What changed
Credit card news
Devaluations, fee revisions, launches and regulation — every item dated to the change itself, with the sources we read and the cards it hits.
Recently published
- Launch
Bandhan Bank enters credit cards with four variants, from a free ₹499 card to a ₹9,999 one
on a change dated 7 September 2026
- Regulation
RBI fines CIBIL, CRIF High Mark and Equifax for not paying credit-report compensation on time
on a change dated 4 September 2026
- Devaluation
HDFC ties Infinia to ₹18 lakh of annual spend: what to do if you are short
on a change dated 1 April 2026
19 items
September 2026
- Launch
Bandhan Bank enters credit cards with four variants, from a free ₹499 card to a ₹9,999 one
Bandhan Bank launched Sparks, Ignite, Flare and Lumina on 7 September 2026. Lumina charges ₹9,999 with a 1% forex markup and unlimited international lounge access; Sparks and Ignite have no joining fee.
- Regulation
RBI fines CIBIL, CRIF High Mark and Equifax for not paying credit-report compensation on time
The RBI has penalised three credit bureaus for failing to credit compensation to people whose credit-report corrections ran late. You are owed ₹100 a day when a correction takes more than 30 days.
August 2026
- Availability
Amex has stopped taking new card applications in India, and removed every Apply button
American Express is 'temporarily pausing the acceptance of new card applications in India'. The notice is on every Amex India card page and the Apply Now button is gone. Existing cardholders are unaffected.
- Devaluation
Amex Reward Multiplier ends on 30 September; Platinum RewardXcelerator is separate
American Express India closes Reward Multiplier from 30 September 2026. ShopWise continues independently, and Platinum RewardXcelerator has separate terms valid through January 2027.
- Offer
Axis cards get a MakeMyTrip long-weekend discount, but only inside nine booking windows
Axis Bank and MakeMyTrip are running instant discounts on flights, hotels, holidays, buses and cabs from 18 August 2026 to 18 March 2027 — one booking per card per category, and only in nine three-day booking windows.
Axis Atlas Credit CardAxis Bank Magnus Credit CardAxis Bank Reserve Credit CardAxis Bank Select Credit CardAxis Bank Privilege Credit CardAxis Bank ACE Credit CardAxis Bank MY ZONE Credit CardAxis Bank Neo Credit CardAxis Bank IndianOil Credit CardFlipkart Axis Bank Credit CardSamsung Axis Bank Signature Credit Card - Availability
HDFC is phasing out the Swiggy credit card, and the default replacement halves Swiggy cashback
HDFC has begun migrating Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card holders to Swiggy Ornge or Swiggy BLCK. The existing card cannot be kept, and anyone who does not choose is moved to Ornge, where Swiggy cashback falls from 10% to 5%.
- Regulation
Correction: recovery-agent conduct limits predate 2027
RBI already prohibited harassment and recovery calls outside 8 am–7 pm in 2022. Later amendment claims remain under verification.
July 2026
- Devaluation
Axis Bank raises DCC markup to 3.5% on most cards and pulls Priority Pass from domestic lounges
Axis revised its credit card range: DCC markup to 3.5% (2% on Magnus) and no Priority Pass at domestic lounges since 28 August 2026, with a stricter SELECT milestone from October.
- Fees
BOBCARD raises finance charges to 45% and lifts the lounge spend bar to ₹75,000
From 15 July 2026 BOBCARD finance charges on Eterna and Tiara rise from 39% to 45% p.a., and the unlimited-lounge spend bar rises from ₹40,000 to ₹75,000 a quarter.
- Launch
AU and Zaggle launch a lifetime-free co-branded card with unpublished reward terms
Announced 9–10 July 2026: the AU Zaggle card is lifetime free on Visa or RuPay, but no AU-specific reward terms are published anywhere — and the headline percentages are coin counts worth a quarter of their face value.
- Devaluation
Amex closes its Mumbai Centurion Lounge, three months after opening one in Delhi
The Mumbai T2 Centurion Lounge is shut — Amex calls it temporary. Its lounge finder leaves one open lounge in T2 domestic, Delhi T1 stays open, and the Global Lounge Collection cuts doing the rounds are AU/NZ-only.
- Devaluation
HDFC caps SmartBuy brand-voucher rewards at 3,000 points a month
From 1 July 2026 HDFC caps brand-voucher rewards on SmartBuy at 3,000 points a month, sitting inside each card's unchanged overall cap. Infinia, Diners Club Black and Regalia are all named.
- Devaluation
MakeMyTrip ICICI card loses its lounge exemption: ₹75,000 a quarter now applies
ICICI's ₹75,000 quarterly spend gate for domestic lounge access has run since January 2025. From 1 July 2026 the MakeMyTrip card joins it — and Sapphiro, Rubyx, Coral, HPCL Super Saver and Expressions were already inside it.
June 2026
- Devaluation
IDFC FIRST ends lifetime reward-point validity on five cards — points now expire in 24 months
IDFC FIRST scraps lifetime reward-point validity on Wealth, Millennia, Select, WOW! and Classic — points now expire 24 months after they are credited. FIRST SWYP keeps never-expiring points.
- Regulation
Correction: credit-card add-ons already require explicit consent
Our earlier January 2027 framing was misleading. Existing consent protections apply; the cited later instrument remains under verification.
May 2026
- Devaluation
HDFC Bank now counts reward points in ₹200 blocks, not ₹150, on about 40 cards
HDFC Bank moved reward point accrual from every ₹150 to every ₹200 on around 40 credit cards from 15 May 2026, raised the dynamic currency conversion markup to 1.75% and set card re-issuance fees.
April 2026
- Devaluation
HDFC ties Infinia to ₹18 lakh of annual spend: what to do if you are short
Since 1 April 2026 keeping HDFC Infinia needs ₹18 lakh of financial-year spend or ₹50 lakh of relationship value. The spending and relationship-value tests, and how to compare alternatives.
- Devaluation
SBI capped statement-credit redemption at 60,000 points a month, in blocks of 4,000
From 1 April 2026 SBI Card limits statement-credit redemption to 60,000 Reward Points a month and only in multiples of 4,000. We compute what it actually costs an ELITE holder.
March 2026
- Devaluation
Amex Platinum Travel's milestones were rebuilt: 40,000 points at ₹4 lakh became 17,500
Amex's own terms split the Platinum Travel milestones at 9 March 2026. What the change costs at three spend levels, and the ₹7 lakh tier that pays for it.
