Every time we go shopping to Big Bazaar, we are stalked by young boys and girls who want to sell the Womens Only credit card. As Indian women make waves in all professions, marketing heads see them as a huge potential market. From ghar ki naukraani to maharani, the Indian woman has come a long way! Which is why today we have purchasing power and decision-making power, all our own. We have two wheelers designed for us. We have cell phones designed for us. In fact almost everything comes in For Women Only version today. (Except shaving cream, perhaps!)

Financial and telecom products are not to be left behind in the tapping of this market. So we see an avalanche of products like life insurance, bank accounts, loans, SIM cards and credit cards etc that are sold to women exclusively. But how exclusive and how genuine are these products? Read on this series of articles to find out

Credit Cards

Citibank has had its Citibank Woman Card for quite some time now. It has also come up with a much smaller version, the Visa Mini. HDFC has also brought into the market a Womens Card that comes in an add-on Side Card scheme. Stanchart has launched its Diva for the fairer sex.

So all in all, we are getting a lot of attention. Better than being completely sidelined, eh? But now lets get to the real crux of the matter.

Can we expect a waiver of annual fees?
Will we get any discounts on the interest fees?
Will there be any savings on our groceries if we pay by card?

The answer to these questions is NO. CMon, you didnt really expect it to be an affirmative, did you?

The only point seems to be to tempt you to shop more and more. So you do get discounts at designer stores like Hidesign and Oyzterbay. You can also get discounts for any treatments you get at beauty salons like Shehnaaz Hussains or Lakme.

So what is the benefit of having these cards?

HDFC offers a household insurance against theft and fire worth Rs 1 lakh (as against the Rs 75,000 cover given to some of its Gold members). Stanchart gives a Rs 75,000 worth free cover against womens diseases. It also backs up your finances with a child education cover of upto Rs 1 lakh (of course, you have to die first to avail of that). One good thing is the free annual health check up that a Diva holder gets.

So, to sum it up, Womens Only cards are more or less the same as the other cards. But if you are the kind who spends on a lavish lifestyle and gets regular treatments at the listed salons, you may be able to save some money. The insurance cover does look attractive too.

If you do decide to go for these cards, Happy Shopping!