Credit Card Updates 2026 — Latest Fee, Reward & Rule Changes (India)

The monthly cap on reward points from eligible online spends was reduced from 2,000 to 1,000 RP. The separate 2,000 RP PhonePe-spend cap was restructured into 500 RP for insurance plus 1,500 RP for other PhonePe spends, cutting the points a heavy user can earn by roughly half.

A standalone monthly cap now limits accelerated points on brand vouchers (GyFTR / Woohoo) bought via SmartBuy to about 3,000 RP a month, down from roughly 15,000 RP - close to an 80 percent reduction for voucher-heavy users.

Reward points are now earned only on spends up to the assigned credit limit within each billing cycle; spends beyond that earn nothing. Points earned from July 2026 also carry an expiry, while older balances stay valid until July 2028.

Free domestic airport lounge visits now require a minimum spend in the previous calendar quarter, and the number of free visits is capped per quarter rather than being unlimited or swipe-based.

The Dynamic Currency Conversion markup on international transactions billed in Indian rupees was raised to 1.75%. This is charged on top of the usual forex markup whenever a merchant bills you in INR abroad, so choosing to be billed in local currency is usually cheaper.

Accelerated reward earning and category caps were tightened on these cards in May 2026, reducing the effective reward rate on several everyday and online spend categories.

Top-tier Atlas milestone rewards were reduced (from up to 17,500 to 10,000 EDGE Miles), a previous-quarter spend requirement was added for complimentary lounge access, and Axis paused new Atlas applications. Existing cardholders keep their current benefits.

The Platinum Card annual fee was raised by about 10,000, and the milestone bonus structure was reworked so higher spends are needed to unlock the same bonus rewards.

The RBI Authentication Mechanisms for Digital Payment Transactions Directions, 2025 came into force, formally allowing risk-based additional-factor authentication beyond fixed OTP. Banks may apply step-up checks depending on the risk of a transaction.

The 5 percent online cashback cap was reduced from 5,000 to 2,000 per statement cycle, and some spend categories were excluded from earning cashback, lowering the maximum monthly benefit.

HDFC stopped accepting new applications for the co-branded Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card. Existing cardholders continue to hold and use their cards for now.

A 1 percent fee now applies on loading 5,000 or more into third-party wallets, and a 1 percent fee applies on transport-category spends exceeding 50,000 in a statement cycle.

ICICI introduced a 2 percent transaction fee on online gaming platforms and removed several categories from earning reward points.

HDFC launched BLCK, offering up to 10 percent back on Swiggy (capped around 1,500 a month) with a fee, and ORNGE, offering 5 percent back on Swiggy - effectively replacing the discontinued original Swiggy card for new customers.

The fixed 250 monthly cashback cap was replaced with a dynamic cap tied to overall monthly spends, and the complimentary domestic lounge visits were discontinued.

The draft framework would let cardholders choose their card network (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, Diners Club) instead of the issuer deciding, and would bar issuers from exclusive network arrangements. It is not yet in force.

Complimentary air-accident insurance of up to 1 crore was withdrawn from several premium cards, including SBI Card ELITE and Miles Elite. Some other complimentary insurance covers were also trimmed.

After the Vistara-Air India merger, new issuance of Club Vistara co-branded cards (SBI, Axis, IDFC FIRST) was stopped and benefits are migrating to Air India co-branded variants. Existing cards were transitioned per issuer communications.