ICICI Times Black vs YES Private Prime (2026)
YES Private Prime 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 Prime below it, ICICI Times Black above.
YES Private Prime 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 Prime |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹20,000/yr | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹20,000 joining, then ₹10,000/yr |
| ₹25,00,000 spend | Fee waiver | ₹20,00,000 spend |
| 1.49% + GST (card-specific carve-out in the MITC; standard ICICI rate is 3.5%) | Forex markup | 0.50% + GST, matching YES Private (plus a separate 1% DCC markup) — wins this row |
| 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) | APR | 2.99%/mo (35.88%/yr) — the YES 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 |
| 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 — a YES Private Banking product with no public application journey |
| ₹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 Prime 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 Prime 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 Prime pays none; YES Private Prime charges twice — ₹20,000 to join, then ₹10,000 every year after.
ICICI Times Black draws above the line, YES Private Prime below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | ICICI Times Black | YES Private Prime | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹3,850 | −₹1,600 | YES Private Prime 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 | ₹58,800 | ICICI Times Black by ₹14,250 |
| ₹2L | ₹79,200 | ₹67,200 | ICICI Times Black by ₹12,000 |
| ₹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 Prime — 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 Prime · 3 more →
- ₹20,000 joining fee is not waivable — the ₹20L spend waiver only kills the ₹10,000 renewal
- None of Private's fee waivers apply: ₹100 + GST per redemption, plus ₹99 on flight bookings, late fees and cash-advance fees all charged
- ₹0.25/point only on portal flights/hotels at 70% of invoice, capped at 6,00,000 points; statement credit pays ₹0.10
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 Prime's 728.
Our standing verdicts: ICICI Times Black — Keep; YES Private Prime — Keep. ICICI Times Black takes 4 of the 6 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 Prime?
ICICI Times Black. ICICI Times Black takes 4 of the 6 rounds we can score. YES Private Prime wins under ₹0.5L/month; ICICI Times Black takes over above it.
ICICI Times Black or YES Private Prime — 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 Prime?
They cost the same to get: ₹20,000/yr. ICICI Times Black waives its fee at ₹25,00,000 of spend; YES Private Prime at ₹20,00,000 of spend.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, ICICI Times Black or YES Private Prime?
Lounge chasers: ICICI Times Black opens 739 of 793 tracked doors to YES Private Prime'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 Prime 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 — 9 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 — ₹20,000 first-year fee, ₹10,000 renewal reversed at ₹20L; 20 RP/₹200 domestic and 40 RP/₹200 international; 0.50% forex; Oberoi vouchers worth ₹9,000
- official MITC (CMITC_V18_07082026) — ₹20,000/₹10,000 fee grid waived at ₹20L; 0.50% forex; lounge spend threshold NIL; redemption 70% of invoice up to 6,00,000 points
- official YES BANK International Lounge Program — Private Prime: unlimited international visits for primary and add-on cardmembers