SBI Card is reducing the lounge benefit on the SBI Elite Credit Card, cutting Priority Pass access from 6 visits per quarter to 2 visits per quarter starting June 2026. At the same time, the Trident Privilege membership benefit has been discontinued. The annual fee remains unchanged at ₹4,999, and the milestone benefit of ₹5,000 on spending ₹10 lakh continues to stay intact. This is a classic devaluation, because the card is taking away one travel perk and reducing another without lowering the fee.
The change is significant because the lounge benefit has been one of the card’s main premium selling points. Going from 6 visits per quarter to 2 visits per quarter means cardholders lose 4 lounge entries every quarter, or 16 visits per year if the limit were previously fully used. The removal of Trident Privilege membership further narrows the lifestyle value of the card. The ₹5,000 milestone benefit at ₹10 lakh annual spending remains, but that benefit alone does not fully offset the reduction in travel privileges for frequent flyers.
For existing SBI Elite cardholders, this is a net negative unless their primary use case is milestone spending rather than lounge access. Compared with premium competitors such as HDFC Infinia, Axis Magnus, and Amex Platinum Card, SBI Elite becomes less compelling for travelers who value airport access and hotel tie-ups. The card still has a place for users who can reliably spend ₹10 lakh a year and extract the ₹5,000 milestone reward, but lounge-heavy users will likely find the new structure weaker than before. New applicants should be especially cautious, because the fee remains ₹4,999 while the premium travel bundle is being trimmed.
The new lounge limit takes effect in June 2026, so existing cardholders should monitor their statement cycles and lounge usage around the transition. There is no enrollment step to preserve the old benefit, because the change is automatic and applies at the card-program level. Users who want to maximize value should use the remaining 2 Priority Pass visits per quarter strategically for international travel and keep track of the ₹10 lakh milestone spend to secure the ₹5,000 benefit. If you are considering applying for SBI Elite, review the latest benefit sheet before submitting the application, as the pre-change value proposition no longer applies after June 2026.