Fuel surcharge on credit cards: how the waiver works, and what a fuel credit card pays back

What is the fuel surcharge on a credit card?

It is a charge added when you pay by card at a petrol pump, commonly 1% of the transaction plus GST. It is levied by the bank that runs the pump's card machine, not by the bank that issued your card, according to the documents of HDFC, SBI Card and IDFC First.

The rate is not fixed. HDFC's MITC, updated 29 October 2026, says it may vary by fuel station and acquiring bank. Yes Bank says it may exceed 1%. Axis says some transactions carry Rs 10 plus GST instead of 1% plus GST. American Express lists its own fee: 0% at HPCL under Rs 5,000, 1% at HPCL from Rs 5,000 and at BPCL and IOCL, and 2.5% at other oil companies.

How does the fuel surcharge waiver work?

Your card refunds up to 1% of an eligible fill as a statement credit, and most banks' terms keep the GST out of it. ICICI says so for other banks' machines and non HPCL pumps, but not for HPCL pumps on its own machines, the Coral case. Three limits decide the refund: whether your card has a waiver at all, whether the single transaction falls inside the band, and whether you have used up the cap.

The cap sets how much fuel the waiver covers. A Rs 250 cap covers Rs 25,000 of fills at 1% in a statement cycle, and a Rs 500 cap covers Rs 50,000. Kotak counts its cap over an anniversary year on most cards.

Read from each bank's own document on 31 October 2026. Rules differ by card inside each bank, so check yours in the table further down. SBI Card's MITC says terms may vary and points to product terms; the general bands shown come from its SimplyClick Advantage terms booklet, and the BPCL figure from the BPCL SBI Card page.

What do I actually pay on a Rs 5,000 fill?

On a Rs 5,000 fill with a 1% surcharge you are charged Rs 5,059. If your card refunds the surcharge you get Rs 50 back and your real cost is Rs 9, the GST. If the fill falls outside your card's band, you get nothing back and the extra cost stays Rs 59.

An example. Surcharge: 1% of Rs 5,000 is Rs 50. GST: 18% of Rs 50 is Rs 9. The statement shows Rs 5,059. On an HDFC Regalia (not Regalia Gold, which has no waiver), where the band runs to Rs 5,000 and the cap is Rs 500, Rs 50 comes back, so you net Rs 5,009. On an Axis Select, where the refund stops at Rs 4,000, the same fill gets no refund and you net Rs 5,059.

When the cap bites. Six fills of Rs 5,000 in one cycle on an HDFC Millennia carry Rs 300 of surcharge and Rs 54 of GST. The cap is Rs 250, so you keep Rs 50 of surcharge plus all the GST, Rs 104 in total.

HDFC, Axis and Kotak do not say whether the band is tested before or after the surcharge is added. SBI Card's limits exclude taxes and other charges, though not in so many words. A fill right at the top of a band is the one case to check on your statement.

Does my card have a fuel surcharge waiver?

Many cards do, but not all, and some premium cards have none. HDFC's MITC lists the waiver as not applicable on Regalia Gold, Diners Black Metal, Diners Privilege, Marriott Bonvoy, the Swiggy cards and its UPI RuPay cards, among others. Axis lists no refund on Neo, Cashback, Freecharge and Miles and More. Kotak lists none on Essentia, PVR, IndiGo and its UPI RuPay card.

Find your bank below and open the source to read the wording. You can also see every charge and benefit on the cards you hold in My cards, or browse fuel credit cards.

430 of 562 open cards, from 35 banks. 132 open cards have no figure here because we did not find one. Rows marked Not confirmed are figures we could not check against the issuer document, so check with the bank.

Why did my fuel surcharge waiver not come through?

The usual causes are a fill outside the band, a cap already used, a card with no waiver, or a pump that does not qualify. A fill below the minimum still pays the surcharge.

Some waivers depend on the pump. ICICI gives Coral cardholders the waiver only at HPCL pumps and on ICICI Merchant Services swipe machines. Axis gives IndianOil Premium cardholders the waiver only at authorised IndianOil outlets.

Banks spot fuel by merchant category code. For their fuel fee, SBI Card and Axis use 5172, 5541, 5542 and 5983. Kotak ties the waiver itself to the code: a merchant not mapped under the correct code means no waiver. For a wrong surcharge amount, ICICI and RBL tell you to approach the merchant's bank.

Do fuel purchases earn reward points?

Often not. Axis says no reward points are earned on fuel on Select and Rewards. SBI Card says fuel earns no cashback on Cashback SBI Card. IDFC First's Millennia terms exclude fuel, and HDFC's MITC names cards including Tata Neu, Swiggy, Marriott Bonvoy and Diners Black.

Kotak links the two: no points or air miles accrue where a fuel surcharge waiver is given, except on Cashback+. IndianOil Kotak is the stated exception that pays both points and the waiver. Axis Select's page also excludes fuel from the spend counted towards its annual fee waiver. See the list of cards that pay no rewards on fuel, and our guide to rewards on other excluded categories.

Can a bank charge a separate fee on high fuel spend?

Yes, and it is separate from the surcharge. Many banks now add their own 1% fee plus GST once a fill or a cycle's fuel spend crosses a line. The waiver terms cover the surcharge, not this fee. SBI Card's starts on 1 December 2026: above Rs 50,000 of fuel in a billing cycle, 1% applies to all of it, so Rs 60,000 costs Rs 600.

An example. An Rs 12,000 fill on an ICICI Coral crosses the Rs 10,000 line and the Rs 4,000 waiver limit. The bank fee is Rs 120 plus Rs 21.60 GST. A 1% surcharge adds another Rs 120 plus Rs 21.60 GST, unrefunded. Total extra: Rs 283.20, or 2.36% of the fill.

Add 18% GST. Read from each bank's own document on 31 October 2026.

Does the fuel surcharge waiver work when I pay by UPI?

It depends on the bank and card, so check before you scan. Axis, on selected RuPay cards, and ICICI say the waiver follows the card's terms, and Yes Bank gives none on the variants it lists. SBI Card's documents conflict: its UPI FAQ says no reversal on its RuPay cards, while its UPI SBI Card booklet points to its waiver section, Rs 100 a month on Rs 500 to Rs 3,000, and neither is dated in the text we read.

Yes Bank caps its RuPay virtual card at Rs 125 a statement cycle. BPCL SBI's waiver applies only on swiping at a POS machine. HDFC and Kotak list their UPI RuPay cards as having no waiver, which covers those named cards only. Our RuPay credit card on UPI guide covers the wider rules.

Is a fuel credit card worth it for Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 a month?

Run the numbers on the annual fee against what the card returns at the pumps you actually use. On IndianOil Kotak, the reward alone covers the Rs 449 fee plus GST at about Rs 1,104 of IndianOil fuel a month if points are worth 25 paise, and about Rs 1,380 a month at the 20 paise Kotak pays when you take cashback. At Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 a month at IndianOil pumps, the points cover the fee at either value.

The surcharge alone. With no waiver, Rs 4,000 a month at 1% costs Rs 47.20 with GST, or Rs 566.40 a year. With a waiver, you still pay the GST, Rs 86.40 a year. So the waiver is worth Rs 480 a year at this spend.

The rewards. Kotak's MITC gives 4% back in points at IndianOil pumps, capped at Rs 300 a statement cycle, which you reach at Rs 7,500 of fuel. Other pumps do not earn the 4%. At 25 paise a point that is Rs 1,920 a year on Rs 4,000 a month and Rs 1,440 on Rs 3,000. Kotak's MITC pays 20 paise a point for cashback, with a 2,000 point minimum, which makes the return 3.2%: Rs 1,536 and Rs 1,152. The fee is Rs 449, or Rs 529.82 with GST, and Kotak waives it on Rs 50,000 of retail spend in a year.

These figures assume all your fuel goes through one chain. To compare other cards on your own spend, use Find a card.