From daily groceries to gadgets, discover the portal that savvy ICICI Bank credit cardholders leverage for outsized returns. Instead of using your ICICI Bank credit card to pay directly, when you purchase gift vouchers through this portal and then pay with gift vouchers, you can get up to 6x reward points. Similarly, flights and/or hotel bookings using this portal can get you up to 12x reward points.

 

We are talking about the iShop portal. With this portal, an ICICI Bank credit cardholder can earn up to 12x reward points and then redeem these reward points for free family vacations (flights and hotels). In this article, we will understand what is the iShop portal, how to earn up to 12x reward points using it, and how to redeem reward points and maximise returns.

 

What is the iShop portal?

The iShop is a customer engagement portal exclusively for ICICI Bank customers. The portal offers travel booking services and the purchase of shopping vouchers. The travel booking services include booking flights, bus tickets, and hotel accommodation. An ICICI Bank credit cardholder can earn up to 12x reward points for travel services booked or gift vouchers purchased through the iShop portal. The accelerated reward rate depends on the credit card held.

 

Similarly, an ICICI Bank credit cardholder can redeem reward points against travel services booked or gift vouchers purchased through the iShop portal. The cardholder can get a redemption value of Rs. 1 per reward point.

 

The portal access requires a one-time registration. It can be accessed through the following link: https://icicibank.com/ishoplogin

 

The ICICI Bank iShop portal is similar to HDFC Bank’s SmartBuy portal and American Express’s Reward Multiplier platform. All these portals/platforms help the respective bank’s cardholders earn accelerated reward points.

 

Earning accelerated reward points

An ICICI Bank credit cardholder can earn up to 12x reward points for transactions done on the iShop portal as follows.

 

Transaction type	Reward rate
Booking hotel accommodation	12X reward points
Booking flight tickets	6X reward points
Booking bus tickets	6X reward points
Purchasing shopping vouchers	6X reward points

 

For example, an Emeralde Private Metal credit cardholder gets a base reward rate of 6 reward points for every Rs. 200 spent. It translates into a reward rate of 3 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent. When an Emeralde Private Metal credit cardholder does a hotel booking through the iShop portal, they will get 12x reward points for every Rs. 100 spent. A 12x reward rate translates into 36 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent (base reward rate – 3 reward points/Rs. 100).

 

The reward points earned on travel/hotel bookings will be credited within 45 days of the completion of travel/stay. The reward points earned on the purchase of gift vouchers will be credited within 90 days of the transaction.

 

Limits and processing fees for specified transactions

There are daily and monthly limits on the number of reward points a cardholder can earn as follows.

 

Card type	Card name	Monthly capping	Daily capping
Credit card	Emeralde Private Metal	18,000	10,000
Credit card	Times Black	15,000	8,000
Credit card	Emeralde	12,000	7,500
Credit card	Diamant World	12,000	7,500
Credit card	Other credit cards	9,000	5,000
Credit card	Co-branded credit cards	1,100	1,100
Debit card	Sapphiro & Expressions Sapphiro	9,000	5,000
Debit card	Rubyx & Expressions Coral	9,000	5,000
Debit card	Private Banking, Wealth, Coral & Expressions	9,000	5,000
Debit card	Other Debit Cards	9,000	5,000

 

For some brands, there is a monthly limit on the amount of shopping vouchers that can be purchased through the iShop portal.

 

Shopping voucher brand	Monthly limit
Bigbasket	Rs. 2,000
Blinkit	Rs. 2,000
Amazon Pay	Rs. 12,000
Flipkart	Rs. 12,000
Tata CliQ	Rs. 30,000
Croma	Rs. 1,00,000

 

There is a processing fee of 2.5% + GST on the purchase of Amazon Pay, Flipkart, and Swiggy Money gift vouchers from the iShop portal when payment is made with a credit or debit card. There is no processing fee for payments made through net banking.

Redemption of reward points

An ICICI Bank credit cardholder can redeem their reward points through the iShop portal and get a redemption value of Rs. 1. The cardholder can redeem reward points for booking flights, bus tickets, hotel accommodation, and the purchase of gift vouchers. The cardholder can get a value back of up to 36% by redeeming reward points through the iShop portal.

 

Earlier, we saw how an Emeralde Private Metal credit cardholder can earn 36 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent on hotel bookings on the iShop portal. The cardholder can redeem these reward points for various services on the iShop portal at a redemption value of Rs. 1/reward point. Thus, an Emeralde Private Metal credit cardholder can get a 36% valueback.

 

While redeeming reward points on the iShop portal, a cardholder can pay up to a specified percentage of the total transaction value with reward points as follows.

 

Transaction type	Percentage payment with reward points
Flights and bus booking	Up to 100%
Hotel booking	Up to 90%
Purchase of shopping vouchers	Up to 50%

 

The above table shows that a cardholder can pay the entire transaction value with reward points for booking flight and bus tickets. For hotel bookings, up to 90% of the transaction value can be paid with reward points. The remaining 10% must be paid with an ICICI Bank credit/debit card or net banking.

 

For the purchase of gift vouchers, up to 50% of the transaction value can be paid with reward points. The remaining 50% must be paid with an ICICI Bank credit/debit card or net banking.

 

A Rs. 99 + GST reward redemption fee is applicable per transaction on all credit cards, except for Emeralde Private Metal and Times Black credit cards.

 

How does the iShop portal work?

An ICICI Bank credit cardholder can access the iShop portal through the following link: https://icicibank.com/ishoplogin

 

The cardholder can log into the iShop portal using their ICICI internet banking login ID and password. Once you log in, choose whether you want to book a flight, bus, or hotel, or purchase gift vouchers. For booking a flight/bus ticket, you must enter details like from city, to city, journey date, etc., and click ‘Search’.

 

You will be shown flights available from OTA partners like EaseMyTrip, Goibibo, Yatra, Cleartrip, etc. Select the flight, enter passenger details, etc., and proceed to payment. On the payment page, if you are paying with a credit card, you will be shown the number of reward points (base 1x + accelerated 5x) that you will earn based on the card used for payment. If you have reward points and wish to redeem them, you will be shown the option to use them for making the payment.

 

You can purchase gift vouchers of 250+ online and offline brands through the iShop portal. The brands are spread across categories like:

 

1. Fashion
2. E-commerce
3. Electronics
4. Beauty & health
5. Travel & hospitality
6. Entertainment
7. Grocery & F&B
8. Home & décor
9. Jewellery
10. Sports & accessories
11. Charity, etc.

 

As discussed earlier, there are monthly limits on the amount of gift vouchers you can purchase for some brands, and there is a processing fee for the purchase of gift vouchers of some brands.

 

Pro Tips to Maximise Value

For travel bookings, a cardholder can do them through the iShop portal and earn up to 12x reward points. Similarly, for online/offline shopping, instead of using your credit card directly with the merchant, check if their gift vouchers are available on the iShop portal. If yes, purchase the merchant’s gift vouchers, earn up to 6x reward points, and further use the gift vouchers at the merchant website/outlet.

 

Conclusion & Final Thoughts

The ICICI Bank iShop portal is a great way to earn accelerated reward points and multiply your credit card benefits. A cardholder can use the iShop portal to earn up to 12x reward points or 36% valueback for travel bookings and gift voucher purchases. The reward points can then be used to enjoy free family vacations (flight/bus/hotel bookings).