DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREDIT CARDS

Credit cards, also known as plastic money, have become a rage in recent times as lots of people are experiencing its benefits. In recent times, the credit card companies are not only providing security for cash but also give many additional features too. 24-hour instant cash access is the major advantage of credit card and major banks in India provide varieties of credit cards. Here we discuss the major types of credit cards available in India.

The features and benefits of credit card may differ from company to company. This article highlights the common features of different types of credit cards.

Gold Credit Card:

Gold credit cards are made for higher income groups who also have higher credit rating. It is a status symbol and is considered prestigious. The features of gold credit cards are:

·         Cash withdrawal limit is higher

·         Credit limit is higher

·         Provides one Add-on card which can be given to either, spouse, children or parents of the credit card holder

·         Provides many privileges such as travel insurance, reward points, cash back offers etc.

Platinum or Titanium Card:

Platinum or Titanium cards are similar to gold credit cards but they have few more additional benefits. The additional features may differ from bank to bank. Few common features are listed below:

·         Protection against credit card loss and theft.

·         Protection against online fraud transactions

·         Protection against sickness and injury by an accident.

·         There is no yearly fee

Silver Credit Card:

Silver credit cards are the standard credit cards available and most of the employed people with 4 or 5 years’ experience can own this type of card. The features of silver cards are:

·         Lower membership fees

·         The applicant need not be a high- salaried person to buy silver card.

·         The interest rate is 0% initially between 6-9 months when transferring account balance from one credit provider to another one.

·         If the credit history of the card holder is good, the credit limit provided will be the same as provided to other credit cards.

There are many other types of credit cards sold in India. Few are mentioned below:

Rewards Credit Card: This card has rewards attached to it on based on usage of the card, for e.g. A card may offer 5% discount on fuel, if it is used to buy fuel and gas, or a card may offer cash back facility if a certain amount is spent through it.

Business Credit card: This credit card is available for businessmen who have large scale, small scale or medium scale business to look after. This card is highly useful for facilitating businessman’s training programs, travel and entertainment programs.

Balance Transfer Credit Card: This card is bought to pay outstanding amount of one card with the other. In this too there are cards that offer interest-free time period.

Prepaid Credit Card: This is directly connected to savings account. The payments from this card can be made until there is balance in the account.

Low Interest Rate Credit Cards: This credit card is highly useful as they will have low interest rates.

List of credit cards provided by the various banks:

·         American Express Gold credit card

·         Indian Overseas Bank Visa International Credit card

·         Axis Platinum card

·         Bank of India's India Card

·         Gold International Card

·         Citibank Dinners Club International card

·         ICICI Bank Online card

·         Syndicate Global Gold Credit Card

·         CorpBank Gold card

·         Vijaya Bank Visa Gold Credit Card

·         HSBC Platinum card

·         CorpBank Classic card

·         Vijaya Bank VISA Classic International Card

·         HDFC Silver credit card