CIBIL Score for Credit Card
Getting a credit card is now fairly simple. In fact, all you need to have are two documents and banks are willing to approve a credit card application without much delay. You will need to furnish an identity proof and your PAN at the time of application. A few examples of identity proofs are, passport, voter’s ID, license, UID Aadhaar Number, etc.
Once you submit the above mentioned documents, your credit card application undergoes a check on your CIBIL score.
Minimum CIBIL score required to get a credit card
CIBIL scores are generally in the range of 300-900. A good CIBIL score may fall somewhere in the range of 700 upwards. Most banks and financial institutions follow a similar pattern of assigning credit to your rating hence knowing one bank’s minimum CIBIL score for a credit card should be a reasonable basis to determine minimum requirements of banks in general.
Banks usually accept a CIBIL score in the range of 700-750 and above to issue a credit card to an applicant. This is subject to the applicant meeting all other eligibility requirements.
Credit Cards for People with Bad Credit or Low CIBIL scores
Most issuers refrain from giving out credit cards to those with poor credit histories. This is because the risk or delayed payments or defaulting on payments are high. However, sometimes people are pushed into negative payment patterns due to genuine reasons e.g. medical emergencies or loss of employment, which impair their inflow of funds. In order to come up the curve and rebuild creditworthiness, banks offer secured credit cards.
Secured credit cards are credit cards offered against a fixed deposit. In case of default or delay in payments, dues are recovered from funds held by the cardholder in the FD. By making timely payments on credit cards, cardholders can, over a period of time, rebuild faulty credit histories.
Stay ahead of credit card frauds
We carry a great and powerful financial tool with us almost every day, fully aware of its capabilities but yet blissfully ignorant about protecting it. We are talking about the Credit Card, the small piece of plastic which can change our life. While we may not realise its true power until it’s too late, there are thousands of scammers out there who are trying to use this tool for their benefit. Credit card fraud runs into millions of dollars every year and in most cases the actual owner is unaware or clueless as to what happened, losing his/her hard earned money in the process.
- Update your information- Face it, most of us do not bother about updating our information after we get a credit card. It is possible for us to change our contact details including the phone number and email id, but we fail to realise that the only way for a bank to reach us is through this information. Credit card companies provide information of all transactions on our contact details and not updating them could mean that you would not even be aware if someone used your card for unauthorised purchases.
- Don’t entertain telephone calls/emails-A number of fraudsters resort to calling or e-mailing us to avail our credit card information. One should remember that banks do not call for such information and any such call or email should trigger immediate alarm bells in our mind. Your credit card details should be only for you and these should not be shared under any circumstances.
- Replace card if in doubt-There are times when we use our cards in distant places, places where we are not comfortable using them. Card cloning is a common way to steal information and one should ask the bank to replace the card if they feel there is any suspicious activity happening.
- Use secure portals-With online transactions becoming the norm today, millions of us log on to the internet to transfer money or make purchases, providing scammers an ideal opportunity to rip us off. One should remember to use secure websites for all transactions, ensuring that they begin with “https”. Also, it is unsafe to participate in such transactions through public computers, as the information can fall in the hands of third party agents.
- Report any misuse immediately-There are chances of us falling victim to credit card fault despite us being safe, in which case we must immediately contact the credit card representatives and inform them. In case of failure to report such incidences within a stipulated time, these companies will put the onus of payment on you, making it even more critical to inform them.
In this dog eat dog world it is imperative for us to stay a step ahead of the rest, and keeping a few points in your mind could ensure that your hard earned money doesn’t fall in the hands of a stranger.
Best Credit Cards for you
Are your Credit Card applications getting rejected due to a low Credit Score? Here’s what you should do.
Fix It
Fix errors in your Credit Report. Small changes can make huge impacts.
Ask For A Raise
Ask Credit Card issuers to raise your credit limit. Higher limit = higher utilization score.
Mix And Match
Having different types of credit helps. Try EMI on your Credit Card to pump up your score.
The Double Effect
Split up your Credit Card bills and pay them twice a month. Lower Credit Usage = Higher Credit Score. Having several Credit Cards and keeping low balances on them will up your score. All set?
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Don’t let a Bad Credit Score Prevent you from obtaining a Credit Card
With an exponential growth of credit card users in the country over the last few years, the rise of defaulters have increased as well. While it is quite simple in this day and age to obtain a credit card, a bad credit score can tarnish one’s dream of doing so. However, it is not an impossible task. Starting humbly with a secured credit card with a reasonable limit can be the answer to reviving an individual’s credit score.
A secured credit card is a card that is supported by your savings account. The savings account acts as collateral to your credit card in this case. These cards are relatively easier to obtain, and if used responsibly can improve the Credit Score in a few months’ time, granting access to obtain another card.
