Are you concerned that you will be required to pay off all your dues at once and the burden of it may affect your financial health and thus downgrade your scores and financial reports? The answer to this is very simple: convert your HDFC credit card bill to EMI and pay your bill in easy installments over the months. This facility is available for most HDFC credit cards through the SmartEMI platform.
The eligibility must be checked to avail this facility and thus you can know beforehand if you can apply for the EMI facility. With the SmartEMI option, you can avail affordable and convenient EMIs, competitive interest rates and flexible tenure options. You can ascertain the EMI using the loan amount, interest rate and tenure that is chosen. The repayment amount is calculated as the EMI plus GST applicable and is added to the EMI and is billed monthly in the consecutive monthly billing cycle.
The SmartEMI option also lets you choose the tenure of the loan which is generally ranging in between 6 to 24 months. The transactions for more than 60 days cannot be converted to EMI. Any reward points will be reversed if you choose the SmartEMI option for a credit card.
To apply for this scheme let us first check if you are eligible to avail of this option. You can check the eligibility by either phone banking or net banking facility.
Let us understand the process and steps of HDFC net banking first:
- Log in to your HDFC bank account.
- You can choose the cards option in your account.
- Select the credit card option.
- Select the transact option then the SmartEMI option.
- An unbilled transactions page will appear on your screen
- You can choose your specific card in that option
- Select debit as your transaction type
- Select view
- A series of transactions that are eligible for EMI will be displayed in your account.
- These transactions will be eligible for SmartEMI
- Click on know your eligibility
- You can click on a particular option to convert a transaction
After completing these steps, an exhaustive summary of the detailed transactions for a card number, the maximum spending limit, tenure and interest rates will be displayed on the screen. You can select the tenure which is most suitable for your needs. The interest rates will be determined on the basis of your eligibility and will appear once you select the tenure of the loan. Confirming the terms and conditions will give you the details of the loan on the screen. On accepting these conditions, you will get an SMS that gives you the loan number and confirmation of the loan. After this process, your bill payment has been converted to the SmartEMI option.
Netbanking can be used to create a SmartEMI option for the unbilled amount of the credit card.
Let us look at the phone banking process, where you can choose the option of SmartEMI for the billed amount of the credit card.
You can search for the customer care number of your city for HDFC bank and call them. A customer care representative will then ask you to confirm the available amount, tenure and interest rate for the EMI option. After confirmation of the above, you can avail the SmartEMI option without any documentation. This facility by the bank saves a lot of hassle and the process is easier and more attractive.
Also Read : What Is The CIBIL™ Score Needed For An HDFC Bank Credit Card?
Let us have a look at the purchases eligible for the SmartEMI option:
- Medical
- Insurance
- Groceries
- Petrol
- Education
- Apparel
- Electronics
- Travel
Transactions not eligible for EMI
Repayment via EMIs is not available for the purchase of gold or jewelry made using credit cards. If the transactions have been done prior to 60 days, they will not be eligible for the SmartEMI option.
Fees and Charges for Conversion
For converting the credit card bill payment to the EMI option a processing fee of Rs. 799 will be charged. Though this fee is fixed, the charges will differ from person to person for the conversion option. If you pay the loan sooner than the expected time for closure, this is called foreclosure of a loan and it may attract some interest rate charges.
If you consider the SmartEMI option, then you can also look for a top-up loan on the same account and check the interest rates and tenure for both of these options. If you compare you may sometimes find that the top-up loan facility is much better and economically viable than the SmartEMI option. The SmartEMi option can be definitely used in case of any emergencies which you have to cope with financially.
Conclusion
You can always convert to the SmartEMi option as it will help you afford large bills on your credit cards. You can splurge on shopping or travel when using this facility as it makes your spending very affordable. But do remember that it will always have an interest rate that will be charged if you have availed of this facility and it may be a costlier option than an enjoyable option.
FAQS How to convert HDFC credit card bill into EMI online:
1:Can the whole credit card bill be paid with EMI?
No, the bank offers certain purchases which are eligible for the payment by EMI option
2:What is the difference between a no-cost EMI and a normal EMI?
The no-cost EMI will not charge you any processing fee to convert your transaction into EMI. But, the normal EMI will charge you a processing fee to convert your transaction into EMI
3:How does the credit card EMI work?
When you purchase anything, the credit card limit is blocked for that amount on your card. You can then ask for converting the purchase to the EMI option as stated in the above process. The bank will then charge an interest rate and you can pay the amount in equal installments over the tenure of the chosen loan.
4:Is a top-up loan better than EMI?
That will depend on a case to case basis and for what the funds are needed. In case of emergencies, EMI options are better than top-up facilities.