SBI BPCL Octane vs IndianOil Axis Premium: Fuel Cards 2026

For most drivers, the BPCL SBI Card Octane returns more, because its 6.25% at BPCL pumps comes with a useful 2.5% on dining and groceries. The IndianOil Axis Bank Premium card wins on fuel alone once you spend around ₹15,000 a month at IndianOil, and it's cheaper to keep. In practice, the pump closest to your home should decide it.

Side-by-side

Feature	BPCL SBI Octane	IndianOil Axis Premium
Joining fee	₹1,499	₹1,000
Annual fee	₹1,499	₹1,000
Fee waiver spend	₹2 lakh a year	₹30,000 a year
Base reward rate	1 point per ₹100 (about 0.25%)	0.67%
Fuel rate	25 points per ₹100 at BPCL (6.25%), capped at ₹625/month	4% at IndianOil, on up to ₹15,000/month
Other category rates	10 points per ₹100 (2.5%) on dining, groceries and some everyday spend, capped at ₹1,875/month	1.33% on groceries (₹5,000 monthly cap)
Reward type / value	SBI reward points, 25 paise each	EDGE Miles, 1:1 against IndianOil fuel or 2:1 to travel partners
Fuel surcharge waiver	1% up to ₹4,000 per transaction, capped at ₹100/cycle	1%, no rupee cap
Forex markup	Not disclosed	Not listed in our data
Domestic lounge	4 visits a year (max 1 a quarter)	Up to 8 a year (2 a quarter), needs ₹50,000 spend in the prior 3 months
International lounge	None	None
Min. monthly income	₹25,000	Not listed

Figures reflect BestCard's latest card data. Fuel co-brands change their caps and partner terms regularly, so verify with SBI Card and Axis before applying.

How the rewards work

BPCL SBI Card Octane has three tiers. BPCL fuel earns 25 points per ₹100, which is 6.25% at 25 paise a point, and with the 1% surcharge waiver that reaches the advertised 7.25%. Fuel rewards stop at ₹625 a month (2,500 points), which you hit at ₹10,000 of BPCL spend. Dining, groceries and a few other everyday categories earn 10 points per ₹100, or 2.5%, with a ₹1,875 monthly cap. Our record lists that cap against each category; treat it as a shared limit to be safe. Everything else earns a thin 0.25%. You also get 6,000 bonus points, about ₹1,500, once the annual fee is paid.

IndianOil Axis Bank Premium earns EDGE Miles at 4% on IndianOil fuel for up to ₹15,000 of spend a month, which caps fuel rewards at ₹600. Groceries earn 1.33% and everything else 0.67%. The miles redeem 1:1 against IndianOil fuel or transfer 2:1 to more than 15 airline and hotel partners. New cardholders get 500 EDGE Miles on a first transaction within 30 days. There's also a 30% Zomato discount twice a month, capped at ₹150 an order on orders of ₹200 or more.

Worked example 1: ₹8,000 of fuel a month

Add ₹20,000 of other spending: ₹6,000 on groceries, ₹4,000 on dining and ₹10,000 on everything else. Each fill-up stays under ₹4,000.

Octane: fuel ₹8,000 × 6.25% = ₹500. Surcharge waiver ₹80. Groceries and dining ₹10,000 × 2.5% = ₹250. Other ₹10,000 × 0.25% = ₹25. Total ₹855 a month.

IndianOil Axis Premium: fuel ₹8,000 × 4% = ₹320. Surcharge waiver ₹80. Groceries ₹5,000 × 1.33% = ₹66.50 (treating the ₹5,000 cap as a spend limit), with the remaining ₹1,000 at 0.67% = ₹6.70. Dining and other ₹14,000 × 0.67% = ₹93.80. Total about ₹567 a month.

Octane leads by close to ₹290 a month. If you use both Zomato discounts every month, Axis claws back up to ₹300, so heavy Zomato users should factor that in.

Worked example 2: ₹15,000 of fuel a month

Same ₹20,000 of other spending.

Octane: fuel would earn ₹937.50 at 6.25%, but the cap holds it to ₹625. The surcharge waiver also caps at ₹100. Add ₹250 and ₹25 from other spend. Total ₹1,000 a month.

IndianOil Axis Premium: fuel ₹15,000 × 4% = ₹600, right at the cap. The uncapped surcharge waiver adds ₹150. Other spend adds about ₹167. Total about ₹917 a month.

Look at fuel alone and the picture flips: Axis returns ₹750 against Octane's ₹725, because its waiver keeps going and its fuel cap is higher. Octane only stays ahead overall because of its 2.5% on dining and groceries.

Lounges and other benefits

Octane gives 4 domestic lounge visits a year, one a quarter, with no spend condition in our data, plus ₹1 lakh of fraud liability cover and a ₹2,000 e-gift voucher on crossing ₹3 lakh of annual spend. The Axis Premium offers up to 8 domestic visits a year, but only in quarters where you spent ₹50,000 on the card in the preceding three months. For a card used mainly for fuel, that bar is hard to clear, so most people will get more use from Octane's smaller but unconditional allowance.

Fees and waivers

The Axis Premium is the easier card to keep free: ₹30,000 a year waives its ₹1,000 fee, and most fuel buyers cross that on petrol alone. Octane's ₹1,499 fee needs ₹2 lakh, roughly ₹16,700 a month. Even if you don't reach it, the 6,000 points credited on fee payment return about ₹1,500, so Octane's real cost is close to zero either way.

Neither card is a good choice abroad. SBI doesn't disclose Octane's forex markup and our data doesn't list one for the Axis card, so use a dedicated low-forex card for overseas spending.

Who should pick which

Choose Octane if your nearest pump is BPCL, you spend up to ₹10,000 a month on fuel, and you also want a card for groceries and eating out. It's the better all-round household card. Our BPCL SBI Octane review covers the caps in detail.

Choose IndianOil Axis Premium if you fill up at IndianOil, spend ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 a month on fuel, or put large single fill-ups on the card where Octane's ₹4,000 waiver limit bites. The EDGE Miles transfer option suits people who'd rather turn fuel spend into flights. Read our IndianOil Axis Premium review.

Verdict

Octane is the stronger card for typical drivers, mainly because its 2.5% on dining and groceries is roughly two to four times what the Axis card pays there. IndianOil Axis Premium is the specialist pick for high-mileage drivers loyal to IndianOil, where its higher fuel cap and uncapped waiver add up. Whichever you choose, keep each fill-up under the waiver limit and watch for card skimming at the pump; our guide to skimming safety at petrol pumps explains what to check. For the wider field, see the best fuel credit cards in India.

If fuel is only part of your spending, the BestCard card matcher can suggest a better overall fit.