Your First Credit Card Story - How did you get your first credit card?

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

Hello everyone,
The first credit card is special for everyone. We all remember the experience of getting our first card 😃.

Let’s share our first credit card experiences...

My experience:
My first credit card was the ICICI HPCL Coral, which I received in 2015. At that time, my home address was not within any bank's serviceable area, so they suggested I apply for a credit card against an FD. However, I wanted an unsecured credit card, so I approached my branch manager and explained my requirement.
He told me that they could issue an unsecured card, but I would need to purchase an ICICI Prudential ULIP policy worth a minimum of ₹3 lakhs.
At that point, I desperately needed a credit card because my business was in the USA, and I required one for payments. I was unemployed at the time, with a zero CIBIL score, and no bank was willing to offer me a credit card. So, I purchased a policy worth ₹3 lakhs and received my first-ever credit card – the ICICI HPCL Coral Credit Card (chargeable). Later, ICICI converted it into a lifetime free HPCL Coral Credit Card, and I’m still holding it to this day. 😄

 

[IKFLRT]

My first CC was HDFC Diners ClubMiles. Got it LTF against my employer tie-up with HDFC.

Club Miles (LTF) -> Millennia LTF -> Regalia Gold (Paid) -> Infinia Paid in 5 years.

 

[technoswan]

My first and only credit card is SBI cashback credit card. I was using my SBI debit card since 2003-04 maybe, for everything online until UPA came. Last month got a call from home branch that you are pre approved for rupay credit card if you apply today so I went there after 5:00 PM, they just made me log into my online SBI account. To my surprise I was pre approved for all the credit cards SBI have including SBI Card Elite Advantage Rs. 4,999. I make below ₹40k and most digital payment are on flipkart, amazon, mobile recharge and electricity. So naturally I zoomed in on two cards, Simply click and Casback. I would have to spend around ₹24000 year to recover my annual fees+tax on both of that. Anything below was loss and anything above 24k was pure benefit. Simply click was upi ready but giving only 2.5%. SBI casback was giving 5% but cant use it on UPI. But heard lot about that SBI cashback have high rejection ratio, so went for it, If I cant benefit from it will just give it to family member to use. After entering the branch got virtual credit card in just 25 minutes. Got usual 'sarkari paperwork issue' as my name was incoreect, replaced my name with my father's name etc, that got sorted in next week with customercare. Shows ₹177 unbilled cashback yet. Limit is super low though ₹24k. Tried raise request but failed. Wanted another Rupay card for UPI and bill pay, Got approved for HDFC tata nue plus but didnt took it, i was interested in infinity for mobile recharge and bill pay. Will see new options in april-may maybe, Finger crossed.

 

[Rohith-2009]

My first and only credit card is SBI cashback credit card. Are you -1 score so never applied for credit card anywhere using my SBI debit card since 2003-04 maybe, for everything online until UPA came. Last month got a call from home branch that you are pre approved for rupay credit card if you apply today so I went there after 5:00 PM they just made me log into my online SBI account. To my surprise I was pre approved for all the credit cards SBI have including SBI Card Elite Advantage Rs. 4,999. I make below ₹40k and most digital payment are on flipkart, amazon, mobile recharge and electricity. So naturally I zoomed in on two cards, Simply click and Casback. I would have to spend around ₹24000 year to recover my annual fees+tax on both of that. Anything below was loss and anything aove 24k was pure benefit. Simply click was upi ready but giving only 2.5%. SBI casback was giving 5% but cant use it on UPI. But heard lot about that SBI cashback have high rejection ratio, so went for it, If I cant benefit from it will just give it to family member to use. After entering the branch got virtual credit card in just 25 minutes. Got usual 'sarkari paperwork issue' as my name was incoreect, replaced my name on my fathers name etc, that got sorted in next week with customercare. Shows ₹177 unbilled cashback yet. Limit is super low though ₹24k. tried raise request but failed. Wanted another Rupay card for UPI and bill pay, Got approved for HDFC tata nue plus but didnt took it, i was interested in infinity for mobile recharge and bill pay. Will see new options in april-may maybe, Finger crossed.

Simply click was upi ready and gave 2.5%?

Simply click is not available on Rupay and give only 1.25% reward rate only

 

[TheTrickySid]

My first and only credit card is SBI cashback credit card. Are you -1 score so never applied for credit card anywhere using my SBI debit card since 2003-04 maybe, for everything online until UPA came. Last month got a call from home branch that you are pre approved for rupay credit card if you apply today so I went there after 5:00 PM they just made me log into my online SBI account. To my surprise I was pre approved for all the credit cards SBI have including SBI Card Elite Advantage Rs. 4,999. I make below ₹40k and most digital payment are on flipkart, amazon, mobile recharge and electricity. So naturally I zoomed in on two cards, Simply click and Casback. I would have to spend around ₹24000 year to recover my annual fees+tax on both of that. Anything below was loss and anything aove 24k was pure benefit. Simply click was upi ready but giving only 2.5%. SBI casback was giving 5% but cant use it on UPI. But heard lot about that SBI cashback have high rejection ratio, so went for it, If I cant benefit from it will just give it to family member to use. After entering the branch got virtual credit card in just 25 minutes. Got usual 'sarkari paperwork issue' as my name was incoreect, replaced my name on my fathers name etc, that got sorted in next week with customercare. Shows ₹177 unbilled cashback yet. Limit is super low though ₹24k. tried raise request but failed. Wanted another Rupay card for UPI and bill pay, Got approved for HDFC tata nue plus but didnt took it, i was interested in infinity for mobile recharge and bill pay. Will see new options in april-may maybe, Finger crossed.

Where in net banking can we see pre approved offer?

 

[6ix9ine]

My first and only credit card is SBI cashback credit card. Are you -1 score so never applied for credit card anywhere using my SBI debit card since 2003-04 maybe, for everything online until UPA came. Last month got a call from home branch that you are pre approved for rupay credit card if you apply today so I went there after 5:00 PM they just made me log into my online SBI account. To my surprise I was pre approved for all the credit cards SBI have including SBI Card Elite Advantage Rs. 4,999. I make below ₹40k and most digital payment are on flipkart, amazon, mobile recharge and electricity. So naturally I zoomed in on two cards, Simply click and Casback. I would have to spend around ₹24000 year to recover my annual fees+tax on both of that. Anything below was loss and anything aove 24k was pure benefit. Simply click was upi ready but giving only 2.5%. SBI casback was giving 5% but cant use it on UPI. But heard lot about that SBI cashback have high rejection ratio, so went for it, If I cant benefit from it will just give it to family member to use. After entering the branch got virtual credit card in just 25 minutes. Got usual 'sarkari paperwork issue' as my name was incoreect, replaced my name on my fathers name etc, that got sorted in next week with customercare. Shows ₹177 unbilled cashback yet. Limit is super low though ₹24k. tried raise request but failed. Wanted another Rupay card for UPI and bill pay, Got approved for HDFC tata nue plus but didnt took it, i was interested in infinity for mobile recharge and bill pay. Will see new options in april-may maybe, Finger crossed.

Simplyclick is not available in rupay, it must be simplysave.

 

[Heyyy]

First one was ICICI Platinum with my ICICI salary account.

 

[Ram1]

My first card was secured sbi simplysave card
Then got preapproved hdfc card

 

[technoswan]

Simplyclick is not available in rupay, it must be simplysave.

May be it was new lounch or it was simplySave. I remember for certain two thing that it was commitment 499+gst. and it did give 2.5% on online spent.

Where in net banking can we see pre approved offer?

Log into online sbi account through computer. There will be pop up window on top of the page, if you are pre approved. They rushed me that this approval is for today only, that was a lie. I wasn't expecting any card but would have researched my option better if i was not rushed.

 

[dvader]

My First credit card was HSBC platinum (2018-2019). They were camped in office cafeteria and I didn't think I would be elgible (went in for some free gift just for application). Somehow I got the card with a meager limit of 45000 (or 40k dont remember exactly). I still have the card and the limit is 10 Lakhs. This card also helped me in some trying times during covid. Love this card. Today I have 36 CCs but HSBC always has a place in my wallet.

The only thing I remember is I got 2k cleartrip voucher after card activation but forgot to use it.

 

[sumit_yadav]

In July 2007, ICICI Bank decided I was ready for my first credit card with a ₹63,000 limit. I mean, well played, ICICI - 4x the limit back then? You were clearly trying to lure me into the debt trap. Naturally, I took full advantage of balance transfers to cover my impulse-buying disasters. But hey, I still kept my promise to myself: I would pay those bills on time... eventually!

 

[SreeU]

I used to be always skeptical about credit cards as I heard some negative & regretful stories from my colleagues. They paid some heavy fines for not paying in time (Now I have understood it's due to their negligence). All these kept me away from credit cards. At the end of May 2023, I had to pay my son's high school fee and thought of getting one. I started ICICI online application but left it halfway without submitting it. Later I got a call from ICICI, after a little enquiry they came to know that I had a housing loan. I requested them for an LTF card, somehow luckily hpcl coral was approved with just a CIBIL enquiry. After 10 days, I had seen APay CC on my Amazon app and I applied for it. They asked for my salary slips, and sent them. It was approved within 3 days. Later I added Airtel Axis, MB+ and recently Pixel Rupay. These cards are very handy and saved me during emergencies a couple of times. I have no association with the above banks.
My regrets 😔: I should have started early.

 

[SreeU]

Hello every,
The first credit card is special for everyone. We all remember the experience of getting our first card 😃
Let's share our first credit card experience...
My experience-
My first credit card was ICICI HPCL Coral, which I received in 2015. My home address at that time did not fall within any bank's serviceable area, so they asked me to apply for credit card against FD. But I needed an unsecured credit card, so I talked to my branch manager and I told him I needed an unsecured card.
He told me that... we can give you an unsecured card but for that you have to purchase an ICICI Prudential Ulip policy of Rs. 2 lakhs (minimum).
At that time I desperately needed a credit card because my business was in USA and I needed a credit card for its payment. I was unemployed that time with zero CIBIL score, No bank was offering me a credit card so I had purchased a policy of two lakh rupees at that time and got my first ever credit card ICICI HPCL coral credit card (chargeable), later icici converted that card to a lifetime free hpcl coral credit card and I'm still holding that one 😄

I too got ICICI HPCL Coral as my first card. Thanks

 

[Rohith-2009]

I used to be always skeptical about credit cards as I heard some negative & regretful stories from my colleagues. They paid some heavy fines for not paying in time (Now I have understood it's due to their negligence). All these kept me away from credit cards. At the end of May 2023, I had to pay my son's high school fee and thought of getting one. I started ICICI online application but left it halfway without submitting it. Later I got a call from ICICI, after a little enquiry they came to know that I had a housing loan. I requested them for an LTF card, somehow luckily hpcl coral was approved with just a CIBIL enquiry. After 10 days, I had seen APay CC on my Amazon app and I applied for it. They asked for my salary slips, and sent them. It was approved within 3 days. Later I added Airtel Axis, MB+ and recently Pixel Rupay. These cards are very handy and saved me during emergencies a couple of times. I have no association with the above banks.
My regrets 😔: I should have started early.

My story is same. My relatives didn't recommend it. I was getting calls from HDFC as I already have the account with them, but in Apr 2022, I got a call from HDFC for credit card. I accepted it. Credit cards are very useful.

 

[SreeU]

My story is same. My relatives didn't recommend it. I was getting calls from HDFC as I already have the account with them, but in Apr 2022, I got a call from HDFC for credit card. I accepted it. Credit cards are very useful.

Yes, we get many calls. I will stop with either HDFC Millennia or SBI CB. Can't manage more.

 

[pythonlover]

My first credit card was ICICI Coral which I obtained in October 2023. I realised the benefits of credit cards while booking flight / hotels for holidays and seeing the card offers on MMT. I still didn't realise the full benefits then though. I used to think the cards are only useful for instant discounts. Later came to know about RP games. Before that I was being offered a credit card by SBI in 2022, which I rejected because of the misconceptions regarding credit cards.

The funny thing is that at time I used to think that anyone can get a credit card, if willing to pay the fees. So after I applied for ICICI Coral, I practically harassed the RM by calling & messaging again and again as to why my credit card approval is taking some time (it was approved and delivered in a week, and I still harassed him). I didn't even have any credit history till then. I was impatient because I had to leave for the vacation just after a week of application and received the card just the day before.

Also my DOB in card application was wrong, due to which I was unable to activate the card through phone banking. I didn't know about iMobile activation. So I had to go the branch after it had closed to activate the card as I had to leave the next day.

 

[Boss_Cat]

In apartments or bungalows , there is a Mail box for every resident , just inside the entrance

Mail Box Ki Bahut kahaniya hai

My dad received HSBC Card in his mail box, clueless in 2007. As it was in his name and everything matches right. He just took the envelope and Kept it for years and forgot about it. One day he just Cut the envelope and saw that the card got expired then he Cut that Card also and Destroyed it (burned). He never used CC and never wanted to.

Aur Apartment Mailboxes ka toh kya hi kehna, when I was kid, I used to check on other People's Mailboxes too, as courier boy didn't put the mail correctly, instead of dropping inside the box it kept hanging from the slit. I used to find Credit cards but I never Opened it, just saw it put it back as I didn't wanted to trouble neighbours. Actually I kept looking for my dad's Mails as he got physical statements. 😅

Those days were really something else. Nowadays it just feels so normal. At that time it was very special.

 

[Noxious]

I used to be a sneaker reseller before joining my family business, due to a good amount of transactions in my account that started happening, ICICI offered me a Coral Credit Card with 5 lakhs limit without any CIBIL, prior loan or any income documents(was a student at that time).

I researched a bit and saw a post regarding amazon apay on reddit, since the offer was pre approved for a credit card, I just filled apay form on amazon's website or app(dont remember properly) and it got approved and issued instantly without needing a v-KYC or anything, now the limit on that credit card Is 9 lakhs, I dont use the card anymore as now I have multiple cards and very few spends on amazon(which I do via amex/gyftr combo) but I still hold the card for any big purchases that comes through via amazon.

 

[sanzz]

My first credit card was some (don't remember, most likely was hpcl card) ICICI Bank credit card with the limit of Rs 10K issued in 2007 with the salary account. It was a part time job. I don't remember applying for credit card, may be the guy from bank ticked the credit card option.
Basis this card after a year I applied, card to card CITI Card , got a limit of 37K , CITI IOCL card (still have this card , now Axis IOCL card) Then applied HSBC card ( 37k limit ) not used this card and closed.

Kept on adding and closing Cards year after year, now my primary cards are Amex Rewards (2 cards) , Amex Gold ( on Amex only do the 6 and 4 threshold transactions) and HDFC Infinia for all other spends.

 

[Virtual King]

My 1st Credit Card Story

* Till Dec 2023. I was of the view - like many people here on this forum - that credit cards are really a vice, merely disguised in the form of virtue. Even though I had many friends and relatives who had credit cards, however, I was somehow not convinced to take the plunge. So, I had only debit cards (since Sep 2004) and cash till 2020. Then, in 2020, courtesy Covid pandemic, cash too became quite a difficult proposition. So, I graduated to net banking in July 2020 and then PhonePe in Nov 2022. This state of affairs continued till 2023 end.
* Jan - Feb 2024. Finally, after discussing some more with some of my friends and colleagues - who all praised the numerous benefits of credit cards - I decided to take the plunge. I had savings accounts in PNB and HDFC Bank. Since PNB was a public sector bank, I assessed that their response would be as usual - lethargic and bureaucratic. HDFC Bank appeared a better choice between the two. So, I spoke to my HDFC Bank RM and he said that he will revert.
* Mar - Apr 2024. He informed me in 2-3 days that I am eligible for Infinia Metal Credit Card. At that time, I was not aware of this card and that it was one of the best credit cards in India. So, I asked in brief about the card and he explained to me that it is the best credit card from HDFC. So, without further ado, I said yes. Later on, I did some research On Infinia credit card and compiled a comprehensive guide on Infinia - which I have shared on this forum, and it can be accessed and read here. My eligibility was possibly based on these factors - I have an ITR of Rs 50 L plus and have an Imperia account since June 2019. It is not my salary account. I have some FDs in the bank and some savings. I never had any credit card ever in my life and was using mainly debit cards, cash or PhonePe for my daily transactions. I had taken two loans - one a home loan way back in 2010 which finished in 2015 due to pre-payment by me. The other was a car loan again way back in 2014 which again finished in 2021. My CIBIL score (which I checked on 7th May 2024 after getting the Infinia) showed NH (i.e. No History). I also have a demat account in HDFC Securities with a portfolio of about Rs 6-8 L (it keeps on fluctuating based on the market upheavals). This will give an idea to the readers on the eligibility requirements for Infinia.
* May 2024. Finally, I received the 1st credit card of my life - Infinia Metal - and activated it on 1st May 2024. Along with it, I received two Priority Pass cards and one Add-on card. The Add-on card holder is also having an HDFC Imperia Account with some savings in it and a demat account in HDFC Securities with a portfolio of about Rs 4-5 L. The Add-on card had a different number and CVV from the primary card. My Infinia Metal Credit Cards - Primary and Add-on both were based on Mastercard World. My 1st transaction was to find a shop for prasaad for Rs 101 for offering to my personal deity - it was always in my mind. So, I searched for a few shops for some time who could give me the prasaad and accept Infinia at their POS. Finally, I located one.... and well, did my 1st ever credit card transaction of Rs 101.
* June 2024 - April 2025. After getting Infinia Metal as the 1st credit card of my life, I also applied for SBI BPCL Octane in May 2024 and received it in June 2024 (a comprehensive guide on the Octane that I have compiled and shared on this forum can be accessed here). Then, having grasped some more benefits of the credit cards, I applied for American Express Platinum Travel credit card in Jan 2025 and received it in a few days' time in Jan 2025 itself (a comprehensive guide on Amex Plat Travel that I have compiled and shared on this forum can be accessed here). So, today I have these 3 credit cards - Infinia Metal, BPCL Octane, and American Express Platinum Travel. These are meeting my requirements adequately.

So, this has been my credit card(s) journey - not only of the 1st credit card but also two more subsequently - all in the last one year.
Let us see, what the future beholds. 🙂

 

[abhiaj_geek]

First cc was Diners Club black in 2022. Got it ltf on alumni and salary basis. Hdfc gave a very generous limit of 10L. Got it as a colleague was applying and I just applied through his agent. Turned out to be a very good decision.

To this day it is my primary card! It is a beast of a card. Very useful for an upper middle class lifestyle.

May upgrade to EPM or infinia in future depending on ease or need or mood.