In-depth review
IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card
A boring, effective, single-purpose fuel card — ~5% back as Fuel Points at IOCL outlets (India's largest pump network), plus 5% on groceries and bills, for a ₹500 fee that waives almost automatically. The keys to full value: redeem Fuel Points as fuel via IXRP (96 paise vs 20 paise elsewhere) and respect the monthly caps. For the IOCL commuter, it's the obvious, low-stakes choice.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
Welcome Benefit
~₹250 in vouchers, points or cashback in year one — usually conditional on a first spend within 30–90 days
5 points/₹100 on Fuel (~4.8% value)
5 Fuel Points per ₹100 (~4.8% in rupees) at IndianOil outlets, capped 150 FP a month (250 FP for the first 6 months). Card swipe at IOCL POS only — paying at the pump by UPI earns the base rate, not 5%.
4.8% on Groceries
5 Fuel Points per ₹100 (~4.8%) on groceries (MCC 5411/5499/5921/5462), capped 100 FP a month; min txn ₹150
Annual Fee Waiver
Fee of ₹500 + 18% GST (₹590 all-in)/yr fully waived when you spend ₹50,000/year
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹250/month
UPI Linked
Pay UPI QR codes from your credit line. What UPI payments earn can depend on the app you pay through, so check the rewards details.
⛽ FUEL BENEFITS
Co-branded card — maximum savings at IndianOil stations.
Up to 5%
Fuel reward rate
1%
Surcharge waiver
₹250
Waiver cap/month
PARTNER FUEL STATIONS
- Co-branded card — maximum rewards at IndianOil fuel stations
- Up to 5% effective return on fuel purchases
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver at all fuel stations
For car owners who refuel at Indian Oil pumps. If your nearest petrol station is IOCL and you spend ₹3,000+ per month on fuel, this card pays for itself instantly — but swipe the card at the IOCL POS, because HDFC pays the accelerated 5% only on non-UPI transactions at the pump. The RuPay variant still links to UPI, where spends earn the base rate.
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹0.96. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuelonly at Indian Oil (IOCL) | reward points | 4.8%5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.96 | ₹144 |
| Groceries | reward points | 4.8%5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.96 | ₹96 |
| Utility Bills | reward points | 4.8%5 pts/₹100 × ₹0.96 | ₹96 |
| Other | reward points | 0.64%0.67 pts/₹100 × ₹0.96 | — |
Fuel: 5 Fuel Points per ₹100 (~4.8% in rupees) at IndianOil outlets, capped 150 FP a month (250 FP for the first 6 months). Card swipe at IOCL POS only — paying at the pump by UPI earns the base rate, not 5%. · Indian Oil (IOCL)
Groceries: 5 Fuel Points per ₹100 (~4.8%) on groceries (MCC 5411/5499/5921/5462), capped 100 FP a month; min txn ₹150
Utility Bills: 5 Fuel Points per ₹100 (~4.8%) on utility and telecom bills (MCC 4812/4814/4900), capped 100 FP a month; min txn ₹150
Other: 1 Fuel Point per ₹150 (~0.64%) on other spends including UPI; min txn ₹150. Wallet, rent, government, tax, EMI, insurance, jewellery and non-IOCL fuel earn nothing.
Earns nothing on: Rent · Insurance · Wallet Loads · Government & Tax · EMI Conversions
These spends earn no rewards at all — not a reduced rate, and not the base rate. They are also normally left out of any milestone or fee-waiver calculation.
Fees & charges
The numbers that matter beyond rewards — verify on the issuer site before applying. Fees below are shown inclusive of 18% GST, as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹590 |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | ₹590 |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹250 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹600/yr in total.
1% fuel surcharge waiver at all Indian fuel stations (minimum ₹400 per transaction), capped ₹250 per billing cycle
Should you get it?
- Best for: IndianOil regulars who want straightforward fuel savings, Households who want fuel savings without paying a high annual fee
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on Groceries (4.8% back).
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- 5% fuel points at IndianOil — up to about 50 litres of free fuel a year
- 5% Fuel Points on groceries and on utility/telecom bills too (100 Fuel Points a month each)
- 1 Fuel Point per ₹150 (~0.64%) on everything else, including UPI
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver and a low ₹500 fee
✕ Cons
- Monthly fuel-point caps tighten after the first 6 months
- No airport lounge, forex or insurance benefits
- Redemption friction is real — minimum 500 points in multiples of 500, plus ₹99 + GST per catalogue request and ₹50 for cashback
- Rent, wallet loads, government payments, EMI, insurance and jewellery earn nothing at all
- General spends earn only 1 Fuel Point per ₹150 (~0.64%) — this is a fuel card first
- The accelerated 5% needs a card swipe at the IOCL POS; paying at the pump by UPI earns the base rate
Eligibility & documents
This is the figure for salaried applicants. Where HDFC Bank sets a separate one for the self-employed, its own eligibility page gives it.
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Free fuel at IndianOil outlets via IXRP (₹0.96 a point — the only route worth using)
- 🎁Catalogue products and vouchers (₹0.20 a point, ₹99 + GST handling charge per request)
- 🎁Cashback against the statement (₹0.20 a point, ₹50 charge)
- 🎁Airmiles conversion (₹0.25 a point) or SmartBuy flights and hotels (₹0.20)
- 🎁Minimum 500 Fuel Points per redemption, in multiples of 500; points valid 2 years
What your HDFC Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Standard catalogue & cashback
Brand & e-gift vouchers
₹0.50/pt on travel via SmartBuy on most HDFC cards; Infinia, Infinia Metal and Diners Club Black redeem at ₹1 there
Value is concentrated in three capped categories — fuel, grocery and utilities. Outside them the base rate is 1 Fuel Point per ₹150 (~0.64%), and points are worth 96 paise only if you burn them as fuel; every other route pays about 20 paise. Paying at the pump by UPI also forfeits the 5%.
Frequently asked questions
What is 1 Fuel Point worth?
What income do I need?
How many free litres of fuel per year?
What is the monthly Fuel Points cap?
Do points expire?
What is the fee waiver?
How has the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card changed over time?
Has the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card been devalued recently?
When did the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card's fees last change?
How did the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card change in 2025?
The bottom line
The IndianOil HDFC card is the default fuel card for most of India by pump availability alone. The ₹50,000 waiver threshold is nearly automatic for any car owner. Boring, effective, recommended for IOCL-side commuters.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 4 earn rules, 3 of them capped, 1 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 1 recorded perk. The renewal fee is conditional — it is waived on a published spend target, so the fee you pay depends on what you spend.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card are taken from HDFC Bank's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Reviewed by Devchandra Sah. Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for HDFC Bank. All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card
A boring, effective, single-purpose fuel card — ~5% back as Fuel Points at IOCL outlets (India's largest pump network), plus 5% on groceries and bills, for a ₹500 fee that waives almost automatically. The keys to full value: redeem Fuel Points as fuel via IXRP (96 paise vs 20 paise elsewhere) and respect the monthly caps. For the IOCL commuter, it's the obvious, low-stakes choice.
BPCL SBI Card Octane
If you fill up at BPCL, the conversation is short — the Octane wins. At up to 7.25% value-back on BPCL fuel it is the highest return you can get at a BPCL pump, and unlike most single-purpose fuel cards it earns 10X on dining, groceries and movies too. For a BPCL household spending ₹4,000 a month on fuel, fuel alone earns about ₹290 a month, so the ₹1,769 all-in fee is recovered in about six months, and sooner in year one, when the ~₹1,500 welcome covers most of it. The benchmark — earned. It's strictly BPCL-network, with a poor 0.25% non-fuel base.
IndianOil Axis Bank Credit Card
Does the standard IOCL fuel-card job — 4% on petrol at India's largest pump network — but with a twist: you earn flexible EDGE points, not fuel-locked ones, so the rewards can feed Axis's wider ecosystem. Useful if you already bank with Axis. On raw fuel value, HDFC's IndianOil card earns more on the same pumps, so pick by which matters to you.
BPCL SBI Card
A ₹499 fuel card: 4.25% value back at BPCL pumps, 5X points on dining, groceries and movies, and a ₹500 welcome gift that covers most of the ₹589 all-in first-year fee. Solid if you fuel up at BPCL — but the reward points are worth only ₹0.25 each and the fuel value is BPCL-only.
ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card
The best fuel card for HPCL-side commuters — and it earns that partly by being more than a fuel card. Alongside 5% on HP fuel it pays 5% on groceries and departmental stores, categories most petrol co-brands skip, for a ₹500 fee that waives at ₹1.5 lakh. HPCL-network-locked, with full value leaning on the HP Pay app and sensible point redemption. A practical, near-free keeper for the HP household.
RBL Bank IndianOil Credit Card
RBL's fuel co-brand — the successor to the discontinued RBL BPCL SuperCard, now aligned to IndianOil. It earns about 5% value back as fuel points at IOCL pumps (10 points per ₹100, each worth ₹0.50, capped 1,000 points/month) plus a 1% surcharge waiver, on a low ₹500 fee waived at ₹1.75 lakh. A clean single-purpose fuel card for IndianOil drivers.
RBL Bank IndianOil XTRA Credit Card
The premium tier of RBL's IndianOil fuel co-brand: 15 fuel points per ₹100 at IOCL (each worth ₹0.50, ~7.5% value, ~8.5% with the surcharge waiver), capped 2,000 points/month, on a ₹1,500 fee waived at ₹2.75 lakh. One of India's highest fuel earn rates — for heavy IndianOil drivers who can use the cap.
IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card
A RuPay railway co-brand built for one job: 5 Reward Points per ₹100 (~5% at the ₹1 point value) on IRCTC train bookings, plus a 1% transaction-charge waiver, IRCTC Executive railway-station lounges (8/year) and ₹500 quarterly milestone vouchers, on a ₹500 fee that waives at ₹1.5 lakh. Where you actually book rail on IRCTC, it earns hard; everywhere else it earns a capped 1% in points you can only spend on rail. Its whole case rests on how often you take the train.
HDFC MoneyBack+ Credit Card
A competent entry-level cashback card — 10X CashPoints on Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Reliance Smart and BigBasket, a ₹500 fee waived at ₹50,000, a 500-CashPoint welcome benefit (worth ₹100), and a ₹500 voucher for each quarter you spend ₹50,000. It was NOT spared 2026's HDFC devaluation — the earn denominator widened from ₹150 to ₹200 on 15 May 2026, and the CashPoint itself was cut to 20 paise on 1 November 2025. The trouble: HDFC's own Millennia covers more platforms and generally pays better (for a ₹1,000 fee against ₹500), and the MoneyBack+'s low CashPoint value caps its return. A fine first HDFC card, rarely the best one.
Best Fuel Credit Cards in India 2026: Top Picks for HPCL, BPCL and IndianOil
The best fuel credit cards in India return roughly 4–8.5% on petrol and diesel through reward acceleration plus a 1% fuel surcharge waiver. This guide names the best card for each pump — IndianOil, HPCL, BPCL — and, if you have no preferred pump, the brand-agnostic cards that still pay on fuel.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2019 · last change May 2026
2026
- ▼ FeeEffective 15 May 2026
Dynamic currency conversion markup raised to 1.75%
1% markup→1.75% markup
HDFC's MITC: "Dynamic currency conversion Markup Fee: With effect from 15th May 2026, a Markup fee of 1.75% will be levied on all transactions carried out in Indian Currency at an international location or at merchants which are located in India but registered overseas." This is separate from, and stacks on top of, the card's ordinary foreign-currency markup. It is the charge you pay for accepting a terminal's offer to bill you in rupees while abroad - always decline that offer and pay in the local currency. It also catches India-based purchases from merchants registered overseas, which is easy to trigger without leaving the country. The PIXEL MITC dates the same change 17 May 2026.
Verification: HDFC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2025
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jul 2025
1% fee added on rent, wallet loads and online gaming
No category surcharge on rent, wallet loads or gaming→1% on rent (cap Rs 4,999 per transaction); 1% on wallet loads and on online skill-based gaming above Rs 10,000 a calendar month (cap Rs 4,999 a month)
HDFC's MITC: "Rent Pay Transactions: W.e.f. 1st July 2025, 1% fee on transaction amount will be levied on rental transactions... Fee capped at Rs 4999 per transaction"; "Wallet Loading (excl PayZapp) - W.e.f. 1st July 2025, 1% fee will be levied on Wallet loading spends exceeding Rs 10,000 in a calendar month"; "Online Skill based Gaming - W.e.f. 1st July 2025, 1% fee... exceeding Rs 10,000 in a calendar month". These are charges on top of the fact that most HDFC cards already earn zero reward points on the same categories - you pay to spend, and earn nothing for it. PayZapp wallet loads are exempt from the wallet fee.
Verification: HDFC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ FeeEffective 1 Jul 2025
1% fee on utilities above Rs 50,000 and on third-party education payments
No surcharge on utility or education payments→1% on utility spends above Rs 50,000 a calendar month (cap Rs 4,999 a month); 1% on education paid through third-party apps
HDFC's MITC: "Utility Charges: 1% fee will be levied on utility spends exceeding Rs 50,000 per Calendar month for consumer cards... Fee capped at Rs 4999 per month"; "Education Charges: 1% fee... on Education transactions done through third party applications like (but not limited to) CRED, Nobroker, Cheq etc." Paying school or college fees DIRECTLY to the institution is not charged - only routing them through a third-party app is. A 1% fee also applies to fuel transactions above Rs 15,000.
Verification: HDFC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
- ▼ RewardEffective 1 Jul 2025
Insurance reward points capped, online gaming stops earning
Insurance uncapped on most cards; online skill-based gaming earned points→Insurance capped at 2,000 reward points a month (5,000 on Diners Black, 10,000 on Infinia); online skill-based gaming earns nothing
HDFC's MITC: "With effect from 1st July 2025, Reward Points accrued for insurance transactions will have a maximum cap of... 2000 per month for all other credit cards" and "With effect from 1st July 2025, Online Skill-Based gaming transactions will not earn Reward Points/CashPoints on all the cards." Insurance premiums are a common way to hit a milestone quickly, so the cap matters more than its size suggests.
Verification: HDFC Bank ↗ · Confidence: High
2024
- ▼ FeeObserved 26 Jun 2024 · Effective 1 Aug 2024
1% fee on large fuel/utility/rent spends added
No fee on fuel, utility or rent spends; free statement-credit redemption→1% fee (cap ₹3,000) on fuel >₹15,000, utility >₹50,000 & third-party rent; ₹50 statement-credit redemption fee
From 1 Aug 2024 HDFC applied a 1% fee (capped ₹3,000/txn) across its consumer cards — including IndianOil — on any single fuel transaction above ₹15,000, utility above ₹50,000, and rent paid via third-party apps, and began charging ₹50 for reward-point statement-credit redemption. For a typical IOCL commuter the fuel-fee threshold is rarely hit, so day-to-day impact is small.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/hdfc-indianoil#value-timeline">IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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