BOBCARD raises its lounge gate from ₹40,000 to ₹75,000 a quarter, and its finance charge to 45% a year

BOBCARD is running three separate cuts on staggered dates, which is why this one has drawn less attention than the HDFC and Axis changes despite being, in one respect, harsher than either. The interest rate change already landed. The insurance withdrawal landed two days ago. The lounge gate arrives on 1 October.

The three changes and when they bite

The lounge gate applies to Eterna, Eterna FD, Tiara and Varunah Premium. Both sources give the same four cards and the same two figures.

Why the lounge change is the sharpest one here

BOBCARD did not add a gate where none existed, which is what HDFC, IndusInd and Amex each did this year. It already had one. It nearly doubled it. Going from ₹40,000 to ₹75,000 a quarter is an 87.5% increase in the spend needed to hold the same benefit, and it lands on cardholders who had already restructured their spending once to clear the original bar.

Monthly, the ask moves from ₹13,333 to ₹25,000. That is still below the ₹33,333 a month Amex will want from 1 October and well below IndusInd's top tier, so BOBCARD is not the worst gate in the market. It is the largest single jump.

The interest rate change deserves more attention than it got

3.25% a month to 3.75% a month reads like half a percentage point. Annualised, it is a move from 39% to 45%, and on a revolving balance the difference compounds. On ₹1,00,000 carried for a year, that is roughly ₹6,000 of additional finance charge, which is more than most of these cards return in rewards over the same period.

This is the part of a devaluation cycle that gets undercovered because it does not affect cardholders who clear their statement in full. It affects the cardholders least able to absorb it.

The insurance withdrawal

Air and non-air accidental death cover no longer applies to cards issued after 15 July 2026, and was discontinued for existing eligible cardholders from 25 August 2026. If you were carrying a BOBCARD partly for that cover, it stopped two days ago rather than at your next renewal. Both sources agree on both dates.

Complimentary insurance is a benefit almost nobody checks and almost nobody claims, which makes it the cheapest thing on a card to remove and the hardest for a cardholder to notice going missing. Check what your other cards actually carry before you assume the cover is duplicated elsewhere.

What to do

If you hold Eterna, Eterna FD, Tiara or Varunah Premium, your July to September spend is what determines your October to December lounge access, so the quarter that decides it is the one you are in right now. Work out whether ₹75,000 is reachable in the next few weeks; if it is not, price the card without lounge access from October, because that is the card you will be holding.

If you carry a balance on any of the three cards whose finance charge moved, 45% a year is high enough that repayment beats almost any reward strategy available to you.

Polo Match ranks cards by net annual value against your real spending, including what happens when a conditional benefit does not trigger. To compare what your points are worth across issuers, use the points calculator.