Devaluation ICICI Bank iShop Portal Devalued Further – 2.5% Processing Fee Introduced

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

ICICI Bank has once again devalued its iShop portal—this time by introducing a 2.5% processing fee on the purchase of Amazon Pay vouchers and a few other gift cards.



This marks the second devaluation in just two months, and unfortunately, it reflects the growing reputation of ICICI Bank for rapid and frequent devaluations. We've already seen similar actions with products like the Emeralde PRIVATE Metal Credit Card.

Such marketing gimmicks should ideally be monitored by regulatory authorities like the RBI.

Here's the timeline:

• Initially, ICICI Bank allowed unlimited gift voucher purchases on the iShop portal.
• Then, they introduced monthly purchase caps.
• And now, they’ve added processing fees on selected vouchers.

Let’s be honest—iShop was launched to push the sales of one of their underwhelming credit cards, the ICICI Times Black. It was marketed as an ultra-premium product (Rarest & most exclusive credit card of india), but eventually, it was handed out so widely that every Tom, Dick, and Harry seems to have one now.

Many customers opted for this ₹23K annual fee card purely to maximize the iShop portal benefits—and are now left regretting their decision.

It’s high time the RBI comes up with clear guidelines to prevent mid-term devaluation of products or associated benefits. Protecting customer interests should be a top priority.

 

[abhiaj_geek]

EPM still give 15% so makes sense although prefer using Zepto instead of Swiggy for grocery and get upto 18%

I tried to use zepto but they have 5-6 different types of fees and 4-5 types of discounts. It is very very confusing, and I dont understand if I am saving anything in comparison with swiggy or not

Zepto is king of dark practices

 

[GG21]

I tried to use zepto but they have 5-6 different types of fees and 4-5 types of discounts. It is very very confusing, and I dont understand if I am saving anything in comparison with swiggy or not

Zepto is king of dark practice

My strategy: first take BB voucher from Ishop and Infinia and then Swiggy voucher from smartbuy and Zepto voucher if needed from ISHOP

 

[abhiaj_geek]

My strategy: first take BB voucher from Ishop and Infinia and then Swiggy voucher from smartbuy and Zepto voucher if needed from ISHOP

Is BB voucher limited in smartbuy also?

 

[theXfactor]

Is BB voucher limited in smartbuy also?

Yes. . .

 

[GG21]

Is BB voucher limited in smartbuy also?

Yes 1500 per month

 

[nikhilv0303]

Now all swiggy vouchers have 3% charges. Very very disappointed

☹️
This is precisely I was worried about getting EPM.. just can’t trust ICICI on anything.
I got the card just this month, and this happened

 

[magnusfan]

Hi, SOS:

My Goal [hope now]: Like Infinia, I plan to redeem my EPM points on a quarterly basis by buying Tanishq Gold vouchers on Ishop where I dream that a point will be well respected [unlike married man] at 1:1.

Problem statement: Though I only have 720 points from my first statement of 5 days, I tried to test the waters! However, I see the value of 1 point is only 0.6 instead of 1:1. I thought generic vouchers like Amazon are at 0.6 but premium vouchers like Tanishq, Apple, etc are at 1:1.

What is everyone's understanding here?

Below is a screen shot. Also, pardon me if I post this at multiple threads to get a quicker solution!

 

[abhiaj_geek]

Hi, SOS:

My Goal [hope now]: Like Infinia, I plan to redeem my EPM points on a quarterly basis by buying Tanishq Gold vouchers on Ishop where I dream that a point will be well respected [unlike married man] at 1:1.

Problem statement: Though I only have 720 points from my first statement of 5 days, I tried to test the waters! However, I see the value of 1 point is only 0.6 instead of 1:1. I thought generic vouchers like Amazon are at 0.6 but premium vouchers like Tanishq, Apple, etc are at 1:1.

What is everyone's understanding here?

Below is a screen shot. Also, pardon me if I post this at multiple threads to get a quicker solution!

View attachment 99827

Buy tanishq vouchers from imobile section. There you will get 1:1

 

[magnusfan]

Buy tanishq vouchers from imobile section. There you will get 1:1

Works! Thanks a lot

 

[nikhilv0303]

Are all vouchers on Ishop give 1:0.6 only?

 

[nikhilv0303]

Are all vouchers on Ishop give 1:0.6 only?

anyone can confirm this?

 

[ash_m]

Are all vouchers on Ishop give 1:0.6 only?

iShop is not 100% up-to-date yet, though now it is out of beta.

At the moment, I believe 1:1 points redemption (for EPM) is only applicable to flight & hotel bookings. I have not done any bookings myself, so you can verify by trying to book one.

EPM was launched before iShop, so you can still use the old rewards portal to redeem your points. Probably iShop will replace the old ICICI rewards portal in near future, but as of today it is still live and working. You can either access it on iMobile app (Select the Card -> Click on "Redeem Now" link present beside the available points). Alternatively, you can find the link on Net-banking as well. You can buy all the vouchers (including Tanishq, Hotel/Flight vouchers from MMT/Yatra etc.) as per the value mentioned in card terms.

Here is the complete T&C where all the redemption options for EPM with 1:1 value are listed: https://www.icicibank.com/content/d...ges/docs/pdf/metal-gifts-tc-website-51023.pdf