Pairwise comparison Compare 3+ cards →

ICICI Emeralde vs FEDERAL Scapia

Side-by-side comparison of the ICICI Bank Emeralde and the Federal Bank Scapia. Verify fees, lounge access, forex markup, and base rewards before you apply.

Emeralde
Scapia

The short answer

Pick Scapia for spending abroad.

Scapia costs ₹12,000 less a year.

Head-to-head

  • Annual fee Annual fee outcome: tie.
    Emeralde ₹12,000 Waivable at ₹10,00,000 spend
    Scapia ₹0
    ₹12,000/yr apart · waiver gates differ
  • Forex markup Forex markup outcome: Scapia wins.
    Emeralde 2%
    Scapia 0%
    Scapia saves ~₹2,000 per ₹1L abroad
  • Domestic lounge Domestic lounge outcome: tie.
    Emeralde Unlimited
    Scapia Unlimited Conditional · Domestic: Unlimited · requires ₹20,000 spend in a billing cycle (unlocks after the billing date)
  • Rewards Rewards outcome: insufficient data to compare.
    Emeralde Not safely INR-comparable
    Scapia ~2%
    conservative base value
    Emeralde: Strong data Scapia: Strong data

Reward earning explained

Emeralde

6 pts / ₹100

Strong data
Scapia

10 Scapia Coins / ₹100 on domestic spend

Strong data

Example usage at this monthly spend

At ₹50k/month spend:

  • Federal Bank Scapia: ~₹1,000/month at base rate
  • Emeralde: Base earn not clearly specified

Illustrative only, using current base rates before caps.

All fields

Field Emeralde ICICI Bank Scapia Federal Bank
Lounge Access
Domestic lounge visits
spend-gated on some cards — see caveats
Unlimited Unlimited
International lounge visits
Only available for Emeralde
Unlimited Not specified
Forex / International Use
Forex markup
2% vs 0%
2% 0%
Fees
Recurring annual fee
₹12,000 vs ₹0
₹12,000 ₹0
Annual-fee waiver
Only available for Emeralde
₹10,00,000 Not specified
Monthly interest rate 3.75% / month 3.75% / month
Late-payment charge
Only available for Emeralde
₹100–₹1,300 depending on outstanding balance Not specified
Fuel benefit
1% surcharge waiver · up to ₹4,000 transactions · Fuel rewards excluded vs 1% surcharge waiver · up to ₹5,000 transactions · ₹500/month waiver cap · Fuel rewards excluded
1% surcharge waiver · up to ₹4,000 transactions · Fuel rewards excluded 1% surcharge waiver · up to ₹5,000 transactions · ₹500/month waiver cap · Fuel rewards excluded
Rewards
Points per ₹100
Some reward lanes are only partially modelled — base rate only for comparison.
6 pts / ₹100 vs 10 Scapia Coins / ₹100 on domestic spend
6 pts / ₹100 10 Scapia Coins / ₹100 on domestic spend
Conservative base value
Not safely INR-comparable vs ~2%
Not safely INR-comparable ~2%
Earn ceiling Not stated Not stated
Payment network rates
Only available for Federal Bank Scapia
Not specified RuPay: 5 Scapia Coins / ₹100 · Credited as reward points · Min ₹500 per transaction
Point value (headline channel)
Issuer headline rate at the travel/SmartBuy channel — not the lowest redemption option.
Only available for Federal Bank Scapia
Not specified ₹0.2
Point validity
Only available for Emeralde
3 years Not specified
Insurance — Air accident cover
Only available for Emeralde
₹3 crore Not specified
Insurance — Lost card liability cover
Only available for Emeralde
₹50,000 Not specified
Insurance — Underwriter
Only available for Emeralde
Insured by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited Not specified

Notes

  • Federal Bank Scapia Credit Card: Condition: ₹20,000 spend in a billing cycle (unlocks after the billing date)
  • Card benefits change frequently. Always verify current terms on the issuer's official website or app before applying.