A credit card serves as a financial tool with a predetermined balance that the cardholder can utilize for transactions, with the option to settle the payment at a later date. The card issuer provides a grace period of up to 50 days from the payment date, during which the cardholder can fully repay the balance without incurring any interest charges. To avoid penalties, the cardholder can opt to pay the minimum amount due, typically ranging from 5% to 10% of the total amount owed. However, any remaining balance will be carried over to the following month, subject to interest as determined by the credit card company.

Various types of credit cards are available in India today, catering to diverse spending habits. Here are some categories of credit cards:

1. Shopping Credit Cards: Tailored for shopaholics, these cards offer benefits such as rewards, discounts, cashback on online and offline shopping, domestic lounge access, milestone benefits, complimentary gift vouchers, e-vouchers, and annual fee reversal.
2. Travel Credit Cards: Geared towards travelers, these cards provide perks like complimentary lounge access, earning air miles, co-branded benefits with airlines and travel partners, additional rewards, and discounted tickets.
3. Lifestyle Credit Cards: Designed to reward lifestyle spends, these cards offer special discounts from the card issuer’s channel partners. Benefits include accumulated reward points, adjustable against the credit card balance or redeemable for various gifts, travel savings, dining privileges, airport lounge access, health and wellness benefits, concierge services, movie ticket offers, savings on fuel spends, and insurance cover.
4. Reward Points Credit Cards: These cards provide accelerated rewards on specific purchases, including earning points, cashback, or miles on every purchase. Rewards can be redeemed for statement credits, travel bookings, and online shopping credits, with many cards not levying an annual fee.
5. Cashback Credit Cards: Offering cashback on every purchase, these cards allow the obtained cashback to be used as a statement credit or for shopping. Some cards provide direct cashback, while others enable the conversion of reward points into statement credit.
6. Fuel Credit Cards: Aimed at saving on fuel expenses, these cards offer benefits like reward points, redemption of points earned, cashback eligibility, surcharge waiver, dining offers, BookMyShow offers, Turbo Points, utility bill payments, annual fee waivers, telecom benefits, and concierge services.
7. Airline Credit Cards: Specifically for frequent travelers, these cards offer maximum reward points for spending on partner airline tickets. Benefits include access to premium lounges, membership to flier programs, and bonus reward points upon application.
8. Women Credit Card: Providing financial freedom to women, these exclusive credit cards offer discounts, rewards, and cashback.
9. Business Credit Card: Catering to businesses, these cards assist in streamlining expenses and offer rewards, cashback, loyalty points, travel protections, expense management, and credit profile building.
10. Secured Credit Card: Offered against fixed deposits, these cards are suitable for those facing difficulty in obtaining approval for a regular card.
11. Student Credit Card: Tailored for students pursuing higher studies, these cards have eligibility criteria based on the income of the father or guardian. Students can use these cards to purchase laptops, gadgets, stationary items, etc.

redit cards offer an extended timeframe for settling your purchases. When you use your credit card to make a purchase, you essentially borrow money from the credit card issuer until you repay it at the end of the month. Before acquiring your own credit card, here are some key points to consider:

1. Credit card companies issue cards to individuals with a steady income.
2. A good credit score facilitates easy approval for a credit card.
3. Securing a credit card against a fixed deposit is also an option.
4. As a credit card holder, you receive a credit limit, typically 3 to 5 times your net monthly salary, which varies among different banks.
5. While credit cards are offered by various banks, payment processing is facilitated by entities such as Visa, MasterCard, and RuPay. However, these payment facilitators don’t dictate other terms and conditions on the card. Factors like the minimum due amount, interest rate, reward points, etc., are determined by the credit card issuers.