AU Small Finance Bank and Paytm put out a press note this week for the Paytm AU card and the family lounge access that comes with it, and the Eternal SBI Card began sending its first invitations. If you hold an IDFC FIRST card and spend abroad, Monday is the day most of them stop earning points on it.
The short version
- The Paytm AU card has no joining or annual fee and gives up to 12 domestic lounge visits a year on round trips booked through Paytm, with up to four family members entering together on one QR code.
- The Eternal SBI Card sent its first invitations from 22 October. Early access is closed for this phase, which Eternal's page puts at 5,000 cards.
- Amex's complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership ended on 20 October for the Centurion and the Platinum Card.
- SBM ZET's late payment fee is now 5% of the outstanding, and its closure fee applies for two years after activation instead of one.
- From Monday 26 October most IDFC FIRST cards earn nothing on international spends. The IndiGo card drops to 1 BluChip per ₹100 abroad and the Ashva to 2 points per ₹150.
What changed on your cards
Amex's Ace by Times Prime membership has ended. From 20 October American Express no longer offers the complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership on the Centurion Card and the Platinum Card, according to the bank's own page on its move to a new platform. If you were already enrolled, the membership runs to the end of its current term, and anyone approved shortly before the date was to receive their code by 20 October. The rest of the changes on that page arrive on 27 October and 15 November, listed below.
SBM ZET's late fee and closure fee have gone up. From 23 October the SBM ZET card's late payment fee is 5% of the total outstanding, with a floor of ₹50 and a ceiling of ₹1,000, in place of a flat ₹299. The same revision keeps the ₹499 plus GST early-closure fee in force for two years after the card is activated, where it used to lapse after one. Neither changes what the card earns, but if you were thinking of closing a ZET card in its second year, it now costs ₹499 to do so.
The record for this week: dates, before and after, sources
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 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
Rules and bank news
AU and Paytm put a press note behind the Paytm AU card and its family lounge access. On 21 October AU Small Finance Bank and Paytm announced the Paytm AU SFB Credit Card, a lifetime-free RuPay card they describe as India's first with family lounge access (AU's press note). The card has been on AU's site since July, so the note is less a launch than a statement of what it does. It earns up to 2% on eligible Paytm UPI spends and 5% on Paytm Travel bookings and Paytm Gold, with points worth ₹1 each as Paytm Gold. The headline benefit is up to 12 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year on eligible round-trip flights booked through Paytm, and up to four family members can walk in together on a QR code without a physical card. AU's product page adds the small print: the round trip has to cost at least ₹5,000, and each qualifying booking is good for up to four visits. The note does not say whether the twelve visits are per card or shared across the family, so ask before you plan a year of travel around them. You apply inside the Paytm app, under Get Credit Card. Our Paytm AU card page has the full earn table.
The Eternal SBI Card's first invitations went out. SBI Card's launch release of 15 October said people who requested early access in the Zomato, Blinkit or District app would be invited to apply in phases from 22 October (SBI Card's release). By the end of the week Eternal's card page showed early access as closed, with 5,000 cards in this phase and invites going out in batches. SBI Card has now published the terms and conditions booklet, which adds a few lines to what we covered last week: 1% back on other spends, capped at ₹500 a month, nothing on EMI purchases at Eternal's brands, a fuel surcharge waiver of up to ₹200 a cycle, and a choice of Mastercard or RuPay, with the RuPay card usable on UPI. The ₹499 joining fee, the six months of Zomato Gold and the ₹2 lakh renewal waiver are as announced.
Coming up
- 26 October: most IDFC FIRST cards stop earning reward points on international spends, the Classic, Millennia, Select, Wealth, Power, HPCL Power+, LIC Classic, LIC Select and SWYP among them, under the bank's cardmember letter of September. The IndiGo IDFC FIRST card drops to 1 BluChip per ₹100 abroad, and the Ashva's page cuts its international rate from 5 points per ₹150 to 2. The zero forex markup stays on every card.
- 27 October: Amex pauses new supplementary card applications. Its page asks anyone who wants one to apply by 27 October and complete the application by 3 November.
- 1 November: Punjab National Bank's new card charges start, including the ₹99 fee per reward redemption, and the 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.
- 15 November: Amex's new platform arrives with its benefit changes, the Membership Rewards card's 50% renewal-fee waiver tier goes, 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.
International earn cut to 2X
5X (5 RP/₹150, about 0.83%)→2X (2 RP/₹150, about 0.33%)
From 26 October 2026 international spends on the Ashva earn 2 reward points per ₹150 instead of 5, and they still count towards the ₹20,000 statement-cycle spend that unlocks the 10X rate. The cut lands on the day IDFC FIRST stops reward points on international spends on most of its other cards; the Ashva stays an exception in the bank's cardmember letter, at the lower rate its own page announces.
Verification: IDFC FIRST Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- Issuer noticeObserved 9 Sept 2026 · 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 noticeEffective 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
- Issuer noticeUpcoming · effective 15 Nov 2026American Express· 5 changes across 7 cards▼ Redemption
Membership Rewards points kept separately for each card
One points balance across all your basic cards→A separate balance for each card; points cannot be moved between cards
From 15 November 2026, a member who holds two or more basic American Express cards has a separate Membership Rewards balance on each card, where today the points of all of them sit in one account. Existing points are split by the card that earned them, each card redeems from its own balance, and moving points from one card to another ends for good. Earn rates, redemption options and the value of a point do not change. A member who combined several cards' points to reach a bigger redemption now has to reach it on one card's balance.
▼ BenefitNew Account Cards no longer issued
New Account Cards available on request→No new Account Cards; existing ones keep working
From 15 November 2026 American Express stops issuing new Account Cards, the extra cards in a member's own name used to keep certain spends separate. Requests, including replacements for a lost, stolen or expired Account Card, are taken until 27 October, and an application started by then is completed by 3 November. An Account Card already issued keeps working.
◆ RewardPoints paused on a card still overdue at its next statement
No redemptions on any card while one is overdue→No earning or redemption on that card from its next statement until paid
From 15 November 2026, if a payment is still due when a card's next statement is generated, that card stops earning and redeeming Membership Rewards points from that statement date until the overdue balance is paid. Points already earned stay, and the member's other cards carry on, since each keeps its own balance. Amex's current Membership Rewards terms already forfeit the points of a statement left unpaid by the due date (reinstatable for a fee) and block redemptions on every card while any one is overdue; the new page does not say whether the forfeiture clause stays. Paying the overdue amount before the next statement date avoids the pause.
◆ MilestoneMilestone spend counted by posting date
Spend counted by purchase date→Spend counted by posting date; bonus by the end of that month
From 15 November 2026, spend towards a milestone counts on the date a transaction posts to the card rather than the date of the purchase, and the bonus points or voucher are credited by the end of the calendar month in which the milestone is reached. A purchase made on 30 November that posts in December counts towards December. Regular earning does not change, and bonuses already earned stay. A member aiming for a monthly milestone near the end of a month should allow a few days for purchases to post.
▼ FeeLate payment fee set on the total amount due
30% of the minimum amount due, ₹500 to ₹1,000→Slabs on the total amount due, ₹500 to ₹1,250
On statements generated after 15 November 2026, the late payment fee on American Express's credit cards is set by slabs of the total amount due, from ₹500 to ₹1,250, instead of 30% of the minimum amount due within ₹500 to ₹1,000. It is charged when nothing, or less than the minimum amount due, is paid by the due date. Amex says the change brings the fee in line with RBI requirements and refers members to its updated MITC, effective 15 November, for the slabs. Amex's charge cards are not affected.
Verification: American Express ↗ · Confidence: High
50% renewal-fee waiver at ₹90,000 of spend withdrawn
100% waived at ₹1,50,000 of annual spend; 50% at ₹90,000–₹1,49,999→100% waived at ₹1,50,000 of annual spend; no 50% tier
From 15 November 2026 American Express withdraws the MRCC's 50% renewal-fee waiver, which halved the ₹4,500 (plus GST) renewal fee for a member who spent ₹90,000 to ₹1,49,999 in a card membership year. Amex's notice names only the 50% tier; the full waiver at ₹1.5 lakh of annual spend, which its MRCC page lists, is not mentioned. A member spending between ₹90,000 and ₹1.5 lakh a year now pays the full fee.
Verification: American Express ↗ · 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-w43">Indian credit card changes, 19 Oct – 25 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
Which IDFC FIRST cards still earn reward points abroad after 26 October 2026?
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