CardShala is written by one person: me, Sagar Kashyap. I am a mechanical design engineer in Korba, Chhattisgarh. I am not a banker and I do not sell cards. I have spent years working out the reward maths on my own credit cards, and this site is where that maths goes, written down properly.
Why tier-2 and tier-3 readers
Most Indian card content is written as if you live in Mumbai or Bengaluru, fly every month and already know what a reward point is worth. That is not most card users.
This site is for a salaried reader in a town like mine, with one or two cards, who pays the kirana by UPI, fills petrol, pays school fees and an electricity bill, and wants to know one thing: what does this card actually give back on the way I spend? Often less than the advert suggests, because many cards pay little or nothing on fuel, education, utilities or recharges. The posts here check each card’s exclusion list and do that sum in rupees.
How the numbers are checked
- From the source. Every fee, reward rate, milestone and lounge number is checked against the issuer’s own page. For payment rules, that means NPCI, RBI or the Gazette where the document can be reached. Not another blog, not a forum, not memory.
- Dated. Every post shows a Last verified date at the top. Banks change terms often. Two of the five cards in the first-time users guide changed their terms in 2026 alone.
- Flagged when unsure. If a number cannot be confirmed from a primary source, the post says so instead of guessing.
- Assumptions stated. When points are turned into rupees, the post says what one point was valued at and where it was redeemed.
- Updated, not replaced. A post gets refreshed at the same address, so a link you saved keeps working and the date tells you how fresh it is.
Checking at the source catches real mistakes. A lot of articles still put Amazon on the SBI SimplyCLICK 10X partner list. SBI’s own list does not include it.
What you will not find here
No approval odds and no “guaranteed approval”. Nobody outside the bank knows. No advice to carry a balance. No card called right for everyone. When a card is a bad deal for the reader I have in mind, the post says so plainly.
How CardShala makes money
Right now it does not. There are no referral links on this site, no ads, and no bank has paid for a mention. If that changes, every post with a referral link will say so at the top, before the content, and the disclaimer will be updated first. The checking rules above stay the same either way.
Nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice. Read the full disclaimer.
Get in touch
Found a number that is wrong or out of date? Tell me. Corrections make this site better faster than anything else.
You can also email me directly at skjnexus@gmail.com. This is the address CardShala uses for editorial, correction and business enquiries.