My first encounter with a credit card was through a relatively premium corporate card that I received right after my MBA. It was meant strictly for work-related expenses, but over a period, that card pulled me into the larger world of credit cards.
Once I had that corporate card in my wallet, I got curious. I started exploring personal credit cards, the reasonably premium ones with perks, reward points, milestone bonuses, and airport lounge access.
Back then, it felt exciting. I enjoyed it. There was a certain feeling of being “elevated” like I had unlocked some small personal milestone in my professional journey.
I still remember one specific moment that stayed with me. I was in a meeting where someone senior in my industry pulled out an American Express Charge Card, that ultra-premium metal one. That person was not actually showing off his card though.
At that moment, I remember looking at him and thinking, If I want to be in that league, I need to have that card too.
It was no longer about points or lounge access anymore. It slowly became about perception and about feeling that you belonged to a certain circle.
Eventually, I did get that card. I went through that whole phase of chasing points, enjoying small perks, and telling myself I was optimizing my spending.
But after a few years, I started to see things differently. Credit cards had stopped being just a payment tool for me. They had become a sort of reflection of status, of self-image, and even of the small stories I was telling myself.
And along the way, I realised they were subtly pushing me to take decisions that were not always the best for my finances.
I was not being reckless, but something felt off. My spending was not out of control, but it was unconscious.
That is when I decided to pause. To step back and ask myself what was really going on.
When I stepped back and saw what was really happening
When I decided to pause and take a step back, I started looking at how I was actually using these cards.
I used to think I was the perfect credit card user. Not for the companies, of course, for them, the “perfect” user is the one paying interest or missing payments. But from a customer’s perspective, I was ideal. I always paid my bills in full, never paid a rupee in interest, never defaulted.
And if there was one thing I really liked, it was keeping track of my spending. Well, most of the times.
Now, you might say, Everyone should keep track of their spending. In reality, though, very few people actually do it. Even with all the apps out there such as CRED, expense trackers, reminders, most people lose the energy and motivation to keep checking after a point.
What happens then? The spending slowly becomes unconscious.
You convince yourself: I’m not defaulting, I’m earning points, so it’s fine. Let me spend. And before you know it, you are spending on things you never really needed.
At some point, this hits everyone. That moment when the monthly statement arrives and you ask yourself, Wait, how did this month’s bill touch Rs 1.2 lakh? I don’t remember buying anything big.
It happened to me too.
It is not one big splurge. It is all the small decisions like dinners, impulsive orders, random upgrades, that add up.
Then you pause, feel a bit shocked, promise yourself to be careful next month… and the cycle repeats.
And there is another layer to this.
Once you have premium credit cards, there is this subtle urge to spend more. You almost feel a silent push: Spend a little extra, hit that milestone, get more points, maybe a free hotel night.
This is where psychology steps in. There is a concept called “payment decoupling.”
When you pay by debit card or UPI or even better, with cash, your balance drops immediately. You feel that instant pinch: Money gone.
But with a credit card, that pain is delayed. The bill comes much later. You don’t feel the pinch when you swipe. You feel it weeks later, when the excitement of that purchase is long gone.
And then, to make it feel better, there is always a small comfort: Oh, but I got points. Or cashback. Or no-cost EMI.
The money, however, is gone. And the system knows this.
This is exactly how the business of credit cards is designed. Companies leverage this psychology. They set spending milestones, bonus offers, limited-time deals – all pushing you to spend a bit more. And while some of us may not default, many eventually do. That is where the real profits come in.
Over time, this started bothering me. Even today, when I see people on social media talking about “optimising” spending to get that one free night at a luxury hotel or to hit a milestone for an extra voucher, I feel the same discomfort.
Because in the process, we end up spending much more than we planned and for some people, by the time they realise it, it is already too late.
What changed when I decided to stop
Once I saw how all these small nudges and hidden pushes were adding up, I decided to take a break from credit cards.
The heck was actually simple. I removed my saved cards, stopped carrying them in my wallet, and started paying only through debit cards and UPI.
What happened after that surprised me.
Every payment started to feel real again. Rs 280 on a meal, Rs 1,900 on groceries, Rs 5,500 on a weekend stay, each amount felt immediate, and that small pause came back.
That pause was important. It made me ask simple questions: Do I really need this? Can this wait? Basically, a quick moment of awareness.
The biggest change? I did not feel like I was restricting myself. In fact, I felt more in control and less distracted.
Without credit cards, I was no longer thinking about hitting milestones, collecting points, or chasing free gifts. The constant mental chatter about spend a little more to get that voucher, book this now before the deal ends was gone.
I did not miss the airport lounges. I did not miss milestone bonuses or reward nights. Instead, I felt calm. My money felt like mine again.
I started enjoying spending less, not because I was forced to, but because I was truly choosing what really I needed to spend on.
And that is the biggest difference: I was finally spending on my own terms, not on the system’s terms.
Looking back and what you can do if you feel the same
Looking back now, I realise it was never really about the credit cards themselves. They are not evil.
For many people, they work well – for building credit scores, for convenience, for emergencies. But for me (and for many like you), they slowly turned from a simple payment method into a quiet push to spend more.
At some point, I stopped asking What will I earn from this swipe? and started asking Why am I swiping at all?
That one simple question changed my relationship with money more than any milestone bonus or points ever did.
If you are facing the same dilemma and feeling that your credit card spending is slowly becoming unconscious or that you are justifying too many unnecessary purchases – here is something simple you can try:
- Remove your saved credit cards from apps and browsers.
- Try using only debit cards or UPI for a few weeks.
- Notice how each payment feels and how your spending habits shift naturally.
- Most importantly, start asking yourself: Do I really want this, or am I being nudged?
You do not have to cut up your cards forever. It is not about banning something. At the end of the day, it is about choosing for yourself. Not letting an offer or a milestone or a shiny metal card choose for you.
And maybe, that small shift is all it takes to start feeling clear-headed and calm with your money again.
Parth Parikh has over a decade of experience in finance and research. He currently heads growth and content strategy at Finsire, where he works on investor education initiatives and products like Loan Against Mutual Funds (LAMF) and financial data solutions for banks and fintechs.