Getting the cashback offer and zero cost EMI for a laptop purchase this month required a new credit card, which turned into a broader churn of my card lineup. Background on my general approach to credit cards is in 💳 Credit Cards: Usage, Risks & Smart Practices.
Current Lineup
| Bank | Network | Holder | Card Variant | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI | Visa | Me | Amazon Pay | Active | First card |
| HDFC | Mastercard | Me | Swiggy | Closed | — |
| ICICI | Mastercard | Me / Spouse | MakeMyTrip | Active, planned closure | Originally used for lounge access; target replacement is a plain, fee-free ICICI card — ideally staying on Mastercard so the network stays covered |
| HDFC | Visa | Me / Spouse / Mom | Infinia + Add-ons | Active | Primary card + lounge access |
| Axis | RuPay | Me | Neo | Active | Obtained recently |
The design goal is deliberate coverage across 3 banks (HDFC, ICICI, Axis) and 3 payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay), so no single bank outage or network-acceptance gap leaves me without a working card as well as offer coverage by these 3 top private banks. The point is to stay compact — I’m not interested in running behind every card offer available; one well-chosen card product per bank/network role is enough, even if that product comes with multiple add-on cards for family members.
One Card Swap, Three Goals
One card swap ended up hitting three separate goals:
- I got the Axis Neo card from Axis to unlock the laptop’s cashback offer and zero cost EMI.
- By selecting the RuPay variant and linking it inside my UPI app, I am able to use it at my office food court and the apartment’s Hatsun vending machine — spots that only take UPI. These used to go straight through my bank account; routing them through the credit card instead reduces how much idle cash I need to keep sitting there.
- It’ll also let me finally add Axis credit card statement support to Xfina, as promised
EMI as a Cashflow Tool
This is the same debt is a tool, not an enemy thinking, applied to a personal purchase rather than an investment loan. The “zero cost EMI” label is a bit of a misnomer — the EMI installments alone do add up to match a lumpsum payment, but a ₹599 processing fee (plus GST on that fee) and GST on the interest component still apply on top. It’s not actually zero cost. The right comparison isn’t EMI versus paying upfront in isolation — it’s the total incremental cost of the EMI against the value of keeping that cash in the investment flow instead of pulling it out for a lumpsum payment. On that basis, it’s still the better deal.
Pre-Approved != Approved
The ICICI leg is the one piece still unresolved: the plan was to swap both MakeMyTrip cards (mine and my spouse’s) for a plain, fee-free ICICI card, but ICICI rejected the pre-approved Coral application for me — both applying directly and via customer care. Turns out “pre-approved” doesn’t mean approved. For now I’ll just close the MakeMyTrip cards and revisit an ICICI replacement later — ideally one that’s still on Mastercard, since that’s currently the only network in the stack riding on cards I’m about to close.
Related Reading
- State of the 1 Portfolio — Returns, Allocation & Rebalancing (August 2026)
- 💳 Credit Cards: Usage, Risks & Smart Practices
- Why Debt Is a Tool — Not an Enemy
Disclaimer
For educational purpose only
This post reflects my personal experience and is not investment or financial advice. Card offers, fees, and bank approval decisions may change, and your experience may differ from mine.