How Credit Cards Can Maximise Savings During Rising Fuel Prices?

As Fuel prices are skyrocketing, people are facing lots of problems financially. In such times, there is hardly any way to save on fuel purchases. However, there is still one way with which one can maximize savings on fuel costs, which is using a credit card. Credit cards, at present, are the most popular payment option used by most individuals. This is because using a credit card as a payment option attracts lots of rewards and savings. Using a credit card for making payments for fuel purchases can also result in maximum savings. This is because one can earn reward points or cashback that can be utilized effectively, thereby resulting in savings. Moreover, one can save more using co-branded fuel credit cards that offer exciting rewards and great opportunities to maximize savings.

In this article, we are going to talk about how using a credit card can save you extra for fuel purchases, and also we will be mentioning some of the best Fuel Credit Cards that must be considered if you spend a lot of fuel. Keep reading to know more.

Using Credit Cards For Fuel

If you travel by road frequently and incur lots of fuel expenses, then using a credit card as a payment method will be very beneficial for you, rather than using other methods like Cash or Debit Cards. This is because credit cards offer you many benefits for using them as a payment option. These benefits can be in the form of Reward Points, Cashback, Surcharge Waivers, and Accelerated Points. Moreover, if these benefits are further utilized in an efficient manner then one can also double the savings on fuel transactions. The benefits provided for making fuel purchases and tips on maximizing savings with a credit card have been discussed in detail below:

Use a Co-branded Credit Card

There are plenty of credit cards available in the market and every type of credit card offers different types of benefits. Likewise, there are many credit cards available that are exclusively designed to provide benefits in fuel. Also, using a Co-branded fuel credit card can double the benefits for fuel transactions. There are many co-branded fuel cards launched by credit card issuers like Indian Oil Axis Bank Credit Card, BPCL SBI Card Octane, ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card, and many more.

Using such Co-branded credit cards can fetch you extra benefits, rewards, and ultimately extra savings. Also apart from benefits in fuel, these cards also provide many other benefits such as travel benefits where you can visit airport lounges for free, Dining benefits, and many more. There are many options available in the market and one should select one on the basis of their needs and at the same time look for maximum benefits.

Reward Points

Reward Points are one of the most popular benefits associated with a credit card. Reward Points are offered whenever a credit card is used for making a transaction. Using a credit card for fuel purchases also fetches you reward points which can be later redeemed for exciting options. For example, the IndianOil Axis Bank Credit Card offers 20 EDGE Points per Rs. 100 spent on fuel purchases at all IOCL stations.

Also, there are a few credit cards that offer fuel points for every transaction made with them. One such card is the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card, which offers up to 5% as Fuel Points at IndianOil outlets, groceries, and bill payments.

Cashback

Earning cashback with a credit card is similar to earning reward points. The only difference is that the reward points can be utilized in the future where one can redeem them together for gifts, vouchers, etc. On the other hand, cashback is earned and utilized instantly, as it is credited and used against the card’s statement balance. Earning cash back on fuel transactions will fetch you greater savings. For example, the ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Credit Card offers you 4% cashback on fuel purchases at HPCL pumps.

Apart from Co-branded fuel cards, there are only a few generic credit cards that offer cashback for fuel transactions. One such example is the Standard Chartered Super Value Titanium Credit Card which offers 5% cashback on fuel transactions across all fuel stations.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

This is one of the most common features that is provided in almost every credit card. With this feature, cardholders can claim a 1% fuel surcharge waiver which is applicable on fuel transactions. You will find this feature even in generic credit cards. However, with a fuel credit card, the capping applicable to this feature is either increased or removed.

Best Fuel Credit Cards

So that is how you can save a lot on your fuel transactions and it’s upon you how you utilize each benefit provided with credit cards. Now let’s discuss some of the best credit cards that are available in the market and must be considered if you spend a lot on fuel:

IndianOil HDFC credit card is a co-branded credit card offered by HDFC Bank in partnership with IndianOil. The card carries an annual fee of Rs. 500 which can be waived on spending Rs. 50,000 or more in a year. Following are some of the important features of the card:

Complimentary IndianOil XTRAREWARDS Program membership.
5% Fuel Points at IndianOil outlets, groceries, and bill payments.
1 Fuel Point on every Rs. 150 spent on all other purchases.
1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at Rs. 250 per month.

BPCL SBI Card Octane is a co-branded premium fuel credit card launched by SBI Bank. The card carries an annual fee of Rs. 1,499 which also comes with a waiver on spending Rs. 2 Lakh in the previous year. The benefits of the card are mentioned below:

6,000 Bonus Reward Points as a welcome benefit.
25 reward points per Rs. 100 spent for fuel purchases at BPCL stations.
4 complimentary access to domestic lounges annualy.
1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at Rs. 100 per month.

HPCL Bank of Baroda ENERGIE Credit Card is a fuel Credit card launched by Bank of Baroda in collaboration with HPCL. The card is issued with an annual fee of Rs. 499 and offers the following benefits:

24 Reward Points per Rs. 150 spent on fuel purchases at HPCL pumps
4 Complimentary access to domestic lounges every year.
Additional 1.5% cashback on fuel purchases at HPCL pumps.
1% fuel surcharge waiver capped at Rs. 100 per month.

ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver Card is one of the most popular Fuel credit cards in the market. The card is a result of a partnership between ICICI Bank and HPCL petrol pumps. It carries an annual fee of Rs. 500 and offers the following benefits:

4% cashback on fuel purchases at HPCL stations.
4 Complimentary domestic airport lounge access in a year.
Complimentary 24×7 Road Assistance Service.
1% fuel surcharge waiver on all fuel transactions.

Bottom Line

Fuel Credit Cards are designed to provide benefits for fuel purchases only. Though there are a few credit cards that offer benefits in other categories too like in Travel or shopping, still their main aim is to provide the cardholders with an opportunity to save more on their fuel transactions. If your fuel credit card offers fuel points or reward points then you must know how to utilize them in order to fetch maximum benefit. If you still have any query related to choosing a fuel credit card, let us know in the comment section.