SBI Card 1% fee on fuel above ₹50,000 and transport above ₹30,000 from 1 December 2026
SBI Card will charge 1% on fuel spends over ₹50,000 a billing cycle and on transport payments over ₹30,000 from 1 December 2026.
SBI Card has told its customers that two new fees start on 1 December 2026: one on large fuel spends and one on large transport payments. The notice is on SBI Card's website, dated 27 October 2026. It says the charges apply on your SBI Credit Card and the notice names no card as exempt. Here is what it says.
What the fees are
- Fuel: if all your fuel transactions in a billing cycle add up to more than ₹50,000, SBI Card charges 1% on the total fuel spend.
- Transport: SBI Card charges 1% of the transaction amount on every transport transaction above ₹30,000.
How the fuel fee works
The 1% is on the whole fuel spend, not only the part above ₹50,000. SBI Card's own example is fuel payments of ₹25,000, ₹15,000 and ₹20,000 in one cycle. That is ₹60,000 in total, so the fuel fee is 1% of ₹60,000, which is ₹600. At ₹50,000 or less in the cycle, there is no fee. The transport fee works per payment: a single payment of ₹35,000 costs ₹350 extra, and a payment of ₹30,000 costs nothing extra.
Which payments count
SBI Card identifies the payments by merchant category code (MCC), which the card network sets for each merchant. Fuel is MCC 5172, 5541, 5542 and 5983, and transport is MCC 4111, 4784 and 4131. CNBC-TV18 reports that these codes cover petrol pumps and fuel dealers, and commuter transport, tolls and bridge fees, and bus services. The notice does not say whether airline or railway tickets are covered. SBI Card also says the codes can change when the networks change them, without telling customers. So the fee depends on the code a merchant has, not on what you think you bought.
What to do
Check your statement for fuel spends in each billing cycle, because a cycle that crosses ₹50,000 makes the fee apply to all of it. If you are near the limit, you can pay part of the fuel bill another way, such as UPI or another card. For large toll or other transport payments, look at how the payment is coded. The fee is charged on top of the amount you pay, and it applies to cardholders with high fuel or transport spending. Most households that spend less than ₹50,000 a month on fuel are not affected. For questions, SBI Card's helpline numbers are 1860 180 1290 and 39 02 02 02, with your local STD code.
Other issuers
This is not new for the market. IndusInd Bank's notice page says it has charged 1% plus GST on cumulative fuel spends above ₹30,000 or ₹50,000, depending on the card, from 15 June 2026. Check your own card's terms, as these thresholds differ by bank and card.
Sources: SBI Card: Revision of charges, effective 1 December 2026 (notice), SBI Card: Important notices for cardholders, SBI Card: Most Important Terms and Conditions, CNBC-TV18: SBI Card to charge 1% fee on fuel and transport spends from December 1, IndusInd Bank: Important updates on credit cards.
Card terms change. Check the bank's own page before you rely on a figure here. Posts never contain referral or affiliate links from the writer.
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