ICICI Bank
Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card
2% back in reward points on spends in India and 2.5% abroad, if you use the points where ICICI values them at their best (up to ₹1 a point). Taken as statement credit a point is worth ₹0.40, so 0.8% in India and 1% abroad. Milestone rewards worth ₹10,000 each at ₹2 lakh, ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh of yearly spend (Klook, airport transfers or WeWork passes, Tata CLiQ Luxury) and a ₹20,000 luxury stay at ₹20 lakh. Fuel and rent earn nothing.
- ₹20,000 joining, ₹20,000 a year
- Visa
Pros and cons
Good
- Airport lounge visits with no published spend condition
- Low forex markup (1.49%)
- Open to self-employed applicants
Watch out for
- At ₹20,000 a year, it doesn't beat a free card's rate on any spend
- High joining fee: ₹20,000 up front
- Earns nothing on fuel, rent and wallet loads
- 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)
- Everyday spends
- 2% (base rate)
- Online shopping
- 2%
- Fuel
- 0%
- Groceries
- 2%
- Travel
- 2%
- Bills and utilities
- 2%
- Dining and food delivery
- 2%
Fees and charges
- Joining fee
- ₹20,000
- Annual fee
- ₹20,000
- Fee waiver
- From the second year, the ₹20,000 annual fee is waived if you spent ₹25 lakh or more in the previous card year. Rent, government, education and EMI payments don't count towards it. Paying the joining fee within the first two statements unlocks the welcome benefits: a ₹12,000 Lohono or ₹10,000 EaseMyTrip stay voucher, ₹10,000 of visa services (Atlys and OneVasco), Toni&Guy and Interflora vouchers (₹3,000 and ₹1,000) and a year of Zomato Gold.
- Forex markup
- 1.49%
- Fuel surcharge waiver
- 1% waiver at all petrol pumps, up to ₹1,000 of waiver per statement cycle under the card's own terms. ICICI's general fee schedule limits all-pump waivers to ₹50,000 of fuel spend a cycle (₹500 of waiver), so the lower limit may apply. 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
- Visa
- UPI payments
- No
- Minimum income (salaried)
- ₹2,00,000 a month
- Eligibility
- Indian citizen aged 21 or over. Salaried: income of ₹2,00,000 a month. Self-employed: income of ₹24,00,000 a year. ICICI publishes no upper age limit for this card. You apply on the Times Black website, which ICICI Bank's Apply button links to. 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 Times Black ICICI Bank 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.
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What changed recently
- FeesWorse for you
Markup on rupee-billed payments at foreign merchants (dynamic currency conversion) rose from 1% to 1.49%.
Before: 1% · After: 1.49%
Most ICICI cards went to 3.5% on this date; Times Black is set at 1.49%, the same as its forex markup.
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 - FeesWorse for you
New 1% fee on transport payments (rail, bus, local transport and tolls) of more than ₹50,000.
Before: No fee · After: 1% on transport payments above ₹50,000
Bank's notice or terms
Questions people ask
Is the Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card worth it in 2026?
Only if you'll use the airport lounge visits and can meet the fee waiver; the rewards alone don't cover the fee. The catch: earns nothing on fuel, rent and wallet loads.
Is the Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card lifetime free?
No. It costs ₹20,000 to join and ₹20,000 a year, plus GST. From the second year, the ₹20,000 annual fee is waived if you spent ₹25 lakh or more in the previous card year. Rent, government, education and EMI payments don't count towards it. Paying the joining fee within the first two statements unlocks the welcome benefits: a ₹12,000 Lohono or ₹10,000 EaseMyTrip stay voucher, ₹10,000 of visa services (Atlys and OneVasco), Toni&Guy and Interflora vouchers (₹3,000 and ₹1,000) and a year of Zomato Gold.
Does the Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card work on UPI?
No. Only RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI, and this isn't one.
Does the Times Black ICICI Bank 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 Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card?
No reward points on fuel, rent, wallet loads or cash withdrawals, and points on purchases you convert to EMI are taken back. Utility bills, insurance, education and government payments earn points, but only up to 5,000 points a statement cycle across all four.
Is there a limit on rewards with the Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card?
Utility bills, insurance premiums, education fees and government payments together earn at most 5,000 points a statement cycle (₹5,000 at ₹1 a point), reached at ₹2.5 lakh of combined spend.
Who can get the Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card?
The bank publishes a minimum income of ₹2,00,000 a month for salaried applicants. Self-employed people can apply: Income of ₹24 lakh a year; age 21 or above; Indian citizen. Indian citizen aged 21 or over. Salaried: income of ₹2,00,000 a month. Self-employed: income of ₹24,00,000 a year. ICICI publishes no upper age limit for this card. You apply on the Times Black website, which ICICI Bank's Apply button links to. 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.