First time credit card aspirants, will always be eager to know if they would be eligible for a credit card. Why only first time aspirants, those that have applied for credit cards earlier, might also want to know, if they are eligible for a credit card.

Credit score

If you already have a credit score through your existing loans, banks will pull out your Cibil Credit score. If the score makes loans to you a risky proposition, it is doubtful you would be eligible for a credit card. However, there are ways to improve your credit history and you may have to work towards the same. You can always know your cibil credit score before applying for a loan.

Income

Even before the credit score, banks will check your income levels. So, that is the first process. For example, if a bank's policy levels, indicate a minimum salary requirement of Rs 20,000 for a particular credit card, if the salary is lower, the application may not be processed. Of course, you have to check with the bank whether it would be a net take home salary, gross salary etc.

They might take into account other income also like rental income, professional income etc. You need to check with individual banks, as each bank may have its own guidelines for the purpose.

Age

Age is again a requirement. For example, a minor will most certainly not be allowed to apply for a credit card. In short, they do not fulfill the basic eligibility for a credit card.

Other loan exposure

Now, even if you qualify with your salary, banks will take into account other loan exposures. Let us give an example of this. Say you earn a net take home salary of Rs 30,000 and you have a housing loan EMI of Rs 15,000. Now, apart from this, if you also have a car loan of Rs 7000, it is almost certain that the bank might reject your credit card. This is because, your net cash flows are not very healthy.

Employer

The one thing that most credit card company employees first ask, is your place of work. If you are at an established place of work, the eligibility for credit card improves dramatically. This of course would depend on the factors mentioned above as well.

Conclusion

It is a good idea to first check your eligibility to most of the parameters mentioned above, before you apply for a credit card. This would avoid any disappointments in the future.

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