Among high-end credit cards, only a few offer the best rewards and benefits. ICICI Bank has been a major credit card provider in India, but it never had a truly premium card to compete with HDFC Infinia and Diners Club Black—until now. The ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card changes that, fixing the issues of the PVC Emeralde and standing strong against the Infinia. This card is invite-only, making it even more exclusive and harder to get than the Infinia. Keep reading for a detailed review of why the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card is set to become the top luxury credit card.
Invite-Only Membership Eligibility for ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card
The ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card is an exclusive, invite-only credit card. Invitations are extended only through your local bank branch or relationship manager, with approvals granted on a case-by-case basis. However, there are general criteria that influence eligibility.
To qualify, you typically need:
- A monthly salary credit of ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh in any bank account, or
- An ITR of ₹40 lakh and above.
If you meet these thresholds, you can request an invitation through your relationship manager or branch. Alternatively, eligibility is also determined by your ICICI Bank relationship status, specifically if you hold a Wealth, Wealth Select, or Private Banking account.
Additionally, ICICI Bank evaluates eligibility based on profitability to the bank. If you have an existing personal loan or business loan with ICICI Bank, along with a bank account, you may still qualify. Since there are no rigid rules, your eligibility ultimately depends on the discretion of your relationship manager or branch.
Fees
| Joining Fee | ₹12,499+GST ~₹14,749 |
| Welcome Benefits | 12,500 RP Taj Epicure Plus membership (1 free night) |
| Annual Fee | ₹12,499+GST ~₹14,749 |
| Renewal Benefit | 12,500 RP |
| Annual Fee Waiver | Rs 10 Lakh annual spends |
It’s refreshing to see ICICI Bank offer a reasonable joining and annual fee, paired with excellent welcome and renewal benefits. In fact, when factoring in the Taj Epicure membership, it even surpasses the Infinia in overall value.
Rewards
| Spend Category | Rewards | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Spends | 6 RP/₹200 ~3% | None |
| Grocery | 6 RP/₹200 ~3% | 1000 RP/statement ~₹33,333 spend |
| Education | 6 RP/₹200 ~3% | 1000 RP/statement ~₹33,333 spend |
| Utilities | 6 RP/₹200 ~3% | 1000 RP/statement ~₹33,333 spend |
| Insurance | 6 RP/₹200 ~3% | 5000 RP/statement ~₹1.6L spend |
| Tax, Rent Pay and Fuel | No Rewards |
The ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card only excludes tax payments, rent payments, and fuel transactions from earning rewards. All other spends earn a flat 3% reward rate, with caps applied to categories like grocery, education, utilities, and insurance. Despite these limits, the card remains highly rewarding, as the cap thresholds are quite generous and sufficient for personal spending in these categories.
Milestone Benefits
- EaseMyTrip air travel gift vouchers worth ₹6000 with annual spends of ₹8 Lakhs
- ₹3000 GV on spends of ₹4 Lakhs
- ₹3000 GV on spends of ₹8 Lakhs
This effectively adds 0.75% to your reward rate on the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card, bringing the total return to 3.75% – which surpasses the standard reward rate on the Infinia and DCB.
Unlimited Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
| Domestic Airport Lounge Access | Unlimited (via Mastercard) |
| International Airport Lounge Access | Unlimited (via Priority Pass) |
As expected, the ICICI Emeralde Private Metal credit card provides unlimited access to both domestic and international airport lounges. Even better, this benefit extends to add-on card members, making it even more valuable.
Other Key Benefits & Charges
- EazyDiner Prime Membership: Enjoy an annual EazyDiner Prime membership as a welcome and renewal benefit.
- BookMyShow BOGO Offer: Get up to ₹750 off on the second ticket when you buy one for movies, sports, events, theatre, or concerts via BookMyShow. This offer is valid twice per month.
- Unlimited Golf Rounds: Enjoy unlimited complimentary golf rounds and lessons every month.
- Forex Markup: 2% + GST on international transactions.
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver on fuel surcharges at all petrol pumps, applicable on transactions up to ₹4000. The maximum waiver is ₹1000 per calendar month.
Accelerated Rewards with ICICI Bank iShop
HDFC Bank SmartBuy has long been a trendsetter for accelerated earnings on credit cards—something ICICI Bank had been missing. However, with ICICI iShop, you can now earn up to 36% in reward points on your spends. Sounds exciting? Here’s what you need to know.
| Regular Reward Rate | Flight Bookings/Gift Vouchers | Hotel Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 3% | 6X RP ~18% | 12X RP ~36% |
When compared to HDFC Infinia, which offers 16.5% rewards on flights and gift vouchers and 33% on hotel bookings, it’s clear where the benchmarks were set. Now, with ICICI iShop, the Emeralde Private Metal card has positioned itself as a true competitor to Infinia.
Additionally, ICICI Emeralde Private Metal allows you to earn up to 18,000 bonus points per calendar month, surpassing the 15,000 bonus points cap on HDFC Infinia. This gives ICICI an edge for high spenders looking to maximize their rewards.
| Bonus Points Cap in iShop | Spends in 6X categories to hit cap | Spends in 12X categories to hit cap |
|---|---|---|
| 18,000 RP | ₹1.2 Lakh | ₹54,000 |
Rewards Redemption
The ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card offers a rewarding redemption structure, especially for travel and luxury enthusiasts. Here’s a breakdown of its redemption values:
| Redemption Category | Value of 1 Reward Point |
|---|---|
| Flights & Hotels | ₹1 |
| Luxury Brands: Apple, Tanishq, Tumi, Coach, Brooks Brother, Emporio, Armani, Jimmy Choo, G-Star Raw, Canali & Mother Care Vouchers | ₹1 |
| Rewards Catalogue – Other Products | 60 paise |
| Statement Credit | 40 paise |
To get the most value, it’s best to redeem points for flights, hotels, or premium brand vouchers. Using them for statement credit or general products lowers their worth, making these options less attractive.
Conclusion
For a short time, Axis Magnus outperformed HDFC Infinia in rewards, but that didn’t last. In contrast, the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal credit card is built for long-term exclusivity. Being invite-only, it remains limited to a select few, reducing the chances of devaluation anytime soon.
If you qualify for this card, you’ll enjoy high rewards on spending, including through ICICI iShop. Plus, it comes with premium perks like Taj Epicure membership, EazyDiner Prime, BookMyShow BOGO, and unlimited lounge access.
With its strong rewards and luxury benefits, ICICI Bank has created a serious competitor in the super-premium credit card space.
Frequently Asked Questions
ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card
18 thoughts on “ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card Review”
Drop all Amex cards from your list!
The major drawback I have been facing using Amex is its reducing footprint!
Can’t use it for major big ticket spends like School Fees / Hospital Bills / Major Shopping stores and even Intermiles / Cred have stopped Amex as a mode of payment.
And those who do have Amex accepted stickers only tend to have 1-2 Amex machines which invariably are “not working”.
I don’t blame the merchants.. its the huge merchant fees that Amex charges that make them avoid Amex… but then what justifies the Amex Credit Card fees when we can’t use it at places where we can normally use any other Card?
They have been giving me annual fee waivers over the years while accepting their limited coverage, but that still doesn’t justify having a card just for decoration in my wallet that can’t be used.
Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Rupay card should be in the list, especially if you get it LTF or FYF. 1.5% cashback on UPI merchant payments. Unlimited 5% plus extra 5% NeuCoins on Tata brands, it’s worth it just for my Big Basket spends :-). I also have Airtel Axis bank card which also provides 10% cashback on BigBasket but the amount is capped.
Yes, this post needs a mid-year refresh 🙂
I think SBI Vistara PRIME card deserves a mention over Axis Vistara Signature. The SBI one offers PP.
Yes, will be updating this soon with revised list of cards.
Think the SCB Super Value Tytanium should be in in the list of fuel cards. Unlike SBI, the SCB card can be used with all providers, HPCL, IOC or BPCL… The capping is an issue, still decent…
Following policy changes announced by Standard Chartered Bank will be instrumental in SCB ULTIMATE(ly) losing edge over its competition.
Customers who have been loyal to SCB Ultimate being consistent in delivering its promised 3.3% returns without devaluation (for this many years ), irrespective of expenses would surely feel the pain.
Moreover, the annual renewal cost of Rs. 5000/- + 18% GST and fewer GVs in Reward Points Redemption Options at a cost of Rs. 99 + 18% GST will additionally bring down the “Reward Rate” value proposition.
SCB Ultimate would surely end up as a CASE STUDY for management students on how a stable product can be KILLED overnight, just by copying and pasting policies from competition, without realizing their end effects. Including Supermarkets in the list of impacted transactions is testimony of reckless product management.
Effective 2 April, 2023:
1) Transactions on Utilities, Supermarkets, Insurance, Property Management, Schools & Government payments will now earn 3 reward points on every INR 150 spent.
(Reward Rate Reduced by 1.3% to 2% instead of 3.3%)
2) No reward points will be earned on Fuel transactions. However, you will now enjoy a surcharge waiver of 1% on fuel spends. Fuel surcharge waiver amount will be capped at INR 1000 per month.
(Reward Rate Reduced by 2.3% to 1% instead of 3.3%)
3) You will be charged a 1% processing fee (plus applicable taxes) for rental payments made using Standard Chartered credit cards.
(Reward Rate Reduced by 1.18% to 2.12% instead of 3.3%)
Which card provide best reward for 10L+ of insurance spends per year ? I currently use SBI cashback card for it
You may need to look into milestone cards like Vistara or Platinum Travel.
Thumbs up
Very nice illustration… I think….Sbi cashback will make flipkart axis and amazon icici useless..
Can you tell me best credit card for utility payments and insurance premium payments.
The best option is to use Amazon Pay for these cases. We can buy Amazon Pay GV at discount from Smartbuy and Grab Deals.
I have been using SCB Ultimate and Axis Magnus for almost 5 years. SC is the most uncomplicated card. The entire process of RP on spend is to confuse the user. RP can be just 20 Paise in some cases and can be 1 Rupee in others. As a CC user, its almost impossible to keep track of conversion ratio. From that perspective, SC makes it extremely easy to calculate. If you are spending 12 Lac a year on card ( school fees+insurance+ others), you straight away get 40K vouchers spread across categories. I end up taking Big Basket vouchers and that takes care of lot of monthly spends. Now, 40k vouchers is worth 60K gross salary. The issue with SC card is almost zero travel benefits. You just get lounge access and the quality of lounges has ben going down now and the lounges in general are now over crowded. If you are frequent flyer( avg 1 trip per month), the concierge service/ meet and greet is the most important one. Thats where Axis Magnus scores ahead of lot of other cards. Axis Vistara vouchers are a waste. In most of the cases, the vouchers can not be used because free seats/award seats are not available. All in all, CCs are best for heavy spenders( 15Lac-18 Lac per year) to truly enjoy rewards. Else, it serves just the credit benefit.
Am totally surprised why not in 2023 axis atlas can you describe and elaborate please
Atlas is a good for specific use cases. If it is about Miles, Magnus and Reserve can rack them up a whole lot faster with Grab Deals and Gyftr.
You have mentioned there are other redemption options other than Taj Vouchers on Amex Travel Platinum, what are those? Also is it possible to get the annual fees waived for this card?
The other option is Flipkart vouchers but at a reduced value for each MR point. All details including fee waiver are mentioned in the detailed review linked in the list above.
Thanks for the post.
I think below cards shouldn’t be in this list in 2023:
– SBI SimplyClick //except 10% very hard to reach 2L, if Cashback present
– SC Smart //no use when one has Ace or Cashback.
– HDFC Regalia, DCB & Privilege //less usage with Magnus and travel cards
– Axis Select & Flipkart //least benefits among Axis cards
Considering better reward rates and benefits in other cards these do not serve any purpose nowadays.
You can add the below cards, if requirement satisfies:
– IDFC Wealth : Better lounge support compared to Regalia or Privilege.
– Axis Myzone : For Select Swiggy alternative and LTF most cases.
– AU LIT : If used properly, it provides more cashback.
Ignored 10% cards because in that case we have to list all bank cards, and considering if person hold one of these cards then will other card in this list serve any purpose.
I’m thinking that best cards means those cards should be in our wallet, no matter (this require frequent edits in this post according to changes in that bank).
Hi Phani. Thank you for going through the list. Gave some thought while including some cards in this list. Retaining the above cards for below reasons but may be will have a look later to reduce the list a bit.
– SimplyCLICK only for taking advantage of sales. Cashback card is still quite hard to get for most people and it will not help during sale season.
– Agree on SC Smart. No major use for now with other cards. Will remove this one.
– Regalia, DCB and Privilege are all there for one reason – future upgrade to Infinia or may be the next one. Expecting HDFC Bank to bounce back soon.
– Select – only for its partner offers
– FK Axis – Still a good cashback card. Its LTF for many and gives 1.5% on offline spends compared to Cashback card.
– IDFC Wealth – Yes, a good card for LTF. I will add this one as it makes sense.
– MyZone – Good only if LTF which comes up now and then.
– AU LIT – Find it rather complicated. We need to spend and optimize quite a bit on that. Would rather prefer taking a super premium card with that fee. But, will add under Worthy Mentions section.
Thank you again for all the feedback. It helps. 🙂