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ICICI Bank iShop Accelerated Reward Points Portal Launched - Upto 36% Reward Rate 🔥

As promised by ICICI Bank at the time of launching the Emeralde Private Metal Card and Times Black Card, they have introduced their Accelerated Rewards Portal, iShop by ICICI Bank. Through this portal, ICICI Bank cardholders can earn accelerated rewards when purchasing gift vouchers, booking flights, and reserving hotels.

Screenshot 2025-02-16 at 10.08.36 AM.webp

The portal is similar to HDFC Bank’s SmartBuy for HDFC customers. However, ICICI Bank also offers accelerated rewards to its debit card and net banking customers, even if they don't have an ICICI credit card. The portal appears to be in beta testing, as ICICI Bank has added a "Beta" tag to the iShop logo. So, expect changes in rules and capping.

Let's dive into the details of this portal!

Reward Earning on iShop Portal

Credit Cards & Debit Cards:
  • 6X Reward Points on Flight Bookings & Shopping Vouchers
  • 12X Reward Points on Hotels
  • 4% Cashback for co-branded ICICI cards
Net Banking Customers:
  • 3% iCash on Flight Bookings
  • 6% iCash on Hotels
  • NA% iCash on Shopping Vouchers
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Redemption on iShop Portal

You can redeem your credit card reward points on the iShop portal.

The value of credit and debit card reward points depends on the card you hold. For example, with the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card, 1 reward point = ₹1.

Redemption Options:

  • Flight Booking: You can pay 100% of the order value using reward points.
  • Hotel Booking: You can pay 90% of the order value using reward points, and the remaining 10% must be paid using the same credit card.
  • Shopping Vouchers: You can pay 50% of the order value using reward points, with the rest paid via card.

For Net Banking Customers:

  • Instead of reward points, Net Banking Customers receive iCash from iShop (1 iCash = ₹1).
  • For flights, hotels, and gift vouchers, you can use a maximum of 80% iCash, and the remaining 20% must be paid via net banking.
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Reward Redemption Fees: You will be charged Rs. 99 + GST per successful redemption except for Emerald Private Metal Credit Card and Times Black Card.

How to Access the iShop Portal

Login URL:
https://icicibank.com/ishoplogin
Log in using your mobile number and access the portal to purchase gift vouchers, book flights or hotels, and earn accelerated reward points. You can also use the portal to redeem your card's reward points.

Capping on Accelerated Reward Points

The cap on accelerated reward points through iShop depends on the ICICI credit or debit card you hold.

Credit Cards:

  • ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card: 18,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Times Black Credit Card: 15,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Emeralde PVC Credit Card: 12,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Diamant World Credit Card: 12,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Other Credit Cards (Coral, CSK, HPCL, ManU, Parakram, Rubyx, Sapphiro): 9,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Co-Branded Credit Cards (Amazon, Adani, Emirates, MMT, etc.): ₹1,100 Cashback

Debit Cards:

  • ICICI Sapphiro & Expressions Sapphiro Debit Card: 9,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Rubyx & Expressions Coral Debit Card: 9,000 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Private, Wealth, Coral & Expressions Debit Card: 7,250 Bonus Points
  • ICICI Other Debit Cards: 7,250 Bonus Points

Reward Rate:

The reward rate varies based on your card variant.

Card NameCard Base Reward RateReward Rate On Flight BookingReward Rate On Hotel BookingReward Rate On Bus BookingReward Rate On Gift Vouchers
ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card3%18%36%18%18%
ICICI Times Black Credit Card2%12%24%12%12%
ICICI Emeralde PVC Credit Card1%6%12%6%6%
ICICI Diamant World Credit Card0.75%4.5%9%4.5%4.5%
ICICI Other Credit Cards0.50%3%6%3%3%
ICICI Co-Branded Credit CardsVarious4%4%4%4%

Spends Required to Earn the Maximum Possible Bonus Points:

Credit Card NameOverall Bonus Point Capping On iShopSpends Required For 6X CategoriesSpends Required For 12X Categories
ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Card18,000Rs. 1,20,000Rs. 54,600
ICICI Times Black Card15,000Rs. 1,50,000Rs. 68,200
ICICI Emeralde Plastic Card12,000Rs. 60,000Rs. 27,300
ICICI Diamant World Card12,000Rs. 80,000Rs. 36,400
ICICI Bank Other Credit Cards9,000Rs. 90,000Rs. 41,000
ICICI Bank Co-Branded Credit CardsRs. 1,100Rs. 27,500 (4% Cashback)Rs. 18,400 (6% Cashback)

iShop Bonus Points Time-frame:

1. Is the bonus points capping applicable per statement cycle or per calendar month?

Answer: The bonus points capping is applicable per calendar month.

2. When will the bonus reward points be credited after completing transactions on iShop?
Answer: Typically, your ICICI Reward Points/Cashbacks are credited to your ICICI Bank Credit Card/Debit Card within 90 days of the transaction or from 45 days of the completion of travel/stay, whichever falls later.

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This is an amazing launch from ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank has often been tagged as a low-rewarding credit card issuer, but with this portal launch, customers can now earn significant bonus reward points using their ICICI Bank credit cards. This is a great way to revamp the bank's credit card portfolio.

One key expectation from ICICI Bank is that they should enter the airmiles game as soon as possible. According to some sources, they are already working on it. They are also aiming to launch a hotel co-branded credit card soon.


Original thread started by @Infamous. Credit for editing the old post: @BVC, @Talkwithfino, @Gkcards and @Pavvan.
 
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Can you or someone explain with an example for a noob:

1. I buy 10000 worth of Apay vouchers on iSHOP using emeralde private metal and I get 1800 reward points (base plus accelerated)
2. Now after statement generation or 90 days whatever, I see 1800 reward points on iSHOP.
3. Can I now redeem these 1800 points for 1800 cash (1800 INR) as statement credit back to Emerald Private Metal credit card?
4. or it’s not 1800 BUT 1800*0.6 =1,080 INR as statement credit.

Someone please clarify my above understanding. thanks.
stmt credit seems to be 1:0.4 only i.e. Rs.720 for 1800 pts. (not clear about redemption charges)
Gv redemption is 1:0.6 i.e. 1080 for 1800 pts PLUS Rs.116.82 redemption charges per redemption
 
St ra nge
They quote 12% , 18% etc, so that means the RP should be redeemable at 1rs per point. if vouchers are 0.6 then either hotel or flights should be 1 rs per RP correct? Similar to how Yes marquee provides 0.25 per RP for flights and 0.15 per Rp for voucher.

Can anyone check if hotel or flights fetch 1Rs per Rp?
 
it means the trxns were not "captured" and were authorized only. Business who have merchant acc with gateway or POS knows what I mean.

Now Visa and mastercard have rules in place where if a trxn is not captured within 7 days(5 days in some cases), auth will be removed from those trxns meaning reversal.

It doesn't even matter if those trxns belong to icici or even rbi, these rules are of VISA and mastercard directly.

If ICICI (or GYFTR) as idk who is the merchant in iShop, if they don't capture(term for merchants) or settled(term for consumers), then reversal. Very rare they don't capture the trxns within stipulated time.
Its been 7 days, no reversal of the transaction and they are still not captured.
 
Its been 7 days, no reversal of the transaction and they are still not captured.
7 business days. Holidays/sat/sun not included.

Also idk abt India as I have experience of merchant services abroad and afaik, even friday VISA/MC don't consider as business day, so not sure if visa/mc have the same rules here too. I can guarntee you one thing, with 100000% assurance, icici is nothing, sbi is nothing, even rbi is nothing in front of visa/mc rules of auth/cap. These rules never change for any member bank client, so even if icici requests, they won't allow to stop reversals.

Either icici captures these trxns or they risk of losing all this money.

I am not sure if amex rules, but I think it is under 5 days (I am talking abt international rules, idk if amex has made exception for indian banks/gateways).
 
😳 So this means if we buy gv and redeem points in gv it comes to around 7.2% 😔.
It depends on how you are redeeming your reward points. Suppose I have earned 5,000 reward points using my Times Black credit card. If I use them directly for flight bookings, they will be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio, effectively giving me a flat 12% return. For hotel bookings, we can use up to 90% of our points.

The issue arises when people buy a gift card and expect to use the reward points earned from that gift card purchase to buy another gift card. If that were allowed, they would get a direct 12% return on gift cards. However, there is a limit—only 50% of the gift card value can be paid using reward points, and the remaining amount must be paid using the credit card.

This makes some people feel like they’re getting a lower return. But even in this case, the remaining 50% paid with the card will earn another 12% in rewards. So, when calculated overall, the effective return comes out to around 8%, which is still excellent. After all, which card offers a flat 8% return on gift cards?

The bank is providing multiple redemption options; it depends on how we utilize them. Also, I believe there might be future changes to the iShop platform. If you’ve noticed, it’s still in beta mode, meaning nothing is final for the long term. So, for now, we should learn to be content with what’s available.
 
Yes. Then your returns drops a lot. Apay vouchers are looking great. We can use to pay utility bills and even for shopping to get 10.8% returns
Thank you for your reply. Appreciate.
Apay vouchers for EPM at 10.8% is really good as per me as Apay vouchers can be used at many places.

Can you please also let me know the maximum limit on Apay vouchers per month I can buy on ishop using EPM? Is it 1 lakh?
 
wait so only flight bookings give 1 point : 1 rs?

Thank you for your reply. Appreciate.
Apay vouchers for EPM at 10.8% is really good as per me as Apay vouchers can be used at many places.

Can you please also let me know the maximum limit on Apay vouchers per month I can buy on ishop using EPM? Is it 1 lakh?
Yes. Chk icici ishop banner before purchase since bank de-valuations are too past
 
It depends on how you are redeeming your reward points. Suppose I have earned 5,000 reward points using my Times Black credit card. If I use them directly for flight bookings, they will be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio, effectively giving me a flat 12% return. For hotel bookings, we can use up to 90% of our points.

The issue arises when people buy a gift card and expect to use the reward points earned from that gift card purchase to buy another gift card. If that were allowed, they would get a direct 12% return on gift cards. However, there is a limit—only 50% of the gift card value can be paid using reward points, and the remaining amount must be paid using the credit card.

This makes some people feel like they’re getting a lower return. But even in this case, the remaining 50% paid with the card will earn another 12% in rewards. So, when calculated overall, the effective return comes out to around 8%, which is still excellent. After all, which card offers a flat 8% return on gift cards?

The bank is providing multiple redemption options; it depends on how we utilize them. Also, I believe there might be future changes to the iShop platform. If you’ve noticed, it’s still in beta mode, meaning nothing is final for the long term. So, for now, we should learn to be content with what’s available.
Haha... Seems, u r not aware of reward ratio while using ur points to buy gift cards. To buy gift cards, use icici rewards portal not ishop. Rewards portal allows you to use ur points without capping. For both portal and ishop, reward ratio is 1:0.6 only. You will not get 1:1 while buying apay gvs. Means, ur 1 rp will gives 0.6 value only.
 
Haha... Seems, u r not aware of reward ratio while using ur points to buy gift cards. To buy gift cards, use icici rewards portal not ishop. Rewards portal allows you to use ur points without capping. For both portal and ishop, reward ratio is 1:0.6 only. You will not get 1:1 while buying apay gvs. Means, ur 1 rp will gives 0.6 value only.
Why are you only considering buying Amazon Pay gift cards, brother? If you're booking flights, you're already getting a 1:1 reward redemption, right? What's the issue with that? Plus, for hotel bookings, you can use 90% of your reward points, and even on the remaining 10%, you still get a 24% return. In both cases, the returns are excellent.


Also, you're forgetting one important thing—this is not a cashback card. It’s a super-premium travel card that offers more than just cashback. It provides several non-spend benefits as well. People don’t get such cards just for cashback; they get them for luxury experiences and lifestyle benefits. Moreover, the chances of someone holding this card and spending the entire year only on gift cards are very low.


There's also a possibility that ICICI might remove the gift card redemption option in the future, just like they could stop allowing reward redemptions for gift cards altogether. In my opinion, this option exists right now only because ICICI’s airline transfer partners are not fully operational yet. Once that feature is properly launched, they might remove the gift card redemption altogether. If that happens, where will you redeem your points if Amazon gift cards are all that matter to you?


If you spend across flights, hotels, and gift cards, and then redeem your points for flight or hotel bookings, your overall annual returns will exceed 10%, which, in my view, is the best way to maximize value. The returns on the Emeralde Metal Edition are even better.


So, if you're getting this card only to buy gift cards and maximize cashback, sorry, bro—this card isn’t for you. You should look for another option. Also, the best returns on this card are only possible if your annual spend is around ₹20 lakh or more.
 
Why are you only considering buying Amazon Pay gift cards, brother? If you're booking flights, you're already getting a 1:1 reward redemption, right? What's the issue with that? Plus, for hotel bookings, you can use 90% of your reward points, and even on the remaining 10%, you still get a 24% return. In both cases, the returns are excellent.


Also, you're forgetting one important thing—this is not a cashback card. It’s a super-premium travel card that offers more than just cashback. It provides several non-spend benefits as well. People don’t get such cards just for cashback; they get them for luxury experiences and lifestyle benefits. Moreover, the chances of someone holding this card and spending the entire year only on gift cards are very low.


There's also a possibility that ICICI might remove the gift card redemption option in the future, just like they could stop allowing reward redemptions for gift cards altogether. In my opinion, this option exists right now only because ICICI’s airline transfer partners are not fully operational yet. Once that feature is properly launched, they might remove the gift card redemption altogether. If that happens, where will you redeem your points if Amazon gift cards are all that matter to you?


If you spend across flights, hotels, and gift cards, and then redeem your points for flight or hotel bookings, your overall annual returns will exceed 10%, which, in my view, is the best way to maximize value. The returns on the Emeralde Metal Edition are even better.


So, if you're getting this card only to buy gift cards and maximize cashback, sorry, bro—this card isn’t for you. You should look for another option. Also, the best returns on this card are only possible if your annual spend is around ₹20 lakh or more.
I understand your points, but I still think buying Amazon Pay gift cards is the best option for me than buying luxury gvs or flight/hotel booking. Because, I am not frequent traveler. If I am not wrong, most of the people try to use for gvs only.

EPM card is still good for me because I am not loosing anything nor feeling bad.

I appreciate your advice, but I think my strategy works best for my lifestyle and spending habits.
 
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