Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank also have a globally valid co-branded debit card, Smartfill, in association with Visa International. Smartfill features include:- Free fuel through the rewards program, savings on fuel and ‘aXcess plus' benefits.
- Customers earn one reward point for every Rs 125 spent which they can redeem at par for free fuel at BPCL outlets.
- There are also discounts up to 5 % for purchases at In-and-Out department stores located at Bharat Petroleum's petrol stations.
Citibank Maruti Suzuki AutoCard is another credit card that you can get easily if you own a Maruti vehicle. The card can be used to buy petrol from Indian Oil Pumps without paying any surcharge. You get points for purchases made at Indian Oil Pumps and Maruti Service Centers. Also you can earn 20,000 points as additional rewards when you exchange your car for your next Maruti Suzuki car.
Plain Credit Cards
You can also get your normal credit card swiped for fuel at any fuel station. This helps you in saving time in searching a retail outlet of a particular petrol company. There are additional benefits like free insurance, balance transfer, revolving credit, global calling card among others that be enjoyed through using your plain vanilla card. Your plain credit card may also be eligible for surcharge wavier provided you pay a minimum bill value.
SBI Gold/Silver/Platinum Cards are accepted world-wide and provide a 0% fuel surcharge for single transaction spend between Rs. 400 and Rs. 3,000.
HSBC Silver/Gold cards also give a surcharge wavier for amounts between Rs 400 and Rs 2,500.
Make your choice
Plain Credit card or Pre-paid petro card
A credit/debit card may charge an annual fee where as a pre-paid petro card will charge a one-time membership fee, which is non-refundable. But today most credit cards do not have an annual fee so in that case a credit card is always better than a pre paid card. Again in case of pre-paid petro cards you have to pay the oil company in advance for future petrol spends but if you use a credit card you can get up to 45 days to clear your petrol bills. A pre-paid card can be used on a retail outlet of specific company whereas a credit card can be use at all fuel stations. However your pre-paid card is subject to a surcharge waiver but even your credit card may provide you a facility of 0% surcharge.
If you visit a particular retail outlet of BPCL or HP to tank up your car then you can use a pre-paid petro card offered by that company. This would enable you to earn reward points that can be redeemed for free fuel or gifts along with the surcharge wavier. Or else your credit card is always the best option for you.
Pre-paid or Co-branded petro card
The pre-paid petro card may help to keep your spending under control but if you do not want pre-pay for your purchases you can opt for a co-branded credit card that gives a dual advantage of a standard credit card and fuel without surcharge. Both the cards provide a relaxation on surcharge to the user and can be used on petrol pump of the specific company. A pre-paid card is very restricted in its use and a co-branded card is flexible. You can use the later for purchases other than fuel as well. That way your co-branded card has an upper hand over your pre-paid card.
Co-branded / Pre-paid cards or Plain credit cards
In case you do not patronize a single petrol pump/brand or don't feel like carrying too many cards, you always use your usual credit card. Although a co-branded or pre-paid card do provide with a surcharge wavier sometimes even the plain credit cards are subject to multiple benefits including surcharge wavier at certain times.
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