ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card
6 reward points per ₹200 on most spends: about 3% back if you use the points for flight and hotel vouchers or select brand vouchers (₹1 a point), 1.8% on catalogue products (₹0.60 a point) or 1.2% as statement credit (₹0.40 a point). 12,500 bonus points each time the joining or annual fee is paid, EaseMyTrip flight vouchers worth ₹6,000 at ₹8 lakh of yearly spend, and buy-one-get-one BookMyShow tickets (up to ₹750 off, twice a month). Fuel, rent, government, tax and wallet payments earn nothing.
- ₹12,499 joining, ₹12,499 a year
Pros and cons
Good
- 3% on groceries, well above the 2% the best free card pays
- Airport lounge visits with no published spend condition
- Low forex markup (2%)
Watch out for
- Fee is hard to recover: about ₹1,04,200 a month of groceries to break even
- By invitation only: the bank invites customers, so you can't apply directly
- High joining fee: ₹12,499 up front
- Earns nothing on fuel, rent, government payments and wallet loads
- Who it's for
- People who spend about ₹1,04,200 or more a month on groceries and use airport lounges.
- Skip it if
- You spend under ₹1,04,200 a month on groceries, or you need a card for UPI.
Worked out from the bank's published terms with the same rules for every card, never from what we earn. How we judge cards.
Rewards (value back as % of spend)
- Everyday spends
- 3% (base rate)
- Online shopping
- 3%
- Fuel
- 0%
- Groceries
- 3%
- Travel
- 3%
- Bills and utilities
- 3%
- Dining and food delivery
- 3%
Fees and charges
- Joining fee
- ₹12,499
- Annual fee
- ₹12,499
- Fee waiver
- From the second year, the ₹12,499 annual fee is reversed if you spend ₹10 lakh or more in the card year. Rent, government, education and EMI payments don't count towards it. ICICI's product page says the waiver applies to the next year's fee; its terms say the fee for the year in which you reach ₹10 lakh is reversed when that year ends. Paying the joining fee, and each annual fee, brings 12,500 bonus reward points plus Taj Epicure Plus and EazyDiner Prime memberships.
- Forex markup
- 2%
- Fuel surcharge waiver
- 1% waiver at all petrol pumps on fuel payments of up to ₹4,000 each, up to ₹1,000 of waiver (₹1 lakh of fuel) per statement cycle. GST on the surcharge isn't refunded at non-HPCL pumps, and fuel payments above ₹10,000 carry a 1% fee.
Benefits and eligibility
- Airport lounge
- Unlimited lounge visits in India by swiping the card and unlimited visits abroad through Priority Pass, for the primary cardholder and add-on cardholders, with no spend condition. Guests pay $29 plus GST a visit abroad.
- Card network
- Not published by the bank
- UPI payments
- No
- Minimum income (salaried)
- Not published by the bank
- Eligibility
- By invitation only: you can't apply on ICICI Bank's website; ask your ICICI Bank relationship manager. ICICI publishes no income criteria, only an age range of 21 to 65. The card is tied to your banking relationship: if you don't keep the minimum relationship value ICICI sets (not published), the bank can downgrade or withdraw the card after giving notice. Approval at ICICI Bank's discretion.
Fees exclude GST. Reward rates are the value back you get at the bank's published redemption value; where a bank doesn't publish what a point is worth, we leave the rate blank rather than guess. See how we compare cards.
Compare it with other cards
Ready to apply for the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card?
View on ICICI Bank siteBy invitation only: the bank invites customers. Issuer's site. We don't earn from this card.CreditParakh is not a bank or lender. Approval, limits and final terms are decided by ICICI Bank.
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What changed recently
- FeesWorse for you
Each add-on card now costs a one-time fee of ₹3,500.
After: ₹3,500 one-time per add-on card
ICICI's terms don't give the earlier add-on fee.
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
Markup on rupee-billed payments at foreign merchants (dynamic currency conversion) rose from 1% to 2%.
Before: 1% · After: 2%
Most ICICI cards went to 3.5% on this date; the Emeralde cards are set at 2%.
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
Paying the card bill in cash at an ICICI Bank branch now costs ₹150 a payment, up from ₹100.
Before: ₹100 per payment · After: ₹150 per payment
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
New 1% fee on wallet loads of ₹5,000 or more.
Before: No fee · After: 1% on wallet loads of ₹5,000 or more
Bank's notice or terms - FeesWorse for you
New 2% fee on skill-based gaming payments.
Before: No fee · After: 2%
Bank's notice or terms
Questions people ask
Is the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card worth it in 2026?
By invitation only. Yes, if you spend about ₹1,04,200 or more a month on groceries and use airport lounges. Below that, the Scapia Federal Bank Credit Card (Visa + complimentary RuPay) pays 2% for free. The catch: by invitation only: the bank invites customers, so you can't apply directly.
Is the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card lifetime free?
No. It costs ₹12,499 to join and ₹12,499 a year, plus GST. From the second year, the ₹12,499 annual fee is reversed if you spend ₹10 lakh or more in the card year. Rent, government, education and EMI payments don't count towards it. ICICI's product page says the waiver applies to the next year's fee; its terms say the fee for the year in which you reach ₹10 lakh is reversed when that year ends. Paying the joining fee, and each annual fee, brings 12,500 bonus reward points plus Taj Epicure Plus and EazyDiner Prime memberships.
Does the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card work on UPI?
No. Only RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI, and this isn't one.
Does the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card give airport lounge access?
Unlimited lounge visits in India by swiping the card and unlimited visits abroad through Priority Pass, for the primary cardholder and add-on cardholders, with no spend condition. Guests pay $29 plus GST a visit abroad.
What earns no rewards on the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card?
No reward points on fuel, rent, property payments (maintenance, packers and movers, construction, property purchases), government services, tax payments, wallet loads or cash withdrawals, and points on purchases you convert to EMI are taken back. Groceries, utility bills and education each earn at most 1,000 points a statement cycle (about ₹33,000 of spend each), and insurance at most 5,000 points.
Is there a limit on rewards with the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card?
Grocery and department store spends earn at most 1,000 points a statement cycle (₹1,000 at ₹1 a point), reached at about ₹33,000 of spend. Utility bills earn at most 1,000 points a statement cycle, reached at about ₹33,000 of spend. Education payments earn at most 1,000 points a statement cycle. Education is not a reward_rate key. Insurance premiums earn at most 5,000 points a statement cycle, reached at about ₹1.67 lakh of spend. Insurance is not a reward_rate key.
Who can get the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card?
By invitation only: you can't apply on ICICI Bank's website; ask your ICICI Bank relationship manager. ICICI publishes no income criteria, only an age range of 21 to 65. The card is tied to your banking relationship: if you don't keep the minimum relationship value ICICI sets (not published), the bank can downgrade or withdraw the card after giving notice. Approval at ICICI Bank's discretion. Approval is at the bank's discretion.
How we checked this card: the CreditParakh team read ICICI Bank's own product page on 19 Oct 2026. Every fee, rate and rule above comes from those pages; where they disagree, we say so. We re-check every card monthly and log changes on card changes. See our editorial standards.
Last verified 19 Oct 2026 on ICICI Bank's official page. Fees and rewards change; check the issuer's terms before you apply.