Paytm First Credit Card Detailed Review

Paytm in collaboration with Citibank has launched Paytm First credit card, an entry-level card targeting existing Paytm users. Now, Paytm being a Payments Bank cannot offer lending products such as credit card on its own. Thus, it had to launch this Paytm First credit card as a co-branded card with Citibank.

 

Paytm First Credit Card

Fees and Eligibility

• Annual fee of INR500+ GST. The annual fee is waived on spending INR50,000 or above in a year. Annual fee is charged at the end of membership year. Thus if one spends INR50K or above, no fee is charged, unlike many other credit cards where the fee is charged upfront.

Rewards and Benefit

• Joining Benefit:
  • Free 1-year Paytm First membership, worth INR750.
  • INR 1000 cashback on spending a cumulative INR5000 in the first 30 days
• Recurring Benefit:
  • Buy 1 Get 1 movie ticket up to INR300, twice a month on Paytm Movies
  • Up to 20% discounts on partner restaurants
• Reward Points:
  • 1% cashback on all transaction, with no upper cap.
  • Cashback is credited directly in the credit card statement after bill generation
  • 1% fuel surcharge waiver on Indian Oil petrol pumps

Verdict

Paytm First credit card is a solid entry-level credit card. The thing that stands out for this credit card, is the no-nonsense reward structure. Flat 1% cashback every month on all transactions with no upper cap. What this means is all transactions, including utility bill payment and insurance payments will be eligible for 1% cashback. Not to forget low spending needed to get the annual fee waived off. Thus, practically one can get this card at no annual fee.

Further, the current on-going offer of Buy 1 Get 1 movie ticket on Paytm movies is like icing on the cake. I would recommend that even if one has other premium credit cards, one should apply for Paytm First credit card for this one benefit. Currently, there is no limited quota of tickets under this offer, unlike most of BookMyShow’s Buy 1, Get 1 offer on other credit cards.

How to apply for Paytm First Credit Card?

As mentioned earlier, Paytm First credit card is available exclusively for Paytm users. Thus, one needs to have a Paytm Bank’s saving account or a KYC verified Paytm wallet account.

Application is via the mobile app only. One can find the credit card option under the financial services tab in the app. The application process is a breeze; just enter a few details, such as Name, PAN card details etc and voila, you are done. Citibank processes the application and gets back to you in a couple of hours with their decision.

Paytm First Credit Card application rejected?

Recently, my application for Paytm First credit card was rejected. As such, Citibank is known for quite strict eligibility criteria for credit cards. But frankly, I was surprised at the outcome as I have a good credit score of 800+, 10 years + credit history of and not a single late payment or default till date (touchwood for this!). Above all, I have been using Citibank Premiermiles credit card for quite some time. Thus, it cannot be that, I don’t fit in the Citibank criterion.

On further, digging around I came to know about this specific eligibility criterion, which says that “one can apply for this card if you already have less than or equal to 2 Citi Credit Cards.”

In my case, I have 2 operational Citibank credit cards(Premiermiles and Cashback). But in my credit report, an old Citi credit card (Citibank Indianoil), which I have closed, still shows up as active. Thus, I now need to get in touch with Citibank and get my credit report updated, after that will again apply for Paytm First credit card.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a solid entry-level credit card, with a no non-sense reward policy. Further, I believe that this must the best credit card for free movie tickets available right now, though I am collating more data on to substantiate this claim.

Do you own a Paytm First credit card? Do share your experiences of using this card in the comment section below.