ICICI’s invite-only 1838 Reserve is still slated for an October 2026 launch, with a joining fee around ₹2,06,500 — and a fresh reward-cap note is circulating that’s strict enough to matter before anyone pays that fee.
Offer Details
- Overall reward earning is capped at 1,00,000 reward points per statement cycle
- A separate cap of 10,000 reward points per statement cycle applies cumulatively to utilities, insurance premium, education and government payments
- All other categories together are capped at 90,000 reward points per statement cycle
- No reward points on fuel, rent, e-wallet loads or EMI
Eligible Cards / Who Can Avail
- 1838 Reserve ICICI Bank Credit Card only
- An earlier note put the joining fee at ₹1.75 lakh plus taxes, with the card strictly invite-only and interest via 1838reserve.com
- These caps are from the published restriction list, not a full benefits brochure — MITC detail is still thin
Benefits
- Useful as a filter, not a reason to apply yet — the caps show where a ₹2 lakh fee card won’t pay
- Utilities, insurance, education, house tax, advance tax, fines, court and postal payments sit in the low 10,000-point bucket
- Everyday excluded MCCs match the usual premium-card list: fuel, rent, wallet load and EMI
How to Claim / Steps
- Nothing to opt into yet — if you’re on the invite list, match your real monthly spend to these caps before paying the fee
- Treat the MCC list as indicative, not exhaustive
Validity / Important Notes
- Restricted categories called out include utilities (MCCs such as 4899, 4900, 4901, 3887, 4897, 5416, 5417, 4812–4815, 4821, 4896, 4902, 3886), insurance (5960, 6300, 6381, 6399), education (8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299, 8493, 8494, 7911) and government payments (6760, 9222, 9311, 9313, 9211, 9399, 9402, 9405)
- Zero-reward MCCs listed: fuel 1361, 3851, 5172, 5541, 5542, 5983, 9752, 5555; rent 7014, 7407, 5271, 6513; wallet 6540; EMI
Wait for the full earn rate and transfer partners before applying — the fee only makes sense if your uncapped spend can actually hit the 90,000-point ceiling. Anyone on the invite list already pricing this out?