The news desk
Updates, decoded.
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249 of 249 tracker events have stories — the desk publishes hourly. Too fast? Pulse is the monthly rollup →
HSBC Premier Credit Card returns as a metal card
HSBC relaunched its Premier Credit Card on November 28, 2023 as a metal card with a flat 3 points per ₹100 on every spend, no category exclusions, plus Taj Epicure membership and a ₹12,000 Taj voucher on activation.
HDFC ships the Diners Club Black Metal Edition
HDFC launched a metal edition of the Diners Club Black on October 19, 2023, keeping the ₹10,000 fee but adding up to 10,000 points per ₹4 lakh of quarterly spend, unlimited access across 1,300+ lounges and 24 golf games a year.
British Airways ties Avios earning to fare, not miles flown
From October 18, 2023, BA Executive Club stopped awarding Avios by distance flown and moved to revenue-based earning of 6 to 9 Avios per pound of base fare, depending on tier.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles jacks up premium award prices
Cathay Pacific raised Asia Miles award costs on October 1, 2023: premium-cabin redemptions rose 20-30% on average, with some distance zones up as much as 40% one-way. Economy awards stayed mostly untouched.
Axis launches Magnus for Burgundy, the gutted Magnus's escape hatch
One month after devaluing the regular Magnus, Axis launched Magnus for Burgundy — lifetime-free through November 30, 2023 (later extended to December 31) for Burgundy priority-banking clients, keeping the old 5:4 EDGE-to-miles transfer ratio.
Axis Magnus is gutted: the enthusiast era officially ends
The 25,000-point monthly milestone is gone, transfers halved from 5:4 to 5:2, and the fee is up. For miles chasers it's roughly a 90% haircut.
Axis Reserve loses half its miles-conversion value alongside Magnus
In the September 1, 2023 Axis purge, Reserve's ER-to-airmiles conversion on ₹1 lakh of spend was cut from 6,000 miles to 3,000, the EDGE transfer ratio dropped from 5:4 to 5:2, and annual conversions were capped at 5 lakh points.
India gets its first co-branded hotel credit card
HDFC and Marriott launched India's first co-branded hotel credit card on August 24, 2023: 8 Bonvoy points per ₹150 at Marriott properties, an annual free-night award worth up to 15,000 points, Silver Elite status and elite night credits.
IndusInd Avios Visa Infinite launches — 36,000 bonus Avios
IndusInd Bank launches the Avios card, earning up to 36,000 bonus Avios a year, with the option to choose between British Airways Executive Club or Qatar Privilege Club. This is the first Indian card to earn Avios directly, providing a new transfer partner option for cardholders.
IndusInd Tiger is lifetime free
IndusInd Bank launches the Tiger card with lifetime free membership, offering domestic and international lounge access, 1.5% forex, and tiered rewards up to 6X. This card redefines entry-level benefits with no annual fee.
IDFC First and Club Vistara team up on a travel credit card
IDFC FIRST Bank, Club Vistara and Mastercard announced a co-branded travel credit card on July 11, 2023, bundling CV Points earning with lounge access, golf benefits and trip-cancellation cover.
AU devalues Rewardz 20% — ₹0.05/point lost
AU Small Finance Bank's Rewardz program devalues by 20% with e-voucher rate dropping to ₹0.20/point and a ₹99 + taxes redemption fee, affecting cards like AU Zenith and AU Ananta. This change reduces the value of earned points and increases the cost of redemption.
SBI kills reward points on rent across its co-brand cards
Effective July 1, 2023, SBI Card stopped awarding Reward Points on rent payments across its co-branded lineup — Aditya Birla, Apollo, BPCL, the metro cards, Fabindia, IRCTC and Ola Money SBI Cards all lost the category at once. It closed one of the last easy manufactured-spend levers on SBI's ecosystem.
Scapia offers 0% forex — for free
Scapia launches a lifetime-free credit card with 0% forex markup and unlimited domestic lounge access, resetting the entry price for zero-forex travel cards to zero. This move offers significant value to cardholders with no joining or annual fees.
SBI SimplyClick guts its two best accelerated-earn categories
SBI SimplyClick took two hits in quick succession in 2023: the 10x Lenskart earn rate was halved to 5x on April 1, then the 5x rate on online rent payments was cut to a flat 1x on May 1. Together they stripped out the card's two easiest reward-padding categories.
Standard Chartered Ultimate cuts six categories — a 39% haircut
Standard Chartered Ultimate's rewards rate on six everyday categories drops from 3.33% to 2% and fuel earns no points, affecting cardholders who use the card for utilities, supermarkets, insurance, rent, schools, and government payments. This change reduces the card's overall value by 39% in these categories.
HDFC launches Regalia Gold, a new super-premium travel card
HDFC announced Regalia Gold on March 23, 2023, slotting it above the ageing Regalia with global lounge access, airmiles-focused milestone benefits, and complimentary Club Vistara Silver and MakeMyTrip Black Elite tiers. It gives upgrade-seeking Regalia holders a rung below Infinia and Diners Black Metal.
HDFC Infinia excludes rent and govt spends, caps redemptions
From January 1, 2023, HDFC Infinia stopped earning Reward Points on rent, property-management and government-service transactions, and capped SmartBuy flight/hotel redemptions at 150,000 points a month with a separate 50,000-point cap on Tanishq vouchers. The base 5-points-per-₹150 earn rate survived.
Marriott Bonvoy goes fully dynamic, kills award price ceilings
From January 1, 2023, Marriott Bonvoy hotels no longer had to keep award prices within their old category bands — nightly rates now float wherever the demand-based algorithm sets them. For HDFC Marriott Bonvoy cardholders redeeming points or free-night certificates, the price ceiling is gone.
Emirates Skywards quietly hikes award miles by up to 20%
Emirates raised first and business class award pricing by up to 20% with no announcement, landing the hike in the middle of the Christmas booking rush. Fuel surcharges on the same award tickets kept climbing too.