Good days for getting complimentary airport lounge access is going to end for many ICICI bank credit cards. The new ICICI Bank credit card devaluation is here and going to affect you from 1st April 2024.
This news is based on ICICI Bank Notification Dated 1st January 2024
Starting April 01, 2024, you can enjoy only one complimentary airport lounge access by spending a huge amount Rs.35,000 in the preceding calendar quarter. Earlier it was just Rs.5000 to get free airport lounge access and thus many entry-level cards is very popular but now with the spending criteria being very steep very few will able to get free lounge access.
Spends made in the preceding calendar quarter will unlock access for the subsequent calendar quarter. For example, to be eligible for complimentary lounge access in April-May-June, 2024 quarter, you need to spend a minimum of Rs.35,000 in the January-February-March 2024 quarter and similarly for the following quarters.
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List of cards that come under new ICICI Bank Credit Card Devaluation (Notification date – 02 January)
| ICICI Bank Coral Credit Card | ICICI Bank NRI Secured Coral Visa Credit Card | ICICI Bank Coral American Express Credit Card |
| ICICI Bank Secured Coral Credit Card | ICICI Bank Coral Contactless Credit Card | ICICI BANK NRI Coral Credit Card |
| ICICI Bank LEADTHENEW Coral Credit Card | ICICI Bank Coral Rupay Credit Card | ICICI Bank MasterCard Coral Credit Card |
| ICICI Bank Expressions Credit Card | MINE Credit Card By ICICI Bank Visa Card | MINE Credit card By ICICI Bank Mastercard |
| ICICI Bank HPCL SUPER SAVER Visa Credit Card | ICICI Bank HPCL SUPER SAVER Master Credit Card | MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card |
| ICICI Bank Manchester United Platinum Credit Card | Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank Credit Card | SPEEDZ ICICI Bank Credit Card |
| ICICI Bank Parakram Select Credit Card | ICICI Bank Business Blue Advantage Card | ICICI Bank MakeMy Trip Mastercard Business Platinum Credit Card |
So any ICICI credit card you are holding from the above list, you will be affected too with this ICICI bank step. In recent times, we have seen many bank like Axis, IDFC, and HDFC also change the minimum spending criteria from low to high to get complimentary airport lounge access.
Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC):
Starting February 01, 2024, a Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) fee of 1% plus applicable taxes will be applicable on each International transaction carried out in Indian currency at an International location or transactions carried out in Indian currency with merchants located in India but registered in a foreign country. This change will apply to all ICICI Bank credit cards.
DCC is the currency conversion service on a real-time basis. It allows you to make point-of-sale (POS) credit card purchases in a foreign country using the currency of your home country India. Although DCC simplifies the understanding of prices in Indian currency, it involves additional mark-ups/charges levied by merchants that is a downside.
For example, when you make a purchase at a store in an international country or any international website and use your ICICI Bank credit card to pay in INR (Indian rupee) on a POS machine, a DCC mark-up fee of 1 percent, along with applicable taxes, will be applied to the transaction amount. Similarly, if you are buying something in India from a merchant registered overseas and use your ICICI Bank credit card to pay in INR, a DCC mark-up fee of 1 percent, plus taxes, will be charged on the transaction amount. Earlier, ICICI Bank was not levying any DCC mark-up fees on any of its credit cards.
Rewards on Rent Payment and E-Wallet Loading:
From February 01, 2024, rent payment and e-wallet loading transactions like Paytm wallet load, Phonepe wallet load, etc will not accrue any reward points.
This change will not apply for Amazon pay ICICI Bank credit card.
Rewards on Utility Payments:
You will continue to earn reward points on utility transactions as offered on your ICICI bank credit card. Starting February 01, 2024, government transactions such as GST & Tax payments will be included under utility payment transactions.
This change will apply to all ICICI Bank credit cards.
Why we are seeing tough conditions for complementary Airport lounge access
See Airport lounge has limited space and can serve a limited number of customers at a time. For the complementary lounge access bank pays a certain price to loaung company but the bank doesn’t charge you for this.
During the last 2 years, there has been a huge growth in the credit card segments for all top Banks. In recent times, people also travelled more via Air due to the good pricing if you look for a good train AC2 or first AC fare there is not much difference. So why not to travel via Air instead of train? Complementary lounge access on entry-level cards creates a long que at the Airport lounges.
That’s why Banks are getting strict in offering free lounge access across their entry-level, mid-range, and premium credit cards due to:
- The extensive advertising of free lounge access using credit cards via social media.
- A surge in air travelers after Covid.
- Increased credit card users
Some banks have introduced certain conditions, while a few others have eliminated the lounge access facility from their entry-level cards.
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