ICICI Bank Teases 1838 Reserve Ultra-Premium Credit Card With Rs 1.75 Lakh Joining Fee

Even as super-premium cards like the HDFC Infinia face the pain of devaluation, ICICI Bank, which has been a relatively late entrant into premium credit cards is stepping on the pedal with a new ultra-premium credit card. The giant private bank is teasing an all-new 1838 Reserve Credit Card in partnership with the Times of India group, with a whopping joining fee of Rs 1,75,000 plus GST, which comes to Rs 2,06,500. Just the GST component of the joining fee is higher than the annual fee of many other premium cards.

The new ultra-premium flagship credit card from ICICI Bank will compete with the Axis Primus (joining fee of Rs 5 lakh + GST), HSBC Prive (joining fee of Rs 2.75 lakh + GST), the American Express Centurion Card (joining fee of Rs 7 lakh and annual fee of Rs 2.75 lakh with GST additional) and the HSBC Taj with an annual fee of Rs 1.10 lakh + GST.

However, there is zero information on any possible annual fee which would vary from the joining fee, benefits and reward structure or eligibility criteria, as well as the network the card will be on. Typically, such ultra-premium credit cards are the preserve of ultra-HNI and private banking clients who have a relationship value of over Rs 10 crore.

If you are interested, you can express your interest in the card at the website, which a clear indicator that ICICI Bank and the Times Group want to tap into the aspirational desires of many upwardly mobile Indians to flaunt a talking point.

There is no official confirmation on the launch date, but it is expected to be around October later this year.

The card artwork is by painter Krishen Khanna who is known for his abstracts and the 1838 in the name seems to refer to the founding year of the Times of India, which originally was published as a bi-weekly under the name, The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.