ICICI Bank has announced a number of changes to its credit cards. The major changes are to the benefits of the card, like airport lounge access and spa access, but we also see some more controls put on rewards. It is in line with what other major issuers have announced in recent months, like increased airport lounge and spa access, rewards caps for utilities, insurance, etc. But ICICI Bank has now introduced some new charges, such as an add-on card fee. It will affect all ICICI Bank credit cards right from the LTF Platinum to the super-premium Emeralde Private. Here is a look at all the changes:
Airport Spa Access Discontinued
One of the best benefits of the Gemstone cards was the spa access at domestic airports in India. This benefit has now been discontinued for all ICICI Bank credit cards including the Sapphiro and Emeralde.
Spends for Airport Lounge Access increased to Rs 75,000 per calendar quarter
Airport lounge access is indeed expensive for banks. ICICI Bank started with a requirement of Rs 5000 spend in a calendar quarter for airport lounge access and increased it later it to Rs 25,000 per calendar quarter. The latest announcement now mandates a spend of Rs 75,000 per calendar quarter to be eligible for airport lounge access. This is going to ensure the crowd at airport lounges goes down even more in coming months! The change is applicable to all cards except the Emeralde PVC and Emeralde Private Metal card.
1% fee on Education, Utility and Fuel Transactions
- A fee of 1% of the transaction amount will be charged for education payments made through third party apps. However, no fee will be charged for payments made directly to school or college including international education payments from your credit card.
- A fee of 1% of the transaction amount will be charged for utility payment transactions exceeding Rs. 50,000.
- A fee of 1% of the transaction amount will be charged for fuel transactions exceeding Rs. 10,000.
Annual Fee Waiver to exclude spends for Rent, Government Spends and Education Payments
The spend threshold for annual fee reversal and milestone benefits will exclude rent, government, and education payments made via credit card. This is applicable to all cards including the Emeralde Private Metal credit card.
Insurance and Utility Spends Rewards Capping
- You will continue to earn reward points for utility spends up to Rs. 80,000, insurance spends up to Rs. 80,000, at the current earn rate for Rubyx and above cards like Sapphiro, Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal.
- You will continue to earn reward points for utility spends up to Rs. 40,000, insurance spends up to Rs. 40,000, at the current earn rate for all other cards like Coral, Platinum etc.
Grocery and Departmental Store Rewards Capping
- You will continue to earn reward points for grocery & departmental store spends up to Rs.40,000 per month, at the current earn rate for Rubyx and above cards like Sapphiro, Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal.
- You will continue to earn reward points for grocery & departmental store spends up to Rs.20,000 per month, at the current earn rate for all other cards.
No more free Add-Ons
ICICI Bank will now charge an annual fee of Rs 199+GST for each add-on card. This is a change that we may soon see on other credit card issuers too.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver Changes
- Fuel surcharge waiver will only be available for spends of up to Rs 50,000 per month for all ICICI Bank credit cards including Emeralde PVC card.
- Fuel surcharge waiver will only be available for spends of up to Rs 1 Lakh per month for Emeralde Private Metal credit card.
Other Changes to Emeralde Credit Cards (PVC and Metal)
- No more reward points for government related spends
- The spend threshold for the reversal of the annual fee has been revised to Rs. 10 Lakh per annum, reduced from the current criteria of Rs. 15 Lakh per annum.
- Forex markup revised to 2%+GST
Final Thoughts
These changes from ICICI Bank are quite surprising. They already have one of the lowest reward rates in the industry for their cards. So, seeing a cut in the benefits was not expected. But, yes airport lounge and spa access come with a huge cost for the card issuers. So, it does make sense to see ICICI Bank reduce costs by cutting down on these benefits. ICICI Bank is one of the biggest credit card issuers in India. So, we will see the impact of these changes in airport lounges very soon.
The add-on fee was the most surprising one for us in this list. Add-on cards have always been free across banks. So, this may soon start a new trend. Though, our hopes are it does not!
