The news desk
Updates, decoded.
What changed and whether it matters — grounded in the numbers, not the press release. Subscribe via RSS →
249 of 249 tracker events have stories — the desk publishes hourly. Too fast? Pulse is the monthly rollup →
Hilton Honors rolls 2021 status and nights straight into 2022
Hilton extended all elite status through March 2023 and rolled every 2021 night into 2022 tier qualification. The milestone-bonus threshold also drops to 30 nights from 40.
Federal Bank launches Celesta — 10 lounge visits
Federal Bank's Celesta card offers 2 international and 8 domestic lounge visits, with a rewards rate of 1 point per ₹100 at ₹0.25 per point. The card is launched on Visa with 3-click digital issuance and dynamic interest from 0.49% a month.
Amex delinks Taj Epicure dining plan from InnerCircle status
Amex Platinum Charge holders lose the bundle where Taj InnerCircle Silver status automatically included the Epicure dining plan. The two are now separate enrolments.
HDFC Bank Credit Card Ban Lifted
RBI lifts HDFC Bank's credit-card issuance ban after eight months, reopening access to Infinia and Diners Black cards.
BA devalues Avios on Cathay Pacific and JAL short-haul awards
British Airways raised Avios pricing on short-haul Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines partner awards with zero advance notice, hitting Indian flyers routing through Hong Kong and Tokyo.
RBI bars Mastercard from issuing any new cards in India
The RBI banned Mastercard from onboarding new domestic customers from 22 July 2021 over data-localisation non-compliance. Existing cards keep working; new issuance stops cold.
AU enters credit card market — ₹7,999 for Zenith
AU Small Finance Bank launches four credit cards, including Zenith with a ₹7,999 fee, marking its entry into the credit card business. The cards offer rewards, but with limitations, including points redeemable only in AU's catalogue.
RBI bars Amex and Diners Club from onboarding new customers
The RBI barred American Express and Diners Club from adding new customers from 1 May 2021 over data-localisation non-compliance. Existing cards are unaffected; new issuance stops.
Citi exits India
Citi is exiting Indian consumer banking, ending its PremierMiles and Rewards cards. The portfolio will pass to Axis, affecting one of India's most-loved rewards ecosystems with around 2.5 million cards.
SBI Card Launches Invite-Only Aurum Metal Card
SBI Card debuts Aurum, an invitation-only metal card with a 40,000-point welcome bonus worth roughly ₹10,000 at 0.25 rupees per point, unlimited international lounge access and domestic lounge visits capped at four per quarter.
Club Vistara toughens elite tiers to points-AND-flights rule
Club Vistara switched elite qualification from tier points OR flight count to requiring both, pricing out flyers who racked up short domestic legs without matching revenue.
HDFC guts SmartBuy 10X: Infinia and Diners Black points slashed
HDFC cut SmartBuy 10X monthly caps 40-50% — Infinia from 25,000 to 15,000 points, Diners Black from 15,000 to 7,500 — and dropped Amazon to 5X and Flipkart to 3X, with no grace period.
InterMiles resets the clock, drags elite status into 2021
InterMiles reset every elite member's qualification year from Nov 2019-Nov 2020 to June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021 — a de facto 7-month status extension, though members close to requalifying lost that progress.
OneCard Metal launches — 0.2% rewards
OneCard launches a lifetime-free metal Visa Signature credit card with 0.2% base rewards, equivalent to ₹0.10 cashback points per ₹50 spent. This card has a 1% forex markup, the cheapest on any free Indian card.
Club Vistara freezes status, gives points and vouchers a grace period
Club Vistara froze status assessments through September 2020 and promised expiring CV points and upgrade vouchers a fresh four-month validity window once flights resume.
Marriott extends every 2019 elite status by a full year
Marriott's CEO announced that all elite status earned in 2019 is extended through February 2022, and points expiration — normally triggered after 24 months of inactivity — is paused.
RBI lets banks freeze credit card EMIs, but the meter keeps running
RBI's COVID package allows a three-month moratorium on term loans and credit card dues falling due between March 1 and May 31, 2020, with no credit-score hit. Interest keeps compounding through the pause, so deferring costs more than paying.
Hilton becomes the first hotel chain to freeze status and points
Hilton Honors announced on March 25, 2020 that Diamond and Gold members keep their tier for a full extra year regardless of stays, with 2019 status extended to March 2021, 2020 status to March 2022, and points expiration paused indefinitely.
World of Hyatt bolts on peak pricing, dings Grand Hyatt Kochi
Hyatt's 2020 award chart refresh introduces peak and off-peak pricing for the first time, adding up to 30% on peak nights, while 117 properties move to pricier categories against 100 that get cheaper.
SBI Cards lists on Dalal Street in India's first card-issuer IPO
SBI Cards became India's first standalone credit card issuer to go public, pricing its IPO at ₹755 after 26.5x oversubscription but listing at ₹658 on March 16, 2020 — a 13% discount — as COVID panic hit markets.