ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card

4 reward points per ₹100 on spends in India and abroad, and 1 per ₹100 on utilities and insurance; ICICI doesn't publish what a point is worth on this card. Buy-one-get-one BookMyShow tickets (up to ₹750 off the second, up to 4 times a month) after ₹25,000 of spend in the previous quarter, a ₹5,000 birthday voucher (Tata CLiQ on Amex, Postcard Hotels on Mastercard) and up to 4 golf rounds a month. Fuel, rent and wallet loads earn nothing.

₹12,000 joining, ₹12,000 a year
Mastercard / American Express

View on ICICI Bank siteIssuer's site. We don't earn from this card.

Good

Airport lounge visits with no published spend condition
Low forex markup (2%)
Open to self-employed applicants

Watch out for

High joining fee: ₹12,000 up front
Earns nothing on fuel, rent and wallet loads
The bank doesn't publish what a reward point is worth
Can't be used on UPI (not a RuPay card)

Who it's for: Frequent flyers who use airport lounges and can meet the fee waiver.
Skip it if: You mainly pay by 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)

Fuel: 0%

Fees and charges

Joining fee: ₹12,000
Annual fee: ₹12,000
Fee waiver: From the second year, the ₹12,000 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. ICICI lists no welcome benefit for paying the joining fee.
Forex markup: 2%
Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% waiver at all petrol pumps on fuel payments of up to ₹4,000 each, on up to ₹50,000 of fuel spend 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 only, with no spend condition. Add-on cardholders don't get lounge access.
Card network: Mastercard, American Express
UPI payments: No
Minimum income (salaried): ₹1,50,000 a month
Eligibility: Indian citizen aged 21 to 65. Salaried: income of ₹1,50,000 a month. Self-employed: income of ₹18,00,000 a year. Only the annual-fee version is sold; ICICI stopped issuing the monthly-fee version on 24 July 2025. 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 Credit Card?

View on ICICI Bank siteIssuer'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.

What changed recently

10 Oct 2026OtherBetter for you
Primary cardholders on the Mastercard version now get a ₹5,000 Postcard Hotels voucher around their birthday.
After: ₹5,000 Postcard Hotels birthday voucher (Mastercard version)
ICICI's terms don't say what Mastercard holders got before. The Amex version's ₹5,000 Tata CLiQ birthday voucher is unchanged.
Bank's notice or terms
1 Apr 2026OtherWorse for you
The BookMyShow buy-one-get-one offer (up to ₹750 off the second ticket) now needs ₹25,000 of spend in the previous quarter.
After: ₹25,000 spend in the previous quarter
ICICI's terms list this as a revision effective 15 Jan 2026; spends from 26 Dec 2025 to 25 Mar 2026 unlock the April to June 2026 quarter, and the Emeralde page says it starts on 1 Apr 2026.
Bank's notice or terms
1 Feb 2026Reward capsWorse for you
Transport spends (rail, bus, local transport and tolls) now earn reward points only on the first ₹20,000 of spend in a statement cycle.
Before: No cap on transport · After: Points on up to ₹20,000 of transport spend per statement cycle
Bank's notice or terms
15 Jan 2026FeesWorse 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
15 Jan 2026FeesWorse 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

All card changes, month by month

Questions people ask

Is the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card worth it in 2026?

Only if you'll use the airport lounge visits and can meet the fee waiver; the bank doesn't publish what its rewards are worth. The catch: earns nothing on fuel, rent and wallet loads.

Is the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card lifetime free?

No. It costs ₹12,000 to join and ₹12,000 a year, plus GST. From the second year, the ₹12,000 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. ICICI lists no welcome benefit for paying the joining fee.

Does the ICICI Bank Emeralde 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 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 only, with no spend condition. Add-on cardholders don't get lounge access.

What earns no rewards on the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card?

No reward points on fuel, rent, wallet loads, EMI purchases, cash withdrawals, or card fees and interest. Government payments count as utility payments and earn the lower 1 point per ₹100. Points on utilities and on insurance count only on the first ₹80,000 of each in a statement cycle, on groceries and department stores the first ₹40,000, and on transport (rail, bus, local transport, tolls) the first ₹20,000.

Is there a limit on rewards with the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card?

Utility spends (including government payments, which ICICI counts as utilities) earn points only on the first ₹80,000 of spend in a statement cycle. Insurance spends earn points only on the first ₹80,000 of spend in a statement cycle. Insurance is not a reward_rate key. Grocery and department store spends earn points only on the first ₹40,000 of spend in a statement cycle. Since 1 Feb 2026, transport spends (local transport, rail, bus and tolls) earn points only on the first ₹20,000 of spend in a statement cycle.

Who can get the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card?

The bank publishes a minimum income of ₹1,50,000 a month for salaried applicants. Self-employed people can apply: Income of ₹18 lakh a year; age 21-65. Indian citizen aged 21 to 65. Salaried: income of ₹1,50,000 a month. Self-employed: income of ₹18,00,000 a year. Only the annual-fee version is sold; ICICI stopped issuing the monthly-fee version on 24 July 2025. 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 20 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 20 Oct 2026 on ICICI Bank's official page. Fees and rewards change; check the issuer's terms before you apply.

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