I don't have my
credit card as of now. So, I was just researching how to get one, I'm a student BTW. I am planning to get an SBI Unnati card (against an FD of around Rs 75000 on auto-renewal. SBI needs you to have an FD of min Rs 25K). It is free for the first 4 years and I'll get a credit limit of more than Rs 50K. After six months, when I have a healthy credit score, I will apply for the ICICI Platinum on a card-to-card basis by visiting the branch since I cannot furnish income docs. I will need to give ICICI a photocopy of my SBI card front page (not the back page/ CVV) and the last 3/6 months (depends on the branch official) card statement. It is important to keep the billed amount as low as possible with the SBI card in all these six months. I'll probably just use the SBI card for a mobile recharge every month and pay the bill on time. This will show ICICI that I am not credit-hungry and that SBI wants to give me credit but I don't need much. I'll tell the ICICI official that I am self-employed (private tuitions) (it's important as they will reject you if you say you are a student.) Now, ICICI platinum is an entry-level CC. They'll see that I have the SBI CC with a decent limit, low credit utilization ratio, and a clean credit history. So, they will approve the ICICI platinum card. Once I get my platinum card, I'll close my SBI card (don't hotlist/block it, ask SBI to close the credit card permanently) after one/ two months. My credit score will surely tank as my credit history with SBI will be gone, but I don't care. I won't be applying for a loan anytime soon. ICICI platinum is a trash card. I'll just leave it in my cupboard once I get another card in the future. It is a lifetime free and won't cost me anything. However, it will positively influence my credit history for the rest of my life. It's important to get your first credit card a lifetime free one so that you never need to close it and lose your credit history. The only purpose of that SBI card is to get me my unsecured ICICI lifetime free card. Sure it will hurt my score a little when I close my SBI CC but it's better this way from a long-term perspective.