SBI Card and Eternal, the company behind Zomato, launched a card this week, and the UPI merchant fee that was due on 15 October didn't start. If you order on Zomato or Blinkit, hold a Punjab National Bank card, or carry an IDFC FIRST or Amex card, the weeks ahead matter too.
The short version
- SBI Card and Eternal launched the Eternal SBI Card on 15 October, with up to 10% off on Zomato, Blinkit and District and invitations to apply from 22 October.
- The UPI merchant fee didn't start on 15 October. NPCI has moved it to just after Diwali, and you won't pay it either way.
- Punjab National Bank's card charges change on 1 November, including a new ₹99 fee each time you redeem points.
- From 26 October most IDFC FIRST cards stop earning points on international spends.
What changed on your cards
None of the card changes we track took effect this week, so your cards earn and cost what they did last week.
No card change we know of took effect this week. If you spotted one, the suggest form reaches us directly.
Rules and bank news
SBI Card and Eternal launch the Eternal SBI Card. On 15 October SBI Card and Eternal announced a co-branded card for people who use Zomato, Blinkit and District (SBI Card's release). It takes 10% off at the moment you pay on Zomato, District and Blinkit's electronics and beauty range, and 5% off the rest of Blinkit, with one cap of ₹2,000 a month across them. Bistro gets 10% off too, and there's a buy-one-get-one movie ticket on District. Away from Eternal's apps it pays 5% cashback, up to ₹1,000 a month, at Apollo 24/7, ixigo, Uber and Urban Company. Joining costs ₹499 plus GST and comes with six months of Zomato Gold, and the ₹499 renewal fee is waived after ₹2 lakh of spend in the previous year. You ask for early access in the Zomato, Blinkit or District app, and SBI Card sends invitations to apply in phases from 22 October. At the 10% rate the monthly cap is reached on ₹20,000 of spend, so the card pays most to someone who already orders a lot through those apps.
The UPI merchant fee waits until after Diwali. The 0.4% fee that shops were due to pay from 15 October on UPI payments above ₹2,000 hasn't started. On 13 October NPCI said its UPI steering committee had decided, with the festive season in mind, to bring it in immediately after Diwali on a date it will announce (NPCI), and it updated its FAQ to match on 15 October. Last week we listed it for 15 October. Either way it's a merchant fee, and NPCI's FAQ says paying by UPI stays free for you.
Punjab National Bank changes its card charges from 1 November. PNB has published a revised schedule for its Visa and RuPay credit cards (PNB's notice). The new charges to plan around are ₹99 for each reward redemption request, and 1% of your utility payments in any billing cycle where they add up to more than ₹50,000, at most ₹2,000 a transaction. The late fee now applies from dues of ₹501 and rises to ₹1,200 above ₹50,000. A cash withdrawal costs 2.5% (at least ₹400 at PNB's ATMs and ₹500 elsewhere), and a returned payment costs 2% with a ₹400 minimum, all plus GST. Cards issued against a fixed deposit keep their current late fee and returned-payment charge. If you collect PNB points, redeeming them in fewer, larger requests keeps the new fee down.
Coming up
- 20 October: the complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership has ended on the Amex Centurion and Platinum. A membership that was already running lasts to the end of its term.
- 23 October: the SBM ZET card's late fee becomes 5% of the outstanding (minimum ₹50, maximum ₹1,000), and its ₹499 closure fee applies to cards closed within two years of activation instead of one.
- 26 October: most IDFC FIRST cards stop earning points on international spends, and the IndiGo IDFC card drops from 3 BluChips per ₹100 to 1 abroad.
- 27 October: Amex pauses new supplementary card applications.
- 1 November: Punjab National Bank's new card charges start, and movie offers on several Axis cards need ₹25,000 of spend in the previous three months.
- 10 November: the MakeMyTrip ICICI card drops its forex markup to zero and stops charging the dynamic currency conversion fee, but international spends away from MakeMyTrip stop earning myCash, and myCash earned from then on expires after 24 months.
- 15 November: Amex's new platform changes start, and complimentary memberships on Axis's premium cards renew only if you opt in.
Everything scheduled as this week ended, soonest first
Dates are the issuer’s effective dates; the calendar feed carries the same dates.
- Issuer noticeEffective 20 Oct 2026American Express· 1 change across 2 cards▼ Benefit
Complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership ends
Complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership→No longer offered; current memberships run to the end of their term
American Express stops offering the complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership on the Centurion and Platinum Card from 20 October 2026. A membership already enrolled stays active until the end of its current term, and a newly approved member still waiting for a code receives it by 20 October. Amex links the change to the new technology platform its Indian cards move to on 15 November.
Applies to 2 cards
American Express Centurion Card · American Express Platinum Card
Verification: American Express ↗ · Confidence: High
Early-closure fee window widens to two years
₹499 + GST if closed within one year of activation→₹499 + GST if closed within two years of activation
From 23 October 2026 SBM charges its ₹499 + GST cancellation fee on an SBM ZET card closed within two years of activation, up from one year. The fee itself is unchanged, and the card still has no joining or annual fee, so a reader who builds a score and closes the card should plan on keeping it for two years.
Verification: SBM Bank India ↗ · Confidence: High
Late payment fee moves from ₹299 flat to 5% of the outstanding
₹299→5% of the total outstanding, minimum ₹50 and maximum ₹1,000
From 23 October 2026 the SBM ZET card's late payment fee changes from a flat ₹299 to 5% of the total outstanding, with a floor of ₹50 and a ceiling of ₹1,000, plus GST. It is cheaper than today on a balance below about ₹6,000 and dearer above it, reaching the ₹1,000 ceiling on a balance of ₹20,000 or more.
Verification: SBM Bank India ↗ · Confidence: High
- Issuer noticeObserved 9 Sept 2026 · Upcoming · effective 26 Oct 2026IDFC FIRST Bank· 1 change across 9 cards▼ Reward
International spends stop earning reward points
Reward points on international spends at the card's own rate→No reward points on international spends
From 26 October 2026 IDFC FIRST Bank credit cards stop earning reward points on international spends, except the Ashva, Mayura, Gaj, FIRST Private, FIRST WOW!, FIRST WOW! Black and IndiGo cards. IDFC announced it in its 9 September 2026 letter to cardmembers, the same letter that removed the forex markup, so paying abroad still costs no markup but earns nothing. On the Classic, Millennia, Select and FIRST Wealth this ends the 10X rate on international spends.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
International spends cut to 1 BluChip per ₹100
3 BluChips per ₹100 (base rate)→1 BluChip per ₹100
From 26 October 2026 international purchases earn 1 IndiGo BluChip per ₹100, down from the card's 3-per-₹100 base: a two-thirds cut on exactly the spend its zero forex mark-up draws in. The zero mark-up itself is unchanged. IDFC announced it on the card's own page ahead of the date.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- Issuer noticeUpcoming · effective 27 Oct 2026American Express· 1 change across 7 cards◆ Eligibility
New supplementary card applications paused
Open to new applications→New applications paused
American Express pauses new Supplementary Card applications from 27 October 2026 while it moves its Indian cards to a new technology platform. An application filled in by 11:59 PM on 26 October is processed until 3 November. Amex calls the pause temporary and has not said when applications reopen. The pause covers new applications only.
Verification: American Express ↗ · Confidence: High
District movie buy-one-get-one becomes spend-gated
Available to every cardholder each month→Requires ₹25,000 of spend in the previous 3 months
From 1 November 2026 the MyZone buy-one-get-one movie offer at District is no longer unconditional — Axis requires ₹25,000 of spend in the previous three calendar months to qualify. The bar is waived for the month a card is issued plus the following three calendar months, but an upgrade between variants does not count as a new issuance. Only settled transactions count, and interest, fees, charges, reversals and refunds are excluded. This turns the card's signature entertainment perk into a spend-conditional one, in the same shape as the lounge gate added in 2024.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- Issuer noticeObserved 29 Jul 2026 · Upcoming · effective 1 Nov 2026Axis Bank· 2 changes across 10 cards▼ Benefit
Movie offer now needs Rs 25,000 of spend in the previous 3 months
Movie offer available to every cardholder, no spend condition→Rs 25,000 of eligible spend in the preceding 3 calendar months
From 1 November 2026 the card's movie benefit becomes spend-gated: you need Rs 25,000 of eligible spend in the previous three calendar months to qualify. A newly issued card is exempt for its issuance month plus the following three calendar months — but an upgrade between variants does not count as a new card. Only settled transactions count, settlement can lag the transaction by up to five working days, and interest, fees, charges, reversals and refunds are all excluded. EMI transactions count only at the monthly instalment billed, not the full purchase value.
▼ BenefitComplimentary memberships renew only if you opt in
Memberships renewed automatically each year→Renewed only with the cardholder's explicit consent
From 15 November 2026 the complimentary memberships attached to the card — the lifestyle, dining and travel programmes bundled with the annual fee — renew only if you actively consent. Axis says renewal details and consent options will be shared closer to each renewal date. Read it as a cost-control move: a benefit you have to remember to claim is a benefit fewer people claim, so if you value one of these memberships, watch for the consent prompt rather than assuming it rolls over.
Verification: Axis Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Dynamic Currency Conversion fee removed
0.99% DCC fee→No DCC fee
The 0.99% fee ICICI has charged on this card since 15 January 2026 when a purchase abroad, or with a merchant registered abroad, is billed in rupees no longer applies from 10 November 2026. The Signature and Platinum MakeMyTrip cards keep the standard fee.
Verification: ICICI Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Forex mark-up drops to zero
0.99%→0% (no mark-up)
From 10 November 2026 ICICI charges no foreign-currency mark-up on the MakeMyTrip ICICI card, down from 0.99%. The older MakeMyTrip ICICI Signature and Platinum cards are excluded. The same day international spends outside MakeMyTrip stop earning myCash, so a purchase abroad carries no ICICI mark-up and earns no myCash.
Verification: ICICI Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
International spends outside MakeMyTrip stop earning myCash
1% myCash→No myCash
From 10 November 2026 the card's terms list international spends outside MakeMyTrip as earning no rewards, where they earned 1% myCash, and the 1% on other MakeMyTrip spends becomes 1% on other domestic ones. It lands with the end of the forex mark-up: the 0.99% plus GST that goes is slightly more than the 1% myCash that goes with it.
Verification: ICICI Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
New myCash expires after 24 months
Never expires→24 months from credit
myCash earned from 10 November 2026 is valid for 24 months. myCash earned before that date keeps the rule it was earned under and never expires; until this revision the card's terms said all of it would never expire.
Verification: ICICI Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
Dates are the day a change takes effect. Spotted something we missed? The suggest form reaches us directly, and every change we've recorded is in the ledger.
Cite this
Every row referenced above is in the open change record (https://cardadvisor.in/changes), dated and sourced. The write-up is a dated document and is not edited after publication; later corrections go on the corrections page.
Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/press/credit-card-changes-2026-w42">Indian credit card changes, 12 Oct – 18 Oct 2026</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
I have spent over a decade on Indian credit cards, mostly for the points and miles. I am a software engineer by profession, I hold and use the cards I write about, and I redeem through airline and hotel transfer partners: Avios, KrisFlyer, Flying Blue, Air India Maharaja Club, Accor ALL, Marriott Bonvoy and Taj. What I write about is what a card is actually worth after the fine print, the caps and exclusions that decide the real return, and the changes issuers make quietly. No paid placements.
Frequently asked questions
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