Questions to answer about rewards, fees, interest, rules and your own habits before you apply for a cashback or reward credit card.
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Use this checklist before you apply for a cashback or reward card, or before you keep paying the annual fee on a card you already hold. Tick each line only when you can answer it from your own records or the card's documents, not from an advert.
Why these questions. Most reward cards in India look similar on the headline rate but differ on caps, excluded categories, fee waivers, point expiry and redemption value. The RBI requires card issuers to give a one-page Key Fact Statement with the application and to publish the Most Important Terms and Conditions; these documents, not the banner, are what you compare.
How to use it. Start with your spending. Pull the last three statements and add spend per category. Then check each card's earn rate on those categories, its caps and exclusions, and the fee with 18% GST. Use the reward value vs annual fee calculator for the rupee answer.
Worked example (illustrative). If ₹6,000 of your ₹20,000 monthly spend is rent and the card excludes rent, only ₹14,000 earns rewards. At 1.5% that is ₹210 a month, ₹2,520 a year, not the ₹3,600 the full spend would suggest.
Limits. The checklist does not rank cards or tell you which to choose. Terms change; check the issuer's current KFS and MITC. See how to choose a card.
Fees, Rewards and 2026 Rules
How the statement date, due date and interest-free period work on Indian credit cards, your RBI right to change the billing cycle at least once, and worked examples matching it to salary day.
Fees, Rewards and 2026 Rules
How the RBI's March 2024 card network rule lets you pick the network on a new or renewed credit card, which issuers it covers, and how the network affects UPI, rewards and acceptance.
Mistakes, Fraud and Complaints
Closing a credit card in India in 2026 — RBI rule to close within seven working days or pay ₹500 a day, reward points, credit balance refund, auto-debits, inactive cards and CIBIL reporting.
Mistakes, Fraud and Complaints
How Indian credit cards affect CIBIL and other credit scores in 2026 — payment history, utilisation, hard enquiries, closing old cards, reporting dates, the free annual report and disputes.
Mistakes, Fraud and Complaints
How to complain about a credit card in India in 2026 — issuer grievance route, billing disputes in 30 days, chargebacks, and the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 on cms.rbi.org.in.
Mistakes, Fraud and Complaints
What to do after an unauthorised credit card transaction in India, the RBI customer liability rules (zero, limited and policy-based), the 10-day shadow credit, disputes and helpline 1930.
