H Arjun

Credit card portfolio of all active cards that I currently hold! #CCGeeks #CreditCards #Portfolio

This is the third time I’m using the BookMyShow Buy 1 Get 1 benefit on my ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card this month, and honestly, it’s become one of my favourite underrated perks on the card. I have one primary card and two add-on cards, and the BOGO offer works on all of them. Since every card gets the offer twice a month, that’s effectively 6 BOGO bookings monthly with up to ₹750 off per booking. That’s actually a pretty solid benefit if you enjoy watching movies in theatres. I wasn’t using it much earlier because I’m not really a movie buff. But with movies like Dhurandhar, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and now Michael, releasing in the last few months, I’ve started making proper use of it. I’ve also started booking recliner seats. The experience is just on another level. Super comfortable and genuinely relaxing. Credit cards do make you inflate your lifestyle sometimes, and this is probably one of those examples 😜 But honestly, I don’t watch too many movies anyway, so once in a while, it feels completely worth it to pay a little extra for a genuinely good experience.

People in offices often mistake your Teams/Google Meets status for your actual workload. If someone is constantly on calls or presenting, they’re seen as “busy”. But the moment your status shows as available, people assume you’re free to take calls, discuss something, or respond immediately. A lot of actual work happens outside meetings, too. Thinking, writing, reviewing, building, planning. Not every kind of work shows up as a red dot on Teams.

One of the best ways to disconnect from the constant hustle of everyday life and truly relax is a train journey. Especially when you get a side berth window seat. Side upper is even better. Your own corner, no one to disturb you, and you get to sleep whenever you want.

I filled up my fuel tank before the expected price hike now that the elections are over. Honestly, it was just a psychological satisfaction, trying to get the benefit of filling up at the old prices. I'll have to pay the higher prices eventually, whether I like it or not. And truly, we've all just come to accept this obvious political move where the government waits until after elections to raise prices. Like, everyone knows the government is just trying to make people happy to win votes. It's been happening forever, and we all know it and have just rolled with it.

Pro travel tip that not many people talk about! I see a lot of us have gotten into the habit of clicking 5–7 shots of the same frame, thinking we’ll pick the best one later. But that “later” never really comes. You just end up with a lot of similar, high-res photos eating up your cloud storage. I was literally at the brink of my Google storage limit because of this. And going back to select one out of 5 similar photos is honestly a boring and time-consuming task. Eventually, you just end up keeping most of them and deleting very few. It’s an unnecessary waste of time, energy, and mental bandwidth, along with having to pay Google/Apple for extra cloud storage. Since then, I’ve been consciously taking fewer shots, and even telling my spouse the same when she’s clicking from my phone. Just focusing on better angles and adjustments while clicking, instead of multiple clicks. Less clutter, better photos, and one less headache to deal with later!

In Sector 29 (near Roots Cafe, Gurgaon), vehicles are being towed from a spot with no “No Parking” signage. People are being asked to pay ₹1500, out of which ₹1000 is in the name of GMDA, but no official receipt or challan is being provided. Just a POS sales slip. How is this acceptable? Requesting @TrafficGGM and @OfficialGMDA to investigate this. People are being unnecessarily harassed. This feels like open looting. How do I know this money is actually going to GMDA and not some random account?

KOTAK PVR CREDIT CARD — SCAM ALERT 🚨 Went to watch a movie at @_PVRCinemas with my mom today. There was a Kotak kiosk there, and this sales guy just kept pestering me to take their PVR credit card. I told him multiple times that I don’t need it, I already have better cards. But he just wouldn’t stop. He kept saying it’s a lifetime free (LTF) card, you get 1 free movie ticket every month without any spend, and on top of that, there’s a ₹400 voucher that you can use immediately for food and beverages. Honestly, it sounded too good to be true. And I usually don’t fall for this stuff, I’m quite particular about which cards I take. But this guy was just too persistent, and somewhere in that moment, the idea of Rs.400 free food voucher at the theatre got me thinking, okay fine, it's anyway LTF, so I'll take it. While he was filling in the details, I clearly saw ₹499 annual fee written on the screen. I pointed it out, and he immediately said, “sir it’s free for you, don’t worry about that. There is a voucher code in the backend.” That itself felt off, but I still went ahead just to see it through. He gave me the ₹400 voucher. I went inside, sat down before the movie started, and just did a quick Google search and saw multiple Reddit threads on Kotak PVR card misselling at PVR cinemas. reddit.com/r/CreditCardsI… reddit.com/r/CreditCardsI… And obviously… everything he said was wrong. The card is NOT lifetime free (LTF) !❌ It has a ₹499 + GST annual fee! The free ticket per month is NOT automatic❌ You need to spend around ₹10,000 in a billing cycle to unlock even ONE ticket! And there are more conditions for additional benefits. So basically, straight-up mis-selling! My first reaction was to go back and call him out. Instead, I thought, "You play with me, I’ll play with you". Used that ₹400 voucher, got myself popcorn (paid ~₹45 extra), enjoyed the movie, and that’s it. Now, I won't be activating this card whenever it's delivered. No activation would lead to auto-cancellation as per RBI policy, and I won't be charged the annual fee as well. Yes, there will be a CIBIL enquiry, but that’s fine. What’s funny is, they tried to trick me into taking a card, and ended up giving away ₹400 + whatever commission they paid the agent… for nothing. Also, this genuinely made me think, "How is this even working as a model?" If you’re selling cards like this, most people will realise the truth later and either cancel or not activate. So are these agents only incentivised on approvals and not on activation of the card? Because this just looks like burning money to acquire customers who don’t even stay. So just putting this out there, be careful. Don’t take these cards at face value. @KotakBankLtd, this is honestly a terrible way to sell your product. Straight up scam. Misleading and mis-selling to consumers. If you have to lie to get people to sign up, the product clearly doesn’t stand on its own. #KotakPVR #CreditCard #SCAM #CreditCards

I did the Triund trek around this time last year, and it turned out to be one of my best trekking experiences. The end of March and April are honestly great times to go. The trail was full of blooming trees, and the weather was just right, not too hot, not too cold. Sharing some unedited snaps and details that might get you interested. 🧵

Just wrapped up a 2-night stay at Taj Chandigarh this week using my Amex Taj vouchers. Went in expecting a good hotel stay, but came back genuinely impressed by how good Chandigarh is as a city. It’s not talked about enough. Given how most Indian cities today are struggling with congestion, garbage, and broken infrastructure, it’s honestly surprising that a city like Chandigarh exists the way it does. My review of Taj Chandigarh and Chandigarh as a city 👇🧵

Some idiot actually reversed his car on the rightmost lane because he missed an exit. This is exactly why accidents happen in India. You missed a cut. Just drive ahead. Take a U-turn. Waste a bit of petrol and time. How is that worse than putting everyone at risk because of your stupidity? Sadly Indian roads are filled with idiots like this guy! Scenes from the Golf Course Road, Gurgaon, outside DLF Camellias.

This is completely unacceptable imo. You don’t just drop changes like that for a super-premium card. Hoping it’s a glitch.

Don’t get too caught up in the number of countries travelled metric. It’s a bit overhyped. A lot of those “30–40 countries travelled” numbers come from Europe. One Schengen visa and you’re visa-free across ~29 countries. Crossing borders every couple of days makes the count grow fast, but that number alone doesn’t say much about the quality of the trip itself. Travel isn’t meant to be a checklist. You don’t need to hop countries every 2–3 days just to inflate a number. Even in Europe, staying in one country for 10+ days is completely fine. Fewer checkouts, less transit, more time actually experiencing and absorbing the place instead of constantly moving. Unless someone has spent months travelling slow and intentionally, the country count by itself isn’t a great indicator of anything. Travel should optimise for what you want to do, not for how impressive your bio looks on social media. So don’t feel pressured when you see “30 / 40 / 50 countries travelled” in your peer group. Go at your pace. Travel the way you enjoy it. Quality trips always beat country counts.

If you visit any South-East Asian country, it leaves you a bit disturbed. Most of these places feel very comparable to India, had India just gotten the basics right. You don’t even need to compare India to Europe or the US. Compare it to Thailand, Vietnam, Mayalsia, or Sri Lanka. Crowded cities. Dense traffic. Similar population pressure. Yet, the basics just work. • Roads actually work Properly built, pothole-free, continuous. Roads merge cleanly into footpaths. No broken tar, no random mud patches, no dust flying around. • Footpaths exist and continue Not there for 50 metres and then gone. Not encroached everywhere. You can actually walk. • Traffic discipline People stay in lanes. They wait at signals. Even in long jams, there’s patience. No honking, because there’s trust that others will follow rules. • Garbage isn’t normalised Trash isn’t lining roads, flyovers, and footpaths. In India, we’ve somehow accepted garbage as “how cities are”. • The river economy difference hits hard Bangkok’s river is alive, usable, has river transport, entertainment, cruises, is clean, and integrated into the city. Compare that to the Yamuna in Delhi - filthy, toxic, dead. • Pollution is visibly lower Less dust, fewer loose surfaces, better paving, better planning. It’s not perfect, but it’s acknowledged and managed better. The uncomfortable part is that none of this is innovation. This is boring, basic city infrastructure. No zero-to-one thinking needed. Just intent from the government, enforcement, and maintenance. Our cities haven’t improved in the last 10–15 years. They’ve gotten more congested, more overcrowded, and dirtier. That’s why every salaried taxpayer is angry. We’re not asking for luxury. We’re asking for basics. And yes, I’ll probably be labelled as “one more guy who travelled abroad and started cribbing about India”. But people need to understand that we’re being scammed in the name of 4th largest GDP and all that noise. GDP is largely a function of population size. Per-capita outcomes are still terrible. When countries just as crowded can get this right, it really does feel like we’re being scammed.

Solo travel and family travel are two completely different games, especially when it comes to airport lounge access. When I travel alone, my go-to is HDFC Diners Black. Domestic or international, unlimited access, rarely gets rejected. With family, especially on international trips, it needs planning. You need enough lounge access for everyone, and sometimes lounges get strict. Boarding pass name has to match the card name. You never know which lounge will enforce it. So I went fully prepared - ▶️Priority Pass add-ons from ICICI EPM for two family members. ▶️A Diners add-on for my spouse. Four cards, all names covered. And then, just in time, I remembered something, Axis Atlas has guest access. I showed them the Atlas card. The staff checked it once and said, “Sir, this one card is enough for all four.” What a delight! The check-in process was super smooth for the 4 of us! That guest access feature is honestly brilliant. Especially in situations where lounges start matching names and cards. What a card Atlas is! And yeah, sad that it’s no longer issued. #creditcards #lounge #ccgeeks

“Skip this to skip comfort.” Classic guilt marketing. Been noticing this more and more lately. Apps now frame it like you’re making a bad life choice if you don’t opt for a product/service they're selling. Airlines do it with seat selection - “I am okay sitting uncomfortably in the middle seat.” Finance apps are like - • “No, I don’t want to save ₹1,000” Insurance apps - • “Protect your family.” • “I’m okay taking the risk” Nothing wrong with upselling. But framing the opt-out as guilt, regret, or stupidity is a way of playing with users' psychology. It works a lot of times because people don't like clicking the button that makes them feel cheap, careless, or irresponsible. I’ve started mentally rewriting these buttons as just “Skip and continue” and moving on. Companies aren’t doing charity here; they’re trying to sell, and guilt is just another lever. At the end of the day, you’re not saying no to comfort or savings. You’re just deciding, for yourself, whether that product or service is actually worth your money.

In India, traffic cops don’t look for violations. They wait for edge cases. My wife was driving near Supermart 1, Gurgaon. She entered the signal when there were a full 10 seconds still remaining on green. Traffic ahead slowed down, she got stuck in the middle of the junction, and by the time she exited, the signal had turned yellow and then red. The police stopped her. She was confident and calmly asked for the video. The cop fast-forwarded it and showed only the clip where she was already in the middle of the road while the signal was red, completely skipping the part where she actually entered the junction with 10 seconds on green! When she insisted that the video be played from the start, it was clearly visible that she had left the signal with 10 seconds still left on green. Even after that, the narrative didn’t change. , “No madam, you crossed on red.” And he kept pressurizing for a ₹5,000 challan. Eventually, it stopped being about facts and became about managing egos. Staying polite, de-escalating the situation, and avoiding a scene, only then was she allowed to go. This isn’t an isolated incident. I’ve faced something similar earlier. Entered on green, signal changed mid-way, video supported me, still got slapped with a ₹5,000 challan for trying to reason. People who follow rules are often the easiest targets - Salaried professionals who don’t want court visits or prolonged hassle. The system knows this, and they take advantage of it!

Everyone in India has conveniently forgotten the daylight robbery called E20 petrol. A bike bought just 5 years ago is suddenly “obsolete” reduced mileage, constant jerks, engine issues, and the service centre clearly says E20 fuel is the cause. Today the bike even broke down mid-road. Who pays for this forced experiment? The common man. Global crude oil prices are near multi-year lows, yet not a single rupee of relief is passed to citizens. Instead, governments shamelessly collect close to 100% tax on petrol through Centre + States and lecture people on growth and sustainability. Forced ethanol, damaged vehicles, higher costs, zero accountability. Call it whatever you want, this is nothing but LOOT and FRAUD in broad daylight.

Had a great time connecting with fellow credit card geeks. From airlines and hotels to small everyday hacks, it’s always interesting to see how differently everyone optimizes their spending. Good conversations, fresh perspectives, and plenty to take back. 😉🍻 @6lack_Mr_ @rohit821pat @bigulchugh @man1sh_golcha @ankitdewan @prashantnhn #CreditCards #CCGeeks #Meetup

PPF gets a lot of hate. Mostly because of the 15-year lock-in. Add to that the 7.1% interest rate, and people quickly dismiss it as “not worth it” compared to equity or ELSS. And honestly, that argument isn’t wrong. But here’s why PPF still works for me! 👇, For starters, it’s one of the safest instruments out there. Completely tax-free returns, backed by the government, and zero volatility. The returns aren’t exciting, but they’re predictable. And compared to long-term FDs, 7.1% tax-free is actually decent. The bigger reason, though, is timing. My parents opened my PPF account (joint) when I was around 7 years old. They barely put in just enough to keep the account active. By the time I started earning, the dreaded 15-year lock-in didn’t exist for me anymore. It was already close to over. So for me, PPF never felt like “locking money away for 15 years”. It’s just a 5-year renewal cycle now. Every five years, I get to decide whether I want to continue or exit. That psychological barrier simply doesn’t exist. Today, I treat PPF as invest-and-forget money. Something I don’t touch, don’t track daily, don’t worry about. Maybe it goes towards a house someday, maybe something else. It’s not meant to beat inflation aggressively. It’s meant to add stability to the overall portfolio. PPF isn’t for everyone. And that’s okay. Investments are personal. But if you believe in it even a little and you have a child, opening a PPF early is one of those quiet decisions that pays off later. It removes friction. It removes resistance. And it gives them optionality when they actually start earning. #PPF #Investing #Finance

Credit cards subtly make you spend more. For instance, you accumulate points for a while and use them to fly business class once. The experience is great. Comfortable seat, proper legroom, better food, and the airport experience itself feels smoother and faster. And then when you go back to economy, it hasn’t changed. It was always cramped and uncomfortable. But now it starts feeling unbearable! And this is where the loop begins. Next time, you start chasing points again, specifically for business class. Or you catch yourself justifying, “Let me just pay for business this once, I’ll use a travel card anyway and get 10-20% of it back.” That’s how luxury creeps in. Credit cards don’t force you to spend more. They introduce you to a better experience, and once you get used to it, your baseline shifts. Good to enjoy it. Just important to be aware of how easily it changes your spending behavior. P.S. - Doesn't happen with everyone. There are folks who are conscious about their spending behaviour and don't let credit cards accelerate the lifestyle creep. #CreditCards #Luxury #SpendingBehaviour