Does Closing Your Oldest Credit Card Hurt Your CIBIL Score? (2026)

"Never close your oldest card" is common advice, but it skips the bigger risk: closing any card shrinks your total available credit limit, which can spike your utilisation ratio immediately — while the length-of-history effect is usually smaller and slower.

Nitish Bharadwaj5 minNov 3, 2026

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As of Nov 11, 2026. Indicative; confirm with the bank before applying.

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Cashback

HDFC Moneyback Plus Credit Card Review 2026: Is the "Up to 2.5% Valueback" Claim Real?

HDFC markets this card on a 2.5% valueback number, but that figure only applies if you redeem CashPoints a specific way. Redeem them as plain cash instead and the real return drops — on the base rate as well as the partner-merchant rate.

6 minNov 3, 2026

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Entry LevelHot

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹0

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Axis Ace Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹499

5% cashback on bills and recharges at Google Pay, up to ₹500 a month; 1.5% on other spends

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CashbackHot

SBI Cashback Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹999

5% cashback on online shopping, up to ₹2,000 a month; 1% on other spends

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CashbackHot

HSBC Live+ Credit Card

Reward

10%

Annual fee

₹999

10% cashback on dining and food delivery, groceries, online shopping and bills and recharges, up to ₹1,200 a month; 1.5% on other spends

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Fuel

Indian Oil Axis Bank Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹500

4% back in reward points on fuel at Iocl, up to ₹200 a month; 0.2% on other spends

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TravelHot

HDFC Bank Regalia Gold Credit Card

Reward

6.25%

Annual fee

₹2,500

6.25% back in reward points on online shopping at Myntra, Nykaa and Reliancedigital; 1.25% on other spends

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TravelHot

Federal Bank Scapia Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹0

4% back in coins on travel at Scapia; 2% on other spends

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Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card

Reward

Annual fee

₹12,500

6% back in reward points on travel at Traveledge; 1.2% on other spends

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Loans

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Business Loans

Farm Loan Waiver Schemes in India 2026: How They Actually Work, and Why RBI Keeps Warning Against Them

A farm loan waiver isn't a loan product you can apply for — it's a state government paying off part or all of an existing crop loan on a farmer's behalf. Maharashtra's 2026 scheme shows exactly how selective and conditional that actually is in practice.

6 minNov 3, 2026

Insurance

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Life Insurance

Income Protection Insurance in India 2026: Why It Doesn't Exist as a Standalone Policy — and the Riders That Do the Job Instead

Search "income protection insurance" and most results are written for the UK or US, where a monthly income-replacement policy is a mainstream product sold on its own. India doesn't really have one. What exists instead is a set of disability riders, each insurer structuring the payout completely differently, bolted onto a life insurance policy you have to buy first.

6 minOct 14, 2026

Investments & Tax

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ITR Filing

Form 15CA and 15CB Are Now Form 145 and 146: Foreign Remittance Rules Under the Income-tax Act, 2025

If you've searched for Form 15CA or 15CB for a foreign remittance anywhere after April 2026, you may have landed on commentary calling them Form 145 and Form 146 instead. The Income-tax Act, 2025 renamed both forms — the actual rules on when you need a chartered accountant's certificate barely moved.

6 minOct 15, 2026

Savings & FDs

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Savings Accounts

Joint Savings Account Mandates 2026: 'Either or Survivor' vs 'Former or Survivor' — Which One to Choose

Open a joint savings account and the bank will ask you to pick an operating mandate most people breeze past — 'Either or Survivor' or 'Former or Survivor'. The choice decides who can withdraw money on their own signature while both holders are alive, and it has nothing to do with who eventually inherits the balance.

5 minOct 15, 2026

Credit Score

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