Age	Minimum of 18 years old
Income	Fixed deposit or minimum monthly or annual income as set by the bank
Employment	Salaried or Self-Employed
Interest Free Period	Up to 55 days
ATM Cash Withdrawal Charges	From 2.0% to 3.5% of the amount withdrawn

Credit Card Eligibility Factors

Individuals who want to apply for a credit card must meet the following eligibility criteria.

Age Criteria

To apply for a credit card, you must fall into the age limit set by the bank. The applicant should be minimum of 18 years old. Anyone falling under this age limit can apply for a credit card. Add-on credit cardholder should be 18 years and above.

Income Criteria

You must have a regular income to avail a credit card. The income criteria differ according to the features and specifications of the card. You can get a credit card against your fixed deposit and minimum income set by the bank. Income requirement may vary for different cards based on specifications and features.

The customer should show a proof of steady source of income to avail a credit card. You can either be a salaried employee working in an established company or a self-employed professional managing your own business.

Nationality: The applicant should be a resident of India or Non-Resident Indian.

Documents Required to Apply for a Credit Card

To apply for a credit card, you need to submit the following documents.

1. Address proof – Passport/ Driving Licence/ Voters ID etc.
2. Identity proof – Bank Statement/ Voter Id/ Driving Licence/ Pension Book etc.
3. Income Proof – Bank Statement/ Pay Slip/ Income Tax return.
4. Pan Card
5. Passport size photo

Factors Affecting Credit Card Eligibility Criteria

The applicant must check the following things while applying for a credit card.

Income of the Applicant: Your income plays an important role while applying for a credit card. This is a proof to the bank that you will be able to pay your credit card bill.

You can also get a credit card against a fixed deposit. The minimum value generally ranges between INR 20,000 to INR 50,000.

Age of the Applicant: Using a credit card becomes a huge responsibility. An individual gets a steady source of income only after a certain period of years. Hence, the banks are certain about age criteria in giving a credit card as they expect a proper payment every month.

Credit History of the Applicant: Credit history is a clear proof of how an individual manages his/her credit related activities. A good credit history is highly preferred by the lender for offering a credit card.

Nationality Criteria of the Applicant: The applicant should be a resident of India or Non-Resident Indian.

How to Apply for Credit Card?

If you want to apply for a credit card, the process is simple, and you can follow the steps given below to get it.

Credit Card Application Online for New Customers

1. You can visit the ‘Credit Cards’ page of the official website of the banks.
2. Enter your personal and contact details.
3. After the verification, a representative from the bank will get in touch with and ask guide you through the process.
4. You may have to submit KYC documents and income proof to get a credit card.
5. You can also visit the bank’s nearby branch to apply for a credit card.

Credit Card Application Online for Existing Customers

1. Visit the ‘Credit Cards’ page of the official website of the bank you are applying for
2. You will have to enter your net banking customer id and mobile number.
3. You can directly apply online for a credit card.
4. You can also visit the bank’s nearby branch to apply for a credit card.

Interest Free Credit Period on Credit Card

The cardholder can get interest free credit period of up to 55 days, however, it is subject to change according the scheme, card and the lender. You won’t get an interest free period if the previous month’s balance is not cleared in full on or before due date. Similarly, interest free period is not applicable for withdrawing cash from ATM.

Fees and Charges on a Credit Card

Annual Membership Fee: The cardholder will have to pay annual membership fee for primary and add-on cards as set by the bank. The charges may vary for different cards depending on the schemes. Annual fees will not be refunded to the cardmember at the time of closure of the credit card.

Cash Advance Fees: The cardholder can use the credit card to withdraw money from ATMs in India and abroad any time. For each transaction, a fee will be charged, and it will be added in the next monthly bill. The fee generally ranges between 2% to 3.5% of the amount withdrawn from ATMs. ATM transactions do not get interest free period unlike other purchases.

Late Payment Charges: Late payment charges are applicable if minimum amount due is not paid on or before the due date.

Each bank charges differently for late payments. The fee generally ranges between INR 100 to INR 750 based on the outstanding statement balance.

How to Increase the Credit Card Limit?

The credit limit on the credit cards are determined by the bank at its sole discretion. The available credit limit is communicated to the cardholder at the time of card delivery.

The customer who wants to increase the credit limit can write to the bank asking for increase in the credit limit. While requesting for the increase, the cardholder needs to submit the financial documents such as salary slip, bank statement, income tax returns etc. However, the credit limit increase is determined at the sole discretion of the bank.

How to Pay the Credit Card Bill?

You can use the following methods to pay your credit card bills.

Account Holders of the Same Bank:

You can register with the bank for net banking facility to make your credit card payments online. After the registration, you can submit a written standing instruction to automatically debit a pre-determined amount from your account. This can help you pay the bills on time and avoid paying interest on late payment.

All Customers

NEFT: You can pay your credit card bill from any other bank account by using the NEFT facility. The instructions may vary slightly in different banks, but, in most cases you need to add your credit card number as the payee account number to make the payment through NEFT. Any payments made during the working hours on a weekday are credited on the same day while the payments made after working hours are credited on the next business day.

Bill Desk: You can use the bank’s Bill Desk web page which is set up to pay your credit card bills. Fill out the required details which also includes the credit card number and payment amount. The customers are then directed to bank’s net banking portal to complete the credit card bill payment. The customers will receive an online transaction confirmation as well as a Transaction Reference Number after a successful transaction.

Cash payment You can pay your credit card bills by paying in cash at any one of the branches nearest to you. A processing fee per payment will be charged by the bank when you pay your credit card bill.

Cheque payment If you prefer to pay your credit card bills using cheques, then you can do so in the same way as you would pay your credit card bills by paying cash. You can also drop of the cheques mentioning your credit card number and other required details at the bank ATMs where there are drop boxes for this purpose. The payment will get cleared within 3 working days.

Credit Card Customer Care

You can call the credit card customer care toll-free numbers of the bank from your mobile and Landlines in India.

You can also write to bank’s zonal offices or to the email id given by the bank and post your queries related to credit cards.