Credit Card changes: YES Bank to roll out new rewards redemption limits starting next month

YES Bank, with effect from Dec 1, will limit the number of YES Rewardz points which are redeemable on flights and hotel bookings. Cardholders can use their points to cover up to 70 percent of the total invoice or up to a monthly cap, whichever is lower.

The monthly caps are:

MARQUEE Cards: 3,00,000 points

RESERV Cards: 2,00,000 points

Other YES Bank credit cards: 1,00,000 points

Next financial year

From April 1, 2025, Yes Bank cardholders are supposed to meet these spending requirements in the previous quarter in order to access domestic lounges:

YES MARQUEE and YES RESERV Cards: ₹1 lakh for six or three lounge visits, respectively.

YES First Preferred and YES First Business Cards: ₹75,000 for two lounge visits.

YES ELITE+, SELECT, BYOC, Wellness Plus, and YES Prosperity Business Cards: Spend ₹50,000 for one or two lounge visits, depending on the card.

Spending must occur within designated quarters (e.g., Dec 21 – March 20 for April–June access). The number of visits remains the same but requires meeting the new spending thresholds.

ICICI Bank

Meanwhile, ICICI Bank, starting Nov 15, will increase spend requirements for its own lounge access perks and implement new fees and restrictions across various transactions.

For details, one can read this.

Some of the changes ICICI Bank has introduced on its credit cards include the following

1.g ICICI Bank credit cardholders will now need to spend Rs. 75,000 in the preceding quarter to avail of domestic airport lounge access in the subsequent quarter.

2 Some ICICI credit cards offered Spa access at domestic airports on the basis of the DreamFolks card.

3 Capping on earning reward points on insurance and utility spends:

4. For some credit cards, the earning of reward points has been capped on utility spends of up to Rs. 40,000/month, while for some credit cards, it has been capped to spends of up to Rs. 80,000/month. The Merchant Category Codes (MCC) for utility spends are 4899, 4900, 4901, and 3887.

5. No reward points on government transactions

The ICICI Bank Emeralde Mastercard Metal Credit Card will no longer earn reward points on Government-related spends.

6. Capping on earning reward points on grocery spends

For some credit cards, the earning of reward points has been capped on grocery and departmental store spends of up to Rs. 20,000/month, while for some credit cards, it has been capped to spends of up to Rs. 40,000/month.