BEST LIFETIME FREE CREDIT CARD IN INDIA
In today’s fast-paced and digitally-driven financial pathway, credit cards have become more than just pieces of plastic tucked into our wallets; they are powerful tools that provide convenience, security, and numerous financial advantages. Having a credit card is a great way to manage your finances during a cash crisis. It allows you to access funds, make purchases, and repay the amount at a later stage. The best part is that credit cards are widely accepted and offer great financial freedom if used judiciously.
Understanding the Basics: What is a Credit Card?
A credit card is a financial instrument that allows you to borrow money up to a certain limit, commonly referred to as your “credit limit.” Unlike debit cards, which are linked to your bank account and draw upon your own funds, credit cards provide access to a line of credit offered by the issuing bank.
Best Lifetime Free Credit Cards In India
When people choose credit cards, they want maximum benefits out of it with minimum charges. There are credit cards which do not charge an annual fee at all. These are lifetime free credit cards. They may levy some money for extra services like a hard copy of the bill but don’t have any annual or joining fees. There are also lifetime free credit cards for which the annual membership is waived off on spending a certain amount in a year.
Below mentioned is the list of 06 best Credit Cards available in India in 2023 with lifetime free access:
ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card
The ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card has been designed keeping the customers’ best interests in mind, ensuring that they avail maximum benefits from using it. Apart from offering attractive rates of interest, the credit card has other rewards such as waiver on fuel surcharge, PAYBACK points, etc. which cardholders can enjoy. This card is exclusively available only to the existing customers of the bank.
Features and Benefits of ICICI Platinum Credit Card
- With the ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card, anyone can enjoy a 2.5% surcharge waiver when you purchase fuel for a maximum of Rs.4000 at any HPCL petrol pump.
- With this card, you can avail multiple Platinum benefits on travel, dining, hotel, shopping, etc., from Visa.
- Get 2 PAYBACK Points on every Rs.100 spent for retail purchases except fuel (I.e., 0.5% cash back).
- Get 1 PAYBACK Point for every Rs.100 spent on utilities and insurance spends.
- Anyone can get 15% discount in ICICI bank partner restaurants on dining.
- No joining fees/annual fees.
Indusind Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card
The Indusind Bank Platinum Aura Credit Card offers lifestyle benefits. It comes with comprehensive insurance benefits, 24×7 concierge service, flexible reward plans, and fuel charge waiver.
Features and Benefits of Indusind Bank Platinum Aura Edge Credit Card
- Joining Fees of Rs 500/- (No further fees/Annual Fees/Renewable fees)
- Welcome gift: A gift voucher from Amazon, Flipkart, Big Bazaar, Zee 5, Apollo Pharmacy etc.
- Save on fuel with the 1% fuel surcharge waiver applicable on fuel spends across gas stations.
IndusInd Bank Platinum Aura Edge credit card offers customized saving points to match one’s spending trends. Here’s an overview of the 4 reward plans a person can choose from to maximize your savings:
Platinum Aura Edge Shop Plan
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Platinum Aura Edge Home Plan
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Platinum Aura Edge Party Plan
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Platinum Aura Edge Travel Plan
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AU Bank LIT Credit Card
AU Bank’s LIT Credit Card is India’s first customizable credit card, which allows bearer to design it exactly as per his/her preferences. It provides the freedom to choose from a range of features that suit the lifestyle and can be modified whenever required. Moreover, one can turn on or off the features, pay only for what you select, and effortlessly manage them in real-time while on-the-go.
Features and Benefits of AU Finance Bank LIT Credit Card:
- No Annual Fees/Joining Fees
- 10X or 5X Reward Points on all online domestic & international retail transactions.
- 10X or 5X Reward Points on all POS & Contactless offline domestic & international transactions. However, Fuel, rent, and cash withdrawal transactions will not be eligible for Accelerated rewards i.e. 5X or 10X Reward Points.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver on all transactions between INR 400 to INR 5,000.
Additional 5% Cashback
- Earn 5% cashback 3 times over a 90 days’ period.
- 5% cashback for retail spends in addition to 1 Reward Point per INR 100 spent.
- Minimum retail spends of INR 7,500 & max. cashback of INR 500 over a 30-day period.
Additional 2% Cashback
- Earn 2% cashback 3 times over a 90 days’ period.
- 2% cashback for retail spends in addition to 1 Reward Point per INR 100 spent.
- Minimum retail spends of INR 10,000 & max. cashback of INR 1,000 over a 30 days’ period.
- Travel in comfort and style with your LIT Credit Card. You can enjoy up to 4 domestic Airport lounge visits per 90 days or per quarter.
IDFC First Millenia Credit Card
IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Card is designed for the millennial lifestyle with its 10X reward points that never expire, low rate of interest and amazing merchant discounts. This card comes with absolutely no Joining/ Membership/ Annual fee, making it a lifetime free credit card.
Features & Benefits of IDFC FIRST Millennia Credit Card
Joining Benefits: Welcome voucher worth Rs. 500 on spending Rs. 15,000 or above within 90 days of card issuance.
5% cashback (maximum up to Rs. 1,000) on the transaction value of first EMI done within 90 days of the card generation.
Reward Points:
- 10X reward points on incremental spends of more than Rs. 20,000 per month and also on spends done on your birthday.
- 6X reward points on online purchases for spends up to Rs. 20,000 per month.
- 3X reward points on offline purchases for spends up to Rs. 20,000 per month.
- The reward points are unlimited and never expire.
- Reward points can be used instantly to pay for online or in-store purchases. 1X = 1 Reward point per Rs. 150 spent (1 Reward point = ₹0.25).
Other Benefits:
- No Joining/ Membership/ Annual fee, making it a lifetime free credit card.
- 4 complimentary railway lounge visits each quarter.
- Complimentary Roadside Assistance worth Rs. 1,399.
- Personal Accident Cover worth Rs. 2,00,000 and Lost Card Liability Cover worth Rs. 25,000.
- 25% discount (up to Rs. 100) on booking movie tickets on Paytm mobile app (valid once per month).
- Up to 20% discount at more than 1500 restaurants.
- Up to 15% discount at over 3000 Health & Wellness outlets.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations across India. Benefits available up to Rs. 200 per month.
ICICI Bank Amazon Pay Credit Card
Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card is a cashback credit card designed specifically for Amazon Prime customers. It is a lifetime-free credit card issued by ICICI Bank in association with Amazon Pay (India) Private Limited and Visa. It is designed to reward every purchase in the form of Amazon Pay.
An important feature to note about this card is that it can be obtained using the Amazon website/app.
Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card Benefits and Features
One of the many things that distinguish the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card is its array of handy features and benefits.
- There is no joining or yearly fees.
- The ICICI Bank Culinary Treats Program is available to Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card holders. One can get a 15% discount on dining bills at 200 restaurants through this program.
- The credit card has an NFC chip that enables contactless payments at supported Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
- A 1% fuel surcharge waiver applies to all fuel transactions made with this credit card.
- The accrued cashback amount will be automatically transferred to your linked Amazon Pay account at the close of each billing cycle.
- The Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card includes an integrated chip that safeguards your ATM and offline transactions against counterfeiting and skimming schemes.
Joining Benefits:
- For prime users, rewards worth Rs 2000.
- For Non-prime users, rewards worth Rs 1500 + 03 months Amazon Prime Membership.
Fuel Surcharge
- 1% fuel fees waiver at all India gas stations, provided the transaction size does not increase Rs 4000/-.
- 5% cashback on users first gasoline purchase of the month. A minimum purchase of Rs 2000/- is necessary for this offer.
Dining Benefits
- This card saves users at least 15% on bill payments at all partner restaurants.
Cashback Benefits
- 5% cashback on transaction made at Amazon for Prime Members.
- 3% cashback on transaction made at Amazon for Non-Prime Members.
- 2% cashback on transaction made at over 100 Amazon Pay member partner on using this card with Amazon Pay.
- 1% cashback on all other payments.
Reward Points
- 1 Reward point = Rs 1/-.
- Reward points transferred as cashback to Amazon Pay balance.
- No expiry date of Rewards Points.
- No minimum amount required for reward redemption.
HDFC Bank Millenia Credit Card
A cashback credit card by HDFC Bank, the HDFC Bank Millennia Credit Card targets the Gen-Y – the ‘90s kids or the millennials. The HDFC Millennia card is offered in three variants- Visa, MasterCard, and Diners Club variant. This card charges Joining fees and Renewal fees of Rs 1000/- each (which can be waived off based on spend). This card is best suited for Shopping and Cashback.
HDFC Bank Millenia Credit Card Benefits and Features
The card gives multiple benefits like Welcome bonus, Fuel Surcharge, Lounge access, dining benefits and Cash Back Points on all purchases made on multiple platforms online as well as offline.
Joining Benefits
- 1000 cash points (applicable only on payment of membership fees.
Fuel Surcharge
- 1% fuel fees waiver at all India gas stations, provided the transaction size Should be from Rs 400/- to Rs 5000/-.
Lounge Access
- 08 free visits to domestic Lounge each year (02 entries per quarter).
Cashback Benefits
- 5% cashback on Amazon, BookMyShow, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Myntra, Sony LIV, Swiggy, Tata CLiQ, Uber and Zomato etc.
- 1% cashback on all other online and offline spends.
Cashback Benefits
- 5% cashback on flights and hotel reservations.
Movie and Dining
- Up to 20% discount at partner restaurants with complimentary Swiggy Dine out.
Reward Redemption
- Rewards processed as Cash Points, 1 CP = Re. 1 while redeeming against statement balance of credit card and 1 CP = Rs. 0.30 while redeeming against products and vouchers in the product catalogue, and against flight/hotel booking.
Spend Based Waiver
- The renewal fee is waived off if the cardholder spends Rs. 1 Lakh or more in the previous year.
Based on above evaluation it is very clear that credit cards are of very high importance, however, the user need to understand that all facilities come at a cost. if used sensibly it can be an asset. Below mentioned are the considerations one should keep in mind while using them.
- Pay on Time: Timely payments are crucial to maintaining a good credit score and avoiding high-interest charges.
- Stay Within Your Means: Avoid overspending and only charge what you can comfortably pay off.
- Monitor Your Statements: Regularly review your credit card statements for errors or unauthorized charges.
- Understand Your Terms: Familiarize yourself with your card’s terms, including interest rates, fees, and rewards.
CONCLUSION
Credit cards are a fundamental part of modern finance, providing convenience, security, and financial opportunities. When used responsibly, they can significantly enhance your financial life, offering a gateway to rewards and building a positive credit history. However, it’s essential to understand the concept of credit cards and practice prudent financial management to make the most of these versatile tools.
