best credit card around

maniac_2004

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Hi ,
what are the lowest credit card charges for online/overseas purchases ? I do not want to pay the extra charges added on by the CC cos.

Any CCs which have this amount as nil ?

Thanks
 
Most of the credit card companies do not charge you "extra" for overseas purchases. However, most if not all the banks have a higher exchange rate for foreign currency transactions. For example, using an Indian credit card if you are buying from amazon.com in USD and the market's exchange rate for USD is 46 INR per USD, then the banks' exchange rate would be something like 47 - 48 INR. Almost all the banks do this (what is known in banking term as marked up rates) and this is the way they make money on foreign currency transactions. There should not be any additional charges apart from this from for Forex transactions. Of course the usual finance and late payment fees will apply if you don't pay on time.

Having said that, I have been Citibank credit card holder for the past 8 years and I have had no problems with them, mostly because I have always paid on or before due date and in full. And now Citi has tied up with borderlinx who will ship anything to India when you purchase from UK / US. I have purchased through borderlinx once (using Citi India credit cardd) and the service was very good.

Hope this helps.

-thekinge


Hi ,
what are the lowest credit card charges for online/overseas purchases ? I do not want to pay the extra charges added on by the CC cos.

Any CCs which have this amount as nil ?

Thanks
 
But Citi also charges an additional 10%, which it says is the service tax. I confirmed this on Citiphone. I have the Jet Titanium Card.. last purchase made was on Amazon(approx
$1500)
 
ICICI Platinum Card:
3.7% conversion fees + 10.3 % service tax!!!! What should I do?

change ur card I guess ;)

Not sure but these charges (conversion fee) are not applied to US card holders ..

I think the best is to get a US based card and use that .. To avoid all these "markup" costs. This however will involve some extra initial legwork .
 
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You can apply for and get a US based credit card only if you are a legal temporary or permanent resident AND you should have a Social Security Number (SSN). As far as I know, it is not possible to obtain a US credit card otherwise.

And then there are credit scoring agencies in US like Equifax, TransUnion etc whose job is to collect your card usage data and "rate" you. And also, they keep selling your personal information to other card companies so that they can bombard you with offers!

While the interest rates are generally lower for US credit cards, all it takes for you is to miss one payment to see all the arcane clauses hidden in terms & conditions come into effect!

Credit card companies, no matter where they are from are loan sharks masquerading in shiny white suits ever so ready to lend you money to fulfill your "needs" and later make you suffer (should you not be able to payback on time). Only the ferocity of the "shark bite" is different across countries.

change ur card I guess ;)

Not sure but these charges (conversion fee) are not applied to US card holders ..

I think the best is to get a US based card and use that .. To avoid all these "markup" costs. This however will involve some extra initial legwork .
 
Unfortunately, being in India.. we cannot go for American cards. I checked with Citibank multiple times. The service tax that is levied, is on all foreign transactions using Indian cards. This a mandatory no matter which bank/card you use.
 
That card which allows you to buy your "DREAM AUDIO SYSTEM" with no need to pay back is the best credit card.:lol:
 
Not this one:

Me: I'm having a problem using my card, can you help me please?

Axis Bank Help Line: Certainly, Sir, please give me your card number and your date of birth.

Me: <gives card number and DOB>

ABHL: Sorry, Sir, that is not the date of birth according to our system.

Me: I am very familiar with my birthday, if there is a mistake, it must be yours

ABHL: Sir, unless you can give you DOB as held on our system, I cannot talk to you.

Me: How am I supposed to know what mistake your staff have made?

ABHL: I am not allowed to go any further unless you can give me that date.

Me: Then you had better let me speak to your manager

<After a few minutes>

ABHL: I am sorry sir, there is nobody available...

1. It is ridiculous to use DOB as a security question as it is hardly secret or confidential.

2. Although the problem was sorted out a day or two later, it is ridiculous that there was no option for the first-line phone guy to deal with this, not even al alternative (and better?) security question.

By the way: to get a 1 lakh credit limit, I had to give the bank a lien on a 1 lakh fixed deposit. I don't think that they have quite got the point of credit cards ---- unsecured borrowing being the reason for the high interest rates.

So it's thumbs down from me for Axis. I cancelled the card.
 
Hi,

I have a good experience with ICICI cards till now (touchwood), never levied any excess charges, etc.

The card companies see us as "money cows." I have had the worst experience with SBI card, where they used to levy late penalty for almost every month until I wrote a letter threatening to close down after which they had made reversal of the late penalties for 2 months, when I was posting my cheque religiously 3 days before in a nearby skypak box.

Also, looks like closing all the credit cards in a haste would bring down our credit %, which will affect us in getting loans in the future.

Sort of a no-U-turn route!

Cheers!
 
Also, looks like closing all the credit cards in a haste would bring down our credit %, which will affect us in getting loans in the future.
Silly that, eh? If I sack Axis Bank, it's their credit rating that should be affected, not mine!
 
Silly that, eh? If I sack Axis Bank, it's their credit rating that should be affected, not mine!

Hi Thad,

That should be the case, but it is the other way around! RBI and CIBIL are acting like puppets under the control of these banks.

However, I have gotten all my issues I had with the CC solved. For defaulters, they take an alternate route by using their hitman agencies to threaten and pressurize the defaulters. When all fails, they suddenly jump into a compromise and beg for settlement!

Just like the situation, "If you start running, the dog will chase you; if you turn back, the dog will."

Cheers,
 
For recent transactions abroad, I see Citibank has charged me upto 3 rupees extra for every dollar. Yet to do final math which I will do over the weekend. But preliminary estimate looks like a 6% charge on the days price of the dollar + 10% service tax which makes a whopping 16% charge!!

Regards
 
For recent transactions abroad, I see Citibank has charged me upto 3 rupees extra for every dollar. Yet to do final math which I will do over the weekend. But preliminary estimate looks like a 6% charge on the days price of the dollar + 10% service tax which makes a whopping 16% charge!!

Regards

"Service tax, as notified by the Government of India, is applicable on all fees, interest and other charges and is subject to change, as per relevant regulations of the Government of India"

Foreign currency transaction markup is 3.5%

quoting from http://www.online.citibank.co.in/portal/newgen/cards/images/Reliance_MITC_Stmt_12_08.pdf

Every thing else can be disputed!
 
Unfortunately, being in India.. we cannot go for American cards. I checked with Citibank multiple times. The service tax that is levied, is on all foreign transactions using Indian cards. This a mandatory no matter which bank/card you use.

You can get a US bank account without US address or SSN. But they would take 2 - 3 years to issue credit card without SSN. Credit Card would be issued based on TIN that would be generated while account data is submitted to IRS for the first time.

I did not have SSN when I got BOA account, you get debit card with it that can be used for online purchase.

You need minimum balance of USD 1200 to avoid account opening + monthly charges.

You can get a DD made in USD from India and get that DD deposited in US account.
 
Please try American Express.

I am very happy with my AmEx card, especially for forex transactions. I think their markup is the lowest.

My recent USD rated purchases in early April have been charged at a rate between Rs. 46.00 and Rs. 46.30 per USD. These transactions are both in physical shops and on the internet.

Please note that the service tax is charged on the bank's charges, and not on the total conversion rate. That is to say, if the bank is charging around 3%, then the service charges will be levied on this 3%, making the total charges around 3.31% or so including the service tax.

(I re-confirmed with AmEx, and they are charging 3.50% inclusive of all taxes and charges for all forex transactions in any currency.)

Also, their service is really great. In case of any trouble, they offer the best help. Also, I feel that they are safer, or in any case, safer for you, as they are more willing to take on the risk upon themselves rather than put everything on the card member.

Hope that helps.
 
You can get a US bank account without US address or SSN. But they would take 2 - 3 years to issue credit card without SSN. Credit Card would be issued based on TIN that would be generated while account data is submitted to IRS for the first time.

I did not have SSN when I got BOA account, you get debit card with it that can be used for online purchase.

You need minimum balance of USD 1200 to avoid account opening + monthly charges.

You can get a DD made in USD from India and get that DD deposited in US account.

intresting ... will try this out ..
 
Also, looks like closing all the credit cards in a haste would bring down our credit %, which will affect us in getting loans in the future

From when did this start happening in India? Is there is a central rating agency that is fully functional in India? Are all banks sending customer's financial information to this agency? And are banks now checking your credit score before issuing any sort of loan or credit?

Pardon my questions, but I am genuinely interested to know. I left India 4 years back and at that time, there was no such thing as a credit rating agency!! If the agency is functional now, I can only hope that it is an agency under RBI and not like TransUnion / Equifax / Experian of US!!
 
You can get a US bank account without US address or SSN. But they would take 2 - 3 years to issue credit card without SSN. Credit Card would be issued based on TIN that would be generated while account data is submitted to IRS for the first time.

Personally, I would not take this approach for it may not be legal. A Tax Identification Number (TIN) is issued by US Federal government / IRS only when you are a legitimate alien (yes the US government calls non-Americans as aliens!) residing in US but are not eligible to apply for a Social Security Number (SSN). Usually, spouses of professionals who go on H1B visa (spouse visa is H4) are the ones who get TINs. But if one has no reason to be in US and especially have no reason to open an US account, then taking this approach may land the person in trouble when they travel to US for employment in the future.

I am not a legal expert on this, but I have lived in US and paid taxes to know that SSN / TIN numbers are not toys and are used to track not just tax returns but a whole lot of information about an individual. Given the fact that US government has been coming down strongly on money laundering since September 11, why go to this length and ask for unwanted trouble?

I did not have SSN when I got BOA account, you get debit card with it that can be used for online purchase.

You need minimum balance of USD 1200 to avoid account opening + monthly charges.

Even I did the same thing when i landed in US, but, BoA will keep copies of your passport and visa. How would one provide a valid visa from India when you don't have one? And BoA does this mostly with Indian software professionals because they are exploiting a vulnerable population. Unfortunately for any professional on a H1B visa, they do not get a US Social Security Number till they land in US.

So, even though you may have a brand spanking new H1B on your passport and have landed successfully in US, you just can't start getting paid in greenbacks yet since you dont have a SSN! You need to get your I94 in the passport and then go to the nearest social security office and apply for SSN. Issuing SSN may take anywhere between 2 - 10 weeks depending on a lot of factors. But what do we do for salary till then? That's were banks like BoA & Citi step in. Though technically you cannot open an account without SSN, they exploit a loophole (i don't quite know what it is) that allows non immigrant professionals to open an account without SSN. However you are required to provide a copy of your SSN to the bank within six months of account opening if you are on H1B. FYI my employer never paid me salary officially till I got my SSN. I was given allowances equivalent to my salary and they were adjusted against my salaries after I got SSN.

Again, be very cautious on what you're doing and what you're advising to the forum.
 
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