SBI Card Revises Annual Fee Waiver Spend on BPCL SBI Credit Card

This year, many credit card companies are making changes to their fees and benefits, and SBI Card is one of them. SBI Card has announced updates on the BPCL SBI Credit Card that will come into effect from May 1, 2026. These changes mainly focus on late payment charges and the rules for annual fee reversal.

The company is trying to encourage customers to pay their dues on time by changing the late fee structure. At the same time, it now expects higher yearly spending from customers who want to avoid paying the annual fee.

Cardholders should be aware of these changes, as they can affect how much they end up paying. Even small unpaid amounts may now attract a fee, and some users may find it harder to get the annual fee waived. So, it is important to understand these changes and plan card usage and payments carefully.

Revision in Late Payment Charges

One of the main changes is in the late payment charges. Earlier, if your outstanding amount was up to ₹500, you did not have to pay any late fee. Now, this no-charge limit has been reduced to ₹100. This means only very small dues will be free from penalty.

At the same time, a new charge has been added. If your outstanding amount is between ₹100 and ₹500, you will now have to pay a late fee of ₹100. Earlier, this range did not have any charge.

For higher outstanding amounts, the charges are mostly the same as before, going up to ₹1,300 depending on how much you owe.

SBI Cards has reduced the benefit of “no late fee” and added a new charge for smaller unpaid amounts. So even if you miss a small payment, you may now have to pay a penalty.

Current Late Payment Charges

Outstanding Amount Due	Current Charges
₹0 to ₹500	Nil
>₹500 to ₹1,000	₹400
>₹1,000 to ₹10,000	₹750
>₹10,000 to ₹25,000	₹950
>₹25,000 to ₹50,000	₹1,100
>₹50,000	₹1,300

Revised Late Payment Charges (Effective 1st May 2026)

Outstanding Amount Due	Revised Rate
₹0 to ₹100	Nil
>₹100 to ₹500	₹100
>₹500 to ₹1,000	₹500
>₹1,000 to ₹10,000	₹750
>₹10,000 to ₹25,000	₹950
>₹25,000 to ₹50,000	₹1,100
>₹50,000	₹1,300

Changes in Annual Fee Reversal

There is also an important change in how customers can get their annual fee waived. The annual fee for this card is ₹499. Earlier, customers could get this fee reversed if they spent ₹50,000 in a year. Now, this spending limit has been increased to ₹1 lakh. This means customers will have to use the card more to avoid paying the annual fee.

This may not be very economical for many users. Earlier, even moderate spending was enough to avoid the fee, but now customers have to spend much more just to save ₹499. For people who do not usually spend that much, it might not make sense to increase their spending only to avoid a small fee. In some cases, they may end up spending more than needed, which defeats the purpose of saving money.

Bottom Line

While the updates may encourage timely payments and higher card usage, they also reduce some of the flexibility that customers earlier enjoyed. Smaller missed payments can now lead to penalties, and the higher spending requirement makes it harder for average users to avoid the annual fee.

For many cardholders, this means they will need to be more careful with how they use their credit card and ensure payments are made on time to avoid extra charges. At the same time, they may need to rethink whether increasing their spending just to save ₹499 is actually worth it.

It is also important to note that, as of now, there is no clear information on whether these changes will apply to the BPCL SBI Credit Card OCTANE variant as well. Cardholders of that variant should wait for an official update or confirmation.