ICICI 1838 Reserve: Is a ₹2 Lakh Card Ever Worth It?
Updated as of 15 Oct 2026. All details are from ICICI Bank’s 1838 Reserve card page, checked 15 Oct 2026. GST is 18%.
ICICI has made its most expensive card official. The 1838 Reserve ICICI Bank Credit Card costs ₹1,75,000 + GST every year, about ₹2.06 lakh, with no spend-based waiver. You can’t apply on the website either: it’s by invitation, through your relationship manager. So who is it for, and can the numbers ever work?
The card at a glance
| Fee | ₹1,75,000 + GST joining, and the same every year. No waiver |
| Rewards | 3% on domestic spends, 2% on international, up to 1 lakh points a month |
| Capped categories | Utilities, telecom, government, tax, education and insurance share 10,000 points a month |
| No rewards on | Fuel, rent, wallet loads and EMIs |
| Forex markup | Zero |
| Redeem points for | ICICI’s catalogue: vouchers, travel, electronics, fashion. No airline or hotel transfer partners are listed |
| Add-on cards | Not issued |
| Lounge access, golf, insurance | Not listed on the page |
The perks, and what they’re really worth
ICICI puts a value on each perk, and they add up to about ₹6.7 lakh. Most of that is for things you’d never buy yourself.
| Perk | ICICI’s value | Our take |
|---|---|---|
| 50% off a companion’s business class ticket, once a quarter | Up to ₹50,000 each time | The only perk that can pay the fee. Up to ₹2 lakh a year if you fly business with a partner every quarter |
| Quorum Club membership (280+ clubs in 52 countries) | ₹3,00,000 | Useful only if you’d pay for a private club anyway |
| Harrods Gold tier | ₹1,00,000 | Only for London shoppers |
| Crib Life concierge | ₹1,00,000 | Nice to have |
| One night at a Lohono Stays Platinum villa | ₹50,000 | Real value if you’d book one |
| Four Truefitt & Hill grooming services | ₹49,600 | Nice to have |
| Welcome gift (Marshall, Smeg, Le Creuset or Good Earth) | ₹25,000 | Yes, first year only |
| Accor+ Explorer (Gold) | ₹20,000 | Yes, if you stay at Accor hotels. See our Accor+ Explorer guide |
| ITC: stay 3 nights, pay for 2 | ₹15,500 | Yes, on one longer ITC stay |
| Klook museum visit for two | ₹7,500 | Small |
The maths: when does ₹2.06 lakh come back?
On rewards alone, at 3% back you’d need to spend about ₹69 lakh a year in India (₹5.7 lakh a month) just to earn back the fee. Abroad, at 2%, it’s ₹1.03 crore.
What could change this: ICICI’s card page lists only the flat 3% and 2%. It doesn’t mention extra earning on ICICI’s iShop portal or any reward multiplier on travel or hotel bookings. If the card gets accelerated rates there, the break-even falls fast: every doubling of the earn rate halves the spend you need. At 6% back on your big bookings, you’d need about ₹34.5 lakh a year; at 9%, about ₹23 lakh. The 1 lakh points a month cap is high enough not to get in the way. Ask your relationship manager for the card’s full reward terms, including iShop, before you say yes. We’ll update this post if ICICI publishes them.
The companion discount changes that. If you fly business class with a partner four times a year and each companion fare is ₹1 lakh or more, you save ₹2 lakh, which covers almost the whole fee. Everything you earn from spending is then profit.
| Your year | Rewards | Companion savings | After ₹2.06 lakh fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹30 lakh spend, no business trips | ₹90,000 | ₹0 | −₹1.16 lakh |
| ₹30 lakh spend, 2 business trips with a partner | ₹90,000 | ₹1,00,000 | −₹16,500 |
| ₹50 lakh spend, 4 business trips with a partner | ₹1,50,000 | ₹2,00,000 | +₹1.44 lakh |
Compared with the cards you can actually apply for
3% back with zero forex markup is a good rate, but cards costing a fraction of the fee come close. HDFC Infinia (₹12,500) earns about 3.3% at ₹1 a point and transfers to airlines. Axis Magnus for Burgundy (₹30,000) earns far more above ₹1.5 lakh a month, as we showed in our Aeroplan 90% sale maths. The 1838 Reserve’s points stay inside ICICI’s catalogue, so you can’t stretch them into a business class seat the way transferable points can.
Who it’s for
| You are… | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Flying business class with a partner every quarter, and spending ₹50 lakh+ a year | ✅ It pays for itself, and the zero forex markup helps abroad |
| Spending big but rarely flying business | ❌ You lose money every year. Take Infinia or Magnus for Burgundy |
| Collecting points for award flights | ❌ No transfer partners. Transferable points are worth more |
| Wanting it for the lounges | ❌ No lounge access is listed on the card page |
DealUni take: this is a status card with one real money perk. If your relationship manager offers it and you fly business with your spouse every quarter, the companion discount alone nearly covers the fee. For everyone else, a ₹12,500–30,000 card gives back more.
Fee lakhon mein, toh kharcha bhi lakhon mein chahiye. (A fee in lakhs needs spending in lakhs.)
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