ICICI Times Black vs ICICI Bank Emeralde (2026)
Same points, same partner board — 2 live transfer routes each, so this one is decided on earn and fee, nothing else: 2.0% at ₹20,000/yr against 1.0% at ₹12,000/yr.
Head to head
| ICICI Times Black | Metric | ICICI Bank Emeralde |
|---|---|---|
| #26 — wins this row | Our rank | #89 |
| ₹20,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹12,000/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 — one of only two ICICI cards below the 3.5% standard (the other is Emeralde Private Metal) |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) |
| 2.0% — wins this row | Headline earn rate | 1.0% |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | ICICI 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 | — |
| 730 of 789 | Lounge doors opened | 732 of 789 — wins this row |
| ₹2,00,000+/month (official product page, seen 2026-08-01 — was community-reported only) | Income — salaried | not published |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | not published |
† ICICI Bank Emeralde: The original Emeralde redeems ICICI Reward Points at ₹0.25 apiece — the ₹1.00 house value is Emeralde Private Metal's iShop rate, not this card's. ICICI publishes no per-point figure for this card, and its own membership kit is silent on value where Private Metal's says "Each ICICI Bank Reward Point is equivalent to ₹1" twice; the ₹0.25 is the ICICI Bank Rewards Programme rate stated verbatim in the Rubyx kit — "Each reward point is equivalent to ₹0.25 when redeemed for cash". earn.base bakes the haircut in.
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 ICICI Bank Emeralde 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: ₹5,000 at ₹0.25L a month, ₹1,10,000 at ₹5L — the gap fans out with spend, widest at ₹5L (₹1,10,000).
ICICI Times Black pays 4 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹2,00,000 a year, and ICICI Bank Emeralde pays none.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, ICICI Bank Emeralde below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | ICICI Bank Emeralde | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹4,000 | −₹9,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,000 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,000 | −₹6,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹18,000 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,000 | −₹3,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹21,000 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,000 | ₹12,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹22,000 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,000 | ₹15,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹25,000 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,000 | ₹18,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹28,000 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹72,000 | ₹21,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹51,000 |
| ₹2L | ₹78,000 | ₹24,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹54,000 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,04,000 | ₹27,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹77,000 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,10,000 | ₹30,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹80,000 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,16,000 | ₹33,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹83,000 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,22,000 | ₹36,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹86,000 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,28,000 | ₹39,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹89,000 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,34,000 | ₹42,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹92,000 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,40,000 | ₹45,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹95,000 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,46,000 | ₹48,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹98,000 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,52,000 | ₹51,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,01,000 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,58,000 | ₹54,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,04,000 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,64,000 | ₹57,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,07,000 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,70,000 | ₹60,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹1,10,000 |
Transfer reach
Both cards earn ICICI Reward Points, so the partner list is identical — 2 live transfer routes each. The fight is decided on earn and fees, not reach.
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
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
ICICI Bank Emeralde · 2 more →
- NOT the Emeralde Private Metal — this card's points redeem at ₹0.25, not ₹1.00
- 1.0% effective return against a ₹12,000 fee; waiver needs ₹10L of spend
- No welcome benefit published
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,000 against ₹12,000 — a ₹22,000 gap. At ₹5L/month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,70,000 against ₹60,000 — a ₹1,10,000 gap. Lounge chasers: ICICI Bank Emeralde opens 732 of 789 tracked doors to ICICI Times Black's 730.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; ICICI Bank Emeralde — Downgrade. On our board, ICICI Times Black sits at #26 to ICICI Bank Emeralde's #89 — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Straight answers
Which is better, ICICI Times Black or ICICI Bank Emeralde?
ICICI Times Black. It sits at #26 on our board to ICICI Bank Emeralde's #89. ICICI Times Black takes 6 of the 8 rounds we can score. ICICI Times Black out-earns ICICI Bank Emeralde at every spend level we model, from ₹25k to ₹5L a month.
ICICI Times Black or ICICI Bank Emeralde — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,22,000 against ₹36,000 — a ₹86,000 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 ICICI Bank Emeralde?
ICICI Bank Emeralde — ₹12,000/yr against ₹20,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; ICICI Bank Emeralde at ₹10,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or ICICI Bank Emeralde?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Bank Emeralde opens 732 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, ICICI Bank Emeralde 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.