There are quite a few points of difference between a premium credit card and a regular credit card. Check out some of the crucial factors that set premium credit cards in India apart from non-premium cards.
The eligibility criteria of regular credit cards are usually relaxed. However, that’s not the case with most premium credit cards in India. Since they offer exclusive luxury perks, the criteria for premium cards tend to be more stringent, especially the minimum income requirement.
The annual fees of premium credit cards in India are usually much higher than the fees of non-premium cards. This is because premium cards offer a host of complimentary benefits whose costs are usually covered by annual fees. However, other charges such as finance charges and foreign exchange markup fees usually tend to be much lower for premium credit cards compared to regular cards.
Premium credit cards in India usually offer high-value welcome benefits on payment of the first-year fee. The value of the welcome benefits will usually be equivalent to the annual fee of the card. With regular cards, however, you may or may not get any welcome benefits.
The rewards that you receive when you use premium credit cards are usually much higher in value than non-premium cards. With premium credit cards in India, you may even get to enjoy accelerated reward points and bonus reward points on certain transactions. Furthermore, the reward redemption rates are also generally very attractive in premium cards.
Premium credit cards in India offer milestone benefits when you spend a certain amount during a year. These benefits include annual fee waivers, discount coupons, e-vouchers, bonus reward points, and more. Although many non-premium cards offer milestone benefits, they’re often not as attractive as those of premium cards.
One of the major advantages of premium credit cards in India is that they provide access to exclusive concierge services. These services are usually available 24/7 and can be availed from wherever you are in the world. Non-premium credit cards, on the other hand, don’t offer any such concierge services.
Most premium credit cards in India offer unlimited complimentary access to both domestic and international airport lounges. Regular credit cards generally only offer complimentary access to domestic airport lounges and limit the number of free visits to just 1 or 2 per quarter.
Another exclusive perk that most premium credit cards in India offer is complimentary golf sessions. With these cards, you can get access to select golf courses both within the country and abroad. This benefit is not available on any of the regular credit cards.