BPCL SBI Octane vs HDFC IndianOil 2026: Which Fuel Card Pays More?

BPCL SBI Card OCTANE earns more than HDFC IndianOil for almost every spending pattern we tested, but it asks for more: a higher fee, a ₹25,000 monthly income and, to get the headline fuel rate, fuel bought at BPCL pumps. HDFC IndianOil is the cheaper, easier card, and it makes sense if your budget is tight or your fuel pump is IndianOil. Neither card is a good general-purpose card.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	BPCL SBI Octane	HDFC IndianOil
Network	Visa	RuPay
Joining fee	₹1,499	₹500
Annual fee	₹1,499	₹500
Fee waiver spend	₹2,00,000/year	₹50,000/year
Fuel reward rate	25X points (6.25%)	5%
Fuel monthly cap	₹625	₹250
Dining and groceries	10X (2.5%), ₹1,875 cap each	Groceries 5%, ₹100 cap
Base rate	1X (0.25%)	0.67%
Point value	25 paise	₹1
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% up to ₹4,000, max ₹100/cycle	1%, max ₹250/cycle
Forex markup	Not listed in our data	3.5%
Domestic lounge	4 a year (1 a quarter)	None
Min monthly income	₹25,000	₹12,000

All figures are from BestCard's latest card data, checked on 24 October 2026. Octane's forex markup and APR are not disclosed on SBI's product page, so we leave them out.

How the rewards work

BPCL SBI Octane

BPCL SBI Card OCTANE earns 25X reward points on fuel, which at 25 paise a point is 6.25% back. Add the 1% fuel surcharge waiver (transactions up to ₹4,000, capped at ₹100 a billing cycle) and our data gives "up to 7.25%" on BPCL fuel. The fuel reward is capped at ₹625 a month, which means about ₹10,000 of fuel spend. Dining and groceries earn 10X (2.5%) with ₹1,875 a month caps each, about ₹75,000 of spend. Our data also lists a third 10X category labelled "other" without saying what it covers, so the examples below leave it out. Everything else earns 1X, which is 0.25%. A fee payment brings 6,000 bonus points, worth roughly ₹1,500.

HDFC IndianOil

HDFC IndianOil pays 5% in points worth ₹1 each on fuel, groceries and utilities. The caps are small: ₹250 a month on fuel (₹5,000 of spend), and ₹100 a month each on groceries and utilities (₹2,000 of spend each). Beyond that you earn the base 1 point per ₹150, or 0.67%. A separate 1% fuel surcharge waiver applies at IndianOil outlets and other fuel stations, capped at ₹250 a cycle, and it stacks with the points.

Worked example 1: ₹25,000 a month

Split: ₹6,000 fuel, ₹8,000 groceries, ₹3,000 dining, ₹8,000 other. Annual spend ₹3 lakh. We assume fuel is bought at a BPCL pump for Octane, in fills of ₹4,000 or less, and that "other" earns the base rate on both cards.

BPCL SBI Octane

• Fuel: 6.25% × ₹6,000 = ₹375 (under the ₹625 cap)
• Surcharge waiver: 1% × ₹6,000 = ₹60
• Groceries: 2.5% × ₹8,000 = ₹200
• Dining: 2.5% × ₹3,000 = ₹75
• Other: 0.25% × ₹8,000 = ₹20
• Total: ₹730 a month, ₹8,760 a year
• ₹3 lakh clears the ₹2 lakh waiver, so no fee

HDFC IndianOil

• Fuel: 5% × ₹6,000 = ₹300, capped at ₹250
• Surcharge waiver: 1% × ₹6,000 = ₹60
• Groceries: 5% on the first ₹2,000 = ₹100, plus 0.67% × ₹6,000 = ₹40.20
• Dining: 0.67% × ₹3,000 = ₹20.10
• Other: 0.67% × ₹8,000 = ₹53.60
• Total: about ₹524 a month, ₹6,287 a year
• ₹3 lakh clears the ₹50,000 waiver, so no fee

Octane leads by about ₹2,470 a year.

Worked example 2: ₹50,000 a month

Split: ₹15,000 fuel, ₹10,000 groceries, ₹5,000 dining, ₹20,000 other. Annual spend ₹6 lakh.

BPCL SBI Octane

• Fuel: 6.25% × ₹15,000 = ₹937.50, capped at ₹625; the extra ₹5,000 earns 0.25% = ₹12.50
• Surcharge waiver: 1% × ₹15,000 = ₹150, capped at ₹100
• Groceries: 2.5% × ₹10,000 = ₹250
• Dining: 2.5% × ₹5,000 = ₹125
• Other: 0.25% × ₹20,000 = ₹50
• Total: ₹1,162.50 a month, ₹13,950 a year

HDFC IndianOil

• Fuel: 5% capped at ₹250; the extra ₹10,000 earns 0.67% = ₹67
• Surcharge waiver: 1% × ₹15,000 = ₹150 (under the ₹250 cap)
• Groceries: ₹100 + 0.67% × ₹8,000 = ₹153.60
• Dining: 0.67% × ₹5,000 = ₹33.50
• Other: 0.67% × ₹20,000 = ₹134
• Total: about ₹788 a month, ₹9,457 a year

Octane leads by about ₹4,490 a year. Both cards hit their fuel caps quickly. In the first year Octane also pays its 6,000 bonus points on fee payment, worth roughly ₹1,500.

If your pump isn't BPCL, take Octane's fuel numbers with caution. Our data says its full value only appears at BPCL outlets, and your actual earn from fuel could be far lower.

Lounge access and travel

Neither is a travel card, but Octane lists 4 domestic lounge visits a year (1 a quarter), while HDFC IndianOil lists none. HDFC's forex markup is 3.5%, which is poor for overseas spend. For Octane we have no listed markup, so check SBI's current terms if you plan to use it abroad. Octane adds ₹1 lakh of fraud liability cover and a ₹2,000 e-gift voucher on ₹3 lakh of annual spend. For more on stacking surcharge waivers, read our guide to fuel surcharge waiver credit cards.

Fees and waivers

HDFC IndianOil's ₹500 fee is waived on ₹50,000 of annual spend, about ₹4,200 a month, so most users pay nothing. Octane's ₹1,499 is waived at ₹2 lakh a year, about ₹16,700 a month. Below that, subtract ₹1,499 from Octane's earnings. Both examples above clear it, but a driver spending under ₹2 lakh a year would pay it and lose part of Octane's lead.

Income bars differ too: ₹12,000 a month for HDFC IndianOil against ₹25,000 for Octane. HDFC's credit score floor is 680, SBI's 700.

Who should pick which

Choose BPCL SBI Octane if:

• You refuel at BPCL pumps regularly
• You spend ₹2 lakh or more a year, so the fee goes away
• You also spend on dining and groceries and want 2.5% back
• You'd use 4 domestic lounge visits a year

Choose HDFC IndianOil if:

• Your nearest pump is IndianOil, or you don't care about brand
• You want a near-free card for fuel and a bit of groceries
• Your income is between ₹12,000 and ₹25,000 a month
• You're comfortable with RuPay and can live without lounge access

Verdict

For most fuel-heavy households, BPCL SBI Octane earns more, even after you account for the cap, as long as you can fill up at BPCL. HDFC IndianOil is the safer, cheaper pick when your pump or your income rules Octane out. Both caps are small, so don't expect either to be your main card; spreading spend onto a general card once you hit the caps makes more sense. See our best fuel credit cards in India for alternatives.

For the full details, read our BPCL SBI Octane review and HDFC IndianOil review. You can also see how Octane stacks up in BPCL SBI Octane vs IndianOil Axis Premium, or run both through BestCard's compare tool.