The news desk · page 8 of 20
Updates, decoded.
What changed and whether it matters — grounded in the numbers, not the press release. Subscribe via RSS →
372 of 376 tracker events have stories — the desk publishes hourly. Too fast? Pulse is the monthly rollup →
KrisFlyer quietly cuts its own dynamic 'Access' award rates
Five months after launching dynamic 'Access' pricing, KrisFlyer devalues it too: up to 10.9% worse in economy and premium economy, 3.9% in business and first, with zero warning.
Lufthansa Miles & More raises award prices — 46,593 miles + €471
Lufthansa Miles & More raised award prices, with the cheapest one-way Lufthansa business award from Frankfurt to Delhi now costing 46,593 miles + €471. This represents a 9% increase in miles and a €100 increase in cash, approximately ₹10,900, affecting Indian cities and making redemptions more difficult.
Federal Bank ends Fi credit-card programme — 20 March 2026
Federal Bank discontinued its Fi credit-card programme on 20 March 2026, stopping reward accruals and the Fi Coins redemption option. Cardholders should burn their existing Fi-Points balance as soon as possible.
Amex Platinum Travel pushes its Taj voucher milestone to ₹7L
The 22,500 MR + ₹10,000 Taj voucher milestone on Amex Platinum Travel now needs ₹7L annual spend, up from ₹4L — a 75% higher bar for the card's best-known perk.
Paytm SBI Card SELECT cuts education spends — 1% value
The Paytm SBI Card SELECT no longer earns Reward Points on school and education spends, effective 9 Mar 2026, impacting its 1% value-back rate. This change affects a ₹1,499 card with a ₹2,00,000 annual spend requirement for fee waiver.
Paytm SBI Card cuts education spends — 1% value
Paytm SBI Card stops earning on school and education spends, effective 9 Mar 2026, cutting off a 1% value-back rate. This change affects eleven merchant category codes, including tuition, book shops, and stationers.
Lufthansa Miles & More adopts dynamic pricing — 3 March 2026
Lufthansa Miles & More introduces dynamic pricing for Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti awards, effective 3 March 2026. This change may result in higher redemption rates for these carriers.
Air India drops BLR/SFO, BOM/SFO — 7 to 10 DEL/SFO
Air India ends Bengaluru and Mumbai nonstops to San Francisco, consolidating flights to Delhi with 10 weekly frequencies. This change affects Star Alliance award space and Maharaja Club redemptions, now requiring a Delhi connection. The last flights from Bengaluru and Mumbai to San Francisco were on 27 and 28 February 2026, respectively.
Scapia devalues lounges — a 100% hike
Scapia doubles the lounge threshold to ₹20,000/month and removes insurance and utility payments from earning coins, making it harder for cardholders to access unlimited domestic lounges. This change increases the required spend by 100%.
J&K Bank relaunches its card range as Eminent, Platinum and Platinum Privilege
J&K Bank renamed the World Card to Eminent and the Government Employees card to Platinum Privilege, and put a 1.99% forex markup on both — one of them lifetime-free. What it still will not publish is what a reward point is worth.
Amex retires Gyftr, moves Reward Multiplier to ShopWise
The 5X–10X voucher engine behind Indian Amex MR value switches platforms from Gyftr to ShopWise. Same 200+ brands, same mechanics, new bookmark.
HDFC caps redemptions — 5/month, 50k points
HDFC Bank limits reward point redemptions to 5 per month and 50,000 points per month against statement balance, affecting cardholders with large point balances. This change takes effect from 1 February 2026.
HDFC throttles point redemptions to 50,000 a month
From 1 February 2026 HDFC caps reward-point redemptions at five per month and 50,000 points against the statement balance, ₹2,00,000 per statement cycle, with flights, hotels and airmiles boxed to ₹1,50,000 a month. The earn rate is untouched — the exit is what got narrower.
ICICI gates its BookMyShow movie perk behind quarterly spend
From 1 February 2026, ICICI's complimentary BookMyShow ticket offer requires ₹25,000 spend in the preceding quarter; Instant Platinum loses the benefit entirely.
Amex pauses Travel With Points — ₹0.50 value intact
American Express pauses Travel With Points redemption option, effective 27 January 2026, with no impact on transfers or other redemption menus. The pause affects cardholders who used the portal for redemption, with other options still available at the same value of ₹0.50 per point.
ICICI caps transport rewards and excludes rent, tax, fuel spends
From 15 January 2026, ICICI Emeralde, Emeralde Private, Sapphiro and Rubyx earn on only the first ₹20,000 of monthly transport spend, and rent, tax, fuel, government services and wallet loads earn nothing. DCC rises to 2%.
SBI Card splits domestic lounges into tiers, adds entry fees
From 10 January 2026, SBI Card sorts domestic lounge access into Set A and Set B tiers by card, and adds a non-refundable ₹2 authorization charge plus a ₹25 validation hold per visit.
RBL Bank adds 1% fee on FASTag loads — ₹10,000
RBL Bank introduces 1% fee on FASTag loads and tolls above ₹10,000, effective January 07, 2026. The fee applies to roughly sixty card variants and attracts 18% GST. To avoid the fee, split FASTag loads into transactions under ₹10,000.
IDFC FIRST launches zero-forex Diamond Reserve card
IDFC FIRST launches Diamond Reserve at ₹3,000+GST: 0% forex markup, 60 RP per ₹150 on app hotel bookings, 40 RP per ₹150 on flights, and 4 lounge visits per quarter.
BOBCARD picks up Etihad Guest — 2 miles/₹100
BOBCARD launches two Etihad Guest co-brands with 2 miles/₹100 earn rate and 0% forex, replacing SBI co-brands that will close on 31 Mar 2026. The BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium earns 6 miles/₹100 on etihad.com and has a milestone ladder to 40,000 miles a year.