Payment through this bank’s card will be expensive, new rules will be applicable from January 15, 2026

Credit Card Charges: The country’s largest private bank ICICI Bank has announced major changes in charges, rewards and benefits for all its retail credit card customers. These new rules will be implemented in a phased manner from January 15, 2026, while some reward limits and benefits will be reduced from February 1, 2026. The bank says that these changes will have a direct impact on the spending habits of customers.

2% extra charge will be imposed on online gaming

The biggest blow will be felt by those who deposit money through credit cards on online gaming platforms. Now 2% additional fee will have to be paid on platforms like Dream11, Rummy Culture, Junglee Games, MPL. If new gaming platforms are added in future, the same charge may be applicable on them also. This means that the hobby of playing games will now be heavy on the pocket.

Wallet and travel expenses will also be expensive

If you load ₹5,000 or more into a third party wallet like Amazon Pay, Paytm, MobiKwik, Freecharge or OlaMoney, now you will have to pay 1% charge. At the same time, if more than ₹ 50,000 is paid in expenses related to railway tickets, bus booking and other transport, then 1% surcharge will be applicable on that also.

Limit on reward points

From February 1, 2026, the limit on reward points received on transport expenses has been fixed.
Rewards will be available only up to a maximum of ₹ 20,000 per month on Emeralde, Emeralde Private, Sapphiro and Rubyx cards. On mid-range cards like Coral, Platinum, Manchester United and CSK, this limit will be ₹ 10,000 per month. Whereas on Emeralde Metal cards, there will be no rewards on government services, fuel, fares, taxes and wallet transactions.

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Burden on entertainment and premium card users

BookMyShow’s popular Buy One Get One offer will no longer be available unconditionally. For this, it will be necessary to spend ₹ 25,000 in the last three months. Apart from this, DCC charge on Emeralde series cards has been reduced to 2%. A one-time fee of ₹3,500 will have to be paid for the new add-on card. Foreign currency and online transaction charges have also been increased on some other cards.