Meet these thresholds and you're likely to be approved. Final call is ICICI Bank's.
We've modeled this card's value for a default urban spender. Tweak the persona to see how it shifts — or personalize with your real spends.
Base rate, accelerated categories, milestones, and what each reward point is actually worth when you redeem.
Plays grounded in this card's specific levers. Updated each time ICICI Bank tweaks the program.
Hotel bookings via the ICICI iShop portal earn 12 RP per ₹100 — a 3% headline reward rate after the ₹0.25/point redemption. Versus 4 RP per ₹100 on direct booking, you're tripling your return on the same stay. Flights and vouchers on iShop earn 6 RP per ₹100.
Unlike most premium cards, Emeralde has no monthly or annual rewards cap — 4 RP per ₹100 (1% effective) flows on every eligible spend including utilities and insurance. Route the big-ticket annual health/term premium here and it compounds silently.
Hitting ₹10,00,000 in the anniversary year fully waives the ₹12,000 annual fee (₹14,160 with GST) — that's ~₹83,500/month. If you're tracking below pace by month 10, the monthly-fee plan at ₹1,000/month may actually be cheaper than forcing the spend.
Buy-1-Get-1 on BookMyShow with up to ₹750 off the second ticket, up to 4 times per calendar month — ₹3,000/month ceiling, ₹36,000/year if fully used. Book as two separate 1+1 pairs if you want movies and a non-movie event in the same month.
The 1.5% forex markup is half of the 3-3.5% charged by most mainstream cards — on a ₹1,00,000 overseas trip that's ₹1,500-2,000 saved versus a standard card, plus you still earn 4 RP per ₹100 on the foreign spend. Make this your default travel card.
Fees, transaction charges, interest rates — all inclusive of taxes where noted.
Charges below are base amounts; GST applies where applicable.
Non-reward perks — lounges, dining, golf, insurance, concierge. Worth factoring into the total value, even when hard to price.
unlimited domestic + unlimited international visits per year. Primary cardholder.
Air accident cover, lost-card liability, emergency card replacement abroad.
The ₹12,000 fee (₹14,160 with GST) fully waives at ₹10,00,000 annual spend. If you won't hit that, the ₹1,000/month plan (₹1,180 with GST) may be cheaper mid-year. Unlimited lounges, 4 monthly BookMyShow BOGOs (~₹36,000/year) and golf access easily offset the fee for active users.
Last verified 17 Sep 2026.
Last verified 17 Sep 2026. Sources: ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card product page, ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card fees and charges page, ICICI Bank Credit Card KFS PDF, ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card eligibility page, , icicibank.com. Next scheduled review: 17 Mar 2027.
