Most banks have either reduced the benefits of their credit card reward program or allowed some benefits on spending a specified amount in recent times.
For instance, some banks have either reduced the complimentary visits and/or made the spend-based access to the airport lounge.
RuPay Exclusive Lounge Access Policy
Considering this case, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has recently launched a RuPay exclusive lounge access policy for RuPay credit card holders.
Under this policy, RuPay has set up an exclusive lounge at departure Terminal T3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi.
This is going to be the country’s first exclusive lounge for RuPay cardholders which will provide the access is only for RuPay credit cardholders as of now.
So far, they have not provided any information on whether RuPay debit cardholders will be allowed in future.
When it comes to this lounge, it is located near Boarding Gate number 41 of the T3 Departure Terminal and offers a pleasant stay where travellers can sit and relax before boarding their flight.
Besides this, it has a wide spread of foods with breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, dinner, etc.
This lounge is equipped with a small bar section, which is yet to be operational.
In addition to this there is an entertainment section with PlayStation consoles for gaming enthusiasts.
It appears that the lounge caters to the needs of various travellers with a pleasant stay, a good spread of food and drinks, and entertainment.
How Does NPCI’s Exclusive Lounge Access Policy Work?
It is noteworthy here that the RuPay Exclusive Lounge access will only be given access to the RuPay credit cards of specified variants including Select, Platinum, and higher variants.
Further, the access will be provided in the subsequent calendar quarter based on the amount spent in the previous calendar quarter.
These calendar quarters will be January to March, April to June, July to September, and October to December.
RuPay Spend-based Access Policy Details
Below are details regarding the spend-based access which will be provided based on the four tiers below.
| Tier | Amount spent | Access policy |
| Tier 1 | Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000 | 2 complimentary visits in a quarter |
| Tier 2 | Rs. 50,001 to Rs. 1,00,000 | 4 complimentary visits in a quarter |
| Tier 3 | Rs. 1,00,001 to Rs. 5,00,000 | 8 complimentary visits in a quarter |
| Tier 4 | Rs. 5,00,001 and above | Unlimited complimentary visits in a quarter |
The above table demonstrates regarding the complimentary visits which a RuPay credit cardholder will get based on the amount spent in a calendar quarter.
Please note here that these visits must be availed in the quarter they are applicable, and cannot be carried forward as by the end of the calendar quarter, the complimentary visits will be reset to 0.
Similarly, at the beginning of the subsequent calendar quarter, the complimentary visits will be updated based on the spends in the previous calendar quarter.
If you are wondering about this facility commencement, this spend-based complimentary lounge access policy will be effective from 1st January 2025.
