Fuel purchases are one of the most important expenses in our daily lives. Optimizing fuel spends is essential to maximize rewards on overall spending. There are several ways to earn rewards on fuel purchases - such as paying via FASTag, buying fuel gift vouchers, and using them at fuel stations.
But if you’re someone who prefers to keep things simple and avoid unnecessary complications, then using a good fuel credit card directly at fuel stations is the best option for you.
In this article, I’ll recommend the top 3 credit cards for fuel, which you can use to earn the maximum possible rewards on your fuel spends.
1. RBL IndianOil XTRA Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹1,500 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹2,75,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Fuel Points (1 Fuel Point = ₹0.50)
Rewards at IndianOil Fuel Stations:
Earn 7.5% back (15 Fuel Points per ₹100 spent) on fuel purchases up to ₹13,400 per statement cycle (Maximum 2,000 Fuel Points per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at IndianOil Stations:
Get a 1% surcharge waiver on fuel expenses up to ₹20,000 per statement cycle.
My Opinion: So, if you use this card to purchase up to ₹13,400 worth of fuel per month at IndianOil fuel stations, you’ll get a 7.5% reward. While you also receive a 1% fuel surcharge waiver, we won’t consider it as value back since it merely offsets the actual surcharge levied by the fuel station.
The annual fee waiver condition is a bit on the higher side, but even if you don’t meet it and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still earn around 6.36% value back (excluding the surcharge waiver) on your ₹13,400 monthly fuel spend - which is a very solid return.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or similar amount per month on fuel, this card is definitely worth considering.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
2. IDFC FIRST Bank HPCL Power+ Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹499 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹1,50,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Reward Points (1 Reward Point = ₹0.25)
Rewards at HPCL Fuel Stations:
Earn 5% (30 Reward Points per ₹150 spent at HPCL) on expenses up to ₹12,000 per statement cycle (maximum 2,400 Reward Points per month).
Additionally, earn 1.5% (6 Happy Coins per ₹100 spent) as HP Happy Coins on fuel transactions through the HP Pay app, up to ₹10,000 per month (maximum 600 Happy Coins per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at HPCL Stations:
Fuel surcharge waiver is not available, which means you'll pay an extra 1% as fuel surcharge.
My Opinion:
If you use this card to purchase up to ₹10,000 worth of fuel per month at HPCL fuel stations via the HP Pay app, you’ll earn 5% as Reward Points plus 1.5% as Happy Coins, giving a total 6.5% value back. However, since there’s no surcharge waiver, you’ll lose 1% to fuel surcharge - bringing your net value back to 5.5%.
The annual fee waiver condition is a bit on the higher side for this card as well. But even if you don’t meet it and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still get around 5% value back on ₹10,000 monthly fuel spends - which is pretty good, though lower than the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or so per month on fuel and can’t get the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card, this is still a solid very good choice.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
3. SBI BPCL Octane Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹1,499 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹2,00,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Reward Points (1 Reward Point = ₹0.25)
Rewards at BPCL Fuel Stations:
Earn 6.25% back (25 Reward Points per ₹100 spent) on fuel purchases up to ₹10,000 per statement cycle (maximum 2,500 Reward Points per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at BPCL Stations:
Get a 1% surcharge waiver on fuel expenses up to ₹10,000 per statement cycle. (Note: Each transaction must be less than ₹4,000 to be eligible for the waiver.)
My Opinion:
If you use this card to purchase up to ₹10,000 worth of fuel per month at BPCL fuel stations, you’ll get a 6.25% reward. While you also receive a 1% fuel surcharge waiver, we won’t consider it as value back since it merely offsets the actual surcharge levied by the fuel station.
The annual fee waiver condition is slightly on the higher side, but even if you don’t qualify for the waiver and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still earn around 4.78% value back (including the surcharge waiver) on ₹10,000 monthly fuel spends - which is still not bad at all, though lower than the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card and the IDFC First HPCL Power+ Credit Card.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or similar amount per month on fuel and can’t get the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card & the IDFC First HPCL Power+ Card, then this is a solid third alternative.
Your first choice should be the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card, followed by the IDFC FIRST Power+ Credit Card as the second option, and the SBI BPCL Octane Card as the third.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
Priority Order:
[A humble request: If you wish to apply for any credit card from the list, kindly use the link provided here, as it will contribute to supporting our community.]
But if you’re someone who prefers to keep things simple and avoid unnecessary complications, then using a good fuel credit card directly at fuel stations is the best option for you.
In this article, I’ll recommend the top 3 credit cards for fuel, which you can use to earn the maximum possible rewards on your fuel spends.
1. RBL IndianOil XTRA Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹1,500 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹2,75,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Fuel Points (1 Fuel Point = ₹0.50)
Rewards at IndianOil Fuel Stations:
Earn 7.5% back (15 Fuel Points per ₹100 spent) on fuel purchases up to ₹13,400 per statement cycle (Maximum 2,000 Fuel Points per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at IndianOil Stations:
Get a 1% surcharge waiver on fuel expenses up to ₹20,000 per statement cycle.
My Opinion: So, if you use this card to purchase up to ₹13,400 worth of fuel per month at IndianOil fuel stations, you’ll get a 7.5% reward. While you also receive a 1% fuel surcharge waiver, we won’t consider it as value back since it merely offsets the actual surcharge levied by the fuel station.
The annual fee waiver condition is a bit on the higher side, but even if you don’t meet it and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still earn around 6.36% value back (excluding the surcharge waiver) on your ₹13,400 monthly fuel spend - which is a very solid return.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or similar amount per month on fuel, this card is definitely worth considering.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
2. IDFC FIRST Bank HPCL Power+ Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹499 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹1,50,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Reward Points (1 Reward Point = ₹0.25)
Rewards at HPCL Fuel Stations:
Earn 5% (30 Reward Points per ₹150 spent at HPCL) on expenses up to ₹12,000 per statement cycle (maximum 2,400 Reward Points per month).
Additionally, earn 1.5% (6 Happy Coins per ₹100 spent) as HP Happy Coins on fuel transactions through the HP Pay app, up to ₹10,000 per month (maximum 600 Happy Coins per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at HPCL Stations:
Fuel surcharge waiver is not available, which means you'll pay an extra 1% as fuel surcharge.
My Opinion:
If you use this card to purchase up to ₹10,000 worth of fuel per month at HPCL fuel stations via the HP Pay app, you’ll earn 5% as Reward Points plus 1.5% as Happy Coins, giving a total 6.5% value back. However, since there’s no surcharge waiver, you’ll lose 1% to fuel surcharge - bringing your net value back to 5.5%.
The annual fee waiver condition is a bit on the higher side for this card as well. But even if you don’t meet it and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still get around 5% value back on ₹10,000 monthly fuel spends - which is pretty good, though lower than the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or so per month on fuel and can’t get the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card, this is still a solid very good choice.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
3. SBI BPCL Octane Credit Card
Annual Fee: ₹1,499 + GST
Annual Fee Waiver Condition: Spend ₹2,00,000 in the previous year
Card Reward Type: Reward Points (1 Reward Point = ₹0.25)
Rewards at BPCL Fuel Stations:
Earn 6.25% back (25 Reward Points per ₹100 spent) on fuel purchases up to ₹10,000 per statement cycle (maximum 2,500 Reward Points per month).
Fuel Surcharge Waiver at BPCL Stations:
Get a 1% surcharge waiver on fuel expenses up to ₹10,000 per statement cycle. (Note: Each transaction must be less than ₹4,000 to be eligible for the waiver.)
My Opinion:
If you use this card to purchase up to ₹10,000 worth of fuel per month at BPCL fuel stations, you’ll get a 6.25% reward. While you also receive a 1% fuel surcharge waiver, we won’t consider it as value back since it merely offsets the actual surcharge levied by the fuel station.
The annual fee waiver condition is slightly on the higher side, but even if you don’t qualify for the waiver and end up paying the annual fee, you’ll still earn around 4.78% value back (including the surcharge waiver) on ₹10,000 monthly fuel spends - which is still not bad at all, though lower than the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card and the IDFC First HPCL Power+ Credit Card.
If you spend around ₹10,000 or similar amount per month on fuel and can’t get the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card & the IDFC First HPCL Power+ Card, then this is a solid third alternative.
Your first choice should be the RBL IndianOil XTRA Card, followed by the IDFC FIRST Power+ Credit Card as the second option, and the SBI BPCL Octane Card as the third.
Apply for this credit card online: Click Here To Apply For This Credit Card
Priority Order:
[A humble request: If you wish to apply for any credit card from the list, kindly use the link provided here, as it will contribute to supporting our community.]
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