My credit cards and strategy for 2026

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

So these are my core cards for 2026 and here is how I am spending on them.

1. Amex Platinum Travel - It is a very simple card and the reward structure is also straightforward. I try to swipe it on offline places wherever it is accepted. Additionally I buy some vouchers via gyftr, and also for online spends. Reward points do not expire so I don't have to worry about that. Redemption would be Marriott for hotel or Krisflyer or Qatar for airlines.
   
   
2. Axis Atlas - Again a milestone card, I have been using it for all online and offline spends. Crossed 7.5L milestone in 6 months. It was a great card but now it is getting devalued, but I may still continue to use it till they kill it completely or there is a better card in the market. Again easy to use, points are transferred to Accor for hotels. Not thought about airline redemptions yet. could be Qantas or something else.
   
   
3. HDFC Regalia Gold - I got it today only. Will be using it as backup to Atlas, for daily spends, then vouchers via smartbuy and myntra purchases, etc. The exclusion list is least here. So can be used for almost anything. Base reward rate is not great but still a good allrounder.
   
   
4. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - The base reward rare is not great, but I use for some excempted category spends and some money rolling or business kind of spends. Not advisable to use as a daily core card. Marriott comes with offers time to time. If we meet that, then it is little better. Otherwise I will just keep it for Marriott stays. Again no headache of point transfer. Everything comes to Marriott account. The difficulty is that points gets credited very late. It takes more than a month most times.
   
   
5. HDFC Swiggy - Only for Swiggy and Instamart spends. 10% cashback is good here. Nothing else to think of. It is LTF as well.
   
   
6. HDFC Tata Neu Infinity - For UPI scan, and also for bill payments using Tata Neu app, then other tata products. One advantage is that I can use neu coins for almost all products - but I use it mostly to redeem for air india express flights. It is again the Atlas or Regalia Gold of cashback. Stable card. The drawback is tracking the points. Very difficult because HDFC doesn't provide a transactionwise splitup. It is LTF again.

I am not putting numbers and spend values for each category; that was needed till last year, but now I almost know which card to spend where and how much I spend on a monthly basis. I also can meet the milestones for all these cards.
I see my main ecosystem is HDFC. I somehow liked it more than ICICI, they have more useful good cards than ICICI.
I haven't gone into HSBC ecosystem - Once I had a bad experience and I may not go there soon. If at all I explore a new bank, that would be IDFC First.

My point redemptions are mostly for hotels - Marriott and Accor are top priority, may be a Taj or ITC for once in a year vacation.
I only have been traveling domestic and I think that will continue next year also. Indigo and Air India express remains the choices there.

Will see if some of these cards get devalued in 2026, how bad is the devaluation and then make changes according to that.
Overall I think these should be good to go.

I don't want to just keep so many cards just for Rs 400-500 offers once in a bluemoon.
Most of my spends are revolving around my core cards, and this is the list that I am trying to improvise, upgrade and continue for the longer term.
The other less rewarding or occasional cards are a headache for me to maintain, so I have decided them to get rid of those.

I'll update this thread through next year as and when some changes happen.

 

[hender]

So these are my core cards for 2026 and here is how I am spending on them.

1. Amex Platinum Travel - It is a very simple card and the reward structure is also straightforward. I try to swipe it on offline places wherever it is accepted. Additionally I buy some vouchers via gyftr, and also for online spends. Reward points do not expire so I don't have to worry about that. Redemption would be Marriott for hotel or Krisflyer or Qatar for airlines.
   
   
2. Axis Atlas - Again a milestone card, I have been using it for all online and offline spends. Crossed 7.5L milestone in 6 months. It was a great card but now it is getting devalued, but I may still continue to use it till they kill it completely or there is a better card in the market. Again easy to use, points are transferred to Accor for hotels. Not thought about airline redemptions yet. could be Qantas or something else.
   
   
3. HDFC Regalia Gold - I got it today only. Will be using it as backup to Atlas, for daily spends, then vouchers via smartbuy and myntra purchases, etc. The exclusion list is least here. So can be used for almost anything. Base reward rate is not great but still a good allrounder.
   
   
4. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - The base reward rare is not great, but I use for some excempted category spends and some money rolling or business kind of spends. Not advisable to use as a daily core card. Marriott comes with offers time to time. If we meet that, then it is little better. Otherwise I will just keep it for Marriott stays. Again no headache of point transfer. Everything comes to Marriott account. The difficulty is that points gets credited very late. It takes more than a month most times.
   
   
5. HDFC Swiggy - Only for Swiggy and Instamart spends. 10% cashback is good here. Nothing else to think of. It is LTF as well.
   
   
6. HDFC Tata Neu Infinity - For UPI scan, and also for bill payments using Tata Neu app, then other tata products. One advantage is that I can use neu coins for almost all products - but I use it mostly to redeem for air india express flights. It is again the Atlas or Regalia Gold of cashback. Stable card. The drawback is tracking the points. Very difficult because HDFC doesn't provide a transactionwise splitup. It is LTF again.

I am not putting numbers and spend values for each category; that was needed till last year, but now I almost know which card to spend where and how much I spend on a monthly basis. I also can meet the milestones for all these cards.
I see my main ecosystem is HDFC. I somehow liked it more than ICICI, they have more useful good cards than ICICI.
I haven't gone into HSBC ecosystem - Once I had a bad experience and I may not go there soon. If at all I explore a new bank, that would be IDFC First.

My point redemptions are mostly for hotels - Marriott and Accor are top priority, may be a Taj or ITC for once in a year vacation.
I only have been traveling domestic and I think that will continue next year also. Indigo and Air India express remains the choices there.

Will see if some of these cards get devalued in 2026, how bad is the devaluation and then make changes according to that.
Overall I think these should be good to go.

I don't want to just keep so many cards just for Rs 400-500 offers once in a bluemoon.
Most of my spends are revolving around my core cards, and this is the list that I am trying to improvise, upgrade and continue for the longer term.
The other less rewarding or occasional cards are a headache for me to maintain, so I have decided them to get rid of those.

I'll update this thread through next year as and when some changes happen.

Helpful, Informative and interesting thread 👍

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

My full card stack as of now

 

[nh124001]

what happened with hsbc? what was the bad experince!?

 

[Dr.AMAN]

My full card stack as of now

Any specific reason for having no relationship with SBI Cards (apart from overleverage)?

 

[akiratoriyama]

What's your limit on rg? Might be worth trying to upgrade it to dcbm via spends route

 

[Kabir_1112]

Hoping that from 2027 we don't have to go back to spending cash instead of cards with the rumours circulating around with many devaluation or it's possibility.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

what happened with hsbc? what was the bad experince!?

I used to have salary account with HSBC earlier. But their overall process is very slow. Not responsive many times.
I didn't get most of the welcome benefits that time, I didn't feel like continuing further.
Their app is also very slow and hanging, not smooth. I had shared a post earlier.

Any specific reason for having no relationship with SBI Cards (apart from overleverage)?

No, SBI has some very good cards - Cashback, PhonePe Black, BPCL Octane, Apollo, and Aurum. - These are the excellent ones from SBI.
Unfortunately, I was late to explore the SBI ecosystem. And by then I became overleveraged.

What's your limit on rg? Might be worth trying to upgrade it to dcbm via spends route

For HDFC, I have 7.93L, it is shared across all cards. If it goes above 8, then I can try for DCBM.

 

[sunit123]

Do let us know which cards you finally closed...I am also thinking of closing few which is common between u and me

 

[Vinay13]

I am thinking of closing amex plat.

 

[akiratoriyama]

I used to have salary account with HSBC earlier. But their overall process is very slow. Not responsive many times.
I didn't get most of the welcome benefits that time, I didn't feel like continuing further.
Their app is also very slow and hanging, not smooth. I had shared a post earlier.


No, SBI has some very good cards - Cashback, PhonePe Black, BPCL Octane, Apollo, and Aurum. - These are the excellent ones from SBI.
Unfortunately, I was late to explore the SBI ecosystem. And by then I became overleveraged.


For HDFC, I have 7.93L, it is shared across all cards. If it goes above 8, then I can try for DCBM.

5L requirement for dcb metal right?

 

[nh124001]

he he .. atlas ke baad sabko dcbm ki baati laga di... 10k fees vala card hai, 8L annual spends par fee waive hoti hai, hdfc rarely hi dcbm ltf deta hai, dinners ki acceptability ka issue rehta hai, atleast 30L ki itr chaiyee... vouchers par sirf 3x milta hai again jo jayda travel nahi karte toh..10k + gst phukne vale hai

 

[nikhilv0303]

Amex plat travel still makes sense given no renewal offer?
Also when is it goi g to reopen?

 

[Vinay13]

Amex has devalued plat

Amex plat travel still makes sense given no renewal offer?
Also when is it goi g to reopen

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Amex plat travel still makes sense given no renewal offer?
Also when is it goi g to reopen?

I just got it few months back. Planning to continue. Platinum travel is the only amex card i have and i will continue it.

 

[siva_b]

Hi @cardio_guy slightly off topic. can i ask how you got hdf regalia gold recently after having co branded cards? I tried applying through branch but application for rejected. Any guidance will be helpful.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Do let us know which cards you finally closed...I am also thinking of closing few which is common between u and me

yes actually this is one thing I am thinking back and forth.
At one point I am thinking on retaining some cards, but at another point, I am thinking of brutally cutting down all 6 of them.
As of now Federal Celesta is the one that I am 100% sure of closing - fully useless.
Others have some use at some point, so still working on that.

 

[NishanthSN]

So these are my core cards for 2026 and here is how I am spending on them.

1. Amex Platinum Travel - It is a very simple card and the reward structure is also straightforward. I try to swipe it on offline places wherever it is accepted. Additionally I buy some vouchers via gyftr, and also for online spends. Reward points do not expire so I don't have to worry about that. Redemption would be Marriott for hotel or Krisflyer or Qatar for airlines.
   
   
2. Axis Atlas - Again a milestone card, I have been using it for all online and offline spends. Crossed 7.5L milestone in 6 months. It was a great card but now it is getting devalued, but I may still continue to use it till they kill it completely or there is a better card in the market. Again easy to use, points are transferred to Accor for hotels. Not thought about airline redemptions yet. could be Qantas or something else.
   
   
3. HDFC Regalia Gold - I got it today only. Will be using it as backup to Atlas, for daily spends, then vouchers via smartbuy and myntra purchases, etc. The exclusion list is least here. So can be used for almost anything. Base reward rate is not great but still a good allrounder.
   
   
4. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy - The base reward rare is not great, but I use for some excempted category spends and some money rolling or business kind of spends. Not advisable to use as a daily core card. Marriott comes with offers time to time. If we meet that, then it is little better. Otherwise I will just keep it for Marriott stays. Again no headache of point transfer. Everything comes to Marriott account. The difficulty is that points gets credited very late. It takes more than a month most times.
   
   
5. HDFC Swiggy - Only for Swiggy and Instamart spends. 10% cashback is good here. Nothing else to think of. It is LTF as well.
   
   
6. HDFC Tata Neu Infinity - For UPI scan, and also for bill payments using Tata Neu app, then other tata products. One advantage is that I can use neu coins for almost all products - but I use it mostly to redeem for air india express flights. It is again the Atlas or Regalia Gold of cashback. Stable card. The drawback is tracking the points. Very difficult because HDFC doesn't provide a transactionwise splitup. It is LTF again.

I am not putting numbers and spend values for each category; that was needed till last year, but now I almost know which card to spend where and how much I spend on a monthly basis. I also can meet the milestones for all these cards.
I see my main ecosystem is HDFC. I somehow liked it more than ICICI, they have more useful good cards than ICICI.
I haven't gone into HSBC ecosystem - Once I had a bad experience and I may not go there soon. If at all I explore a new bank, that would be IDFC First.

My point redemptions are mostly for hotels - Marriott and Accor are top priority, may be a Taj or ITC for once in a year vacation.
I only have been traveling domestic and I think that will continue next year also. Indigo and Air India express remains the choices there.

Will see if some of these cards get devalued in 2026, how bad is the devaluation and then make changes according to that.
Overall I think these should be good to go.

I don't want to just keep so many cards just for Rs 400-500 offers once in a bluemoon.
Most of my spends are revolving around my core cards, and this is the list that I am trying to improvise, upgrade and continue for the longer term.
The other less rewarding or occasional cards are a headache for me to maintain, so I have decided them to get rid of those.

I'll update this thread through next year as and when some changes happen.

They issued u regalia gold even though u have Tata Neu infinity before?

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

@siva_b @NishanthSN It is difficult to get core card after having cobranded cards. I already had Freedom card and that got upgraded to Regalia Gold.
You can try sending mail to customer care or escalations. Good luck.

 

[Giyu-san]

My current credit card strategy will continue through to 2026 too.

Main three cards

1. Axis Atlas - Primary card for all online and offline swipes (98% of all transaction numbers). Even if gets devalued it will arguably be the best sub-premium card around. It is another thing that I have nearly hit the 30k miles capping for next year already.

2. AMEX Platinum Travel - For Rent and UPI wallet load. I use it to load Mobikwik wallet and then transfer to landlord bank account or my own account and then load Amazon Pay Wallet for UPI payments.

3. AMEX Gold and MRCC - For all Utility payments and Petrol - Only to buy 12k Amazon Pay vouchers to meet monthly milestones. I also meet the 20k monthly milestone for MRCC in a quarter (for petrol). Petrol - paid by loading BPCL Wallet using vouchers.

Specific cards - Heavy use (few transactions in number but heavy in volume)

• Standard Chartered Smart - For government spends and insurance premium payments
• ICICI Amazon Pay LTF - For Amazon purchases

Specific cards - Marginal use (less than 1% of all transaction value and volume)

• Axis IOCL Rupay LTF - In case fuel expenses exceed BPCL wallet load.
• SBI IRCTC - For train bookings
• HDFC Diners Club Privilege LTF - For movie bookings and 10x Smartbuy
• IDFC First Ashwa - For movie bookings and Visa Infinite

Drawer cards

• ICICI Rubyx duo LTF
• IDFC First Select LTF (to be closed soon)

Plan to acquire

The only cards that make sense for me are super premium cards but it is impossible to get any of them anymore. So it doesn't look like I am going to get any new cards this year. Better hold on to what I've got given all the devaluations.