Question 1

How do I qualify for the ICICI Emeralde Credit Card?

Accepted Answer

This is a super-premium card available on the open market, applied for directly through ICICI Bank rather than by invitation. Applicants generally need annual income above ₹3 lakh and a CIBIL score of 750 or higher; there's no minimum investible-assets requirement. ICICI's published floor is a monthly income of ₹3,00,000 and an age between 21 and 65 — though that's the minimum bar, not a guarantee, since credit history, existing credit exposure and your overall banking relationship also factor into approval.

Question 2

Is the annual fee waived on spends?

Accepted Answer

It is — spend ₹10 lakh in the preceding year and the ₹12,000-plus-GST annual fee disappears entirely. Before any waiver, the renewal fee comes to ₹12,000 plus 18% GST, landing at ₹14,160 on your statement. Hitting the ₹10,00,000 threshold to waive it works out to roughly ₹83,333 of spend per month.

Question 3

Is Priority Pass unlimited?

Accepted Answer

It is — the primary cardholder gets unrestricted domestic lounge visits along with unlimited international lounge entry through Priority Pass. Notably, ICICI's terms carve out an exemption for the Emeralde from the ₹75,000-per-quarter spending requirement that gates lounge access on most of the bank's other cards.

Question 4

What is the ICICI reward point value?

Accepted Answer

Redeeming through iShop or the voucher catalogue can get you close to ₹1 per point, while statement credit values each point at just ₹0.40. Since the card earns 4 points per ₹100, that's up to about 4% back via iShop versus roughly 1.6% if you cash out to your statement. Measured as effective return, travel is the strongest category at 6% (capped at ₹15,000 in monthly rewards), against 1.6% elsewhere — these figures reflect actual value after point conversion, not the raw points-per-₹100 rate advertised.

Question 5

Are there caps on utility, insurance or grocery spend?

Accepted Answer

There are. Utility and insurance spending already earns at a lower 1 point per ₹100, and since November 2024, each statement cycle also limits how much of that spend counts toward points at all — the ceilings sit at ₹80,000 for utilities, ₹80,000 for insurance, and ₹40,000 for groceries and department stores. Because tax and government payments are processed as utility transactions, they still earn the reduced 1 point per ₹100 rather than earning nothing.

Question 6

What is the forex markup?

Accepted Answer

It's set at 2%, which is competitive for a super-premium Indian card and works well for international business travel. Because 18% GST applies on top of that markup fee, the true cost lands closer to 2.36% of each transaction. Spend ₹1,00,000 abroad and you'd pay roughly ₹2,360 in conversion charges before factoring in any rewards earned.

Question 7

How has the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal) changed over time?

Accepted Answer

This page's dated Value Timeline tracks 10 changes to the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal) since 2019 — 8 were devaluations, none were improvements, and the remainder were neutral events such as launches or restructuring. The most recent is the capping of transport-category earning (1 February 2026). Each entry is sourced so any claim here can be verified against ICICI's own paperwork.

Question 8

Has the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal) been devalued recently?

Accepted Answer

It has — our tracking counts 6 devaluations to this card over the last two years. The latest, effective 1 February 2026, capped transport-category earning: previously uncapped, transport rewards now max out at ₹20,000 of qualifying spend per statement cycle. The complete dated list, with what changed and where it's sourced from, is available in this page's Value Timeline.

Question 9

When did the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal)'s fees last change?

Accepted Answer

The last fee change happened on 15 November 2024, when the international transaction markup rose from 1.5% to 2%. Current fees are laid out in the fees table on this page, while every earlier fee change we've recorded appears in the Value Timeline.

Question 10

How did the ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal) change in 2026?

Accepted Answer

In 2026, we've logged 3 changes to this card, all cuts: fuel, rent and wallet-load spending stopped earning rewards (15 January 2026), the BookMyShow benefit became spend-gated (also 15 January 2026), and transport-category earning was capped (1 February 2026). The most significant of these was the fuel change — before 15 January 2026, fuel purchases still earned points; afterward, fuel, rent, cash withdrawals and third-party wallet loads all earn nothing. Every change, dated and sourced, is documented in this page's Value Timeline.

Category	Type	Rate	Monthly cap
Travel	reward points	6%	₹15,000
Other	reward points	1.6%	—
Groceries	reward points	1.6%	₹640
Utility Bills	reward points	0.4%	₹320
Insurance	reward points	0.4%	₹320
Government & Tax	reward points	0.4%	₹320

Charge	Amount
Annual fee (incl. 18% GST)	₹14,160
Joining fee (incl. 18% GST)	₹14,160
Finance charge (APR)	3.75% p.m.
Forex markup	2%

ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card (Metal)

Key features

Full reward structure

Fees & charges

Perks & benefits

Should you get it?

✓ Pros

✕ Cons

Eligibility & documents

How to redeem rewards

What your ICICI Reward Points are worth

The bottom line

Value timeline

2026 3 changes — 3 cuts

2024 5 changes — 5 cuts

2022 1 change — 1 neutral

2019 1 change — 1 neutral

Frequently asked questions

Check your eligibility for this card