New Delhi, March 1 -- A Gurgaon resident was blindsided by an email from Axis Bank demanding Rs.23.25 lakh for excess reward points acquired through a loophole.

"Since you have redeemed X excess reward points beyond what is rightfully accrued by your transactions, we request you to pay INR 23,25,639 to the Bank as per MITC clause..."

The notice was part of the bank's recent effort to recover rewards points accumulated by some credit card holders through a technical loophole in 2023. The recipient had closed his Axis Magnus credit card in December 2023, and is no longer a customer-yet the bank is still pursuing repayment

Ordinarily, when a credit card transaction is refunded, the reward points earned on that transaction are reversed. In...