ICICI Times Black vs YES Private (2026)
YES Private 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
The answer flips at ₹0.5L a month: YES Private below it, ICICI Times Black above.
YES Private wins under ₹0.5L/month; ICICI Times Black takes over above it.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| ICICI Times Black | Metric | YES Private |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹20,000/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹50,000 joining, then ₹10,000/yr |
| ₹25,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹25,00,000 spend |
| 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) | Forex markup | 0.50% + GST — the lowest markup on any Indian credit card we track (DCC on INR-billed international transactions is a separate 1%) — wins this row |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 2.99%/mo (35.88%/yr) — the YES Private/Prime/Marquee/Reserv premium tier (CMITC_V18_07082026) |
| 2.0% | Headline earn rate | 2.5% — wins this row |
| ICICI Reward Points | Currency | YES Rewardz (YES CC Rewardz) |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹0.25/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 | Oberoi e-gift vouchers worth ₹9,000; the bank's own rewards panel also promises 2,00,000 YES Rewardz to start on the priced card |
| 739 of 793 — wins this row | Lounge doors opened | 728 of 793 |
| ₹2,00,000+/month (official product page, seen 2026-08-01 — was community-reported only) | Income — salaried | Not published — the card is issued through YES Private banking, not a retail funnel |
| ₹24,00,000+/yr (official product page) | Income — self-employed | not published |
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.
YES Private wins under ₹0.5L/month; ICICI Times Black takes over above it.
Where the lead changes hands — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
Where the lead changes hands
The lead changes hands at ₹0.5L a month: YES Private is ahead by ₹2,250 at ₹0.25L, ICICI Times Black by ₹5,000 at ₹5L.
ICICI Times Black pays 4 annual spend milestones, the first at ₹2,00,000 a year, and YES Private pays none; YES Private charges twice — ₹50,000 to join, then ₹10,000 every year after.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, YES Private below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | YES Private | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹3,850 | −₹1,600 | YES Private by ₹2,250 |
| ₹0.5L | ₹12,300 | ₹6,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,500 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹18,450 | ₹15,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹3,250 |
| ₹1L | ₹34,600 | ₹23,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹11,000 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹40,750 | ₹32,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹8,750 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹46,900 | ₹40,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹6,500 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹73,050 | ₹48,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹24,250 |
| ₹2L | ₹79,200 | ₹57,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹22,000 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹1,05,350 | ₹75,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹29,750 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹1,11,500 | ₹84,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹27,500 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹1,17,650 | ₹92,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹25,250 |
| ₹3L | ₹1,23,800 | ₹1,00,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹23,000 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹1,29,950 | ₹1,09,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹20,750 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,36,100 | ₹1,17,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹18,500 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,42,250 | ₹1,26,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹16,250 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,48,400 | ₹1,34,400 | ICICI Times Black by ₹14,000 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,54,550 | ₹1,42,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹11,750 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,60,700 | ₹1,51,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹9,500 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,66,850 | ₹1,59,600 | ICICI Times Black by ₹7,250 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,73,000 | ₹1,68,000 | ICICI Times Black by ₹5,000 |
Transfer reach — 2 vs 1 live routes
Transfer reach
1 shared route · 1 only ICICI Times Black · 0 only YES Private — the full partner lists
Both reach
- Air India Maharaja Club 1:1 vs 15:1
Only ICICI Times Black
- 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
YES Private · 3 more →
- ₹50,000 to join and it is NOT waivable — the ₹25L spend waiver only buys off the ₹10,000 renewal
- ₹0.25/point only on portal flights/hotels, capped at 70% of invoice and 6,00,000 points; statement credit pays ₹0.10
- The lone airline route (Maharaja Club, 15:1 ≈ ₹0.07/pt) loses you money — treat the points as portal credit, not miles
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, ICICI Times Black nets ₹34,600 against ₹23,600 — a ₹11,000 gap. At ₹5L/month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,73,000 against ₹1,68,000 — a ₹5,000 gap. Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to YES Private's 728.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; YES Private — Keep. ICICI Times Black 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 YES Private?
ICICI Times Black. ICICI Times Black takes 5 of the 7 rounds we can score. YES Private wins under ₹0.5L/month; ICICI Times Black takes over above it.
ICICI Times Black or YES Private — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, ICICI Times Black nets ₹1,23,800 against ₹1,00,800 — a ₹23,000 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 YES Private?
ICICI Times Black — ₹20,000/yr against ₹50,000 joining, then ₹10,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; YES Private at ₹25,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or YES Private?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to YES Private's 728. 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, YES Private 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 YES Bank'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 Product page — ₹50,000 first-year and ₹10,000 renewal fee reversed at ₹25L; 20 RP/₹200 domestic and 40 RP/₹200 international at up to 25 paise; 0.50% forex; Oberoi vouchers worth ₹9,000
- official MITC (CMITC_V18_07082026) — ₹50,000/₹10,000 fee grid waived at ₹25L; 0.50% forex; lounge spend threshold NIL; no utility reward capping; 70%-of-invoice redemption up to 6,00,000 points
- official YES BANK International Lounge Program — YES Private: unlimited international visits for primary and add-on cardmembers, 12 complimentary guest visits per calendar year
- official YES BANK Domestic Lounge Program — the quarterly spend gate and the DreamFolks booking flow