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

Points earned on each basic card are now maintained per card instead of being pooled into one balance, so plan transfers and redemptions card by card. The 50 percent annual-fee waiver on the Membership Rewards Credit Card is withdrawn, milestone tracking moves to transaction posting dates rather than transaction dates (late-month spends can slip into the next cycle), and earning or redeeming points is restricted while the account carries an overdue balance.

The fee is paid by the merchant, not the customer, and is capped at Rs 300 per payment; payments of Rs 2,000 or less and person-to-person transfers carry no MDR. The Finance Ministry has said the circular keeps credit on UPI limited to RuPay credit cards. NPCI's 2024 rule that rewards on RuPay credit cards used via UPI must not be lower than on the card itself (except on low-value payments that earn the issuer no interchange) still applies.

The 1.9 lakh spend milestone bonus is removed entirely. The 7 lakh milestone drops from 40,000 Membership Rewards points plus a 10,000 Taj voucher to 10,000 points plus a 20,000 Taj Experiences e-gift card. From 1 October 2026, complimentary domestic lounge access also requires 1 lakh of eligible spends in the preceding quarter.

On Magnus, the Dynamic Currency Conversion markup rises from 1.5 percent to 2 percent, domestic lounge access now requires the physical card instead of Priority Pass, and EDGE points stop accruing on toll, bridge and road-fee spends. The ACE card also stops earning on tolls, bridge fees, road fees and gift-card purchases.

Air and non-air accidental death cover is not offered on cards issued after 15 July 2026, and ends on 25 August 2026 for existing eligible cards. From 1 October 2026, unlimited domestic lounge access on Eterna, Tiara and Varunah Premium requires 75,000 of spends in the preceding calendar quarter, up from 40,000.

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.

Lounge access is now earned month to month: spend 20,000 in a calendar month to unlock visits in the following month. FIRST Wealth drops to 1 domestic and 1 international visit per quarter (from 2 each); FIRST Select drops to 1 domestic visit per quarter (from 2).

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.

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.

Issuers must tie up with more than one network and let eligible customers pick at issuance; existing cardholders can choose at renewal. Issuers with 10 lakh or fewer active cards, or that run their own network, are exempt. Issuers also cannot sign exclusive arrangements that stop them from using other networks.

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.