IDFC FIRST points now expire in 24 months

What changed

Effective 18 June 2026, IDFC FIRST reward points are valid for 24 months from the date they are credited. The bank's cardmember notices carry the clause on FIRST Wealth, FIRST Millennia, FIRST Select, FIRST WOW! and FIRST Classic, and the live FIRST Wealth reward-programme terms now state it in binding language. Points earned from the July 2026 statement cycle run 24 months from credit; the balance held as of that cycle stays redeemable until July 2028. Nobody loses points immediately, but hoarding is finished as a strategy.

It is not bank-wide: FIRST SWYP keeps "Never expiring reward points." Mayura, Ashva and Diamond Reserve get the changes below but no 24-month clause.

Rewards are now earned only on spends up to your credit limit per billing cycle, and prepaying mid-cycle does not restore earning — the notices exclude "transactions enabled through repayments and subsequent re-utilisation within the same billing cycle". On FIRST EARN the same cap applies to cashback. Better news: 10X rewards start from the first eligible dining, travel or international transaction, replacing the old ₹20,000-per-billing-cycle unlock.

The buy-one-get-one movie benefit now needs ₹20,000 of spend in the previous calendar month. Wealth, Mayura, Ashva and Diamond Reserve state it plainly: to use it from 1 August 2026, spend ₹20,000 in July 2026. Select's notice instead runs the July 2026 benefit off June 2026 spend. Millennia keeps 25% off up to ₹100 on one ticket a month, needing any transaction in the previous month.

Who is affected

The IDFC card in our catalogue is the IDFC FIRST Classic Credit Card, and it is on the list. IDFC's earlier Classic notice told holders their points were "evergreen and never expire"; the June 2026 notice replaces that with the 24-month clock and adds the credit-limit cap. If lifetime validity was your reason for holding Classic, you are one of the people losing it. FIRST SWYP holders are not.

What this costs you

Classic earns 0.375% on general spends. At ₹35,000/month that is ₹1,575 a year, so about ₹3,150 accumulates across any 24-month window, all of it now on a clock. Redemption costs ₹99 + GST — ₹116.82 a request — so redeeming in small lots to beat the expiry is self-defeating: two a year cost ₹234, roughly 15% of a year's earn.

The limit cap bites heavy users. On a ₹1,00,000 limit, ₹1,40,000 pushed through one cycle by paying mid-cycle now earns on ₹1,00,000 only: the ₹40,000 that used to earn ₹150 earns nothing.

What to do

Redeem once a year, in one lot, and pay the ₹116.82 once. Keep each cycle's spend inside your limit and ask for an increase rather than prepaying mid-cycle. If lifetime validity was the appeal, the replacement is cashback paid to your statement, where there is no clock: SBI Cashback credits each cycle, and Amazon Pay ICICI is lifetime free with rewards as Amazon Pay balance. Our cashback vs reward points guide and methodology cover the rest.

Sources

We link the reporting we relied on. Always confirm the change against the issuer’s own most-important-terms document before acting on it.