Our editorial mission
Credit Smart India (arunps.com) exists to give Indian readers honest, accurate, and current information about credit cards, personal finance, and the Indian tax system. We are not a lender, not a bank, not an RBI-registered financial advisor, and we do not sell any financial products. We publish editorial content and build calculators.
Independence and no-affiliate stance
We receive no commissions, affiliate fees, kickbacks, or any other compensation from credit card issuers, banks, NBFCs, or loan aggregators for placement in our reviews or articles. We do not run the common “apply for this card via our link” model that many Indian credit card review sites use. Every review is editorially independent.
If this ever changes — for example if we begin accepting affiliate relationships in future — we will disclose this prominently on every affected page and on this editorial policy.
How we research a card
For each credit card review we publish or refresh, we:
- Read the issuer’s public pages. The primary source is always the issuer’s own website — HDFC, ICICI, Axis, SBI Card, Amex India, Standard Chartered, Yes Bank, and so on. Fees, eligibility criteria, reward rates, and milestone structures come from the issuer first.
- Cross-check against RBI regulatory updates and mainstream business-news coverage to validate and supplement what the issuer publishes — especially for rule changes, merger effects, and industry-wide shifts.
- Flag recent rule changes. Credit card rules change frequently in India. Each review has a “Last reviewed” date and flags material changes in the last 6 months (cap reductions, rate revisions, retention rules, partner-list changes).
- Independently math-check reward calculations. Our interactive reward calculators use standard Indian assumptions (redemption values, monthly caps, milestone thresholds) and are validated against worked examples.
Data currency and corrections
Every review carries a “Last reviewed” date. Data is accurate as of that date. Credit card rules change frequently — verify with the issuer before applying. If you find an error, email us via the contact page and we’ll correct it within 48 hours.
Our scoring methodology
Card scores (X / 10) combine: (1) reward rate on typical Indian spending patterns; (2) fee-vs-benefit economics at the card’s target spend level; (3) insurance and travel perks; (4) forex markup; (5) issuer service quality; (6) ease of redemption. We do not weight “prestige” or marketing positioning. A ₹0 lifetime-free card that delivers strong value can score higher than a ₹50,000 super-premium card for specific audiences.
Conflicts of interest
The author and team hold various Indian credit cards personally for research purposes. We disclose any personal holding that materially influences our review. We do not front-run or trade on any information before publication.
Advertisements
The site does not currently run display advertisements. If we begin running programmatic ads in future, they will be clearly distinguished from editorial content, and will not influence review content or rankings.
Updates to this policy
This policy was last updated in April 2026. Material changes will be announced on this page.