Overview:
Given the continual rise in petrol prices, every driver seeks to optimize their savings at the pump. Find out about the credit cards made especially to reduce your fuel costs by gaining rewards of either miles or cashback. Choosing the “best” card needs thoughtful consideration of your entire personal finance strategy because there are so many options offered with different discounts rates with different cards for different petrol kiosk groups. So you should choose the card based on the petrol group that you would use most. Here’s the best cards for petrol:
Shell
UOB One card does seem to be the winner here with the highest amount of fuel savings plus you can pair the credit card spending with the UOB One account to supercharge your savings to maximise the interest earned on your savings account. You can refer to my post here if you are interested.
UOB One Card
Earn at least up to 10% cashback on most local spend
Citi Cashback Card
Earn 8% cashback on petrol & ride-hailing services and 6% cashback on groceries & dining
Maybank Family & Friends Card
Earn 8% cashback for five of your chosen categories.
UOB Lady's Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on 1 or 2 chosen categories
Citi Rewards Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on online spend and selected retail
Maybank World Mastercard
Earn 4 miles per dollar on selected petrol stations islandwide and up to 3.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spend
SPC
UOB One card and POSB Everyday are both equally good here with the highest amount of fuel savings. However, POSB Everyday is good for those who do not want a minimum spending required type of card and those who may have a lower transaction amount that is below S$51 per bill. On the other hand, the UOB One card allows you to pair the credit card spending with the UOB One account to supercharge your savings to maximise the interest earned on your savings account. Therefore, UOB One card is definitely the best in this case. You can refer to my post here if you are interested. However, to maximise the UOB One cashback, each transaction amount needs to be S$51 and above to get additional 5% discount (extra S$3 off).
UOB One Card
Earn at least up to 10% cashback on most local spend
Maybank Family & Friends Card
Earn 8% cashback for five of your chosen categories.
POSB Everyday Card
Earn up to 10% cash rebates on selected categories on local spend
UOB Lady's Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on 1 or 2 chosen categories
Citi Rewards Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on online spend and selected retail
Esso
Aside from the cards mentioned below, here are some options to consider. The DCS Vicom Credit Card provides up to 23.2% cashback on fuel at Esso stations when paired with the Esso Fleet Card, with a minimum spend of S$1,200 per year. The DBS Esso Card offers up to 21.6% fuel savings, including an 18% instant discount at Esso and an extra S$8 fuel savings with a minimum spend of S$180 nett per calendar month (valid until 30 June 2024). If you’re looking to earn miles instead of cashback, the UOB Visa Signature card offers 4 miles per dollar on petrol, provided you spend at least S$1,000 per month, capped at S$2,000 monthly.
Citi Cashback Card
Earn 8% cashback on petrol & ride-hailing services and 6% cashback on groceries & dining
Maybank Family & Friends Card
Earn 8% cashback for five of your chosen categories.
OCBC 365 Card
Earn 6% cashback on Petrol, 5% cashback on Dining, 3% cashback on Groceries, Land Transport, Streaming, Electric Vehicle Charging, Watsons, Utilities
UOB Lady's Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on 1 or 2 chosen categories
Caltex
You can also consider these choices: OCBC Frank Card which offers 8% cashback on fuel, provided you meet the S$800 minimum spend, cashback is capped at S$25 per month. Additionally, enjoy an 18% upfront discount on Techron® fuels when paying via the CaltexGO app. For those who prefer earning miles, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa provides 4 miles per dollar spent on petrol, with no minimum spend required, though the cap is S$1,110 per month.
OCBC 365 Card
Earn 6% cashback on Petrol, 5% cashback on Dining, 3% cashback on Groceries, Land Transport, Streaming, Electric Vehicle Charging, Watsons, Utilities
Citi Cashback Card
Earn 8% cashback on petrol & ride-hailing services and 6% cashback on groceries & dining
Maybank Family & Friends Card
Earn 8% cashback for five of your chosen categories.
Citi Rewards Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on online spend and selected retail
UOB Lady's Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on 1 or 2 chosen categories
Conclusion:
Selecting a credit card that optimizes your savings is crucial, taking into account your preferred gas station and spending habits. You should definitely opt for a cashback card instead of a miles card for petrol, because just because you can earn 4 miles per dollar on the above miles cards doesn’t mean you should. Of cos, everyone’s valuation of miles is difficult. I have a pretty conservative valuation for miles. For me, the current value of 4 miles, is equivalent to around 5.28% cashback. If a cashback card gives more than 5.28% cashback/savings, I would opt for cashback and use the cashback earned to “buy miles”. Therefore, my recommendation below will be solely to go for cashback cards.
For Esso Stations, DCS VICOM Credit Card and DBS Esso Card are possibly the best option to get since it’s exclusively made for purchases on ESSO stations with a high fuel savings. UOB One Card would be the best to use at Shell and SPC stations because of its 22.66% potential savings. POSB Everyday Card can be best also for SPC stations because of its 20.1% fuel savings with no minimum monthly spend required to earn the cashback. For Caltex Stations, OCBC 365 Credit Card with the CaltexGo app would be the best to use because of a high coverall fuel savings.
💳 Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates to get the most out of your spending.
💡 We believe in always paying our credit card bills on time and in full. It is only by doing that, can we fully maximise our credit card benefits.
