Everyone needs at least one credit card so that they can avail benefits such as cash back, reward points and especially start building credit history so that they can get higher limit and also apply for other types of credit such as personal loan, home loan, car loan and others.

This article answers various questions asked by its readers as follows:

Being employed or self employed and earning minimum income is not a prerequisite anymore to apply for a credit card. Housewife is the best example. Although women is not working, she can still get credit card.

Following are the two ways for homemaker to get credit card:

(1) Secured credit card: If your wife was salaried or self employed and has bank account but is not working now, then she can keep the part of the money currently in the savings account into a fixed deposit account and then apply for a card against this FD account. This is one of the easiest way to get credit card and fastest too, since the bank already has most of the details of the FD account holder and documentation required are less. The card limit depends on the amount kept in the FD account and is 80% of the FD amount.

(2) Add-on credit card: If husband wants credit card for wife with no income, then he can can apply for supplementary card in the name of his wife. However not everyone is eligible to get a card. Condition is that the primary card owner should have a good credit history and track record with the card he is currently using. Meaning, he should have not made default in the past, made full payment before the due date always, not exceeded the card limit, not used card at ATM for cash withdrawal.

Yes, you can get credit card without pay slip. There are three options to get card:

Traditional application: If you have salary account with a bank at which you are applying for a card then chances of approval are high since bank already has monthly salary and employer’s details crediting the salary. If you do not have salary slip then 6 months bank statement and offer letter will also work. Bank statement will also be helpful when someone gets salary in cash. In this situation, applicant can deposit the cash into the bank account and show bank statement as a proof. If he/she is filing IT returns, then this can also be provided as a proof of income.

When salary is paid through cheque: Another scenario is that when salary is paid through cheque. In such case, take a photocopy of the cheque bearing name of the employer, amount and date. Bank statement in which cheque is deposited along with income tax return are the valid documents.

Other ways for such individuals to get card are:

(1) Through fixed deposit
(2) Supplementary credit card

Refer above question for more details.

SBI Student Plus Advantage Credit Card is especially for students offered by State Bank of India.

ICICI Bank and HDFC bank offer prepaid card for Indian students planning for abroad studies:

HDFC Bank:

(1) ISIC Student ForexPlus
(2) Multicurrency Platinum ForexPlus
(3) ForexPlus Card
(4) ForexPlus Chip Card
(5) Regalia ForexPlus Card

ICICI Bank:

(1) Student Travel Card

Faking your income will not help in any way. Because card issuer will ask for income proof i.e. salary slip, bank statement and IT return at the time of applying for the card.

Check out risks of submitting fake documents when applying for card

One of the most easiest way to get credit card in India is against fixed deposit. Listed below are the cards offered against FD account:

(1) Signature Card – Andhra Bank. Minimum FD amount is Rs. 10,000
(2) Payless – Development Credit Bank (DCB Bank). Minimum FD amount is Rs. 15,000
(3) Aspire – Central Bank. Minimum FD amount is Rs. 16,000
(4) Coral Credit Card – ICICI Bank. Minimum FD amount is Rs. 20,000.
(5) Instant Platinum – ICICI Bank. Minimum FD amount is Rs. 20,000.

Yes. There are many banks offering credit cards for income of Rs. 12,000. Here is the list:

(1) Visa Classic and Visa Global from Vijaya Bank – Minimum monthly income required is Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively.
(2) Classic and Gold from Syndicate Bank – Minimum monthly income required is Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 12,500 respectively.
(3) Empowerment from Jammu & Kashmir Bank – Minimum monthly income required is Rs. 6,666 and Rs. 12,500 respectively.
(4) Canara Bank Visa Classic / MasterCard Standard – Minimum monthly income required is Rs. 8,333.
(5) India Card from Bank of India – Minimum monthly income required is Rs. 6,250.

For individuals with monthly income of Rs. 20,000 or less – check out this article.

Assuming you are self employed or are out of job currently, there are three ways to get credit card:

(1) Traditional Way: If you recently out of job then you can apply traditional way. Assuming you have salary slip for the last month and before, you can apply for the card. For e.g. you went out of job in the mid of Aug’19 then assuming you have salary slip till Jul’19, then banks will not ask for the salary slip of Aug’19.
(2) If you are self employed, then there are many banks that offer credit card for self employed requiring minimum income.
(3) Other ways to get credit card is against fixed deposit and add-on card as mentioned above in the FAQ-1.

There are many banks offering credit cards for self employed earning poor income. Few of the credit cards and the banks are:

(1) Visa Classic & Mastercard from Vijaya Bank requiring income of Rs. 4,166 and Rs. 8,133 per month.
(2) RuPay Platinum by Andhra Bank, monthly income required is Rs. 15,000.
(3) Axis Bank Gold Card monthly income required is Rs. 15,000.
(4) HPCL Credit Card from ICICI, monthly income required is Rs. 12,000.

Check out this detailed article on 17 credit cards for income upto Rs. 15,000

Yes. There are two ways to get credit card without credit score check or individuals with no credit score. The options are explained above in FAQ-1:

(1) Against fixed deposit
(2) Supplementary credit card

If you have more questions then do ask in the comment section below.

Author Bio:

Hi, I am Nikesh Mehta owner and writer of this site.

I’m an analytics professional and also love writing on finance and related industry. I’ve done online course in Financial Markets and Investment Strategy from Indian School of Business.

I can be reached at nikeshmehta@allonmoney.com. You may also visit my LinkedIn profile.