Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card Review: 1.49% Forex and a ₹20,000 Fee

₹23,600 a year, and the ₹25 lakh reversal

The joining and annual fees are ₹20,000 each, and with 18% GST, which is ₹3,600, the bill comes to ₹23,600. A supplementary card cost ₹3,500 + GST one time for each card, so ₹4,130 once GST is added (₹3,500 plus ₹630).

Reaching ₹25 lakh

From the second year the fee is reversed if you spent ₹25,00,000 in the previous year. That is about ₹2,08,333 a month (₹25,00,000 divided by 12), more than the ₹2 lakh monthly income ICICI asks from salaried applicants. Spends on rent, education and government, plus EMIs, fees, interest and reversals, are left out of the count. For most cardholders the honest plan are to pay the fee and get the value back from vouchers, lounges and the lower forex cost.

Penalties

Interest is 3.75% a month, or 45% a year, on any balance you revolve. The late fee follow ICICI's usual slabs on the amount still unpaid after the due date, rising to ₹1,300 once more than ₹50,000 is outstanding, and kicks in only when the minimum due stays unpaid 3 days past the due date. There is no transaction fee on cash advances, but interest runs from the day of withdrawal. Over-limit use, only if you opt in, costs 2.5% of the excess with a ₹550 minimum.

Other charges

• Forex mark-up and dynamic currency conversion: 1.49% each.
• Rent: 1%. Fuel over ₹10,000: 1%. Utilities over ₹50,000: 1%. Education through third-party apps: 1%.
• From 15 January 2026: transport over ₹50,000 1%, wallet loads of ₹5,000 or more 1%, skill-based gaming 2%.
• Card replacement ₹3,500; Priority Pass replacement ₹300 from 11 December 2026; no redemption handling fee.

The fuel surcharge waiver is 1% at all fuel stations, and no cap is stated for it. Fuel itself earn no points, though.

2% in points, and what that really means

ICICI describes the earn as 2% in ICICI Bank Reward Points on eligible domestic transactions and 2.5% on international ones. It does not publish a points-per-₹100 rate, and we don't convert it into one. So read 2% as ICICI's own headline figure; how much of it reaches your pocket depend on how you redeem.

The value table has two ends, a point is worth up to ₹1 on the best redemption and ₹0.40 against the statement. ICICI doesn't say which redemption the 2% assumes, so it is safest to treat 2% as the most you will get and expect less if you only take statement credit. Catalogue redemptions are free on this card, and points expire 3 years after issue.

Exclusions and the shared cap

Fuel and rent earn nothing, and points on EMI purchases are reversed. Utilities, insurance premiums, education and government payments share one cap of 5,000 reward points a statement cycle between them. Since the earn isn't published in points, we can't tell at what rupee spend that cap get reached.

Welcome benefits

• A luxury stay gift card: EaseMyTrip ₹10,000 or Lohono ₹12,000.
• Lifestyle gift cards from Toni and Guy, ₹3,000, and Interflora, ₹1,000.
• Visa services through Atlys and OneVasco, as a wallet of 10,000 points worth ₹10,000.
• Zomato Gold for a year, Quorum Club offers and CribLife lifestyle services.

Milestones

Spending ₹2 lakh earns a ₹10,000 Klook voucher, ₹5 lakh a ₹10,000 mobility wallet for WeWork day passes or airport transfers, ₹10 lakh a ₹10,000 Tata CLiQ Luxury gift card, and ₹20 lakh a one-night stay at Ayatana or Lohono worth ₹20,000. All four together is ₹50,000 (₹10,000 times 3, plus ₹20,000). The benefits sit in the Times Black app for 6 months from when you are notified, so claim them in time. The list we read does not say over what period the spends are counted; confirm it with ICICI.

There is also cover of up to ₹12,000 against cancellation charges on domestic flight and hotel bookings.

Three spenders, at the headline rate

The examples below count milestones over a year and value points at ICICI's headline 2% and 2.5%. Fuel is kept to fills of ₹10,000 or less to avoid the 1% fee.

Light. ₹13,200 of points (₹1,100 times 12) and ₹20,000 of vouchers give ₹33,200 against ₹23,600 of fee, so ₹9,600 ahead on paper (₹33,200 minus ₹23,600). That needs you to really use a Klook voucher and the WeWork or airport transfer wallet; without the vouchers, the points alone don't cover the fee.

Typical. ₹34,800 of points (₹2,900 times 12) and ₹30,000 of vouchers make ₹64,800. Take off the ₹23,600 fee and the forex cost, ₹298 of mark-up plus ₹53.64 of GST on ₹20,000 a month, so ₹351.64 a month or ₹4,219.68 a year, and you are left ₹36,980.32 ahead at the headline rate. Each month's ₹20,000 abroad earns ₹500 and costs ₹351.64, so foreign spending still come out ₹148.36 ahead.

Heavy. ₹60,600 of points (₹5,050 times 12) and all ₹50,000 of milestone vouchers, and because ₹30 lakh clears ₹25 lakh, next year's ₹20,000 fee is reversed. The ₹50,000 a month abroad costs ₹879.10 (₹745 mark-up, which is 1.49% of ₹50,000, plus ₹134.10 GST) and earns ₹1,250 at 2.5%, a net ₹370.90 a month at the headline rate.

Who can apply, and where

ICICI asks salaried applicants for a monthly income of ₹2,00,000 and self-employed ones for ₹24,00,000 a year, the same ₹2,00,000 a month once divided by 12. You must be an Indian citizen over 21; the card page give no upper age. The documents asked are identity proof, address proof and proof of income.

Applying through the Times Black website

Unlike most ICICI cards, Times Black is not applied for through ICICI's own card journey. Applications go through the Times Black website, and the KYC happen on a Video KYC call with your PAN and Aadhaar. The RBI treats Video KYC on par with a face-to-face check, so no branch visit is needed for it.

What the bank considers

• Your own financial means, which RBI rules make the bank judge independently of anyone else's view.
• Your other card and loan limits, counted before the limit on this card is set.
• Your credit score and repayment record, which ICICI's listing page says may be considered.

The income figure is a floor, not a promise, the final call is ICICI's. A declined applicant must be told the specific reasons in writing, and the Key Fact Statement sent with the application lists the interest rate and charges. Billing disputes should be raised within 60 days of the statement date. ICICI's customer care number is 1800 1080, and our ICICI customer care page lists the others.

Who should pay ₹23,600 a year for it

Times Black fits a high earner who travel abroad several times a year, puts family on add-on cards and will actually use the Klook, WeWork or airport transfer, Tata CLiQ Luxury and hotel stay vouchers. For that person the 1.49% mark-up, the unlimited lounges and the vouchers outweigh the fee even without reaching ₹25 lakh.

The 2.5% abroad against a 1.49% mark-up plus GST is the card's real edge. On ₹1,00,000 spent abroad that is ₹1,490 of mark-up and ₹268.20 of GST, ₹1,758.20 in all, against ₹2,500 of rewards at the headline rate. Lounge use is the other draw; our airport lounge cards page compares the other ways to get it.

Who should skip it? Anyone who mostly spend in India on bills, insurance and fuel, where points are capped or nil. Anyone who takes rewards as statement credit, since a point is then only ₹0.40. And anyone who wouldn't use the vouchers, because without them the ₹23,600 fee has to come back from points alone: at the headline 2% that needs ₹11,80,000 of eligible spend a year (₹23,600 divided by 2%), roughly ₹98,333 a month (₹11,80,000 divided by 12).

Against Emeralde Private Metal the trade is access against earn. Times Black is open to apply, while Emeralde need an invitation but earns up to 3%. The next tab goes through it.

Times Black against three other top-end cards

We set it against Axis Bank Reserve, SBI Card AURUM and ICICI's own Emeralde Private Metal, three very different ways of spending a big fee.

Axis Reserve costs far more, ₹50,000 + GST a year, waived on ₹35 lakh of spends. It earns 15 EDGE REWARD Points per ₹200, and double that on international spends up to your credit limit each month, but Axis states no rupee value for a point; transfers to partners were 5 points to 2 miles under the 2023 terms, and the current page speaks of dynamic ratios. Lounges are unlimited at home and abroad for primary and add-on holders, with 12 guest visits a year, there are 50 golf rounds a financial year, and the mark-up is 1.5%. Axis publishes no income criterion for it.

SBI Card AURUM is the cheaper one at ₹9,999 + taxes, waived on ₹12 lakh. It earns 4 points per ₹100 at ₹0.25 a point, so 1%, and it's points never expire. Monthly spends of ₹1 lakh bring a ₹1,500 voucher each month, with more vouchers at ₹5, ₹10, ₹12 and ₹20 lakh a year. It gives 4 domestic lounge visits a quarter and unlimited international lounges through DreamFolks, with a 1.99% mark-up. SBI Card's AURUM site lists ₹3.50 crore of air accident cover, and SBI Card publishes no minimum income.

Emeralde Private Metal costs ₹12,499 + GST, reversed on ₹10 lakh, and earns 6 points per ₹200, with a point worth ₹1 when redeemed for flights, hotel vouchers or the listed brands, so up to 3%. It has unlimited lounges with no spend rule, a 2% mark-up and no late, cash advance or over-limit fees. The catch is access, it is invite only and tied to an ICICI relationship value.

Picking one: Times Black for frequent foreign travel at 1.49% on a card you can apply for. Emeralde if ICICI invites you and you redeem at ₹1 a point. AURUM for a lower fee, points that never expire and steady monthly vouchers. Reserve only for very heavy spenders who want lounge guests and golf in bulk. All of ICICI's cards are on our ICICI Bank cards page, and our credit cards hub explains the other card types.