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.
6094 posts · Page 315 of 508 · View the full archive
How-To GuidesThe first 90 days: a welcome bonus playbook
A welcome bonus is won or lost in the first 90 days after issuance — sometimes sooner. Most failures are not dramatic; they are administrative. Someone missed the issuance date, counted excluded transactions, or noticed
How-To GuidesWhen not to chase a welcome bonus
Not every welcome bonus deserves to be chased. The offers are designed to be tempting — that is their job — but a bonus that distorts your spending, locks you into a fee, or strains your credit profile is a bad deal wear
How-To GuidesWelcome offers on co-brand cards: how they differ
Co-brand cards — issued by a bank in partnership with an airline, retailer or shopping platform — structure their welcome perks differently from bank-native cards. The rewards often live in the partner's ecosystem rather
How-To GuidesTracking your welcome bonus: statements, timelines and disputes
Bonuses post on the bank's schedule, not yours. Between meeting the spend threshold and seeing the reward in your account, there is a pipeline — verification, period-end, posting — and understanding its stages is what se
How-To GuidesWhat typically disqualifies you from a welcome bonus
Welcome bonuses are designed for new customers meeting new-customer conditions, and issuers enforce that boundary with mechanical rules. Most "missing bonus" complaints trace back to one of a small set of disqualifiers t
How-To GuidesStacking a welcome bonus with festive-season bank offers
Festival sale season and a new card's welcome window are a natural pairing. A purchase made during a big online sale can count toward your welcome threshold and earn the sale's bank discount at the same time. That is a l
How-To GuidesPlanning your spend threshold without manufactured spending
The honest path to a spend threshold is rearranging real spending, not creating fake spending. Every rupee you route through the card should be a rupee you were going to spend anyway — just moved earlier, consolidated, o
How-To GuidesWelcome bonus versus first-year fee: a decision framework
A welcome bonus is only valuable if it beats what the card costs you. Too many people compare the headline bonus against zero, when the honest comparison is the bonus against the fee you pay to access it — plus the effor
How-To GuidesTiming your card application around a planned big spend
A welcome bonus is easiest to earn when it rides on spending you were going to do anyway. That makes timing — not just which card you pick — the biggest lever you control. Apply when your natural spending is about to pea
How-To GuidesHow credit card welcome bonuses actually work in India
A welcome bonus is the card issuer's way of saying thank you for signing up — and for spending a defined amount soon after. It is usually the single richest perk a card will ever offer, but it comes wrapped in conditions
How-To GuidesThe quiet cost of the credit card you never use
It sits in a drawer, or in an app you never open. You have not swiped it in a year. It feels harmless — but an unused credit card is rarely free, and the costs are the quiet kind: fees you forget, risks you do not monito
How-To GuidesAfter a downgrade: reapplying, cooling periods and climbing back to premium
A downgrade is not a verdict — it is a season. Circumstances change: income rises, travel resumes, spending grows. Many cardholders eventually wonder whether they can climb back to the premium card they left. The path ex