ICICI Bank has announced several changes to its credit card terms, which will be effective from November 15, 2024. This is the second time this year that the bank has changed its credit card offerings. These changes will affect airport lounge access, reward caps and transaction fees as well as add-on charges for supplementary cardholders.
Rewards rules
ICICI Bank has imposed caps on rewards across some of its categories. For utility and insurance payments, the bank has set a maximum spend limit of Rs 40,000 per month for entry and medium level cards and Rs 80,000 per month for premium cards.
Grocery spends will also be capped, with entry and medium level cardholders capped at Rs 20,000 per month, while premium cardholders can spend up to Rs 40,000 per month before hitting the rewards cap.
Apart from this, fuel spends will now be capped at Rs 50,000 per month for most cards. However, the Emerald Mastercard Metal credit card, which allows fuel transactions of up to Rs 1 lakh while qualifying for surcharge waivers, has been excluded.
ICICI Bank will also charge a 1% transaction fee on certain types of expenses. This fee will be applicable on education payments made through third party platforms, utility payments of more than Rs 50,000 per month and fuel payments of more than Rs 10,000 per month.
These will not be considered
Rent payments, government transactions and education spending will no longer be considered while calculating eligibility for milestone benefits or annual fee waiver. This means that if cardholders want to qualify for these perks, they will have to make adjustments in their spending strategies.
New fee structure
The bank has also changed its fee structure. Now a fee of Rs 199 will be charged on the supplementary card. Apart from this, late payment charges have also been changed and now a fee of Rs 100 will be charged on a balance of up to Rs 500 and up to Rs 1,300 on a balance of more than Rs 50,000. Meanwhile, finance charges on outstanding credit card balance will remain at 3.75% per month or 45% annually.
Changes in airport lounge access
ICICI Bank has made changes to its complimentary airport lounge access feature. To avail this benefit, cardholders will now have to spend at least Rs 75,000 in the previous quarter.
Spa services previously available through Dreamfolks membership will no longer be available. However, the good news is that Emerald, Emerald Visa and Emerald Private cardholders will benefit from a reduction in the spending requirement for annual fee waiver, which has been reduced from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Emerald cards also offer higher fuel surcharge waiver limits of Rs 1 lakh, which sets them apart from other cards in the ICICI portfolio.
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