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Kolkata: Indians are adopting credit cards at a furious pace, so much so that it has virtually left the once-ubiquitous debit cards far behind in the growth story. According to Reserve Bank of India data, in May this year, spending through credit cards surged to Rs 1.9 lakh crore — a 3% jump month-on-month and 15% rise year-on-year.

According to investment bank and financial services firm Equirus Securities, as many as 7.62 lakh new cards came in circulation in May. That month HDFC Bank led the issuer pack with 2.75 lakh new cards while the second spot was grabbed by YES Bank with 1.84 lakh. The third and fourth spots were occupied by SBI Card with 1.27 lakh and Axis Bank with 1.06 lakh.

Cards between vanilla and premium categories

However, most users want a credit card that is not high on annual fees. The credit card market is almost divided into two broad categories — a vanilla category, which doesn’t charge any annual fee at all and a premium category, which charge quite substantial fees. There are a small group of credit cards which are somewhere in the intervening zone — they charge a small annual fee.

If we set an annual fee of Rs 1,000 a year, which are the credit cards that charge below this amount? Let’s have a look.

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card: Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card charges its users an annual fee of Rs 500. If the user spends more than Rs 3.5 lakh a year through it, the annual fee not charged.

HDFC MoneyBack+ Credit Card: HDFC MoneyBack+ Credit Card also levies an annual charge of Rs 500 as annual fee. It is waived off when the user spends more than Rs 50,000 in a year before renewal.

SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card: SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card from the biggest bank of the country charges an annual fee of Rs 499 a year. The fee is not charged when the expenditure through it is Rs 1 lakh a year.

Kotak Indian Oil Credit Card: This card also charges Rs 449 as annual fee. It is not charged when one spends Rs 50,000 in the preceding year.

Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card: Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card charges Rs 500 as annual fee, but one can get it waived if one spends more than Rs 2 lakh a year.

BPCL SBI credit card: This card by SBI Card charges 499 a year. But is also gives the user 2,000 activation bonus reward points after the joining fee is paid.

However, it needs to be remembered that credit cards carry the highest interest rates that all retails loans bear. Injudicious use of credit cards can not only injure your credit score but also can ensnare you in a debt trap. Therefore, credit cards must be used discreetly.