ICICI Times Black vs HDFC Infinia Metal (2026)
HDFC Infinia Metal vs ICICI Times Black: which wins?
₹1,67,292ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to HDFC Infinia Metal
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
₹20,000 of helicopter transfers vs ₹12,500 of everything — the king takes ₹55,764 of ranking value to Times Black's ₹34,000 at ₹1L a month.
HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns ICICI Times Black at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| ICICI Times Black | Metric | HDFC Infinia Metal |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹20,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹12,500/yr — wins this row |
| ₹25,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹10,00,000 spend |
| 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) — wins this row | Forex markup | 2% + GST |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 1.99%/mo (23.88%/yr) |
| 2.0% | Headline earn rate | 3.3% — wins this row |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | HDFC Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹1.00/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 | 12,500 reward points + complimentary Club Marriott, first year |
| 739 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 735 of 793 |
| ₹2,00,000+/month (official product page, seen 2026-08-01 — was community-reported only) | Income — salaried | ₹5L+/month net (private sector); ₹3.5L+/month (govt) |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | ITR ₹60L+/yr |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
The ₹ face-off at ₹1L/₹3L/₹5L a month
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.
HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns ICICI Times Black at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
How the gap moves with spend — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
How the gap moves with spend
HDFC Infinia Metal leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹17,791 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹1,05,820 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹1,05,820).
ICICI Times Black pays 4 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹2,00,000 a year, and HDFC Infinia Metal pays none; HDFC Infinia Metal pays a renewal bonus whatever you spend, and ICICI Times Black pays nothing to stay.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, HDFC Infinia Metal below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | HDFC Infinia Metal | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹3,850 | ₹13,941 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹17,791 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,300 | ₹27,882 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹15,582 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,450 | ₹41,823 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹23,373 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,600 | ₹55,764 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹21,164 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,750 | ₹69,705 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹28,955 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,900 | ₹83,646 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹36,746 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹73,050 | ₹97,587 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹24,537 |
| ₹2L | ₹79,200 | ₹1,11,528 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹32,328 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,05,350 | ₹1,25,469 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹20,119 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,11,500 | ₹1,39,410 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹27,910 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,17,650 | ₹1,53,351 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹35,701 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,23,800 | ₹1,67,292 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹43,492 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,29,950 | ₹1,81,233 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹51,283 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,36,100 | ₹1,95,174 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹59,074 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,42,250 | ₹2,09,115 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹66,865 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,48,400 | ₹2,23,056 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹74,656 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,54,550 | ₹2,36,997 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹82,447 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,60,700 | ₹2,50,938 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹90,238 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,66,850 | ₹2,64,879 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹98,029 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,73,000 | ₹2,78,820 | HDFC Infinia Metal by ₹1,05,820 |
Transfer reach — 2 vs 22 live routes
Transfer reach
1 shared route · 1 only ICICI Times Black · 3 only HDFC Infinia Metal — the full partner lists
Both reach
- Air India Maharaja Club 1:1 vs 2:1
Only ICICI Times Black
- iShop travel portal
Only HDFC Infinia Metal
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Finnair Plus (Avios)
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for — 6 points
What to watch out for
ICICI Times Black · 3 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
HDFC Infinia Metal · 2 more →
- SmartBuy monthly caps (15,000 RP/mo + a 3,000 RP/mo voucher sub-cap) limit the very best value
- Two different bars, don't confuse them: ₹10L waives the ₹12,500 fee (HDFC's own page); a SEPARATE, HARDER rule keeps the card. HDFC's bank-wide MITC v4.6 now carries it in writing — "Effective 1st April 2026, continued access to the Infinia programme will be aligned to a minimum Card spend or Relationship value": ₹18 lakh of Infinia spend (primary + add-ons) OR ₹50 lakh relationship value, per financial year
- And that test RECURS every financial year, with closure at the end of it. The MITC's own words: fail it and HDFC "will offer the next best alternate card variant basis customer consent. If otherwise, customer can opt to close their card or Bank will close the existing credit card with prior intimation via SMS and/or email, with a minimum notice period of 30 days." This is a written closure right on a 30-day clock, not the soft downgrade the 2026 press coverage described
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹55,764 against ₹34,600 — a ₹21,164 gap. At ₹5L/month, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹2,78,820 against ₹1,73,000 — a ₹1,05,820 gap. Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to HDFC Infinia Metal's 735.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; HDFC Infinia Metal — Keep. HDFC Infinia Metal takes 5 of the 7 rounds we can score — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, ICICI Times Black or HDFC Infinia Metal?
HDFC Infinia Metal. HDFC Infinia Metal takes 5 of the 7 rounds we can score. HDFC Infinia Metal out-earns ICICI Times Black at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
ICICI Times Black or HDFC Infinia Metal — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, HDFC Infinia Metal nets ₹1,67,292 against ₹1,23,800 — a ₹43,492 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 HDFC Infinia Metal?
HDFC Infinia Metal — ₹12,500/yr against ₹20,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; HDFC Infinia Metal at ₹10,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or HDFC Infinia Metal?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to HDFC Infinia Metal's 735. 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 2026-09-13, HDFC Infinia Metal on 2026-08-02. 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.
Verified against ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 18 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page — ₹20,000 joining + ₹20,000 annual (waived at ₹25L), 2% domestic / 2.5% international, 1.49% forex
- official Additional T&C PDF — 2% domestic / 2.5% international RP; 5,000 RP/cycle cap on utilities+insurance+education+government; "Value of 1 ICICI Bank reward point is up to ₹ 1"
- official MITC (last updated 2 Aug 2026) — ₹20,000 joining + ₹20,000 annual, fee reversal at ₹25,00,000; 1.49% forex mark-up (named exception to ICICI's 3.50%)
- community CardExpert review — corroborates the ₹0.40/point statement-credit rate vs ~₹1/point on vouchers/iShop
- official Launch announcement (with Times Internet and Visa)
- community TechnoFino — application-window + video-KYC experience; fast approvals for ICICI customers
- official Product page — "Joining Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Renewal Fee: ₹12,500 plus Applicable Taxes / Fee Waiver: Spend ₹10 lakh or more in a year before the renewal date"
- official Fees & charges / MITC PDF (Version 2.5, Mar-2025) — KFS table gives Infinia (Metal Edition) ₹12,500 fee, "₹10 Lakh / Annum" waiver and a 2% foreign-currency markup
- community CardExpert — ₹18L/FY spend OR ₹50L relationship value to KEEP the card (1-Apr-2026), and the same article dates the fee revisions to 15-May-2026: DCC markup
- community LiveFromALounge reproduces HDFC's own letter to cardholders — the two criteria verbatim, "Infinia Card Spends of INR 18,00,000"
- community Business Today (26-Feb-2026) — independent corroboration that HDFC emailed the ₹18L-spend (primary + add-on cards) or ₹50L relationship-value criteria
- official SmartBuy core-offer T&C (window 01-09-2026 to 30-09-2026) — Infinia earns 5X on Flights, 10X on Hotels and 5X on Brand Vouchers
- community CardInsider — SmartBuy 15k cap + 3k voucher sub-cap (Jul-2026)
- community TechnoFino — Infinia issued on Visa Infinite and Mastercard World (no RuPay)
- community TechnoFino — DCB→Infinia upgrade route; ₹12L limit + spend reported to stand in for salary
- community CardInsider forex table — Infinia 2% forex markup (below the 3.5% norm; the separate DCC markup on INR-billed foreign spends went 1% → 1.75% on 15-May-2026)
- official HDFC's own 15-May-2026 revision notice — states in writing that Infinia's reward accrual did NOT change, and sets the 1.75% DCC markup and the ₹3,500 metal re-issuance fee
- official HDFC Bank Key Fact Statement cum MITC v4.7 (August 2026), section E(v) — the ₹18L/₹50L retention test and the bank's right to close the card on 30 days' notice