If you’re carrying the SBI Elite Credit Card, this update is one to pay close attention to. SBI Card is reducing the Priority Pass lounge visits from 6 to 2 per quarter starting June 2026, and that’s a pretty noticeable cut for a card that has long appealed to frequent travellers. On top of that, the Trident Privilege membership benefit is also being discontinued.
The good news is that not everything is changing for the worse. The annual fee stays unchanged at ₹4,999, and the milestone benefit of ₹5,000 on spending ₹10 lakh remains intact. So while the lounge side of the card is getting trimmed, the broader fee and milestone structure isn’t being touched. That gives existing cardholders some breathing room, but it doesn’t soften the fact that the travel value is clearly being reduced.
For many of us, lounge access is one of the biggest reasons to keep a premium card like SBI Elite in the wallet. Cutting Priority Pass visits from 6 to 2 per quarter changes the card’s appeal quite a bit, especially if you travel often and rely on those visits for airport comfort. The removal of Trident Privilege membership also takes away another lifestyle perk that helped the card stand out in the premium segment.
This is the kind of change that forces us to reassess whether the card still fits our spending pattern. If you were using SBI Elite mainly for lounge access and hotel-related benefits, the value proposition is clearly weaker now. On the other hand, if you were already chasing the ₹5,000 milestone benefit through high annual spends, that part of the card remains available, so the card isn’t losing everything at once.
Our take is straightforward: this is a devaluation, and a meaningful one. SBI Card has kept the annual fee steady, but the reduction in lounge visits is hard to ignore. Premium cardholders usually expect travel benefits to stay strong, not get trimmed. If lounge access was the main reason you held SBI Elite, this is the moment to compare alternatives and see whether another premium card gives you better airport value.
The bottom line: if you already use SBI Elite heavily for travel perks, you’ll want to reassess before June 2026. The ₹4,999 fee and ₹5,000 on spending ₹10 lakh milestone benefit remain, but the lounge and hotel value is clearly lower than before.