2026 has been the worst year for Indian credit card rewards in a decade. HDFC, Axis, SBI, ICICI, and Amex all cut benefits between January and April. Here is every change that happened and how to respond.
Indian banks collectively devalued rewards programmes in 2026 for three reasons:
1. RBI tightened norms on credit card spending in late 2025, reducing interchange fee income that funds rewards.
2. Banks are now required to hold higher capital reserves, reducing the budget available for reward programmes.
3. The loss-leading new-user acquisition phase ended — banks are optimising for profitability over growth.
The result: a coordinated but unacknowledged industry-wide shift from generous flat rewards to conditional, spend-linked benefit structures.
April 2, 2026 — Axis removed three premium transfer partners overnight with no prior notice:
Accor Live Limitless removed: Was valued at ₹2.2 per Accor point — one of the best hotel programme values in India.
Marriott Bonvoy removed: The most popular hotel programme for Indian travellers.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club removed: Best for Qsuite business class redemptions.
New partners added (British Airways Avios, Finnair Plus, Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles) offer materially lower value. Transfer ratios on existing partners also cut — Magnus went from 5:4 to 5:2 on some programmes.
Lounge access removed entirely from Airtel Axis Card. Cashback caps restructured to require ₹25,000 in non-Airtel spend to unlock Airtel cashback.
April 1, 2026 — HDFC introduced retention conditions for Infinia:
Cardholders must now spend ₹18L/year OR maintain ₹50L Total Relationship Value to continue holding the card. Reward structure unchanged for those who qualify.
May 15, 2026 — HDFC Regalia Gold earn rate cut:
From 4 points per ₹150 to 5 points per ₹200 — an effective 17% reduction in earn rate.
Lounge access: Regalia Gold cardholders must now spend ₹60,000 per quarter to unlock 3 lounge visits. Previously spend-free.
Swiggy HDFC Credit Card: Structurally changed — some categories discontinued. Confirm your specific card's current earn rates via HDFC NetBanking.
April 1, 2026 — SBI Cashback Card:
5% cashback on online spends capped at ₹2,000 per month (previously ₹5,000).
1% offline cashback capped at ₹2,000 per month.
Total cap: ₹4,000 per statement cycle.
Redemption now only in multiples of 4,000 points — previously any amount.
Excluded categories: Gaming platforms, toll transactions, and government-related payments no longer earn cashback.
Impact: A user spending ₹40,000/month online now earns only ₹2,000 (5% capped) instead of ₹2,000 (was already near the old cap). High-spend users are most affected.
Amex Platinum Travel — milestone benefit threshold raised 75% in early 2026. The annual travel voucher milestone now requires ₹4L+ spend (up from ₹1.9L). Most cardholders will not hit this.
ICICI Bank — excluded rent, education fees, and government payments from reward earning on most cards effective March 2026. These categories previously earned base points — now they earn zero.
IDFC FIRST LTF cards — earn rate worsened by 25% on non-merchant-category spends. Lounge visits halved and now require ₹20,000/month minimum spend.
1. Audit your current card's earn rate. Do not assume it is what you think — check your bank's updated MITC or portal.
2. SBI Cashback users: If you spend more than ₹40,000/month online, the card no longer earns incremental rewards above ₹2,000. Consider pairing with Axis ACE for overflow.
3. Axis Magnus users: Remove Accor and Marriott from your transfer strategy. Focus remaining EDGE Miles on KrisFlyer or Turkish Miles&Smiles — the two strongest surviving partners.
4. HDFC Regalia Gold users: If you are not spending ₹60,000/quarter, lounge access has effectively ended. Evaluate whether the card's reduced earn rate still justifies the fee.
5. Do not hoard points. Devaluations often hit redemption rates next. Transfer to airline partners when you have a concrete redemption target.