Credit Card issued against fixed deposits (FD) are called Secured Credit Cards. These credit cards are ideal option for those who have no or poor credit history e.g. students, house wives, retired people and people with bad CIBIL score. Usage of these cards over the time will create the credit history of a person and prompt payments before due date will also improve their CIBIL score.
For getting these credit cards, one needn’t to show any stable monthly income proof or good credit history/CIBIL score. These cards are issued against a fixed deposit with the bank and generally 75-85% of the FD amount is given as credit limit. In this article, let’s explore some of the best credit cards one can get in India against FD.
- 1. HDFC Bharat Credit Card
- 2. ICICI Coral Credit Card
- 3. Bank of Baroda Prime Credit Card
- 4. Andhra Bank RuPay Select Credit Card
- 5. Axis Insta Easy Credit Card
- 6. Yes Prosperity Rewards Plus Credit Card
- 7. SBI Unnati Credit Card
- 8. Central Bank of India Aspire Credit Card
- 9. Kotak Aqua Gold Credit Card
- 10. DCB PayLess Credit Card
- Bottomline
1. HDFC Bharat Credit Card
HDFC Bharat Credit Card is an feature packed entry level credit card from HDFC Bank.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Varies
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 21 Years
- Joining Fee: Rs. 500
- Renewal Fee: Rs. 500, waived if annual spends for last year >= Rs. 50,000
- 5% cashback on rail bookings through IRCTC website or mobile app, Fuel, Grocery, Bill pay and recharges, limited to Rs. 150/- per month
- 5% cashback for all EasyEMI, PayZapp and SmartBUY transactions, limited to Rs. 150/- per month
- Free accidental death insurance cover for 5 times of credit limit on doing minimum 4 transactions per month
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
HDFC is known to issue their other premium credit cards like Regalia, Diners Club variants too against fixed deposit and the FD amount varies upwards of Rs. 4 Lakhs. HDFC is currently top player of credit card market in India and having an early relationship with them will help you secure one of their premium and super premium credit cards in future.
2. ICICI Coral Credit Card
ICICI Coral Credit Card is a life style credit card with multiple benefits across dining, shopping and entertainment.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 20,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 19 Years
- Joining Fee: Rs. 500
- Renewal Fee: Rs. 500, waived if annual spends for last year >= Rs. 1,25,000
- 2 Payback Points per Rs. 100 spent, 0.50% reward rate
- 4 Payback Points per Rs. 100 spent on dining, groceries and at supermarkets, 1% reward rate
- Buy 1 Get 1 movie tickets at BookMyShow
- 1 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per quarter
- 15% discount when dining at restaurants participating in Culinary Treats
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
This card will make you eligible for Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card which has fantastic reward rate and benefits. Hence I would suggest to get Coral card first and then later switch to Amazon Pay card.
3. Bank of Baroda Prime Credit Card
Bank of Baroda is another reliable banking name in India, however they are not known for credit cards. Recently they have been pushing hard for it and has come up with multiple offerings. Bank of Baroda guarantees issuance of Prime Credit Card against fixed deposit.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 15,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 18 Years
- Joining Fee: Nil
- Renewal Fee: Nil
- 4 reward points per Rs. 100 spent, 1% reward rate
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
1% reward rate and no annual and joining fee make this card really attractive. Go for this card if you want a simplified reward program and guaranteed issuance.
4. Andhra Bank RuPay Select Credit Card
Andhra Bank recently in partnership with RuPay has launched Andhra Bank RuPay Select Credit Card.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 15,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 75% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 21 Years
- Joining Fee: Nil
- Renewal Fee: Nil
- 10 reward points per Rs. 150 spent, 0.67% reward rate
- 2 complimentary domestic airport lounge access per quarter via RuPay Select
- 4 complimentary international lounge access per year via RuPay Select
- Personal Accidental Insurance Coverage of up to Rs. 10.00 Lakhs
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
Complimentary access to international lounge sets this card apart from others in this category. If you travel internationally a lot, getting this card is a no brainer.
5. Axis Insta Easy Credit Card
Axis is known for it’s generous credit limit on it’s credit cards. Axis Insta Easy Credit Card is a no frills credit card and is super easy to get.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 20,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 19 Years
- Joining Fee: Rs. 500
- Renewal Fee: Nil
- 6 eDGE on domestic spend of Rs. 200, ~0.60% reward rate
- 12 eDGE on international spend of Rs. 200, ~1.20% reward rate
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
- 15% off at restaurants participating in Dining Delights program
This card can be your gateway for Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card which has excellent reward rate on Flipkart and has other benefits too.
6. Yes Prosperity Rewards Plus Credit Card
Yes Bank has recently entered in credit card market and is giving lucrative benefits to attract new customers.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 50,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 21 Years
- Joining Fee: Rs. 1,500
- Renewal Fee: Rs. 1,500
- Cashback of Rs. 250 on spends of Rs. 2,500 in first 30 days of card set up
- 5% cashback on Movie Ticket bookings & Grocery Shopping capped to Rs. 100 per month on each category
- 0.75% cashback on all other retails spends
- 5% cashback on Bill Payments through YES PayNow
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
Yes Prosperity Rewards Plus Credit Card, though has high joining and renewal fees, comes with no maximum capping on cashback for retail spends which is quite good.
7. SBI Unnati Credit Card
SBI Unnati Credit Card is a no-fuss credit card from SBI featuring zero fee for first four years.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 25,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 21 Years
- Joining Fee: Nil
- Renewal Fee: Nil for first 4 years, Rs. 499 afterwards
- 1 Reward Point per Rs. 100 spent, 0.25% reward rate
- Rs. 500 cashback on annual spends of Rs. 50,000
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
SBI is one of the oldest brand in India and if you have an account with them, you can easily start a FD and get this card.
8. Central Bank of India Aspire Credit Card
Central Bank of India issues Aspire Credit Card with credit limit up to 100% of FD amount. This is highest amongst secured credit cards and sets this card apart from others in this category.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 20,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 100% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 18 Years
- Joining Fee: Nil
- Renewal Fee: Rs. 100
- 1 Reward Point per Rs. 100 spent, 0.25% reward rate
- Personal Accident Cover (against death) of Rs. 1 Lakh
One should go for Aspire Credit Card blindly if they are looking for simplified reward program and generous credit limit.
9. Kotak Aqua Gold Credit Card
Kotak Mahindra Banks is another trusted brand in India and if you already have an account with them, go for Kotak Aqua Gold Credit Card.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 25,000
- Credit Limit: Generally 80% of FD, told upfront at the time of joining
- Eligibility Age: Min. 18 Years
- Joining Fee: Nil
- Renewal Fee: Nil
- Spend Rs. 1,50,000 in a year and get 4 free PVR tickets or Cash Back of Rs. 750
- 1% Railway surcharge waiver for transactions on www.irctc.co.in and on Indian Railways Booking Counters, Maximum of Rs. 500
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
As evident, this is a very basic card with very limited rewards and benefits. Go for this card only if you’re not able to secure any of the above credit cards.
10. DCB PayLess Credit Card
DCB is a new player in banking market and hence are very lenient in issuing credit cards.
- Fixed Deposit Amount: Rs. 15,000
- Credit Limit: Up to 80% of FD
- Eligibility Age: Min. 21 Years
- Joining Fee: Rs. 350
- Renewal Fee: Rs. 350
- Rs. 350 cashback on spends of Rs. 5000 in first 3 months
- Personal accident (Road/ Rail/ Air travel) insurance of Rs. 1 Lakh
- Lost card insurance of Rs. 2 Lakh
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver
DCB PayLess Credit Card doesn’t provide any rewards and hence go for this card only if you are not a heavy user. Only bright side of this card is DCB has slightly better FD interest rates than other banks.
Bottomline
Secured credit cards are easy yet under utilized way of building credit history. However credit cards should be used carefully and full amount should be paid before due date. Defaulting the payment would be reported to CIBIL leading to poor score and further difficulty in securing loans.
Let me know your experience with secured credit cards in comments below.
