ICICI Times Black vs Amex Platinum Charge (2026)
ICICI Times Black marks foreign spend up 1.5% against Amex Platinum Charge's 3.5% — 2.0pp on every rupee you spend abroad, before either card earns a point on it.
Head to head
| ICICI Times Black | Metric | Amex Platinum Charge |
|---|---|---|
| #26 — wins this row | Our rank | #29 |
| ₹20,000/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹66,000/yr |
| ₹25,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | None |
| 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) — wins this row | Forex markup | 3.5% + GST |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | N/A — charge card, no revolving credit or finance charges |
| 2.0% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 1.3% |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | Amex Membership Rewards |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.50/pt |
| ₹12,000 Lohono / ₹10,000 EaseMyTrip stay voucher + ₹10,000 visa-services wallet (Atlys/OneVasco) + Toni&Guy ₹3,000 + Interflora ₹1,000 + Zomato Gold — application windows via timesblack.com | Welcome benefit | Vouchers up to ₹60,000 (Taj / Luxe / Postcard) on ₹50k spend in 2 months |
| 730 of 789 | Lounge doors opened | 744 of 789 — wins this row |
| ₹2,00,000+/month (official product page, seen 2026-08-01 — was community-reported only) | Income — salaried | ₹25L+/yr (official — Amex eligibility checklist) |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | ₹15L+/yr (official — Amex eligibility checklist) |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
Ranking-value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. This is the ranking model, the one that orders the board; each card page prints the earn-rate-only net annual value instead, which reads lower for any card with an accelerator (both models, side by side). Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
ICICI Times Black out-earns Amex Platinum Charge at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend
ICICI Times Black leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹55,400 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹69,000 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹2.25L (₹75,600).
Amex Platinum Charge runs a 25.0% booster on Reward Xcelerator 20X luxury brands, where ICICI Times Black earns one flat rate.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, Amex Platinum Charge below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | Amex Platinum Charge | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹4,000 | −₹59,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹55,400 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,000 | −₹52,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹64,800 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,000 | −₹46,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹64,200 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,000 | −₹39,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹73,600 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,000 | −₹33,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹73,000 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,000 | −₹26,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹72,400 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹72,000 | ₹15,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹56,800 |
| ₹2L | ₹78,000 | ₹21,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹56,200 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,04,000 | ₹28,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹75,600 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,10,000 | ₹35,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹75,000 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,16,000 | ₹41,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹74,400 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,22,000 | ₹48,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹73,800 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,28,000 | ₹54,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹73,200 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,34,000 | ₹61,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹72,600 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,40,000 | ₹68,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹72,000 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,46,000 | ₹74,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹71,400 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,52,000 | ₹81,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹70,800 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,58,000 | ₹87,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹70,200 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,64,000 | ₹94,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹69,600 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,70,000 | ₹1,01,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹69,000 |
Transfer reach
Only ICICI Times Black
- Air India Maharaja Club
- iShop travel portal
Only Amex Platinum Charge
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
- The British Airways Club (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for
ICICI Times Black · 2 more →
- ₹20,000 + GST fee needs ₹25L spend to waive
- One transfer partner — this is not a miles card
- Emeralde Private out-earns it at a third of the fee
Amex Platinum Charge · 1 more →
- ₹66,000 fee with no waiver — benefits-or-bust
- Base MR earn and value are weak; ignore the 'points'
- 3.5% + GST forex markup — no international-spend discount despite the ₹66,000 fee
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,000 against −₹39,600 — a ₹73,600 gap. At ₹5L/month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,70,000 against ₹1,01,000 — a ₹69,000 gap. Lounge chasers: Amex Platinum Charge opens 744 of 789 tracked doors to ICICI Times Black's 730.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; Amex Platinum Charge — Keep. On our board, ICICI Times Black sits at #26 to Amex Platinum Charge's #29 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Straight answers
Which is better, ICICI Times Black or Amex Platinum Charge?
ICICI Times Black. It sits at #26 on our board to Amex Platinum Charge's #29. ICICI Times Black takes 7 of the 8 rounds we can score. ICICI Times Black out-earns Amex Platinum Charge at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
ICICI Times Black or Amex Platinum Charge — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,22,000 against ₹48,200 — a ₹73,800 gap. Those are ranking-value figures: everyday spend at the card's base rate plus a realistic slice at its best accelerator, net of the fee.
Which costs less to hold, ICICI Times Black or Amex Platinum Charge?
ICICI Times Black — ₹20,000/yr against ₹66,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; Amex Platinum Charge at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or Amex Platinum Charge?
Lounge chasers: Amex Platinum Charge opens 744 of 789 tracked doors to ICICI Times Black's 730. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Card records last re-verified against their issuers' own documents: ICICI Times Black on 2026-08-01, Amex Platinum Charge on 2026-07-26. Every figure on this page — the ranking values, the fee rows, the lounge counts, the transfer ratios — is recomputed from those records each time the site builds, so a devaluation changes the call the day we log it.