Thursday, 13 November 2014

Tips for Credit Card Security

Although the RBI has circulated some rules and regulations to secure credit card customers, still frauds happen within a blink of an eye. There are many ways to safeguard your credit card against theft or other instances of security breach.
 
Some tips are:
  • Lost and stolen card report: If any of your credit cards is stolen or lost, report it immediately to customer care. Make sure they stop the card immediately so that no transactions can be done till the time you receive a new one. Also, ensure that you tell them the date, time and place the incident happened, in case you remember it. This will ensure that your card issuer knows the time since your card was not in your possession.
  • Online safety: Banks will never send emails to you, asking for your credit card number. If you receive any such thing, it is undoubtedly a spam mail. This is one of the easiest tricks that scammers deploy to phish your login information for a bank. Whenever you log on to the bank site, you will see disclaimers with the same information. This is only to inform customers of these kinds of frauds. Also, it is imperative that you request for an OTP (One Time Password) for all your online transactions.
  • Guard your credit cards: Always ensure that you carry your credit cards in a closed compartment. Whether you are a man or a woman, you should carry a zipped purse or wallet for keeping credit cards. It is better to carry only those cards that you will need at the time of shopping. Carrying all of them would surely be a mistake.
  • Look before you sign: At the time of shopping, always ensure that you are signing a valid receipt. Many a times, it has been seen that merchants and shopkeepers give you receipts that are completely blank. It is better not to sign on them. They will feign no ink and all other stuff, but always stick to the fact that you will sign a valid receipt. They can easily write any amount on a blank receipt after you sign it.
  • Safeguard your card number: You should only give your credit card number and other sensitive information to the customer care. Do not disclose your card numbers to people who have left their phone numbers on your answering machines. Your card issuer will never call you to confirm your card number as they will already have it their database. They would just confirm the last 4 digits of the card.
  • The billing statement review: It is very important to check the billing statement every month. This will ensure that you know what all charges have been added in the current billing cycle. If you see any out of league charge, then you can always call the bank and check with them if the charge belongs to you or not.
  • Shred your card number: Many credit card customers throw their billing statements in the trash without shredding them. You should shred your statement, rather than just throwing it away. This way, nobody can read the card number from your billing statement.
Caution is the best way of securing your credit cards. Always ensure that you keep a track of all the transactions done by you.
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Monday, 10 November 2014

Understanding the advantages of a HDFC Bank Travel Credit Card

Travelling is done every day whether it is for business or for pleasure. But, if you are someone who spends a big chunk of your income or your allowances on travelling, you should take a look at the best HDFC travel credit card. Having a travel specific credit card gives you access to savings on the biggest expenditure on your list.
Travelling is expensive more so if it is air travel. Air travel is also the fastest and most efficient if you travel a lot for business. Using a credit card which is travel based to make your purchases is a good way to save money because you can earn miles which can be used to redeem discounts on future purchases. Frequent fliers can benefit greatly from having a travel credit card.
Now, let us look at the benefits of the best HDFC travel card.
While there are different travel benefit cards available with HDFC bank, a card that is most recommended in this category is the Superia travel premium Card. This is a travel specific credit card which gives customers access to compounded savings.
New customers:
As a new customer you can earn 1000 reward points which can be used at a later stage to get discounts on ticket purchases.
Rewards:
For a frequent air traveler, earning rewards can give many benefits in the form of savings. When you use the Superia HDFC credit card, you can earn 3 reward points on every Rs.150 spent. You can earn double the rewards when you use this card for making dining reservations.
The savings don’t stop here. If the total amount spent on the card reaches a total of Rs. 5 lac, you get an air travel voucher of Rs, 8000.
Lounge benefits:
Business travelers who travel from place to place often spend a great deal of their schedule waiting for flights. While they wait to board a direct or a connecting flight, they access lounge services. These services can be expensive generally, however, using the Superia travel HDFC credit card can help save on these services as well.
Possessing this card will give members exclusive lounge benefits in airports all across India. Also, the total savings on lounge expenses can add up to a total of Rs.8300 every year which is again a significant savings.
Fuel discounts:
A big part of business travelling is also intercity travel that involves booking cabs or using official vehicles for travel. Using the Superia HDFC bank travel credit card, the customer will get many fuel transaction discounts further expanding the savings slab.
An HDFC travel credit card offers traditional travelling expenditure savings but, in addition to that the span of savings is enlarged when the related travelling expenses are also featured as part of the plan. It is therefore, prudent to use a credit card specifically meant to extend travel benefits that covers the entire spectrum of expenses.
For a company or a corporate the same, helps save a ton of money on personnel travelling purchases.
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