Today in the notice board there was a poster inviting people to apply for American Express Platinum Credit Card.
Since I had heard so much about it, and seen the Abishek Bachan’s advertisements, I thought what the hell.. let me also apply. So I called up the agent and the only question he asked me was what is my CTC (salary)… Then he said.. Sorry you are not eligible.. You need to earn atleast 1.5 Million INR p.a. to get the card… and he hanged up.
What kind of a stupid Bank is American Express… If they are so much worried about the salary (which they have all rights to be) then mention it in the advertisement poster. Why on earth they wasted my time for nothing?
PS: Per capita income of an Indian is 384 USD… so 1.5M INR is like 100 times what an average Indian earns
19 replies on “American Express”
Haha…so much for credit card business! Here, I lie outrightly about my annual income and still get cards. Plus, if I ask for an increase in the credit limit, they give me that too. No wonder, most of the people have an average credit card debt of about $8,600.
u have a credit card debt of 8600 USD on which u pay 2% p.m. and u have no regular income (being a student) interesting… very interesting.
i could never understand why would anybody make a cash withdrawal or even take a loan on credit card… for emergency purpose its ok… but 8600 USD loan is going to take a long time to be repaid.
[u have a credit card debt of 8600 USD on which u pay 2% p.m. and u have no regular income (being a student) interesting… very interesting.]
I didn’t say that I have that debt. I have $0 credit card debt. Do have a regular income, though it’s small.
Most of my cards currently have a 0% APR introductory rate for 1 year. So, if I want, I can pay only the minimum payment due (which is generally about 2% of the outstanding balance) and no interest until the end of 1 year, provided I don’t default, else the regular rate of about 20% starts…Anyway, I always pay the outstanding balance in full. That’s why I’m a dead beat. The credit card company makes no money from people like me who always pay the full amount and pay no interest. Most of their income is from the people who only pay the minimum payment or a little above that and pay an implicit interest rate.
That means we are in company of really rich guys out here. Now we need to find out who all got enrolled for the scheme 🙂
@karthi…
u can even spy on people having citibank gold card also…
@ruhi…
exactly… that I year interest free period is just to encourage people accumulate a lot of debt which the company knows some of them will not be able to pay.
I have been using my credit card for 3 years now and always cleared my dues in time… but since I make a lot of online purchases which is in USD (plus recent Bangkok Visit)… i think my credit card company has earned a fortune with all the Foreign Exchange conversion charges.
@ankur, yeah..I totally agree. They make a hell lot of money out of those currency conversion rates too. I like to juggle my credit cards and use it after the statement close date so that the transaction shows up only in the next bill 😉 This way, I pay for something that I bought today after about 50 days, at least. So I use the card whose statement close date for the month has already passed.
good strategy…
personally i do not find 20-30 days of interest free cash flow very beneficial… esp. not worth the hassle of maintaining 2 cards and ensuring that the dues are paid in time.
so i stick with one card.. on the upside i collect enough points to purchase something useful. (ya i need to spend 20k to get freebies worth 100/-… but what have i to lose)
The American Express card comes with lots of freebies, annual fee and unlimited credit limit. I don’t see anything wrong in denying the card … above all its not accepted at all the stores … so what were you thinking when you called up??
//Per capita income of an Indian is 384 USD… so 1.5M INR is like 100 times what an average Indian earns//
Average indian doesn’t use american express card.
//Foreign Exchange conversion charges// which card charges for foreign exchange conversion?? I had HSBC Gold and it used to give me market rate conversion!! not a penny extra!!
credit cards not for me! debit cards r fine
i just use my friends card and pay him back
also ankur read this on western concept of hinduism
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/203405.html
@prax…
unfortunately its awkward to borrow the credit credit card every time u buy an airline ticket.. hence i have to get one for me…
thanks.. will check the link 🙂
@amit…
as per RBI norms the banks can officially charge u 1.5%-2% service charge on top of the days worst conversion rate for any forex banking.
//Average indian doesn’t use american express card.//
agreed. 🙁 sad naah.. its a instrument for the rich. you give credit for those who do not care about one.
//what were u thinking//
well i have a corporate amex credit card.. so i was thinking i would upgrade it to platinum one… no harm in trying 🙁
@Ankur:
The bank can charge but mine didn’t, may be i was a better customer than you 😉
Why is it sad if someone doesn’t use credit card?? its a disease spreading slowly in the society. We thought so much that every american must be using credit card, but when i see around here …. there are lots of people who avoid using it. People carry their checkbooks to wal mart instead of using credit cards.
//so i was thinking i would upgrade it to platinum one//
I guess u asked the wrong question to the sales person. Tell him that you already have the card and want to upgrade.
neways I am much better off not using a credit card. Only time i need is when I purchase a ticket online. and rest of the times I can manage without them 🙂
BTW read my latest post on my exp with ICICI Bank
yup thats really true
im facing the same situation
but have very good friends!
get a Manhattan credit card (affiliated to Standard Chartered Bank)… it has amazing service plus it will send u ur bills via email.. so u can never miss it..
no im happy without one though thanks to my father i have inculcated a sense of fin responsibility
yes credit cares are a malaise of the new boom or what we call as the consumerist economy!
not just in india but almost everywhere where banking gets advanced
Most people dont know how to handle money! let alone save it , a very dear friend fell in a free debt trap, even after me warning him and he is a chartered accountant!
luckily it was not a big fatka
but another friend who is a journo and a classic victim is still paying debts on a personal loan taken for the maxed out cards.
a fool and his money soon part away 🙂
yups your father’s teachings are golden… wise decision
trust me most people arnt fools
one has to be taught this or learn from practical experience!
ya and sometimes the financial agreements are too complicated for a common man to understand…
like this one case where i purchased an article on flat interest rate … not knowing that the actual interest rate would be double the amount advertized…..