ICICI Times Black vs HSBC Taj (2026)
HSBC Taj vs ICICI Times Black: which wins?
₹1,23,800ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to ICICI Times Black
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
ICICI Times Black marks foreign spend up 1.5% against HSBC Taj's 3.5% — 2.0pp on every rupee you spend abroad, before either card earns a point on it.
ICICI Times Black out-earns HSBC Taj 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 | HSBC Taj |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹20,000/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹1,10,000/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 — waived only for "India's executive banking clients" |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), computed from transaction date |
| 2.0% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 0.8% |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | Taj Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.85/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 | Two breakfast-inclusive nights across India + a Taj Palaces night on activation |
| 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 | ₹40L+/yr |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | ₹60L+/yr |
† HSBC Taj: Points are not HSBC Reward Points. They convert automatically to Taj Experience Gift Card balance at 1.5:1 — ₹1 a point, spendable only at IHCL, and gone after a year.
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.
ICICI Times Black out-earns HSBC Taj 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
ICICI Times Black leads at all 20 steps, but not by the same amount: ₹1,03,006 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹2,20,120 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹2,20,120).
ICICI Times Black pays 4 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹2,00,000 a year, and HSBC Taj pays none.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, HSBC Taj below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | HSBC Taj | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹3,850 | −₹1,06,856 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,03,006 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,300 | −₹1,03,712 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,16,012 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,450 | −₹1,00,568 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,19,018 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,600 | −₹97,424 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,32,024 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,750 | −₹94,280 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,35,030 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,900 | −₹91,136 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,38,036 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹73,050 | −₹87,992 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,61,042 |
| ₹2L | ₹79,200 | −₹84,848 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,64,048 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,05,350 | −₹81,704 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,87,054 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,11,500 | −₹78,560 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,90,060 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,17,650 | −₹75,416 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,93,066 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,23,800 | −₹72,272 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,96,072 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,29,950 | −₹69,128 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,99,078 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,36,100 | −₹65,984 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,02,084 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,42,250 | −₹62,840 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,05,090 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,48,400 | −₹59,696 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,08,096 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,54,550 | −₹56,552 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,11,102 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,60,700 | −₹53,408 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,14,108 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,66,850 | −₹50,264 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,17,114 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,73,000 | −₹47,120 | ICICI Times Black by ₹2,20,120 |
Transfer reach — 2 vs 0 live routes
Transfer reach
0 shared routes · 2 only ICICI Times Black · 0 only HSBC Taj — the full partner lists
Only ICICI Times Black
- Air India Maharaja Club
- iShop travel portal
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
HSBC Taj · 6 more →
- The points are Taj-only: 1.5 reward points convert to ₹1 of Taj Experience Gift Card balance and reach no airline, no hotel partner and no cash
- That balance expires one year after it is earned — and you don't choose when it converts, HSBC does, two days after each statement
- 3.5% foreign-currency markup, waived only for HSBC's executive banking clients
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,600 against −₹97,424 — a ₹1,32,024 gap. At ₹5L/month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,73,000 against −₹47,120 — a ₹2,20,120 gap. Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Taj's 735.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; HSBC Taj — Downgrade. ICICI Times Black takes 7 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 HSBC Taj?
ICICI Times Black. ICICI Times Black takes 7 of the 7 rounds we can score. ICICI Times Black out-earns HSBC Taj at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
ICICI Times Black or HSBC Taj — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,23,800 against −₹72,272 — a ₹1,96,072 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 HSBC Taj?
ICICI Times Black — ₹20,000/yr against ₹1,10,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; HSBC Taj at no spend level — there is no waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or HSBC Taj?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Taj'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, HSBC Taj on 2026-08-15. 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 HSBC's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 10 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 Important Terms and Conditions — tariff sheet: joining ₹1,10,000 + taxes, first-year annual fee NIL, ₹1,10,000 + taxes from year two, 3.5% foreign-currency markup, 3.75% a month finance charge
- official Service Guide — the rewards clause: 1.5 reward points per ₹100, 5 per ₹100 at IHCL, auto-converted two days after each statement at 1.5 reward points = 1 Taj reward point = ₹1, expiring after one year
- official Airport lounge T&C — international access is the Visa Priority Pass programme with unlimited complimentary visits per calendar year; domestic runs on the Visa India lounge programme
- official Product page — the ten zero-earn MCC families, plus welcome stays, Taj InnerCircle Platinum, The Chambers 12× a year with a guest, Taj Club Lounge 12× and 25% off the best available rate