ICICI Bank’s latest initiative iShop, a shopping and travel booking portal, offers accelerated rewards on purchases, aiming to enhance the benefits for its premium credit card users, including Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card and Times Black Credit Card.

Launched in February, iShop is currently in its beta testing phase, as indicated by the ‘Beta’ tag on its logo. The bank may introduce further updates and refinements in the future.

What Is ICICI Bank iShop?

iShop is a rewards-based shopping and travel portal designed primarily for premium credit card holders. The reward points earned through iShop are called iCash. The portal functions similarly to HDFC Bank’s SmartBuy and Axis Bank’s GrabDeals, offering exclusive discounts and reward points multipliers.

However, unlike its competitors, ICICI Bank also extends accelerated rewards to its debit card and net banking customers, making the portal accessible to a wider audience beyond just credit card users.

Key Features Of iShop

Exclusive Rewards: Earn iCash points across flights, hotels, and shopping
Premium Card Benefits: Enhanced rewards for high-tier credit cards
Available for Net Banking Users: Even non-credit card customers can earn rewards

How iShop Rewards Work?

Here’s the accelerated rewards structure of iShop

Credit Card	Regular rewards	iShop flights/voucher (6x)	iShop hotels (12x)
Emeralde Private metal	3 per cent	18 per cent	36 per cent
Times Black	2 per cent	12 per cent	24 per cent
Diamant World	0.75 per cent	4.5 per cent	9 per cent
Other ICICI Bank credit cards	0.5 per cent	3 per cent	6 per cent
Co-brand cards (cashback)	Various cashback	4 per cent	per cent

For Net Banking Customers – 3 per cent iCash on Flight bookings, and 6 per cent iCash on Hotel bookings

How To Redeem iCash Rewards?

ICICI Bank allows flexible redemption options for its new reward points:

• Flights: Up to 100 per cent of transaction value (Varies by card)
• Hotels: Up to 90 per cent of transaction value (Varies by card)
• Shopping: Up to 60 per cent of transaction value (Varies by card)

Redemption Value:

• 1 iCash = Rs 1 for Flights, Hotels, and Vouchers
• 1 iCash = Rs 0.40 when used as statement credit
• Redemption Fee: Rs 99 + GST for all cards except Emeralde Private Metal and Times Black

Redemption for Net Banking Users:

Instead of reward points, net banking customers earn iCash on iShop:

• 1 iCash = Rs 1
• Up to 80 per cent of the transaction can be paid with iCash, while the rest must be paid via net banking

Currently, iShop does not support reward points transfer to airline/hotel loyalty programs, limiting redemption options to flights, hotels, and shopping.

Monthly Reward Caps on iShop

• ICICI Bank has set monthly caps on the maximum rewards customers can earn via iShop:
• ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card: 18,000 Points
• ICICI Bank Times Black Credit Card: 15,000 Points
• ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card: 12,000 Points
• ICICI Bank Diamant World Credit Card: 9,000 Points
• ICICI Bank Other Credit Cards (Coral, CSK, HPCL, ManU, Parakram, Rubyx, Sapphiro): 9,000 Points
• Co-Branded Credit Cards: INR 1,100 Cashback

Sharing his thoughts on ICICI’s latest initiative, Technofino founder Sumanta Mandal said, “This is an amazing launch from ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank has often been tagged as a low-rewarding credit card issuer, but with this portal launch, customers can now earn significant bonus reward points using their ICICI Bank credit cards. This is a great way to revamp the bank’s credit card portfolio.”

He further added that, “One key expectation from ICICI Bank is that they should enter the airmiles game as soon as possible. According to some sources, they are already working on it. They are also aiming to launch a hotel co-branded credit card soon.”

Overall, iShop is a game-changer for ICICI Bank customers who frequently shop or travel. With the potential introduction of air miles and co-branded travel cards, ICICI Bank is positioning itself as a strong competitor in the premium credit card segment.