HDFC, ICICI, IDFC FIRST Bank --New Credit Card, Debit Card Rules That Will Impact Consumers

Check out the latest credit card and debit card rules of ajor private sector lenders ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IDFC First Banks that is going to impact their finances.

New Delhi: Major private sector lenders ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IDFC First Banks have announced revisions to their credit card and debit card rules that the customers should know. 

IDFC First Bank Credit Card Rules 2024

The payment due date on your credit card will now be 15 days from the statement generation date as per revised MITC w.e.f. September 2024 statement & will be applicable for all subsequent statements, IDFC First Bank has said. 

This is against the previous Due Date which was 18 days from statement generation.

HDFC Bank Credit Card Rules 2024

HDFC Bank has made an important announcement relating to its Credit Card, effective from 1st August 2024. HDFC Bank said that it will be making revision to the Credit card charges pertaining to Rental Transactions, Fuel Transactions, Utility Transactions, Educational Transactions, International / Cross Currency Transactions, Rewards Redemption towards Statement Credit, Finance Charges and Easy-EMI Processing Fee.

Check Complete Revisions of  HDFC Bank Credit Card Terms Effective From 1st August, 2024

Rental Transactions

If you use services like (but not limited to) CRED, PayTM, Cheq, MobiKwik, Freecharge, and others to pay rent, a 1% fee will be charged on the transaction amount and capped at ₹3000 per transaction.

Category	Merchant Category Codes (MCC)
Rent	6513

Fuel Transactions

Consumer Cards:If you spend less than ₹ 15000 per transaction on fuel, no additional fee will be charged. However, if you spend more than ₹15,000 per transaction on fuel, a 1% fee will be charged on the entire amount and capped at ₹3000 per transaction.

Business Cards:If you spend less than ₹ 30000 per transaction on fuel, no additional fee will be charged. However, if you spend more than ₹30,000 per transaction on fuel, a 1% fee will be charged on the entire amount and capped at ₹3000 per transaction.

Category	Merchant Category Codes (MCC)
Fuel	1361,5172,5541,5542,5983,9752

Utility Transactions:

Consumer Cards: If you spend less than ₹ 50,000 per transaction on Utilities, no additional fee will be charged. However, if you spend more than ₹50,000 per transaction on utilities, a 1% fee will be charged on the entire amount and capped at ₹3000 per transaction. Business Cards: If you spend less than ₹ 75,000 per transaction on Utilities, no additional fee will be charged. However, if you spend more than ₹75,000 per transaction on utilities, a 1% fee will be charged on the entire amount and capped at ₹3000 per transaction.

Category	Merchant Category Codes (MCC)
Utility	4900

Insurance transactions will not be considered as Utility transactions and hence no charge will be applicable.

Educational Transactions

If you make education payments through college/school websites or their POS machines, there will be no fees. International education payments are excluded from this charge. However, on education payments through third-party apps like (but not limited to) CRED, PayTM, Cheq, MobiKwik and others, a 1% fee will be charged and capped at ₹3000 per transaction.

Category	Merchant Category Codes (MCC)
Education	8211,8220,8241,8244,8249,8299

International / Cross Currency Transactions

If you make an International / Cross currency transaction, a 3.5% markup fee will be applicable.

*Mark up fee will remain 2% for Infinia, Infinia (Metal Edition), Diners Black, Diners Black (Metal Edition), Biz Black Metal Card, Regalia Gold, BizPower, Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank and 2.5% mark up fee for 6E Rewards Indigo XL.

Rewards Redemption towards Statement Credit

If you redeem your rewards towards statement credit (CashBack), a ₹50 redemption fee will be charged.

Rewards Redemption charge will not be applicable for Infinia, Infinia (Metal Edition), Diners Black, Diners Black (Metal Edition), BizBlack Metal,Swiggy HDFC Bank,Flipkart Wholesale.

Finance Charges

If you avail the revolving credit facility & hence choose to pay an amount less than the total amount due reflected in the monthly billing statement, finance charges of 3.75% (per month) will be applicable from the transaction date till the outstanding balance is paid in full . Applicable to all retail & cash transactions.
* Finance charge will remain 1.99% (per month) for Infinia, Infinia (Metal Edition), Diners Black, Diners Black (Metal Edition) ,BizBlack Metal.

Late Payment

Late payment fee structure has been revised as follows:

Outstanding Amount Slab	Revised Charges
< = ₹ 100	Nil
₹ 101 - 500	₹ 100
₹ 501 - 1000	₹ 500
₹ 1001 - 5000	₹ 600
₹ 5001 - 10000	₹ 750
₹ 10001 - 25000	₹ 900
₹ 25001 - 50000	₹ 1,100
> ₹ 50000	₹ 1,300

Easy-EMI Processing Fee

If you avail the Easy-EMI option at any online / offline store, EMI processing fee of up to ₹299 will be charged. All fees are subject to GST as per government regulations. The Merchant Category codes are defined by the network (Visa, Master Card, Rupay, Diners). HDFC Bank does not define the merchant category.

ICICI Bank Debit Card Rules 2024

ICICI Bank has said that, starting October 01, 2024, customers can enjoy two complimentary airport lounge access by spending Rs 10,000 in the preceding calendar quarter. 

"Spends made in the preceding calendar quarter will unlock access for the subsequent calendar quarter. To be eligible for complimentary lounge access in Oct- Nov- Dec, 2024 quarter, you need to spend a minimum of Rs 10,000 in the Jul-Aug-Sept, 2024 quarter and similarly for following quarters. This updated criteria to avail complimentary domestic airport lounge access will be applicable for below cards:

ICICI Bank Debit Card Airport Lounge Access: Check out the illustration below to understand the Spend period along with the Lounge eligibility period

Sr. No.	Spend period	Lounge eligibility period
1	Customer spends Rs 10,000 Jun 26, 2024 to Sep 25, 2024	Complimentary lounge access(es) between Oct 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024
2	Customer spends Rs 10,000 Sep 26, 2024 to Dec 25, 2024	Complimentary lounge access(es) between Jan 1 2025, to March 31, 2025

ICICI Bank has said that this updated criteria to avail complimentary domestic airport lounge access will be applicable for below cards:

ICICI Bank Coral Paywave Debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions Business MasterCard Debit card
ICICI Bank Rupay Coral debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions MasterCard Debit card
ICICI Bank Coral Business MasterCard	ICICI Bank Expressions Paywave Debit Card
ICICI Bank Coral Business Debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions Business Debit card
ICICI Bank Coral MasterCard	ICICI Bank Paywave Expressions Debit card
ICICI Bank Coral Paywave Business Debit card	ICICI Bank Expressions Coral Business MasterCard Debit card
ICICI Bank Coral Chip Debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions Coral MasterCard Debit card
ICICI Bank Rubyx Debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions Business Coral Debit Card
ICICI Bank Rupay Rubyx Debit Card	ICICI Bank Expressions Coral Debit card
ICICI Bank Rubyx MasterCard Debit Card

ICICI bank has said that for debit cards quarterly spends limit of Rs 10,000, e-commerce, POS transactions will be considered. ATM transactions and cash withdrawals will not be considered.

"Eligible cardholders need to present their valid, unexpired cards, and a valid air ticket or boarding pass for travel on the same or next day at the entrance of the participating Lounges to gain entry. An authorisation amount of Rs.2 shall be charged on each eligible card presented at the entrance to the Participating Lounge. It's important to note that the free access is generally limited to the cardholder, any accompanying guest(s) may incur charge(s). This program is provided by a third party and governed by such third party terms and conditions," ICIC bank mentioned in its website.