₹25–30 lakh of credit card benefits a year? At what spend?
“₹25–30 lakhs worth of #Benefits every year from my #CreditCards.” WoW!!
“How much did you spend to get that?”
Let’s break it down as per the Moneycontrol article (link below).
If the rewards rate is 20% (best case) and benefits are ₹25 lakhs (min), that means spending of at least: ₹1.25 CRORE per year
Now pause and think, how many people can realistically spend ₹1.25 crore on credit cards annually?
Take, for example, one of the most premium cards in the country, #HDFCBankInfinia, users were recently asked to spend ~₹18 lakhs/year to maintain the relationship, and #SocialMedia was flooded with 'tears'.
Because the truth is: Most people don’t even come close to these numbers!
Average monthly credit card spend in India is < ₹20,000
At that level:
- You likely don’t hold premium cards
- Reward rates are modest
- And recent devaluations make them even less attractive
Always remember, Big #Reward stories are built on big spending, which the majority can't afford. But they get influenced by the #finfluencers and start 'manufactured' spending! Many fall into the #DebtTrap!
Credit cards can’t make you rich!
They might help you save a little!
For the majority, the effort to optimize is often not worth it!
One missed payment can wipe out months of rewards.
Late fees, interest, CIBIL impact…
That “free flight” suddenly becomes very expensive.
Disclaimer: This sane advice comes from someone who owns 20+ credit cards and still keeps a CIBIL score above 800 😄