The CardBuzz blog
Card-by-card write-ups from our team, features, fees, lounge access and who each card actually suits. For the numbers after every cap and exclusion, head to the card pages.
5189 posts · Page 178 of 433 · View the full archive
How-To GuidesFirst-Year-Free vs Lifetime-Free Cards: Reading the Fine Print
"Free" is the most powerful word in credit card marketing, and the industry uses it in at least two very different senses. A first-year-free card charges no fee in year one and starts charging from year two. A lifetime-f
How-To GuidesFee Waivers on Co-Brand Cards: Flipkart, Amazon and Swiggy Mechanics
Co-brand credit cards — the ones carrying a retailer's name alongside the bank's — play by slightly different fee rules than ordinary bank cards, and the differences matter. Because a partner brand is involved, the econo
How-To GuidesWhat to Look for in a Waiver-Friendly Card Before You Apply
Most card comparisons focus on reward rates, lounge access and welcome bonuses. Sensible enough — but for anyone who intends to keep a card for years, the waiver architecture deserves equal weight. Two cards with identic
How-To GuidesWaiver Chasing: When the Spend Threshold Is Worth It and When It Is Not
Few credit card decisions feel as satisfying as crossing a waiver threshold in the final weeks of your card year. The fee that was about to post simply never appears, and the card you like effectively costs nothing. But
How-To GuidesThe Fee Waiver Negotiation Playbook: How to Call Your Bank
The fee has posted. Your statement shows a renewal charge you were hoping to avoid, and now there is a decision to make: pay it, or pick up the phone. For most Indian cardholders, the phone call is the right move — fee w
How-To GuidesHow Annual Fee Waivers Actually Work in India
Every credit card with an annual fee carries a quiet question along with it: will you actually have to pay that fee? In India, the answer is very often no — not because the fee is fictional, but because the card industry
Buying GuidesIRCTC Air Flight Bookings with Credit Cards: Convenience Fees, Rewards and Refund Mechanics
IRCTC is synonymous with train tickets, but its flight-booking vertical — IRCTC Air — is a full-fledged online travel agency selling domestic and international flights, often at fares that undercut the big aggregators on
Buying GuidesMakeMyTrip Black Tiers and International Bookings: Card Rewards, myCash and Forex Fees
MakeMyTrip is where India's travel spending concentrates — flights, hotels, holiday packages and rail — and its checkout layers a loyalty currency, a tier programme and card rewards on top of already-complex travel prici
Buying GuidesNykaa PRIVE Rewards and Credit Cards: Stacking Loyalty Points with Card Benefits
Beauty shopping has economics unlike any other e-commerce category: small baskets, high frequency, near-zero returns and a loyalty programme — Nykaa PRIVE — that pays meaningful value back to regulars. For credit cardhol
Buying GuidesMyntra Insider Points and Credit Cards: Stacking Loyalty with Card Rewards on Fashion
Myntra is where fashion shopping meets loyalty economics. The platform's Insider programme pays you in points for every order, tiered memberships unlock early sale access, and the checkout stacks platform coupons with ba
Buying GuidesPaying on Zomato vs at the Restaurant: Where Your Card Earns More on Dining Out
Every restaurant bill now presents a small fork in the road: pay through the Zomato app, or pay at the table with your card. The two paths look equivalent — same food, same total — but they travel through different merch
Buying GuidesSwiggy Money Wallet and Instamart: How Card Rewards Treat Food Delivery and Quick Commerce
Swiggy is no longer just a food-delivery app — it is a wallet, a membership programme and a quick-commerce grocery store wearing one interface. Each of those faces interacts with your credit card differently: a food orde