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 · Premium
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 2026-04 3 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 1.5% · 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. 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.
HOW WE KEEP THIS CURRENT
Last verified 2026-04. Sources: Issuer website, CardExpert, PaisaBazaar. Next scheduled review: 6 months from last update.