ICICI Times Black Credit Card Review: A Metal Card for Constant Travelers

The ICICI Bank Times Black Credit Card is ICICI's answer to the ultra-premium metal card segment — the kind of card built less around a clever rewards formula and more around a handful of expensive, hard-to-replicate perks: unlimited global lounge access, an exceptionally low forex markup, and lifestyle add-ons that lean luxury rather than everyday utility. It's priced and gated accordingly, aimed at spenders who travel constantly and treat the annual fee as a rounding error against their overall spend.

Fees and eligibility at a glance

Times Black carries a steep ₹20,000 joining and annual fee, waived once you cross ₹25,00,000 in annual spend — a little over ₹2 lakh a month. That's a high but not unreasonable bar for the UHNI segment ICICI is targeting; if you're not spending at that level, you're paying the full ₹20,000 out of pocket every year. Where the card genuinely stands out is forex markup: 1.49%, meaningfully lower than almost every other super-premium card in India, most of which sit at 2% or above. For anyone who spends heavily overseas, that difference compounds fast.

Rewards and how they actually work

Base earning runs at 2% via reward points, with travel-category spend accelerating to around 2.5% — respectable, but not the card's main selling point compared to cards like Axis Magnus that lead with a much higher flat rate. Redemption as statement credit or through ICICI's own reward catalogue is free; only select third-party gift and merchandise catalogue redemptions carry a ₹99 + GST fee per request. In other words, the simplest redemption paths cost nothing, which is a meaningful convenience if you don't want to manage a transfer-partner strategy the way you would with a miles-focused card.

Lounge access and travel perks

This is the card's centerpiece: unlimited domestic and international airport lounge access via Priority Pass, covering 1,900+ lounges across 145+ countries, extended to both primary and add-on cardholders with no visit cap. On top of that sits a complimentary Zomato Gold annual membership and a choice between an EaseMyTrip luxury-stay gift card worth ₹10,000 or a Lohono premium villa stay worth ₹12,000 — genuinely high-value lifestyle perks rarely bundled together on a single card. There's also air accident insurance on card-purchased tickets, and the 1% fuel surcharge waiver applies at any fuel station nationwide rather than being locked to one oil company's network.

What's genuinely good about this card

Unlimited lounge access with no visit cap removes the anxiety of tracking quarterly limits that even other premium cards impose, and extending it to add-on cardholders means a spouse or family member gets the same benefit without a separate application. The 1.49% forex markup is the best-in-class figure among super-premium Indian cards, which quietly saves real money on every international transaction without requiring any active management. The Zomato Gold membership plus the ₹10,000-₹12,000 luxury-stay voucher choice are perks with clear, tangible cash value baked in from day one, not vague "lifestyle benefits" that are hard to actually use. And having the fuel surcharge waiver apply universally, rather than restricted to one oil marketing company, is a small but genuinely useful piece of flexibility most competing cards don't offer.

Where it falls short

The ₹20,000 fee and ₹25 lakh waiver threshold put this firmly out of reach for anyone below the UHNI spending bracket — there's no accessible middle tier here. The 2% base reward rate is unremarkable for a card at this price point; you're paying primarily for lounge access and lifestyle perks, not for a competitive earn rate on everyday spend. And because the card leans on ICICI's own catalogue and statement-credit redemption rather than a rich airline/hotel transfer-partner network, frequent flyers chasing premium cabin awards may find the redemption ceiling lower than a miles-focused competitor like Axis Magnus or Atlas.

Who this card actually makes sense for

Times Black suits someone who already travels internationally on a regular basis, wants zero friction around lounge visit limits, and values a low forex markup and simple statement-credit redemption over chasing transfer-partner mileage runs. It's a poor fit for anyone spending under the ₹25 lakh annual threshold, or for someone whose primary goal is maximizing points value rather than convenience and lounge access.

Where to go from here

If you want a comparable travel card with a stronger points-transfer ecosystem, read the Axis Magnus review or the Axis Atlas review. For a broader look at how ICICI's lineup stacks up, see the ICICI credit cards guide, and for a side-by-side against HDFC, HDFC vs ICICI credit cards.