Route hotels through iShop for 36% effective
Book hotels via the iShop portal to earn 12X (72 points per ₹200). Redeem those points at 1:1 via iShop for a 36% effective return, capped at 18,000 points (~₹18,000 value) per month.
Super-premium · Travel & Lifestyle
ICICI BANK · ICICI BANK EMERALDE PRIVATE METAL CREDIT CARD
ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card
ANNUAL FEE
₹12,499 waived at ₹10L spend
FIRST-YEAR NET VALUE
₹57,125 for a mid spender · travel
ICICI BANK Emeralde Private Metal
•••• •••• •••• 4256
VALID THRU 12 / 28
VISAUpdated 17 Sep 2026 7 verified sources Data is current
01 ELIGIBILITY
Can I get this card?
Meet these thresholds and you're likely to be approved. Final call is ICICI Bank's.
MONTHLY INCOME Check with bank Issuer-dependent
CREDIT SCORE Check with bank Good band
AGE Adult Primary or add-on applicant
RESIDENCY Indian PAN, Aadhaar + income proof
02 FIT
Is this card for me?
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.
DEFAULT PERSONA · MID SPENDER · TRAVEL
₹57,125 first-year net value · mid spender · travel
Category rewards ₹54,000
Welcome benefit· Welcome reward points ₹3,125
Annual fee − ₹12,499
Fee waiver (met)· Annual fee waived for next year ₹12,499
Net first-year value ₹57,125
03 EARN
What will I earn?
Base rate, accelerated categories, milestones, and what each reward point is actually worth when you redeem.
BASE REWARD RATE
≈ 3.00% back on eligible spends 6 pts 6 points per ₹200
NOT ELIGIBLE Fuel · rent · wallets · utility · government
ACCELERATED CATEGORIES Up to 3.0% back
Everything else (base) · 3.0%
04 MAXIMIZE · YOUR EDGE
How do I extract every rupee?
Plays grounded in this card's specific levers. Updated each time ICICI Bank tweaks the program.
Cross ₹8L for the ₹6,000 travel voucher
Hit the ₹8 lakh annual-spend milestone to unlock a ₹6,000 EaseMyTrip air-voucher. Push another ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh and the ₹14,749 annual fee (with GST) is fully waived next year.
Redeem only on iShop or premium brands
Base redemption is 4 RP = ₹1 (0.25 value). Keep redemptions on iShop flights/hotels or Apple/Tanishq/Tumi vouchers where RP = ₹1 — a 4× uplift versus statement credit (0.40) or general vouchers (0.60).
Burn the golf allotment — 24 rounds + 24 lessons
Book 2 golf rounds and 2 lessons per month with 100% green-fee waiver across 90 international courses. Leaving them idle forfeits roughly ₹50,000–₹1 lakh of value versus a ₹14,749 annual fee.
Avoid excluded MCCs and capped categories
Tax, rent, and fuel earn zero points. Insurance, grocery, education, and utilities are capped at 5,000 points/day and 18,000/month — route these off-card or batch them to stay inside the cap.
05 COSTS
What will I pay?
Fees, transaction charges, interest rates — all inclusive of taxes where noted.
FEES
Charges below are base amounts; GST applies where applicable.
Joining fee ₹12,499 · + 18% GST · one-time
Annual fee (year 2+) ₹12,499 · waived at ₹10L spend
Add-on cards Up to 3 free
TRANSACTION CHARGES
Foreign currency markup 2.0% · lowest in class
Finance charges (purchase) 3.49% per month · ~42% APR
Late payment ₹100 – ₹1,300 · based on outstanding
06 BENEFITS
What else comes with it?
Non-reward perks — lounges, dining, golf, insurance, concierge. Worth factoring into the total value, even when hard to price.
Airport lounges
unlimited domestic + unlimited international visits per year via Priority Pass. Primary cardholder.
Welcome voucher
₹3,125 Welcome reward points.
Travel cover
Air accident cover, lost-card liability, emergency card replacement abroad.
07 FAQ
Common questions
₹10,00,000 of retail spend in the preceding 12 months waives the ₹12,499 + GST (₹14,749) annual fee for the next cycle. Push an additional ₹2L on top of the ₹8L milestone (which unlocks a ₹6,000 EaseMyTrip voucher) and both the voucher and the waiver stack together.
08 WHAT CHANGED
How ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card has changed.
Last verified 17 Sep 2026.
- 17 Sep 2026 Forex markup corrected from 1.5% to 2% per the product page fee table; per-cycle category caps (1,000 points on grocery, utilities, education; 5,000 on insurance) recorded; welcome now lists Taj Epicure Plus and EazyDiner Prime with 12,500 points; unlimited golf and lounges for Plus card members recorded. Fee ₹12,499 + GST, ₹10L waiver and 6 points per ₹200 re-verified. Forex cost slightly higher; earn caps now visible to the scorer
HOW WE KEEP THIS CURRENT
Last verified 17 Sep 2026. Sources: ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card product page, ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card fees and charges page, ICICI Bank Credit Card KFS PDF, ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card eligibility page, PerkPilot editorial: maximize_plays (Plan 14b, 2026-04), PerkPilot editorial: faq (Plan 14b Phase 4, 2026-04), icicibank.com. Next scheduled review: 17 Mar 2027.