We live in a world where every single person now owns a vehicle, be it a car, truck, or bike. Having a vehicle has become a necessity for most people as they need to travel daily for work, or personal reasons. With the daily commute and frequent travel, fuel expenses have become an important part of monthly budgets. As a result, the importance of finding ways to save on fuel expenses has increased. This is where fuel credit cards come into play as they offer rewards, benefits, and savings on fuel transactions. They are a good choice for people who want to maximize their savings especially on fuel transactions.
In this article, we will compare two notable fuel credit cards in the market – the BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card and the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card. The BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card, a result of the collaboration between SBI and BPCL, offers a range of rewards and benefits not only on fuel transactions but also on groceries, dining, and more. On the other hand, the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card focuses primarily on fuel transactions and offers savings and benefits only on fuel expenses. Both cards have their unique features and advantages, serving different preferences and spending habits of individuals.
BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card
SBI and BPCL joined hands and launched the BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card to make fuel transactions affordable and rewarding. With a nominal annual fee of ₹1,499 plus taxes, this card offers Reward Points on transactions made at BPCL fuel stations, groceries, dining, departmental stores, and movie tickets. This card offers a high-value back worth 7.25%, which includes 6.25% as Reward Points and a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
Users who opt for this card will also earn welcome and milestone benefits. As an introductory benefit, users will earn 6,000 bonus Reward Points worth ₹1,500 and a voucher worth ₹2,000 on annual spending of ₹3 lakhs as a milestone benefit. This card even offers complimentary access to domestic airports once every quarter, which not all fuel credit cards offer. What makes this card different than other cards is that even though it is a fuel credit card, it still offers rewards and perks on other transactions, making it an ideal choice for people who want to save on fuel but still earn rewards.
IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card
IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card is a co-branded credit card launched in partnership with IndianOil and RBL Bank. This card is quite simple and mainly focuses on fuel transactions. With a joining fee of ₹1,500 plus taxes, this card has a spend-based waiver on spending ₹2.75 lakhs annually. This card, if compared with other cards, offers total savings worth 8.5%, which includes a reward rate of 7.5% and a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
Welcome and milestone benefits are also included, where users earn 3,000 Fuel Points for the former and 1,000 Fuel Points on spending ₹75,000 every quarter for the latter, which means you earn 4,000 Fuel Points if you spend ₹3 lakhs every year. Users can even pay through UPI since this card comes under the RuPay network, making transactions easy and hassle-free. The XTRA credit card is very simple and does not offer any special rewards. This card is an idle choice for those who just want to save on fuel transactions and do not want to earn any rewards or benefits.
Comparing BPCL SBI Octane and IndianOil RBL XRTA Credit Card
| Features | BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card | IndianOil RBL Bank Xtra Credit Card |
| Joining/ Annual Fee | ₹1,499 + GST | ₹1,500 + GST |
| Reward Rate |
|
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| Reward Redemption | RP can be redeemed for fuel at BPCL stations, against a statement, or for products and vouchers with SBI |
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| Welcome Benefits | 6,000 Bonus RP Worth ₹1,500 | 3,000 Fuel Points |
| Movie/Dining | 10 RP on every ₹100 spent at dining and movie tickets | N/A |
| Travel Perks | Complimentary access to domestic lounges once every quarter | N/A |
| Milestone Benefits | Voucher worth ₹2,000 on annual spends of ₹3 lakhs | 4,000 Fuel Points on annual spends of ₹3 lakhs |
Bottom Line
Both the BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card and the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card offer attractive perks for fuel transactions. The BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card provides rewards on fuel as well as other categories like groceries and dining, along with travel perks and milestone benefits. On the other hand, the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card focuses mainly on fuel transactions and offers simple and straightforward savings.
If you want a card that offers multiple rewards and benefits beyond fuel transactions, the BPCL SBI Octane Credit Card is the better choice. But if your primary focus is maximizing savings on fuel expenses without earning any additional rewards, the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card would be the ideal option. One should remember that the XTRA credit card has a higher value back if compared with the Octane credit card’s value back.