HDFC, SBI, Axis, ICICI, Amex — caps, gates, partners gone.
Jan–Jul: fees, milestones, cashback ceilings, lounge spend tests, transfer partners removed.
Axis: partners cut
2 Apr 2026 — Accor, Marriott, Qatar dropped. Magnus/Atlas travel maths changed overnight.
Cashback caps tightened. SmartBuy vouchers hit a 3k sub-cap. PhonePe SBI online caps cut in July.
HDFC premium domestic lounges need ~₹60k prior-quarter spend. “Unlimited” marketing ≠ MITC.
Survivors exist
Amazon Pay ICICI largely dodged the wave. Simple cashback under the cap still works.
Diversify issuers. Earn-and-burn. Re-run net value after fees and spend gates.
Timeline, who loses ₹, deep-dives for SmartBuy, PhonePe, Magnus & more.
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