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 318 of 508 · View the full archive
Buying GuidesConcert and event tickets on cards: fees, queues and refund realities
Concert and live-event ticketing in India has grown up fast — dynamic pricing, tiered presales, and platform fees that can rival the ticket itself. Paying by card is near-universal at checkout, but the fee stack and the
Buying GuidesCinema subscriptions with cards: when auto-renewal maths beats per-ticket booking
Cinema chains now sell subscriptions — a flat monthly fee covering a fixed number of tickets — and for frequent moviegoers the headline looks unbeatable. The maths, however, only works if your viewing habits match the pl
Buying GuidesBookMyShow and PVR offers on cards: how buy-one-get-one ticket deals work
Buy-one-get-one ticket offers are the most visible card-linked entertainment perk in India — and the most misunderstood. Cardholders read "free ticket" as "half price," then meet caps, blackout days and convenience fees
Buying GuidesPaying for movie tickets by credit card in India: where the rewards hide
Cinema tickets are among the most frequent discretionary spends in Indian households, and they are almost always paid by card. The trap is treating the booking like any other transaction. Ticket platforms, convenience fe
Buying GuidesThe refund playbook: how hotel cancellations hit your card statement
Cancelling a hotel booking starts a second transaction — the refund — that follows different rules, timelines and statement behaviour from the original charge. Cardholders routinely discover this the hard way: the refund
Buying GuidesBooking hotels for someone else: OTP, ID and cardholder-presence rules
Booking a hotel for parents, a spouse, or a colleague is routine — and routinely confusing at the payment step. Whose name goes on the reservation, whose card pays, who receives the OTP, and what the front desk asks at c
Buying GuidesFree night certificates and loyalty transfers: the card-to-hotel-points route
Some credit-card reward points can be converted into hotel loyalty programme points, and occasional milestone benefits arrive as free-night certificates. Done well, this route produces the highest per-point value most ca
Buying GuidesHomestay and Airbnb-style bookings by card: the dispute cover you actually get
Homestays and short-term rental platforms have become a default for Indian travellers, but they sit in an awkward spot for payments: you pay the full amount weeks before you see the property, to a host you have never met
Buying GuidesForeign-currency hotel bookings: markup, DCC traps and how to avoid them
Booking a hotel abroad — or on an international site that bills in dollars — adds a layer most domestic travellers never think about: currency conversion. Between the card network's exchange rate, your issuer's foreign-c
Buying GuidesPrepaid hotel rates vs pay-at-property: what changes on your card statement
At checkout on any booking site you face the same fork: pay now at a discounted prepaid rate, or pay at the property at the standard rate. The price difference is visible. What is invisible — until your statement arrives
Buying GuidesHotel EMI on credit cards: the interest maths behind pay-later stays
A five-figure family holiday (illustrative scale) is easier to swallow in monthly slices than all at once, and card issuers know it. Hotel bookings are among the most EMI-converted purchases in India. But "easy monthly i
Buying GuidesAirport hotel lounges and free stays: how milestone spends unlock travel perks
Many Indian credit cards dangle the same carrot: spend a certain amount in a year and unlock airport lounge visits, a free hotel night, or a fee waiver. These milestone benefits are real, but they work on mechanics — thr