So it’s a new credit card in your pocket that you have received. No matter what kind of credit card you have, obtaining a new card is a joy. The card has a logo, card number, and, most importantly, your name. There are several things you must do quickly as you get your new credit card to effectively manage it and protect your financial security.
What to Do If You Get a New Credit Card
Before you apply for credit card, you must understand the terms and fees, how to activate the credit card, learn about the rewards, sign up for an online banking account, Set Up Autopay. Following are brief descriptions of all.
Create an Online Banking Account
Activating your online banking account is probably the first thing you should do after receiving your credit card, as you won’t be able to do anything else without it. Activating your online account is critical because it allows you to easily manage your card. You can do the following things with the online account:
- You can check the credit limit
- Setup auto-debit
- Check reward points
- You can check offers & more
Go through Terms and Fee
Begin by determining your credit limit. This is the maximum credit card balance you can have. Instead of charging up to your credit limit, aim to keep your balance to 30 percent or less of your limit.
Your credit utilization and total balance to your total credit limit, play a significant role in determining your credit score. Your credit score will suffer if you use the majority of your available credit. Aiming for less than 30% utilization is a good starting point, but your score will likely improve as utilization approaches zero.
Activate the credit card
The first thing you should do after receiving a new credit card is to activate it. If you have ordered the new Credit Card as an upgrade, you must also destroy any older cards.
- An activation message will be sent to your registered number along with a link. By clicking on the link, you can activate your card.
- Change the pin of your Credit Card pin
- Some of the banks require you to activate the card through the bank’s ATM.
- Keep your Credit Card somewhere safe to avoid misuse.
Understand your Credit Card
Before using your Credit Card, you need to understand its various key aspects, such as:
- Check the credit limit and cash withdrawal limit
- Annual Interest Rate and the rate applicable on the Credit Card
- Due date of Payment
- Check for the interest-free period available.
- Joining fee and annual membership fee of Credit Card
- Save the customer care number in your mobile phonebook
- Keep a photocopy of the Credit Card
- Read the card’s terms and conditions carefully.
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Setting up auto-pay instructions
Your next task is to set up your Credit Card account for auto-pay instructions.
- Borrowers should set up auto-pay instructions for the entire amount due. However, if there is an insufficient balance in your account, you can set up twin instructions.
- In this case, the bank is authorized to initiate a transaction for the total amount due; however, if there is an insufficient balance in the account, the bank will initiate a transaction for the minimum amount due.
- You can avoid late payment penalties by setting up auto-pay instructions and have a positive impact on your CIBIL score.
Learn about the Rewards
One of the most important aspect of understanding how a credit card works is becoming familiar with the rewards programme associated with the card.This will allow you to maximize the benefits of your transactions while also lowering the cost.
- The new Credit Card comes with reward points.
- With certain transactions, you can earn reward points.
- Bonus reward points are available for purchases made with specific vendors or on specific dates.
- Bonus reward points are awarded for annual spending more than a certain amount.
- The period after which reward points will expire.
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