Have you scrimped and saved to buy your new car or bike?
Are you repaying your vehicle loan with great difficulty, but you don’t mind because this is the vehicle of your dreams?
You are?
Well, in that case, looks like congratulations are in order on your new set of wheels. Just one question, though. What do you think about the increase in petrol and diesel prices? Are you okay with paying nearly Rs.90 for a litre of petrol and nearly Rs.80 for a litre of diesel?
Wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that the high fuel prices are probably pinching your pocket.
There is a solution to this though – and that is to use your credit card to make your fuel transactions.
Almost all banks in India issue credit cards which come with petrol benefits. Using these cards can help you save quite a bit on your fuel transactions.
Here are fuel credit cards you can use to help you save:
SBI BPCL Credit Card
With the SBI BPCL Credit Card, you get fuel benefits each time you fuel up at Bharat Petroleum outlets. Here’s what you get:
- 13x Reward Points on fuel purchases made at BPCL. This is 4.25% valueback.
- 4.25% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions up to Rs.4,000.
- Enjoy annual savings of Rs.1,200 just with fuel surcharge waivers.
You get all of this for a joining fee of Rs.499 and an annual fee of Rs.499.
HDFC Bharat Card
The Baharat Card may not exclusively be a fuel credit card, but it is a great one to have if you are looking to save on all your spends, including fuel.
Here are the fuel benefits you get:
- 5% cashback on fuel transactions. So, if you spend Rs.200 on fuel each month (Rs.2,400 each year), you can save Rs.120 in a year on your fuel savings.
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver on fuel transactions of Rs.400 and more.
IndianOil Citi Titanium Credit Card
With this card, you stand to gain at Indian Oil petrol pumps across the country. Here’s how you can save with this card:
- Get 4 Turbo Point per Rs.150 that you spend at authorised IndianOil outlets.
- Redeem your Tubo Points for free fuel. 1 Turbo Point gives you Rs.1 of fuel.
- Enjoy 1% on fuel surcharge.
- Earn Tubo Points on all non-fuel related transactions as well. So, you have more opportunities to get free fuel.
- You can get up to 71 litres of free fuel each year.
These are just three popular fuel credit cards whose benefits you can take advantage of. But there are other ways any fuel credit card can be used to help you save.
How Else Can You Save on Fuel with a Credit Card?
Apart from fuel discount and surcharge waivers, here’s how you can benefit from using a credit card for fuel transactions:
- Easy to keep track of fuel expenditure: Since all your transactions will be part of your monthly statement, it is easy to keep track of just how much you are spending on fuel.
- High points or cashback earning potential: Almost all of these credit cards also reward you for spends made on other categories such as dining and groceries. So, you can earn credit card reward points and cashback on these spends as well. The cashback can be used to offset your fuel purchase and the points can be used to get free fuel. A win-win situation.
At the end of the day, like with any credit card, always do your research before applying for one. If you tend to have no preference for a fuel station, look for a card that provided benefits at any fuel station instead of one that only rewards you at particular stations.
It may take a little getting used to in the beginning and you may not see the savings at the start, but keep with it and you will soon realise that you don’t seem to be spending on fuel as much. This way you can enjoy driving or riding your dream vehicle without having to constantly worry about fuel prices.
