I have always been a big fan of credit cards and I have always supported the same. In fact I have written before to rediff on the same subject in 2005.

I am currently having HSBC, Citibank and ICICI credit cards. I use all these cards often. I have given an add-on card to my dad on HSBC. I have also given an add-on card to my wife on ICICI. I always read the fine print before I start using and if there is any doubt I clarify it immediately.

If we use credit cards properly then there is no issue at all. But banks make sure that we pay for our mistakes so I never delay my due date and pay all on time. I have got credit limit increased also.

Last year during my marriage I did a lot of shopping. Using reward points I got a toaster worth Rs 1,600 for free. It got delivered to me in three days by just making a phone call. My wife uses add-on card to do her daily shopping and I really don’t need to bother to know the details as the statement shows all in one time.

My dad used to pay his Tata Sky bill through TV directly. He did not have to go anywhere to pay bills. Citibank calls you if there is a big transaction on your card. When I purchased a laptop I was immideately called by Citibank to confirm if I indeed made a big purchase. That makes us little more secure.

One time my relatives had come to Bangalore from Tirupati. They didn't book the tickets to Prasanti Nilyam and they had to go the same day. We went to KSRTC online at 4 am and we booked the tickets at the same time. If we didn't have credit card we couldn't have booked the tickets in the middle of night. My uncle was so happy to see technology work in a nice way.

I have been using card for almost seven years now. I feel if we use it carefully we can get lot of benefits but one mistake can cost us.

I would also advice others to go through the statement very carefully and check the transactions online every week just to make sure that some unauthorised activity hasn't happened.

Also never accept any loan on phone offers unless you are in real need of it. I heard many customers started getting EMI deduction without accepting a particular offer. So simply say a strong NO to these calls.

You can have as many cards as you want but use one or two on regular basis and use the remaining ones to just catch on offers (like HSBC has tied up with Westside for additional offer). HDFC has tied up with some airline and if you are going through this airline you should use that card then. ICICI has tied up with HP petrol pumps which I use so that there is no surcharge on my fillings.

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Reader invite

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