ICICI Sapphiro Annual Fee Charged Even After Meeting Spend Criteria

[riteshsaxena55]

Hey everyone,

Posting this because I’m honestly fed up with ICICI Bank’s handling of annual fee waivers on the Sapphiro Dual Variant Credit Card.

The card is officially free for the first year.
From the second year onwards, you must meet the spend threshold to get the next year’s annual fee waived.

So far, so clear.

I met the spend threshold on this card.
Yet ICICI still charged me the annual fee + GST.

And here’s where the customer care experience became a circus:

1. Email support claimed the fee was charged on the other variant (Amex)​

This makes no sense because Sapphiro dual cards are treated as one single credit card account.
Even the MITC does NOT say the spend criteria are applied separately for each physical variant. (I did all my transactions on the mastercard variant)

2. Customer Support Rep told me something completely contradictory​

They said:

• Year 1 is free (correct)
• This fee is for the 2nd year
• And if I meet the spend threshold in the 2nd year, then the fee charged for the 2nd year will be reversed later

This logic completely contradicts ICICI’s own MITC.

3. Then I emailed head service quality — and the reply was even worse​

They took 15 days just to send back a copy-paste template:

• “Charges were levied as per card variant”
• Shared MITC link (which I already know and which proves they’re wrong)
• Did not acknowledge the spend threshold being met
• Did not explain the contradiction
• Did not address the “subsequent year” clause
• Did not clarify the dual-card logic

Basically, they ignored every question.

And the worst part?​

The PNO (Principal Nodal Officer) never replied at all.
Not even an acknowledgement.

4. ICICI’s own MITC says the opposite​

Direct quote:

“If total spends during an anniversary year meet the threshold, the Annual Fee applicable for the subsequent year shall be reversed.”

Keyword: subsequent.

Meaning:

• Your spends in Year 1 determine if the Year 2 fee is waived.
• Your spends in Year 2 determine if the Year 3 fee is waived.

Customer care is trying to say the reverse — that I must hit the spend AFTER they charge the next year’s fee.
Which is absolutely not how fee waivers work and not what the MITC says.

5. ICICI is misapplying its own fee waiver rules​

• The card is free for the first year.
• I met the spend threshold in the first anniversary year.
• Therefore, the fee for the subsequent (second) year should have been automatically reversed. Yet they still charged me.

This is absolutely not okay.

Has anyone else with the Sapphiro dual variant faced this nonsense?

 

[Kabir_1112]

Escalate if customer care is not able to help you. Icici customer care hardly helps anyone or solves any issue. Write to their head quality service team. They will help you and it will be prompt.

 

[riteshsaxena55]

Escalate if customer care is not able to help you. Icici customer care hardly helps anyone or solves any issue. Write to their head quality service team. They will help you and it will be prompt.

Already did, they came up with a generic reply after 15 days, PNO never replied.

 

[Sobirvs]

This is how ICICI works.

Read about the owner of technofino facing the same thing lol, he gave up as per his twitter update. @TechnoFino

Thread 'ICICI Bank charged me annual fees on my credit card even after meeting reversal criteria'

Apr 21, 2023

Hello everyone,

Today, I would like to share my ongoing dispute with ICICI Bank. In February 2023, they charged me 12,000+GST (annual fees) for my ICICI Emeralde credit card. However, in February 2022, ICICI Bank issued me a first-year free ICICI Emaralde credit card, and using that card, I spent more than Rs. 15,00,000 until February 2023. According to the MITC, ICICI Bank should provide me with a second-year annual fee waiver as I spent 15 lakhs in the last year. But to my surprise, they charged me Rs. 12,000+GST on 26th February 2023 as the second-year annual fee.

I immediately raised...

• TechnoFino
• Replies: 111
• Forum: Banking Complaint

• 
• 
• 

 

[Centurion_wala]

Bro, what is wrong with you? You spent 6L that too on Sapphiro? Please close this Card and get better cards 🙏🏻

 

[riteshsaxena55]

Bro, what is wrong with you? You spent 6L that too on Sapphiro? Please close this Card and get better cards 🙏🏻

I do have better cards like Regalia Gold, SBI PhonePe Black, and MRCC. But, spends on sapphiro has mostly been sale or apple spends where instant discount is applicable. I was thinking of closing this card, but the app showed that i have reached spend criteria, so thought of keeping it for one more year.

This is how ICICI works.

Read about the owner of technofino facing the same thing lol, he gave up as per his twitter update. @TechnoFino

Thread 'ICICI Bank charged me annual fees on my credit card even after meeting reversal criteria'

Apr 21, 2023

Hello everyone,

Today, I would like to share my ongoing dispute with ICICI Bank. In February 2023, they charged me 12,000+GST (annual fees) for my ICICI Emeralde credit card. However, in February 2022, ICICI Bank issued me a first-year free ICICI Emaralde credit card, and using that card, I spent more than Rs. 15,00,000 until February 2023. According to the MITC, ICICI Bank should provide me with a second-year annual fee waiver as I spent 15 lakhs in the last year. But to my surprise, they charged me Rs. 12,000+GST on 26th February 2023 as the second-year annual fee.

I immediately raised...

• TechnoFino
• Replies: 111
• Forum: Banking Complaint

• 
• 
• 

Accordind to MITC, it is applicable for cards like EPVC and EPM.

https://www.icici.bank.in/managed-assets/docs/personal/cards/mitc_cc.pdf

 

[Aniket Sharma]

Hey everyone,

Posting this because I’m honestly fed up with ICICI Bank’s handling of annual fee waivers on the Sapphiro Dual Variant Credit Card.

The card is officially free for the first year.
From the second year onwards, you must meet the spend threshold to get the next year’s annual fee waived.

So far, so clear.

I met the spend threshold on this card.
Yet ICICI still charged me the annual fee + GST.

And here’s where the customer care experience became a circus:

1. Email support claimed the fee was charged on the other variant (Amex)​

This makes no sense because Sapphiro dual cards are treated as one single credit card account.
Even the MITC does NOT say the spend criteria are applied separately for each physical variant. (I did all my transactions on the mastercard variant)
View attachment 114848

2. Customer Support Rep told me something completely contradictory​

They said:

• Year 1 is free (correct)
• This fee is for the 2nd year
• And if I meet the spend threshold in the 2nd year, then the fee charged for the 2nd year will be reversed later

This logic completely contradicts ICICI’s own MITC.

3. Then I emailed head service quality — and the reply was even worse​

They took 15 days just to send back a copy-paste template:

• “Charges were levied as per card variant”
• Shared MITC link (which I already know and which proves they’re wrong)
• Did not acknowledge the spend threshold being met
• Did not explain the contradiction
• Did not address the “subsequent year” clause
• Did not clarify the dual-card logic

Basically, they ignored every question.

And the worst part?​

The PNO (Principal Nodal Officer) never replied at all.
Not even an acknowledgement.

4. ICICI’s own MITC says the opposite​

Direct quote:

Keyword: subsequent.

Meaning:

• Your spends in Year 1 determine if the Year 2 fee is waived.
• Your spends in Year 2 determine if the Year 3 fee is waived.

Customer care is trying to say the reverse — that I must hit the spend AFTER they charge the next year’s fee.
Which is absolutely not how fee waivers work and not what the MITC says.

5. ICICI is misapplying its own fee waiver rules​

• The card is free for the first year.
• I met the spend threshold in the first anniversary year.
• Therefore, the fee for the subsequent (second) year should have been automatically reversed. Yet they still charged me.

This is absolutely not okay.

Has anyone else with the Sapphiro dual variant faced this nonsense?

Hmare yha aisa hi hota hai