ICICI Bank iShop Accelerated Reward Points Portal Launched - Upto 36% Reward Rate 🔥

As promised by ICICI Bank at the time of launching the Emeralde Private Metal Card and Times Black Card, they have introduced their Accelerated Rewards Portal, iShop by ICICI Bank. Through this portal, ICICI Bank cardholders can earn accelerated rewards when purchasing gift vouchers, booking flights, and reserving hotels.



The portal is similar to HDFC Bank’s SmartBuy for HDFC customers. However, ICICI Bank also offers accelerated rewards to its debit card and net banking customers, even if they don't have an ICICI credit card. The portal appears to be in beta testing, as ICICI Bank has added a "Beta" tag to the iShop logo. So, expect changes in rules and capping.

Let's dive into the details of this portal!

Reward Earning on iShop Portal​

Credit Cards & Debit Cards:

• 6X Reward Points on Flight Bookings & Shopping Vouchers
• 12X Reward Points on Hotels
• 4% Cashback for co-branded ICICI cards

Net Banking Customers:

• 3% iCash on Flight Bookings
• 6% iCash on Hotels
• NA% iCash on Shopping Vouchers

Redemption on iShop Portal​

You can redeem your credit card reward points on the iShop portal.

The value of credit and debit card reward points depends on the card you hold. For example, with the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card, 1 reward point = ₹1.

Redemption Options:​

• Flight Booking: You can pay 100% of the order value using reward points.
• Hotel Booking: You can pay 90% of the order value using reward points, and the remaining 10% must be paid using the same credit card.
• Shopping Vouchers: You can pay 50% of the order value using reward points, with the rest paid via card.

For Net Banking Customers:​

• Instead of reward points, Net Banking Customers receive iCash from iShop (1 iCash = ₹1).
• For flights, hotels, and gift vouchers, you can use a maximum of 80% iCash, and the remaining 20% must be paid via net banking.

Reward Redemption Fees: You will be charged Rs. 99 + GST per successful redemption except for Emerald Private Metal Credit Card and Times Black Card.

How to Access the iShop Portal

Login URL: https://icicibank.com/ishoplogin
Log in using your mobile number and access the portal to purchase gift vouchers, book flights or hotels, and earn accelerated reward points. You can also use the portal to redeem your card's reward points.

Capping on Accelerated Reward Points​

The cap on accelerated reward points through iShop depends on the ICICI credit or debit card you hold.

Credit Cards:​

• ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card: 18,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Times Black Credit Card: 15,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Emeralde PVC Credit Card: 12,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Diamant World Credit Card: 12,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Other Credit Cards (Coral, CSK, HPCL, ManU, Parakram, Rubyx, Sapphiro): 9,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Co-Branded Credit Cards (Amazon, Adani, Emirates, MMT, etc.): ₹1,100 Cashback

Debit Cards:​

• ICICI Sapphiro & Expressions Sapphiro Debit Card: 9,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Rubyx & Expressions Coral Debit Card: 9,000 Bonus Points
• ICICI Private, Wealth, Coral & Expressions Debit Card: 7,250 Bonus Points
• ICICI Other Debit Cards: 7,250 Bonus Points

Reward Rate:​

The reward rate varies based on your card variant.

Card Name	Card Base Reward Rate	Reward Rate On Flight Booking	Reward Rate On Hotel Booking	Reward Rate On Bus Booking	Reward Rate On Gift Vouchers
ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card	3%	18%	36%	18%	18%
ICICI Times Black Credit Card	2%	12%	24%	12%	12%
ICICI Emeralde PVC Credit Card	1%	6%	12%	6%	6%
ICICI Diamant World Credit Card	0.75%	4.5%	9%	4.5%	4.5%
ICICI Other Credit Cards	0.50%	3%	6%	3%	3%
ICICI Co-Branded Credit Cards	Various	4%	4%	4%	4%

Spends Required to Earn the Maximum Possible Bonus Points:

Credit Card Name	Overall Bonus Point Capping On iShop	Spends Required For 6X Categories	Spends Required For 12X Categories
ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Card	18,000	Rs. 1,20,000	Rs. 54,600
ICICI Times Black Card	15,000	Rs. 1,50,000	Rs. 68,200
ICICI Emeralde Plastic Card	12,000	Rs. 60,000	Rs. 27,300
ICICI Diamant World Card	12,000	Rs. 80,000	Rs. 36,400
ICICI Bank Other Credit Cards	9,000	Rs. 90,000	Rs. 41,000
ICICI Bank Co-Branded Credit Cards	Rs. 1,100	Rs. 27,500 (4% Cashback)	Rs. 18,400 (6% Cashback)

iShop Bonus Points Time-frame:

1. Is the bonus points capping applicable per statement cycle or per calendar month?

Answer: The bonus points capping is applicable per calendar month.

2. When will the bonus reward points be credited after completing transactions on iShop?
Answer: Typically, your ICICI Reward Points/Cashbacks are credited to your ICICI Bank Credit Card/Debit Card within 90 days of the transaction or from 45 days of the completion of travel/stay, whichever falls later.



This is an amazing launch from ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank has often been tagged as a low-rewarding credit card issuer, but with this portal launch, customers can now earn significant bonus reward points using their ICICI Bank credit cards. This is a great way to revamp the bank's credit card portfolio.

One key expectation from ICICI Bank is that they should enter the airmiles game as soon as possible. According to some sources, they are already working on it. They are also aiming to launch a hotel co-branded credit card soon.


Original thread started by @Infamous. Credit for editing the old post: @BVC, @Talkwithfino, @Gkcards and @Pavvan.

 

[Indrajeet100]

@Indrajeet100 @theXfactor were you also pointing at these daily / monthly limits?
I am exploring those as well and see which suits my use case.
In hdfc i see there is monthly and daily limit for smartbuy points that we can earn.

Not come across for atlas.
Icici is new to me, I am learning that.

Yes ...another catch is flight booking on smartbuy gives only lowest fare which is usually non cancellable and if you want to book other flexible fare no choice. And show only aggregator fare for flights and hotels means you are restricted to using MakeMyTrip yatra easemytrip but can't use direct booking which many a times have far better offering. No such restrictions for Atlas. Or I mix redemption of points and card payment for optimal rewards e.g. I did hotel booking on ishop which was approx.60k -paid 30k by points and 30k by card as paying more by card would not have earned any more accelerated rewards. So there is no clear winner. Every time number of factors decide which one to use. E.g. one month I had already exhausted smartbuy accelerated points monthly quota- no choice simple Atlas and also learning hardway on how painful cancellation is through smartbuy I will never book a flight where there is even small chance of change. Atlas is neat and clean option in such case.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Very helpful. Thanks. I always try to book from direct airlines website. That helps in changing flight due to our plan change. Yes other points are very valid. Really insightful.

 

[theXfactor]

@Indrajeet100 @theXfactor were you also pointing at these daily / monthly limits?
I am exploring those as well and see which suits my use case.
In hdfc i see there is monthly and daily limit for smartbuy points that we can earn.

Not come across for atlas.
Icici is new to me, I am learning that.

It’s just not the reward rate and daily/monthly limits but several other factors depending on what you need. For eg. international transactions with Infinia can get you a value back of 1.97% (up to 1L a month) with GVP while EPM gets you simple 0,64%. Infinia doesn’t have any processing FEE on Swiggy vouchers but EPM does. Currently EPM offers certain vouchers with no cap such as Amazon shopping and Myntra while with Infinia these vouchers are capped.
Moreover Infinia has several 5x/10x partners such as Pharmeasy, Jockey, Imagine Tresor etc apart from flights, hotels while iShop gets you 6x/12x on flights and hotels only for now, no partners. Redemption is capped at 70% on Infinia, no capping on EPM. Education & Insurance spends points are capped at 1k each a month, Infinia has no cap on points on direct education spends, 5k on insurance. EPM has milestone benefits, Infinia doesn’t. Movie BOGO up to 750 Rs twice a month, none with Infinia but you can still get it using Visa Infinite privilege. Cancellation benefit is missing in Infinia but EPM does offer. Even their reward rates are diff.

Ppl find them similar because of closely matched base reward rate with a diff of 0.33%, accelerated earning features and point redemption value 1:1 on travel bookings.