“RuPay has set up an Exclusive Lounge at T3 departure terminal of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. This is the first exclusive lounge of RuPay at Departure Pier 11, T3D, near Boarding Gate number 41… RuPay exclusive lounge offers a wide spread of food, drinks and entertainment that differentiates it from other lounges in T3 Departure at IGI Airport. RuPay exclusive lounge promises pleasant stay, excellent spread of menu and first of its kind entertainment experience for their patrons…” said NPCI in a circular dated October 18, 2024.
What are the new Tier based complementary RuPay airport lounge policy
Access to RuPay Exclusive Lounge will be offered to select credit cardholders, typically based on their spending patterns.
“At Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, only RuPay Credit cardholders (Select, Platinum & Higher Variants only) will have access to RuPay Exclusive Lounge. Access to the lounge will be spend based and driven through RuPay Benefit Management System (RBMS). Member banks and issuers shall share eligible cardholders details every quarter,” as per NPCI.
According to the circular issued by NPCI, here are the new guidelines for getting complimentary RuPay airport lounge access:
| Spend based calculation | Remarks |
| RuPay Credit Card (Select, Platinum & Higher Variants) CC on UPI/ Card @POS transactions | ●Access will be mandatory through RuPay Benefit Management System (RBMS)
●Issuers need to get themselves onboarded on Standard Benefit delivery… |
Source: NPCI
Below tiers are proposed for CC on UPI/Card @ POS transactions in the previous quarter, Quarter will be defined as calendar quarter:
| Tier | Spend Limit | 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 |
Source: NPCI circular
“Benefit of complimentary visits will be purged to zero (0), at the end of the calendar quarter.
The table below explains with an example how the new Tier spend based guideline will work for complimentary access to RuPay airport lounge(s).
RuPay Exclusive Airport Lounge
Source: NPCI circular
Top credit cards for complimentary airport lounge access: HDFC Bank, SBI Card, ICICI Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank
NPCI said in the circular, “RuPay, as a leading domestic payment scheme, plays a vital role in empowering customers with convenient and secure payment solutions. To further enhance the customer experience and ensure that customers can conveniently avail benefits, rewards, and incentive associates with their RuPay Credit cards, issuers & acquirer must ensure the following:
- The Data element DE 102 in the authorization response message from Issuer to acquirer, as per RuPay Online Switching specification, shall be mandatory data element.
- Issuers shall start passing the relevant information in data element DE 102, as defined in the RuPay online specification, for all RuPay transactions.
- The length of data element DE 102 shall increase from 19 digits to 30 digits at issuer as well as acquirer end.”
