Transaction

Most purchases made with a credit card can earn credit card reward points for the cardholder. Only a few transactions like gold, fuel, cash advances, and fees do not qualify for earning reward points. Cardholders must spend a minimum amount on each transaction to be eligible for reward points. Upon reaching a particular points threshold, they can redeem the accumulated points for rewards and other gifts from the credit card company’s reward catalogue. 

Accelerated Rewards

Cardholders can earn reward points for meeting minimum spending requirements and getting accelerated rewards on specific high-value categories. The categories eligible for accelerated reward points differ from one card to another and are primarily based on the credit card type. Co-branded credit cards offer more bonus points on purchases related to the co-brand partner’s products or services. 

Milestone Rewards

Upon reaching specified milestones related to credit card usage and spending, cardholders receive a lump sum reward points bundle as a milestone bonus from the credit card company. By achieving these milestones, cardholders can accumulate many reward points.

Other Rewards

Once a certain amount of reward points has been collected, cardholders can redeem the points for various products listed in the issuer’s reward catalogue, including electronics, home appliances, apparel, etc. Some cards also allow redeeming points against the outstanding credit card bill amount as monetary savings.

How to Maximise Credit Card Rewards

Cardholders can use the following tips to maximise rewards on their credit cards:

• Choose the right card matching your spending habits and needs to earn maximum rewards.
• Avoid unnecessary spending to earn rewards—track expenses to spend wisely.
• Research reward schemes and offers instead of going for the first offer received.
• Know the credit limit and minimum spending requirements to be eligible for rewards.
• Pay credit card bills and EMI payments on time to avoid losing reward eligibility.
• Opt for cards having flexible bonuses tied to specific merchants or transactions.
• Read the fine print and keep updated on feature changes or terms and conditions.

Avoid Making Common Credit Card Mistakes

Credit cards are based on the idea you can buy something now and pay for it later. The cards give you quick access to credit and a lot of other benefits, such as cashback, reward points, discounts, and more. A lot of the time, people make mistakes that hurt their money without realising it. So, we’ve gone over some common mistakes people make with credit cards you should avoid using. 

• Not paying credit card bills
• Paying only the minimum amount due
• Getting cash advances and spending the money on things you don’t need
• Not keeping track of the credit usage ratio
• Getting the wrong credit card

The Future of Credit Card

Indian buyers used to prefer debit cards over credit cards. Most of the first people to use credit cards in India were foreigners who knew how credit card systems worked. This led to the mistaken belief that credit cards are a foreign luxury product only the rich can afford. But this idea has changed a lot as people have learned more about credit cards and how easy they are to use. Credit cards have become an essential part of the Indian market.

Conclusion

Credit card reward points programs offer immense value if used strategically. Choosing a suitable card, spending smartly, making timely repayments, and redeeming points carefully can help maximise benefits. However, cardholders should avoid being influenced by glossy offers and must read the fine print for responsible usage. This ensures a rewarding and fruitful credit card experience.