Credit Cards credit card devaluation 2026credit card rewards cut IndiaHDFC Infinia devaluationlounge access changes 2026credit card benefit reductionSBI cashback card changesICICI credit card fees 2026Axis Bank credit card devaluationAU Zenith devaluationRuPay lounge access removed

Credit Card Devaluation Tracker 2026: Every Benefit Cut Listed

Complete tracker of every credit card devaluation in India 2026. HDFC Infinia SmartBuy cut 40%, AU Zenith dining slashed 75%, lounge access spend-gated at Rs 35K-1L/quarter. Bank-wise tables with exact before/after numbers.

By HonestMoney.in Editorial Team | Updated April 25, 2026

Every Major Indian Bank Cut Credit Card Benefits in 2026. Here Is Every Change, With Exact Numbers.

Between January and July 2026, HDFC, SBI, ICICI, Axis, Amex, AU Small Finance Bank, IDFC First, and Yes Bank collectively devalued reward rates, restricted lounge access, and introduced new surcharges across dozens of credit card variants.

This is not a “what to do about it” article. This is a complete, bank-by-bank record of every benefit cut — with exact before-and-after numbers, effective dates, and the spend thresholds you now need to meet.

Last updated: April 25, 2026.

The Devaluation Timeline: January–July 2026

Date	Bank	Change
Jan 1, 2026	AU Small Finance Bank	Zenith card dining rewards cut 75%, base rewards cut 40%
Jan 15, 2026	ICICI Bank	2% gaming fee, 1% wallet fee, 1% transport fee introduced
Jan 16, 2026	HDFC Bank	Infinia SmartBuy earn rate cut from 5X to 3X
Jan 18, 2026	IDFC First	International rewards halved on Ashva/Mayura; base earn rate cut 25%
Jan 15, 2026	Yes Bank	1% surcharge on railways above Rs 30K; utility/wallet surcharges
Feb 1, 2026	HDFC Bank	Infinia redemptions capped at 5/month, Rs 2L/cycle
Feb 1, 2026	SBI Card	Finance charges raised to 3.85%/month (46.2% annualized)
Feb 23, 2026	American Express	Airline mile transfers devalued 22-25%
April 1, 2026	NPCI/RuPay	Platinum debit card lounge access discontinued entirely
April 1, 2026	SBI Card	Cashback Card online cap at Rs 2,000/month
April 2, 2026	Axis Bank	Accor, Marriott, Qatar Airways removed as transfer partners
April 12, 2026	Axis Bank	Airtel card cashback restructured, domestic lounge removed
April 2026	HDFC Bank	Infinia requires Rs 18L annual spend or Rs 50L deposits
May 15, 2026	HDFC Bank	Regalia Gold/Diners Privilege reward rate cut ~6%; Rs 199 reissuance fee
July 1, 2026	HDFC Bank	Regalia Gold/Diners lounge access requires Rs 60K quarterly spend

HDFC Bank: Three Rounds of Cuts

HDFC Infinia Metal

The most aggressive devaluation of a super-premium card in Indian banking history, executed in three waves.

Wave 1 — January 16, 2026: SmartBuy Earn Rate

Metric	Before	After	Impact
SmartBuy earn rate	5X points	3X points	-40%
Effective SmartBuy return	16.5%	10%	Lost 6.5 percentage points
Base earn rate	5 pts/Rs 150	Unchanged	—

Wave 2 — February 1, 2026: Redemption Caps

Redemption Type	Before	After
Monthly redemptions	Unlimited	5 per month
Flight/hotel/air mile cap	Unlimited	Rs 1.5 lakh/month
Total cycle redemption cap	Unlimited	Rs 2 lakh/cycle
Statement balance redemption	Unlimited	50,000 points/month

Wave 3 — April 2026: Eligibility Mandate

To retain the Infinia, you now need either Rs 18 lakh annual card spend or Rs 50 lakh in HDFC Bank deposits. Previously, the card had no such ongoing retention requirement.

What this means in practice: A cardholder spending Rs 1.5 lakh/month on SmartBuy previously earned ~Rs 24,750 in rewards monthly. Now they earn ~Rs 15,000 — and can only redeem 5 times against a Rs 2 lakh cap. Annual reward loss: approximately Rs 1.17 lakh.

HDFC Regalia Gold

Metric	Before	After	Effective Date
Base reward rate	4 pts/Rs 150	5 pts/Rs 200	May 15, 2026
Effective reward %	1.73%	1.625%	-6%
Domestic lounge visits	12/year (unconditional)	3/quarter (if Rs 60K spent)	July 1, 2026
Lounge spend threshold	None	Rs 60,000/quarter	July 1, 2026
Card reissuance fee	Free	Rs 199	May 15, 2026
DCC markup	Lower	1.75%	May 15, 2026

The lounge math doesn’t work. Three domestic lounge visits are worth Rs 2,400–3,600 at walk-in rates. You must spend Rs 60,000 in the previous quarter to unlock them. If you are spending Rs 60,000 specifically to trigger lounge access, you are effectively paying a 4-6% premium on that spend for Rs 2,400 worth of lounge visits.

HDFC Diners Club Privilege

Metric	Before	After	Effective Date
Reward earn rate	4 pts/Rs 150	5 pts/Rs 200	May 15, 2026
Domestic lounge threshold	None	Rs 60,000/quarter	July 1, 2026

Same spend-gating as Regalia Gold. Same math problem.

HDFC Marriott Bonvoy

Metric	Before	After
Earn rate basis	Per Rs 150 spent	Per Rs 200 spent
Effective earn rate reduction	—	-25%

ICICI Bank: New Fee Categories Invented

ICICI’s 2026 changes are different from other banks. Rather than cutting reward rates, ICICI introduced entirely new surcharge categories that did not exist before.

New Surcharges (Effective January 15, 2026)

Fee Category	Rate	Threshold	Applies To
Gaming platforms	2%	Any amount	Dream11, MPL, Rummy Culture, Junglee Games
Wallet loads	1%	Above Rs 5,000	Amazon Pay, Paytm, MobiKwik, Freecharge, OlaMoney
Transport MCC	1%	Above Rs 50,000	Select transportation merchant categories
Branch bill payment	Rs 150 (was Rs 100)	Per transaction	Cash payments at ICICI branches
Emeralde add-on cards	Rs 3,500 one-time	Per add-on card	New add-on cards from Jan 15, 2026

Reward Caps

Card Tier	Transport Reward Cap
Premium cards	Rs 20,000/month
Mid-tier cards	Rs 10,000/month

Lounge Access Now Spend-Linked

Complimentary domestic lounge access moved to a spend-linked model. Minimum Rs 35,000 in the preceding calendar quarter required for mid-tier cards.

Why this matters beyond ICICI: The gaming and wallet surcharges are a new revenue model. Other banks will copy this within 12 months. If you route regular spending through wallets or play fantasy sports, these fees add up fast. A Dream11 user spending Rs 5,000/month now pays Rs 100/month in surcharges — Rs 1,200/year — effectively a second annual fee.

SBI Card: Caps and Rate Hikes

SBI Cashback Card (Effective April 1, 2026)

Metric	Before	After
Online cashback rate	5%	5% (unchanged)
Online cashback cap	Higher/uncapped	Rs 2,000/month
Offline cashback rate	1%	1% (unchanged)
Offline cashback cap	Higher/uncapped	Rs 2,000/month
Total cashback cap per cycle	Higher	Rs 4,000

The deception: The 5% rate is unchanged, so SBI technically didn’t “cut” cashback. But capping online cashback at Rs 2,000/month means the effective rate on Rs 50,000 online spend is 4%. On Rs 1,00,000, it’s 2%. On Rs 2,00,000, it’s 1%. The headline number stays the same; the real value collapses with higher spend.

SBI Finance Charges (Effective February 1, 2026)

Metric	Before	After
Monthly finance charge	3.5%/month	3.85%/month
Annualized rate (with GST)	~49.6%	~54.5%

This makes SBI Card one of the most expensive revolving credit products globally for a large-scale issuer.

SBI Lounge Access (Effective January 10, 2026)

SBI Card revised its domestic lounge access program with expanded network but spend-linked eligibility across card variants.

Axis Bank: Partners Removed, Cashback Slashed

Airline Transfer Partners (Effective April 2, 2026)

Partner	Status
Accor	Removed
Marriott Bonvoy	Removed
Qatar Airways	Removed
Remaining partners	Transfer ratios reduced

For premium cardholders (Magnus, Atlas) who used these transfer partners for high-value redemptions, the card’s value proposition dropped significantly overnight.

Airtel Axis Card (Effective April 12, 2026)

Metric	Before	After
25% Airtel cashback	Standalone benefit	Now linked to 1% general cashback earned
10% utility cashback	Standalone benefit	Now linked to 1% general cashback earned
Domestic lounge visits	4/year	Removed entirely

Earlier Cuts (2025, Still in Effect)

Card	Metric	Before	After
Axis Ace	Base cashback	2%	1.5%
Flipkart Axis	Cashback	1.5%	1%
All Axis cards	Domestic lounge threshold	None	Rs 50,000/quarter
Axis Neo	International lounge	Available	Discontinued

AU Small Finance Bank: The Steepest Single-Card Cut

AU Zenith (Effective January 1, 2026)

Category	Before (per Rs 100)	After (per Rs 100)	Drop
Dining	20 RP	5 RP	-75%
International	10 RP	5 RP	-50%
Grocery/Departmental	10 RP	5 RP	-50%
Base rewards	5 RP	3 RP	-40%
Insurance & Utilities	1 RP	1 RP	Unchanged

Milestone Benefits

Milestone	Before	After
Rs 1,000 quarterly voucher	Available	Discontinued
Annual Taj Epicure membership	Available	Discontinued
Rs 50,000 cycle spend bonus	N/A	1,000 bonus RP (new)

The pattern: AU launched the Zenith with aggressive rewards to acquire customers. Within 18-24 months, those rewards were slashed. This is a predictable cycle — launch generous, build a base, then devalue. Federal Bank and IndusInd are likely next.

American Express: Fuel, Miles, and Milestones

Fuel Exclusion (Effective June 12, 2025)

Card	Before	After
Gold Charge	1 MR point/Rs 50 on fuel	Zero points on fuel
SmartEarn	Fuel rewards available	Zero points on fuel
MRCC	Fuel rewards available	Zero points on fuel
Platinum Card	Fuel rewards available	Still earns points (exception)

Fuel surcharge waivers discontinued across most cards.

Membership Rewards Transfer Devaluation (February 23, 2026)

Metric	Before	After
Airline mile transfer ratio	1:1	1:0.75-0.78
Effective devaluation	—	22-25%

A cardholder who previously needed 50,000 MR points for 50,000 airline miles now needs 64,000-67,000 MR points for the same redemption.

Platinum Travel Card Milestone Revision

Milestone rewards revised with higher spend thresholds and lower point payouts. Lounge visits reduced and made spend-dependent.

IDFC First Bank: The Lifetime Free Illusion Cracks

Ashva & Mayura Cards (Effective January 18, 2026)

Metric	Before	After
International earn rate	10X	5X (unless Rs 20K+/month spend)
Condition for 10X	None	Rs 20,000 monthly spend

All IDFC First Cards

Metric	Before	After
Base earn rate basis	3x/Rs 150	3x/Rs 200 (-25%)
FASTag surcharge	None	1% above Rs 10,000/cycle
Railway earn rate	Standard	1X only
Select Card domestic lounge	2/quarter	1/quarter

Club Vistara Card

The Air India-Vistara merger made this co-branded card a zombie product. Originally scheduled for discontinuation on March 31, 2026, extended to September 30, 2026. No new benefits added — the card exists in regulatory limbo.

Yes Bank: Death by a Thousand Surcharges

Lounge Access Spend Thresholds (Effective April 1, 2025, Still Active)

Card Tier	Quarterly Spend Required
MARQUEE / RESERV	Rs 1,00,000
YES First Preferred / Business	Rs 75,000
ELITE+ / SELECT / BYOC / Wellness Plus	Rs 50,000

New Surcharges (2026)

Category	Threshold	Surcharge
Railway transactions	>Rs 30K single or Rs 80K monthly	1% + GST (capped at Rs 5,000/txn)
Utility payments	Above monthly threshold	1%
Wallet loading	Above threshold	1%
Education payments	Above threshold	1%

Other Changes

Overlimit facility removed entirely (transactions above limit auto-declined)
Government, advertising, and marketing categories excluded from reward earning

RuPay & NPCI: Debit Card Lounge Access Dies

Effective April 1, 2026, NPCI discontinued all complimentary lounge access (domestic, international, and railway) on RuPay Platinum debit cards. This affects millions of government salary account holders who had RuPay Platinum as their only “premium” banking benefit.

RuPay Select debit cards retain lounge access but only under spend-based eligibility through the Benefit Management System (BMS).

Why it happened: Debit card lounge visits overwhelmed airport lounge capacity by Q1 2026. NPCI chose to cut debit-side access entirely rather than implement graduated spend thresholds.

The DreamFolks Collapse: The Lounge Chaos Nobody Talks About

In September 2025, DreamFolks Services — India’s dominant airport lounge aggregator handling 80-85% of domestic lounge access — effectively ceased domestic operations. The company lost its major bank contracts as Adani Airports, GMR Airports, and TFS launched their own direct-to-bank lounge platforms.

What Actually Changed for Cardholders

Bank	Lounge Backend	Status
ICICI Bank	DreamFolks (international only)	Domestic switched to direct deals
Axis Bank	Partially migrated	Some programs moved away
IDFC First	Partnership ended	New aggregator (Elite Assist)
HDFC Bank	Direct swipe discontinued for some cards (June 2025)	Card-specific
SBI Card	Priority Pass / in-house	Unaffected

The real-world problem: No bank has published a comprehensive list of which lounges accept which cards after the aggregator switch. Cardholders discover access denial at the lounge door. The Gate 4 lounge at your airport may accept your card, but the Gate 7 lounge may not — even though both previously worked through DreamFolks.

DreamFolks stock crashed 67% year-to-date after the domestic exit.

The Complete Reward Rate Erosion Table

Every card that lost reward value in 2025-2026, sorted by percentage drop:

Card	Category	Old Rate	New Rate	% Drop
AU Zenith	Dining	20 RP/Rs 100	5 RP/Rs 100	-75%
AU Zenith	International	10 RP/Rs 100	5 RP/Rs 100	-50%
AU Zenith	Grocery	10 RP/Rs 100	5 RP/Rs 100	-50%
IDFC Ashva/Mayura	International	10X	5X	-50%
HDFC Infinia	SmartBuy	5X (16.5%)	3X (10%)	-40%
AU Zenith	Base	5 RP/Rs 100	3 RP/Rs 100	-40%
Flipkart Axis	Cashback	1.5%	1%	-33%
Axis Ace	Base cashback	2%	1.5%	-25%
HDFC Marriott Bonvoy	All spends	per Rs 150	per Rs 200	-25%
IDFC Classic/Select	Base	3x/Rs 150	3x/Rs 200	-25%
Amex MR	Airline transfers	1:1 ratio	1:0.75-0.78	-22-25%
HDFC Regalia Gold	Base	4 pts/Rs 150	5 pts/Rs 200	-6%
SBI Cashback	Online	5% (uncapped)	5% (Rs 2K cap)	Capped

The Complete Lounge Access Restriction Table

Every card that lost or restricted lounge access:

Bank/Card	Before	After	Spend Required
RuPay Platinum Debit	Free domestic access	Removed entirely	N/A
HDFC Regalia Gold	12 domestic/year	3 domestic/quarter	Rs 60,000/quarter
HDFC Diners Privilege	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 60,000/quarter
Axis (all mid-tier)	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 50,000/quarter
Axis Airtel	4 domestic/year	Removed entirely	N/A
Axis Neo	International available	Discontinued	N/A
ICICI (mid-tier)	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 35,000/quarter
Yes MARQUEE/RESERV	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 1,00,000/quarter
Yes First Preferred	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 75,000/quarter
Yes ELITE+/SELECT	Unconditional	Spend-gated	Rs 50,000/quarter
IDFC First Select	2 domestic/quarter	1 domestic/quarter	Standard

The New Surcharge Map: Fees That Did Not Exist Before 2026

Category	ICICI	Yes Bank	IDFC First
Gaming platforms	2%	—	—
Wallet loads	1% (>Rs 5K)	1% (above threshold)	—
Transport MCC	1% (>Rs 50K)	—	—
Railways	—	1%+GST (>Rs 30K)	—
FASTag	—	—	1% (>Rs 10K/cycle)
Utilities	—	1% (above threshold)	—
Education	—	1% (above threshold)	—

These are not interest charges or annual fees. These are transaction-level surcharges — a new category of credit card cost that barely existed before 2025.

What to Do: The Decision Framework

Step 1: Calculate Your Post-Devaluation Annual Value

For each card you hold, add up:

Annual fee (with 18% GST)
Reward value earned at new rates (not old rates)
Lounge visits you actually take × Rs 800-1,200 per visit
New surcharges on your typical spend categories

If annual fee + surcharges > reward value + lounge value, the card is costing you money.

Step 2: Check if Spend-Gating Traps You

If you are spending Rs 60,000/quarter on HDFC Regalia Gold specifically to unlock 3 lounge visits worth Rs 2,400-3,600, you are paying a 4-6% implicit fee on that spend. At that point, buying lounge access directly (Rs 800-1,200 per visit) is cheaper.

Step 3: Identify Cards Still in the Generous Phase

Banks that have not announced major 2026 devaluations yet:

Federal Bank credit cards
Kotak Mahindra cards
Select IndusInd variants
OneCard (low forex markup of 2% still active)

History says these will devalue within 18-24 months. Use the window.

Step 4: Downgrade, Don’t Close

Closing a card reduces your total credit limit and credit history length — both hurt your CIBIL score. Instead:

Request a downgrade to a no-annual-fee variant of the same card
Call the retention team and negotiate a fee waiver — see our exact scripts and timing strategies
Switch to a different card from the same bank to preserve the relationship

The Bigger Pattern

Credit card devaluation in India follows a predictable cycle:

Launch phase (Year 1): Aggressive rewards, low fees, unconditional lounges — bank acquires customers
Growth phase (Year 2): Minor tweaks, new exclusion categories added quietly
Optimization phase (Year 3+): Major reward cuts, spend-gating, new surcharges — bank prioritizes profitability

Every bank in this tracker followed this pattern. AU Small Finance Bank completed the full cycle in under 24 months. HDFC’s Infinia held its benefits for longer but the 2026 cuts were proportionally steeper.

The industry is not going back to 2023-era rewards. Spend-linked benefits are the permanent new model. The question is not whether your card will be devalued — it is when, and whether you will have already moved to the next generous card by then.

This tracker is updated as banks announce changes. All data sourced from official bank communications, RBI circulars, and verified cardholder reports. Internal links: best rewards credit cards after the devaluation | every credit card fee in India | RuPay vs Visa vs Mastercard | should you get a credit card | best zero forex cards — what 0% actually costs you | best shopping credit cards — real cashback after caps | best travel credit cards India 2026 — the honest guide | best business credit cards India 2026 — real reward value after caps | best cashback credit cards after the April 2026 devaluation

HonestMoney.in Editorial Team

Research-backed content sourced from official publications, regulatory filings, verified data, and real-world experiences. Updated April 2026.

FAQ 12

Frequently Asked Questions

Research-backed answers from verified data and published sources.

Which credit cards were devalued the most in 2026?

AU Zenith had the steepest single-category cut — dining rewards slashed 75% from 20 RP to 5 RP per Rs 100. HDFC Infinia SmartBuy earn rate dropped 40% from 5X to 3X points. IDFC Ashva and Mayura international spending rewards halved from 10X to 5X. Axis Flipkart cashback fell 33% from 1.5% to 1%. SBI Cashback Card's 5% online cashback was capped at Rs 2,000 per month. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy earn rate dropped 25% by moving from Rs 150 to Rs 200 per point.

Is free airport lounge access still available on credit cards in India?

Unconditional free lounge access is effectively dead on mid-tier cards in 2026. Every major bank now requires quarterly spends of Rs 35,000 to Rs 1,00,000 to unlock domestic lounge access. HDFC Regalia Gold requires Rs 60,000 per quarter for just 3 domestic visits. ICICI mid-tier cards need Rs 35,000 per quarter. Yes Bank MARQUEE needs Rs 1,00,000 per quarter. NPCI removed lounge access entirely from RuPay Platinum debit cards on April 1, 2026.

What new credit card fees were introduced in 2026?

ICICI introduced a 2% surcharge on gaming platforms like Dream11 and MPL, a 1% fee on wallet loads above Rs 5,000, and a 1% fee on transport spends above Rs 50,000. Yes Bank charges 1% plus GST on railway transactions above Rs 30,000 per transaction or Rs 80,000 monthly. IDFC First charges 1% on FASTag recharges above Rs 10,000 per cycle. HDFC charges Rs 199 for card reissuance. ICICI raised its branch payment fee from Rs 100 to Rs 150.

What happened to HDFC Infinia credit card benefits in 2026?

Three rounds of cuts. January 16: SmartBuy earn rate slashed from 5X to 3X points, dropping effective returns from 16.5% to 10%. February 1: Reward redemptions capped at 5 per month, with flight/hotel/air mile redemptions capped at Rs 1.5 lakh per month and total cycle cap at Rs 2 lakh. April: New eligibility mandate requiring Rs 18 lakh annual spend OR Rs 50 lakh in HDFC deposits to retain the card.

Why are banks devaluing credit card rewards in 2026?

Three forces converged. First, credit card delinquencies surged 44.3% to Rs 33,886 crore by March 2025, squeezing bank margins. Second, the DreamFolks lounge aggregator collapsed in September 2025, disrupting lounge access infrastructure and raising costs for direct lounge partnerships. Third, banks matured past the customer-acquisition phase and are now optimizing for profitability — rewarding high spenders while cutting benefits for low-usage cardholders.

Did DreamFolks shutdown affect my credit card lounge access?

DreamFolks ceased domestic lounge aggregation in September-November 2025 after losing 80-85% of its domestic lounge business. Major banks like ICICI, Axis, and IDFC First ended their DreamFolks partnerships. Banks now partner directly with lounge operators or use new aggregators like Elite Assist. The practical impact varies by bank — ICICI still uses DreamFolks for international lounges, SBI Card is unaffected as it uses Priority Pass, but many users face confusion about which lounges accept which cards at specific airports.

What is the HDFC Regalia Gold lounge access rule from July 2026?

From July 1, 2026, HDFC Regalia Gold domestic lounge access requires a minimum spend of Rs 60,000 in the previous calendar quarter. You get 3 domestic lounge visits per quarter instead of the earlier 12 per year. That means Rs 2.4 lakh annual spend just to unlock about 12 domestic lounge visits. International lounge access via Priority Pass (6 visits per year) remains unchanged. The card also introduced a Rs 199 reissuance fee for lost or damaged cards from May 15, 2026.

Are there any credit cards in India that have not been devalued in 2026?

Smaller banks like Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra, and newer IndusInd variants have not announced major devaluations yet. However, the historical pattern is predictable — banks launch generous rewards to acquire customers, then devalue within 18-24 months. AU Small Finance Bank followed this exact cycle, launching aggressive rewards in 2024 and cutting them in January 2026. Cards in the generous phase offer a window to capture value, but expecting them to last indefinitely would be unrealistic.

How much did the Amex Membership Rewards program lose in value in 2026?

Amex devalued airline mile transfers by 22-25% on February 23, 2026. The transfer ratio effectively changed from 1:1 to 1:0.75-0.78, meaning you need 22-33% more points for the same airline miles. Earlier, from June 12, 2025, Amex removed Membership Rewards points on all fuel spends across Gold, SmartEarn, and MRCC cards. Fuel surcharge waivers were also discontinued. Lounge visits were reduced and made spend-dependent. The Platinum Travel Card milestone rewards were revised with higher spend thresholds and lower point payouts.

Should I close my credit card after devaluation?

Do the math first. Calculate your annual fee against the post-devaluation benefits you actually use. If your HDFC Regalia Gold costs Rs 2,500 per year but you cannot meet the Rs 60,000 quarterly spend threshold for lounges and the reward rate dropped 6%, the card may no longer justify its fee. However, closing cards hurts your CIBIL score by reducing total credit limit and credit age. Better options: request a downgrade to a no-fee variant, switch to a bank still in the generous phase, or negotiate fee waiver by threatening closure — retention teams often have waiver authority.

What is the Axis Bank credit card devaluation timeline for 2026?

April 2, 2026: Accor, Marriott, and Qatar Airways removed as miles transfer partners. Transfer ratios reduced across remaining partners. April 12, 2026: Airtel Axis Card cashback restructured — 25% Airtel cashback and 10% utility cashback retained but now linked to total cashback earned from 1% general spends. Domestic lounge access removed from Airtel Axis Card. Earlier in 2025, Axis cut base cashback on Ace from 2% to 1.5% and Flipkart from 1.5% to 1%, and introduced Rs 50,000 quarterly spend requirement for domestic lounge access across cards.

How do I track credit card devaluations as they happen?

Banks send emails about changes, but these are often buried in marketing. Watch for emails with subjects containing 'revision,' 'update,' or 'enhancement' — the last one is almost always a devaluation disguised in positive language. Follow communities like TechnoFino, CardMaven Forum, and CardInsider blog for real-time tracking. SaveSage Club and CardExpress maintain changelog pages. Check your card's MITC (Most Important Terms and Conditions) periodically on the bank's website — changes are reflected there first, sometimes before email notifications.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Fees, interest rates, and card terms are based on published data as of the date mentioned and may change. Zero affiliate bias — we don't earn commissions on card recommendations. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making financial decisions.