Types of credit cards couples must own

Just married? Now that you have taken your vows, and promised to share your lives, it’s time to keep a track of your finances and take control of your combined financial future. A great way to start is by picking the right credit card that suits your mutual needs.

Yes, now is the time to move past the credit card that has accompanied you through your single days and to consider investing in those cards through which you and your better half have a chance to merge rewards and earn big. While there are plenty of credit cards being offered by dozens of credit card issuers, the ideal way to make things easier is to choose a type based on your specific needs and enjoy the rewards in the form of cash backs, e-vouchers, miles, and much more.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most relevant credit cards for new couples to get the most from the rewards generated:

1. Utility credit cards

Utility credit cards come with tonnes of benefits on commuting expenses, fuel transactions and monthly bills paid. This can be very helpful for new couples who love to go on road trips and also try to control their spending by regularly redeeming the points earned. For instance, Petro cards by Bharat Petroleum can help the users save big every time they need to fill gas while on their trip.Users can save up all the accumulated reward points and redeem them while refuelling.

While these limited purpose cards can only be utilised at specific locations, they come with options of minimum payment and finance charge as well.

2. Credit cards with entertainment offers

These are the credit cards that will come in handy when you plan on watching movies or dining out or shopping. Cardholders can use these credit cards to get amazing cashback and offers such as buy 1 get 1 free offer on movies or restaurants. If you want to go for shopping, you can use the entertainment credit card and avail some discounts while earning loyalty points for every transaction. These points can then be redeemed while booking tickets for a movie or an event.

For instance, the HDFC Solitaire credit card allows its users to earn 10% discount on the card, get 50% more Reward Points on dining and grocery spends and avail Shoppers Stop vouchers worth Rs 1,000 on cumulative spending of Rs. 75,000 for every 6 months to a period of 2 years.

3. Rewards Credit Cards

As the name suggests, rewards credit cards refer to those that offer rewards on any credit card purchases. These rewards can be classified into three categories; cashback, points, and travel. While some couples prefer the flexibility of cash back rewards, others may prefer points that can be redeemed for privileges.

However, the most preferred ones are the Travel reward cards as couples love to travel together and these cards enable them to trade their loyalty points with air miles, hotel stays, and other travel perks like booking cheap air tickets, seat upgrades and more experiential offers. Married life comes with its own set of rewards.

But before opting for credit cards, it’s important to strengthen your finances, get on the same page in terms of monetary spends and create a budget before bothering about reward points and miles together.

By Arvind Prabhakar, Co-founder and CEO Gyftr (Vouchagram)