All cards / ICICI Bank
ICICI Sapphiro
A mid-premium travel card sitting one notch below the Emeralde — its ~₹13,000 welcome voucher pack (Tata CliQ, EaseMyTrip, Da Milano, Croma, EazyDiner Prime) alone can cover most of the joining fee, backed by international lounge access, golf privileges, and a ₹3 crore air accident cover. The trade-off is a thin 0.5% base reward rate, so value leans heavily on the milestone bonuses and lifestyle perks rather than everyday spend.
Annual fee
₹3,500
Joining fee
₹6,500
Reward type
points
Base reward rate
0.5%
Card network
Mastercard
Card tier
Premium
Who this card fits
Best suited to applicants with a credit score of roughly 750+ whose spend is concentrated in travel, dining. Its annual fee waives if you can comfortably clear the spend threshold.
Rewards & benefits
- Movie & dining: BookMyShow/INOX buy-one-get-one offer twice a month on ₹25,000 quarterly spend, plus Culinary Treats dining discounts
- Rewards rate: 0.5% base rate
- Domestic lounge access: 4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter on ₹75,000+ spend in the preceding calendar quarter, primary cardholder only
- International lounge access: 2 complimentary international lounge visits/year via Priority Pass
- Golf: Up to 4 complimentary golf rounds/lessons a month at select courses, tied to ₹50,000 monthly spend
- Insurance benefits: ₹3 crore air accident cover for the primary cardholder on card-purchased tickets; ₹2 lakh personal accident cover on the RuPay variant
Benefits by category
- ✈️ Travel
2 complimentary international lounge visits/year (Priority Pass) + domestic lounge access on ₹75,000+ spend per calendar quarter
- 🛡️ Insurance
₹3 crore air accident cover (primary cardholder); ₹2 lakh personal accident cover on RuPay variant
- 🧾 Utilities
0.25% reward rate
- ⛽ Fuel
1% fuel surcharge waiver, capped at ₹4,000 per transaction
- 🌍 Forex / international spend
3.5% forex markup on international transactions
Eligibility
- Minimum credit score: 750
- Minimum monthly income: ₹75,000
- Employment: salaried, self-employed
- Age: 21–65
Fees & charges
- Spend-based waiver: Waived on annual spend of ₹6,00,000
- Rewards redemption fee: Free for redemption as statement credit or ICICI's own reward catalogue vouchers; ₹99 + GST per redemption request for select third-party gift/merchandise catalogue items
- Foreign currency markup: 3.5%
- Interest rate: 45% p.a.
- Fuel surcharge waiver: 1% fuel surcharge waiver on transactions between ₹400 and ₹4,000, capped monthly
- Cash advance charges: 2.5% of the transaction amount or ₹500, whichever is higher, plus applicable GST
Benefits
- 2 complimentary international lounge visits/year (Priority Pass) + domestic lounge access on ₹75,000+ spend per calendar quarter
- Welcome vouchers worth over ₹13,000 (Tata CliQ, EaseMyTrip, Da Milano, Croma, EazyDiner Prime) on payment of joining fee, credited within 45 days
- ₹3 crore air accident cover (primary cardholder); ₹2 lakh personal accident cover on RuPay variant
- Complimentary golf rounds (up to 4/month tied to ₹50,000 spend) and BookMyShow buy-one-get-one twice a month on ₹25,000 quarterly spend
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver, capped at ₹4,000 per transaction
- 4,000 bonus points at ₹4 lakh annual spend, plus 2,000 points per additional ₹1 lakh, capped at 20,000 points/year
- 24/7 concierge for reservations, travel bookings, and emergency assistance
Pros
- + Sizeable welcome voucher pack worth over ₹13,000
- + International lounge access via Priority Pass plus quarterly domestic lounge access
- + Complimentary golf rounds and BookMyShow BOGO offers on quarterly spend
- + ₹3 crore air accident cover, generous for a mid-premium card
- + 24/7 concierge service for travel and dining bookings
Cons
- − Base reward rate of 0.5% is low relative to the ₹3,500 annual fee
- − Needs ₹6L/year spend to waive the annual fee
- − Milestone and lifestyle benefits are gated behind quarterly spend thresholds
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