Credit Card Changes Tracker

Three product-feature changes effective 15 May 2026: reward-earn rate revised from 4 RP per Rs.150 to 5 RP per Rs.200 (~6.25% base-rate devaluation, 1.33% to 1.25%), DCC markup revised to 1.75% on international-currency-in-INR transactions, and card re-issuance fee set at Rs.199.

• Reward Points: Earn 5 Reward Points for every Rs.200 spent on eligible categories (was 4 RP per Rs.150). At 0.5/point conservative redemption this lowers the base rate from 1.33% to 1.25% — a ~6.25% devaluation on every rupee of base-category spend.
• DCC markup: 1.75% on each international transaction carried out in INR at an international location, or in INR with merchants located in India but registered in a foreign nation.
• Card re-issuance fee: Rs.199 for lost, stolen, or damaged card replacement (was previously unspecified).

Fuel accelerated rewards cap reduced from Rs.10,000 to Rs.7,000/month, effective May 1, 2026

• BPCL fuel accelerated rewards (25X) will be capped at Rs.7,000 monthly spend (down from Rs.10,000 = 2,500 points cap)
• New effective fuel cap: 1,750 reward points/month on fuel (down from 2,500 points/month)
• Maximum fuel value-back drops from Rs.625/month to Rs.437.50/month
• Dining, grocery, movies accelerated rewards (10X) caps unchanged
• Source: TechnoFino community, April 2026

Major devaluation: lounge access removed, Swiggy/BigBasket dropped, Zomato/Blinkit/District now wallet credit only, and cashback caps tied to base spend.

• Lounge access (4 domestic visits/year via DreamFolks) completely removed
• Swiggy 10% cashback removed entirely — no longer a partner
• BigBasket 10% cashback removed entirely — no longer a partner
• Zomato 10% cashback replaced with 10% Zomato wallet credit (₹200/month cap, ₹499 min order)
• Blinkit added: 10% wallet credit (₹200/month cap, ₹499 min order)
• District Movies added: 10% wallet credit (₹200/month cap)
• Airtel 25% cashback cap changed from fixed ₹250/month to dynamic: 2x your base cashback earned that month
• Utility 10% cashback cap changed from fixed ₹250/month to dynamic: 1x your base cashback earned that month
• You must spend on general retail (base 1%) to unlock any Airtel/utility cashback — zero general spend = zero category cashback

Accor, Marriott Bonvoy, and Qatar Airways removed from transfer partner list. British Airways, Vietnam Airlines, and Finnair added.

• Qatar Airways Privilege Club removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• Marriott Bonvoy removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• Accor Live Limitless removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• British Airways Executive Club added as transfer partner (5:4 ratio)
• Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles added as transfer partner (5:4 ratio)
• Finnair Plus added as transfer partner (5:4 ratio)
• Burgundy Private retains 5:4 transfer ratio — unlike Magnus/Reserve which saw ratio cuts

Transfer partner list updated: Qatar Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Accor Hotels removed; British Airways, Finnair, Vietnam Airlines added.

• Qatar Airways removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• Marriott Bonvoy removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• Accor Hotels removed as transfer partner (effective April 2, 2026)
• British Airways Executive Club added as transfer partner (5:1 ratio)
• Finnair Plus added as transfer partner (5:1 ratio)
• Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles added as transfer partner (5:1 ratio)

Monthly cashback cap reduced from Rs.5,000 to Rs.4,000; per-channel subcaps introduced; new exclusions added

• Total monthly cashback cap reduced from Rs.5,000 to Rs.4,000 per statement cycle
• Online cashback (5%) now capped at Rs.2,000/month (was Rs.2,500)
• Offline cashback (1%) now capped at Rs.2,000/month (was Rs.2,500)
• New spend exclusions added: gaming transactions, tolls/FASTag, government payments
• Source: Business Standard (Mar 18, 2026), TechnoFino community, CardInsider blog — confirmed effective April 1, 2026

ICICI introduced new surcharges on wallet loads, online gaming, and transportation

• 1% surcharge on wallet loads of ₹5,000 or more (Amazon Pay, Paytm, Freecharge)
• 2% surcharge on all online gaming transactions (Dream11, MPL, etc.)
• 1% surcharge on transportation spends exceeding ₹50,000/month
• Applies to all ICICI credit cards including Amazon Pay ICICI

BookMyShow BOGO now requires ₹25,000 spend in preceding quarter. Wallet load transactions excluded from reward earning.

• BookMyShow BOGO benefit now requires ₹25,000 spend in the preceding calendar quarter (effective January 2026)
• Wallet load (third-party wallet transactions) added to excluded categories — no reward points earned
• Government services, fuel, property management, rent, tax payments excluded (most already in exclusions list)

Retention benefits (year-end vouchers for existing cardholders) reportedly removed since late 2024. Year 2+ economics worsened.

• Retention benefits for existing Platinum Charge cardholders reportedly discontinued (exact date unclear, reported from late 2024)
• Year 2+ renewal now relies primarily on ₹35,000 Taj/Luxe/Postcard vouchers on ₹20L annual spend (milestone-based, not automatic)
• Verify current retention benefit status with AmEx India before renewal

Base cashback rate cut from 2% to 1.5% on all non-partner spends

• Base rate reduced from 2% to 1.5% on all non-partner categories
• No prior notification sent to existing cardholders
• 5% (Google Pay bills) and 4% (Swiggy/Zomato/Ola) rates remained unchanged
• ₹500/month combined cap on partner tiers also unchanged

Lounge access changed from standalone to milestone-gated (spend Rs.1,00,000/quarter to earn lounge voucher).

• Standalone domestic airport lounge access removed
• Lounge access now tied to quarterly spend milestone: spend Rs.1,00,000 in a calendar quarter to earn Rs.1,000 voucher
• Voucher can be redeemed as HOI airport lounge access OR Rs.1,000 brand voucher (Amazon, Myntra, etc.)
• Maximum 4 lounge access opportunities per year (one per quarter if milestone met each quarter)