Kotak Mahindra Bank has given the White Reserve Credit Card a meaningful upgrade for people who spend abroad. The card now offers 6 reward points per ₹100 on international spends, up from 4, and domestic airport lounge access has also been increased to 8 per year. For frequent travelers, that is a much more compelling package than before.
The annual fee remains ₹10,000 + GST, with a milestone waiver available on ₹10 lakh spend. That fee is still firmly in premium-card territory, so this is not a casual everyday card. But if you spend a lot internationally, the improved earn rate makes the card much more relevant than it used to be.
What stands out here is that Kotak has improved both the earning side and the travel side at the same time. A higher reward rate on international transactions is especially useful because foreign spends often don’t earn as well on regular cards. Add 8 domestic airport lounge visits per year, and White Reserve starts looking like a more rounded premium travel card rather than just a niche spend card.
The key question is whether the fee is justified. At ₹10,000 + GST, this card needs to deliver real value, and the milestone waiver on ₹10 lakh spend gives heavy spenders a way out. If you can hit that threshold and you travel internationally often, the improved reward rate could make the card worth serious consideration. If not, the fee may still be too steep for occasional use.
Compared with many premium cards that focus mostly on domestic lifestyle benefits, this update is more useful for people whose spending pattern includes overseas shopping, travel bookings, or international subscriptions. That’s a narrower audience, but for that audience, the change is genuinely useful. It’s the sort of update that can move a card from “interesting” to “actually practical.”
If your wallet sees regular foreign currency spends, White Reserve deserves a fresh look now that it earns 6 reward points per ₹100 on international spends. If you don’t travel or spend abroad often, the ₹10,000 + GST fee still makes this a card to compare carefully before applying.