Free course · Credit Cards 101
Everything you need before your first credit card
Seven chapters, broken into short modules — one idea and one picture each. Written for India, with interactive figures throughout and a knowledge check as you go.
How the course works
Anyone about to get a first credit card in India, and anyone who already has one but was never told how the billing cycle actually works. No jargon, no assumed knowledge, and nothing you need to buy.
Each chapter is a sequence of modules: one idea, one visual you can push your own numbers through, and a two-question check that tells you immediately whether it landed. You move through them one at a time, and the course remembers exactly where you stopped — in this browser on its own, or on your account if you sign in, which is what carries your place to another device. A module is a fine place to stop, and there are 43 of them across the seven chapters.
By the end you will be able to read any card's terms page critically and work out what it would actually cost and return for you. Then our recommendation tool can check which cards fit your spending, and the guides library goes deeper on any single topic.
The chapters
- Chapter 10/7What a Credit Card Actually IsHow a credit card differs from a debit card, where the money really goes when you tap, and what a credit limit, statement and grace period mean.7 modules · 7 min · Spot the difference: credit or debit?Two cards, two kinds of moneyWhat happens in that one secondA ceiling, not a budgetThe tab becomes a billThe one feature to treat as an emergency exitThe Indian wrinkleProve it landed
- Chapter 20/6Billing Cycles and the Interest-Free PeriodStatement date, due date and grace period explained — and how the timing of a purchase decides whether you get 18 free days or nearly 50.6 modules · 8 min · Billing-cycle simulatorYour cycle is not the calendar month18 days or 50, same cardTiming is the whole differencePay the right numberPaying ₹100 short is not payingSet it up so it never needs thinking about
- Chapter 30/6CIBIL Score Basics for First-TimersWhat a CIBIL score is, the factors that move it, why having no score is normal at the start, and how a first card builds a credit history.6 modules · 8 min · Credit-factor explorer300 to 900, and four bureausHaving no score is the normal startThe biggest factor, by a distanceThe factor you can move this weekThe rest of the pictureWhat is not in the score
- Chapter 40/7Fees and Charges, Line by LineJoining fees, annual fees and spend-based waivers, 18% GST, forex markup, late fees and finance charges — which ones are optional and which really hurt.7 modules · 8 min · Fee vs waiver calculatorAdd 18% to every quoted numberTwo different feesThe one calculation before you applyThe expensive oneThe other expensive oneWhen markup beats reward rateEverything else, and how to avoid it
- Chapter 50/6Rewards, Cashback and Reward-Rate MathsPoints, cashback and miles compared, how to convert an advertised 10X into a real percentage, and why monthly caps decide what you actually earn.6 modules · 8 min · Reward-value calculatorCashback, points, milesTurn 10X into a percentageWhere the advertised rate diesThree layers stackedThe spends that earn nothingDecide and stop
- Chapter 60/5Choosing Your First CardEligibility basics, secured cards against a fixed deposit, entry-level unsecured cards, and how to shortlist a first credit card in India without wasting applications.5 modules · 8 min · Readiness checklistEvery application leaves a markWhat the issuer is actually checkingSecured or entry-level unsecuredThe four properties, and the four distractionsAre you actually ready?
- Chapter 70/6Using Your Card SafelyThe minimum-due trap, credit utilisation, disputing fraudulent transactions, card controls, and using a RuPay credit card on UPI without losing track.6 modules · 8 min · Safety self-checkThe minimum is not an instalment planIt is reported from the statementAn afternoon that removes whole categories of fraudSpeed is the mechanismSmall credit payments, one big statementThree habits, one week to set up
What you'll be able to do
- Explain the difference between credit and debit money in one sentence.
- Work out how many interest-free days any purchase of yours gets.
- Recognise which of your habits actually move a credit score.
- Judge whether a card's annual fee is worth paying for your spending.
- Convert any reward offer into a plain percentage you can compare.
- Build a two-card shortlist you can actually apply for.
- Set up the three habits that keep a card free and your score clean.