Devaluation ICICI Bank Credit Cards Huge Devaluation Effective from 15th November 2024

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

Now it's ICICI Bank's turn—they've joined the 2024 devaluation party. Here’s a simplified breakdown of the changes:

1. Utility & Insurance Capping:
   You will continue to earn reward points for utility and insurance spends up to Rs. 80,000 at the current earn rate on Rubyx and higher variant cards*.
   For Coral and lower variant cards**, the cap is Rs. 40,000 for both utility and insurance spends
2. Grocery Capping:
   Earn reward points for grocery and departmental store spends up to Rs. 40,000 per month on Rubyx or higher variant cards.
   The cap is Rs. 20,000 per month for Coral or lower variant cards.
3. No Reward Points on Government-Related Spends. (Fees on Emeralde private metal card - unclear)
4. Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
   Waiver applies to fuel spends up to Rs. 50,000 per month for all cards except ICICI Emeralde Private Metal.
   For the Emeralde Private Metal card, the waiver limit is Rs. 1,00,000 per month.
5. Spa Access Discontinued:
   Spa access through DreamFolks card is discontinued for all cards.
6. Exclusion of Rent, Government, and Education Payments:
   These payments are excluded from spend thresholds for annual fee reversal and milestone benefits on all cards.
7. Spend Threshold for Annual Fee Reversal Reduced to 10L:
   The threshold for annual fee reversal is reduced to Rs. 10 lakh per annum from Rs. 15 lakh for ICICI Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal credit cards.
8. 1% Fee on Education Payments via Third Party:
   No fee for direct payments to schools or colleges, including international payments, but a 1% fee applies to education payments made through third-party apps. - applicable on all cards.
9. 1% Fee on Utility Transactions Over Rs. 50,000. - applicable on all cards.
10. 1% Fee on Fuel Transactions Over Rs. 10,000. - applicable on all cards.
11. Add-on Fee of Rs. 199:
    Supplementary cardholders will now have an annual fee of Rs. 199. - applicable on all cards.
12. INR 75K Quarterly Spend for Domestic Lounge Access:
    To enjoy complimentary airport lounge access, you need to spend Rs. 75,000 in the preceding quarter. - applicable for all cards except ICICI Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal.

[*Coral or lower variant cards: ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank Indiabulls Platinum Card, Instant Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank JPMC Platinum Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank Indian Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank MasterCard Platinum chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank Unifare MasterCard Platinum Chip Transit Credit Card, ICICI Bank Instant Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Platinum Credit Card, HPCL GOLD CARD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank HPCL Airtel Master Gold, ICICI Bank HPCL Platinum Credit Card, HPCL GOLD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank HPCL Titanium Credit Card, MASTER CARD HPCL SILVER ( STERLING SILVER ), ICICI Bank HPCL Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Visa Contactless Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral American Express Credit Card, ICICI HPCL CARD ( STERLING SILVER ), HPCL SMART GOLD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank MasterCard Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured NRI Coral Credit Card,ICICI Bank NRI Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank MasterCard Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral Contactless Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral American Express Credit Card, Coral Unsecured Credit Card, Coral Secured Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Coral MasterCard Credit Card, Manchester United Platinum Credit Card by ICICI Bank, Manchester United Signature Credit Card by ICICI Bank, Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank Credit Card, ICICI Bank Parakram Credit Card, ICICI Bank Parakram Select Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Expressions Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Secured Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Secured Credit Card]

[**Rubyx or higher variant cards: ICICI Bank Rubyx Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank Rubyx RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Rubyx Visa Credit Card, ICICI Rubyx Master PLT Chip Card, ICICI Rubyx PLT Credit Card (AMEX), ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Rubyx Credit Card, Rubyx Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Rubyx MasterCard Credit Card, Rubyx VISA expense card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank NRI Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro VISA Credit Card, ICICI Sapphiro Master PLT Chip Card, ICICI Sapphiro Card (Amex), ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank NRI Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank Emeralde Visa Credit Card , ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card, ICICI Bank Emeralde Private]

Additionally, they've updated the late payment fees, interest rate (APR), and increased the markup fee to 2% for Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal credit cards.


This devaluation is outrageous. ICICI Bank already offers one of the lowest reward rates across all their credit cards compared to other banks in the same category. Capping reward points for utility and government spends is understandable, but charging fees for add-on cards, even for super-premium cards like Emeralde private metal, is hard to justify. Now, customers need to spend Rs. 75K in a quarter to get complimentary lounge access, which is a very high requirement.

If you closely examine point 4 and point 10, ICICI Bank's hypocrisy becomes clear. They offer fuel surcharge waivers up to Rs. 50K for Coral and lower variant cards and Rs. 100K for Rubyx and higher variant cards, yet they charge an extra 1% fee for fuel spends over Rs. 10K. It’s absurd, and they haven't clarified whether this 1% fee applies to a single transaction over Rs. 10K or cumulative transactions exceeding that amount. Same with 1% extra fees on utility transactions, their t&c is not clear as usual.

Overall, this is a brutal devaluation. I hope people switch to other banks, as ICICI doesn't offer significant rewards on card spends anyway.

 

[MrMonkey]

BMS Bogo looks safe, that's the only good thing remaining.

That will also be gone sooner or later. Gotta make good use of it until it lasts

 

[Indrajeet100]

Every one used to call ICICI cards other than Amazon and Emerald Private as useless. No material change in both. Fir itna shor kyo?

 

[MrMonkey]

Every one used to call ICICI cards other than Amazon and Emerald Private as useless. No material change in both. Fir itna shor kyo?

This isn't solely about icici. Main problem is that other banks will now take "inspiration" from icici and implement stupid changes like addon card fees, 75k spends for lounge access etc and it results in ripple effect

 

[Drb]

75k for lounge access.🤡

A person getting 2% returns of 75k spend will earn enough cashback to purchase food of his/her choice at airports 2-3 times.

 

[Abhishek012]

75k for lounge access.🤡

A person getting 2% returns of 75k spend will earn enough cashback to purchase food of his/her choice at airports 2-3 times.

If you have multiple ICICI Cards on different card networks under same statement then you will eligible for airport lounge access on each cards after spend 35k (or 75k after devaluation).

 

[drsel]

lol me with 15 icici cc crying in the corner xD @1RC 😂🤣😆

They are not worth paying for, I hope all 15 are free

 

[drsel]

75k for lounge access.🤡

A person getting 2% returns of 75k spend will earn enough cashback to purchase food of his/her choice at airports 2-3 times.

The banks buy lounge access at wholesale (very low) prices.
I think 250 to 300 for domestic and $10--12 or 10--12 euros for international lounge access.
Of course, they pay only when the Lounge access is utilised by a customer

 

[Abhishek012]

The banks buy lounge access at wholesale (very low) prices.
I think 250 to 300 for domestic and $10--12 or 10--12 euros for international lounge access.
Of course, they pay only when the Lounge access is utilised by a customer

Banks buy unlimited lounge access plan but there is fair usage policy in it.

 

[drsel]

Banks buy unlimited lounge access plan but there is fair usage policy in it.

So the banks get unlimited lounge access for millions of their card holders?
If it was truly unlimited Lounge access, then why would they restrict it to only one or two per quarter?

 

[kvndsz512]

They are not worth paying for, I hope all 15 are free

all are ltf from coral to emerald so peace

 

[Abhishek012]

So the banks get unlimited lounge access for millions of their card holders?
If it was truly unlimited Lounge access, then why would they restrict it to only one or two per quarter?

Fair usage policy.

 

[CyberPsych]

Spend Threshold for Annual Fee Reversal Reduced to 10L:
The threshold for annual fee reversal is reduced to Rs. 10 lakh per annum from Rs. 15 lakh for ICICI Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal credit cards

Looks like benefit, not devaluation..

 

[cardio_guy]

Does it make sense to hold 2 sapphiro add on cards?

 

[kvndsz512]

Does it make sense to hold 2 sapphiro add on cards?

nah xD those are also chargeable now why to pay 235 x 2 rs for such useless card

 

[LordSpymaster]

BMS BOGO is safe, but for how long 🤐

 

[Zacobite]

Looks like Icici wants to be out of CC business.

you will be surprised at hw many ppl use icici ccs and have no clue of rewards / benefits etc.. they just use!!

 

[drsel]

you will be surprised at hw many ppl use icici ccs and have no clue of rewards / benefits etc.. they just use!!

Absolutely!
just like there are suckers who pay interest on credit card dues, take personal loans, go to pawn shops/loan sharks to borrow at 2% per month

 

[Satish5]

Time to buy ICICI Banks shares 😎

 

[talkwithfino]

Already we are having on the quarterly 50000 with Axis and 20000 per month with IDFC, now ICICI has hit out of the park with 75K per quarter. Yes we will see less crowds at lounges because I use to see a lot of Rubyx, Coral, Sapphiro holders most of the times. But it’s tough for users.

Meanwhile Hdfc Millenia in corner - I have 1L spends criteria but never got so much hate

on a side note - if your spends do cross 1L in quarter; spending on Millenia CC is 10x better than spending 75k on Icici cards🤣

 

[hellobois]

Now it's ICICI Bank's turn—they've joined the 2024 devaluation party. Here’s a simplified breakdown of the changes:

1. Utility & Insurance Capping:
   You will continue to earn reward points for utility and insurance spends up to Rs. 80,000 at the current earn rate on Rubyx and higher variant cards*.
   For Coral and lower variant cards**, the cap is Rs. 40,000 for both utility and insurance spends
2. Grocery Capping:
   Earn reward points for grocery and departmental store spends up to Rs. 40,000 per month on Rubyx or higher variant cards.
   The cap is Rs. 20,000 per month for Coral or lower variant cards.
3. No Reward Points on Government-Related Spends. (Fees on Emeralde private metal card - unclear)
4. Fuel Surcharge Waiver:
   Waiver applies to fuel spends up to Rs. 50,000 per month for all cards except ICICI Emeralde Private Metal.
   For the Emeralde Private Metal card, the waiver limit is Rs. 1,00,000 per month.
5. Spa Access Discontinued:
   Spa access through DreamFolks card is discontinued for all cards.
6. Exclusion of Rent, Government, and Education Payments:
   These payments are excluded from spend thresholds for annual fee reversal and milestone benefits on all cards.
7. Spend Threshold for Annual Fee Reversal Reduced to 10L:
   The threshold for annual fee reversal is reduced to Rs. 10 lakh per annum from Rs. 15 lakh for ICICI Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal credit cards.
8. 1% Fee on Education Payments via Third Party:
   No fee for direct payments to schools or colleges, including international payments, but a 1% fee applies to education payments made through third-party apps. - applicable on all cards.
9. 1% Fee on Utility Transactions Over Rs. 50,000. - applicable on all cards.
10. 1% Fee on Fuel Transactions Over Rs. 10,000. - applicable on all cards.
11. Add-on Fee of Rs. 199:
    Supplementary cardholders will now have an annual fee of Rs. 199. - applicable on all cards.
12. INR 75K Quarterly Spend for Domestic Lounge Access:
    To enjoy complimentary airport lounge access, you need to spend Rs. 75,000 in the preceding quarter. - applicable for all cards except ICICI Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal.

[*Coral or lower variant cards: ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank Indiabulls Platinum Card, Instant Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank JPMC Platinum Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank Indian Platinum Credit Card, ICICI Bank MasterCard Platinum chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank Unifare MasterCard Platinum Chip Transit Credit Card, ICICI Bank Instant Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Platinum Credit Card, HPCL GOLD CARD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank HPCL Airtel Master Gold, ICICI Bank HPCL Platinum Credit Card, HPCL GOLD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank HPCL Titanium Credit Card, MASTER CARD HPCL SILVER ( STERLING SILVER ), ICICI Bank HPCL Platinum Chip Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Visa Contactless Credit Card, ICICI Bank HPCL Coral American Express Credit Card, ICICI HPCL CARD ( STERLING SILVER ), HPCL SMART GOLD ( SOLID GOLD ), ICICI Bank MasterCard Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured NRI Coral Credit Card,ICICI Bank NRI Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank MasterCard Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Coral Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral Contactless Credit Card, ICICI Bank Coral American Express Credit Card, Coral Unsecured Credit Card, Coral Secured Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Coral MasterCard Credit Card, Manchester United Platinum Credit Card by ICICI Bank, Manchester United Signature Credit Card by ICICI Bank, Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank Credit Card, ICICI Bank Parakram Credit Card, ICICI Bank Parakram Select Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Expressions Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Secured Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Credit Card, ICICI Bank Expressions Secured Credit Card]

[**Rubyx or higher variant cards: ICICI Bank Rubyx Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank Rubyx RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Rubyx Visa Credit Card, ICICI Rubyx Master PLT Chip Card, ICICI Rubyx PLT Credit Card (AMEX), ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Rubyx Credit Card, Rubyx Credit Card, ICICI Bank Secured Rubyx MasterCard Credit Card, Rubyx VISA expense card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro Visa Credit Card, ICICI Bank NRI Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro RuPay Credit Card, ICICI Bank Sapphiro VISA Credit Card, ICICI Sapphiro Master PLT Chip Card, ICICI Sapphiro Card (Amex), ICICI Bank LeadtheNew Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank NRI Sapphiro Credit Card, ICICI Bank Emeralde Visa Credit Card , ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card, ICICI Bank Emeralde Private]

Additionally, they've updated the late payment fees, interest rate (APR), and increased the markup fee to 2% for Emeralde and Emeralde Private Metal credit cards.


This devaluation is outrageous. ICICI Bank already offers one of the lowest reward rates across all their credit cards compared to other banks in the same category. Capping reward points for utility and government spends is understandable, but charging fees for add-on cards, even for super-premium cards like Emeralde private metal, is hard to justify. Now, customers need to spend Rs. 75K in a quarter to get complimentary lounge access, which is a very high requirement.

If you closely examine point 4 and point 10, ICICI Bank's hypocrisy becomes clear. They offer fuel surcharge waivers up to Rs. 50K for Coral and lower variant cards and Rs. 100K for Rubyx and higher variant cards, yet they charge an extra 1% fee for fuel spends over Rs. 10K. It’s absurd, and they haven't clarified whether this 1% fee applies to a single transaction over Rs. 10K or cumulative transactions exceeding that amount. Same with 1% extra fees on utility transactions, their t&c is not clear as usual.

Overall, this is a brutal devaluation. I hope people switch to other banks, as ICICI doesn't offer significant rewards on card spends anyway.

Sab marenge ....
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