IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card offers 8.5% valueback: Should you take it?

For many individuals, fuel expenses like petrol, diesel, etc., form a decent percentage of their overall monthly expenses. However, most credit cards don’t give reward points on fuel transactions. Infact, many credit cards charge a 1% surcharge on fuel transactions. In such a scenario, co-branded fuel credit cards assume a lot of significance. One such credit card is the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card, which offers a valueback of 8.5% on fuel transactions. In this article, we will discuss what is the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card, its features and benefits, fees, and whether you should take it.

What is the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card?

As the name suggests, the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card is a co-branded fuel credit card offered by RBL Bank in collaboration with Indian Oil Limited (IOC). IOC is one of India’s largest oil marketing companies, with a network of over 37,500 fuel stations spread across the length and breadth of India. Around 30 million Indians turn to IOC every day for their fuelling requirements.

The card offers reward points that can buy you 250 litres of free petrol annually if you spend Rs. 45,000 monthly or Rs. 5.4 lakhs annually. For fuel transactions done at IndianOil fuel stations, the card offers a valueback of 8.5%, the details of which are explained later in this article.

Features and benefits of IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card

The IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card offers several features and benefits. Some of these include the following.

1. The card offers 15 Fuel Points (reward points) for every Rs. 100 spent at IndianOil fuel stations. A cardholder can earn a maximum of 2,000 Fuel Points every month.
2. The 1% fuel surcharge is waived at IndianOil fuel stations. The maximum waiver that can be earned in a month is Rs. 200.
3. All others in other categories earn 2 Fuel Points on every Rs. 100 spent.
4. There is a bonus of 1,000 Fuel Points on crossing the quarterly spends milestone of Rs. 75,000.

8.5% valueback on the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card

As discussed in the earlier section, every Rs. 100 spent at IndianOil fuel stations gives 15 Fuel Points. These 15 Fuel Points can buy fuel worth Rs. 7.5, resulting in a value of 7.5%. On adding the 1% fuel surcharge waiver to the 7.5% benefit, the total valueback comes to 8.5% for every Rs. 100 spent at IndianOil fuel stations.

Purchasing fuel with reward points

The Fuel Points earned by IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Cardholders must be converted into XTRA REWARD points. The XTRA REWARD points are loyalty points under the IndianOil XTRA REWARDS Program. The EXTRA REWARD points can be used to pay for fuel at IndianOil fuel stations.

The Fuel Points earned by an IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Cardholder are converted into XTRA REWARD points in the following manner. The conversion ratio is 3 Fuel Points = 5 XTRA REWARD points. Each EXTRA REWARD point is worth Rs. 0.30. The 5 XTRA REWARD points will get you fuel worth Rs. 1.5 (5 points X Rs. 0.30 value per point). With this calculation, the value of 3 Fuel Points comes to Rs. 1.5. Thus, the value of each Fuel Point comes to Rs. 0.50.

Using the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card, for every Rs. 100 spent at IndianOil fuel stations, the cardholder gets 15 Fuel Points. Redeeming these 15 Fuel Points for fuel at IndianOil fuel stations at the rate of Rs. 0.5 per point, the valueback comes to 7.5%.

The points can be used at IndianOil fuel stations to pay for fuel using the POS machines. The fuel station attendant will select the XTRAREWARDS option on the POS machine, enter your mobile, and the redemption amount.

Apart from converting Fuel Points into EXTRA REWARD points, the Fuel Points can also be redeemed on the RBL Bank rewards portal. On the rewards portal, the redemption value is 1 Fuel Point = Rs. 0.1.

Exclusions

Expenses in the below categories will not earn any reward points.

1. Utility bill payments (MCC code – 4900)
2. Insurance premium payments (MCC code – 6300, 6310)
3. Railways related transactions (MCC code – 0066, 4011, 4112)
4. Real estate and rental transactions (MCC code – 6513)
5. Payments related to education (MCC code – 8220, 8244, 8249, 8211, 8241, 8299)
6. Wallet loading (MCC code – 6540)
7. Government services payments (MCC code – 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223)

The above are some of the excluded categories. For the complete list of exclusions, refer to the RBL Bank website. The transactions in the above categories will not be counted towards calculating spends for the quarterly milestone and annual fee waiver.

The IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card is available on the MasterCard and RuPay network. In the case of a RuPay Credit Card, the cardholder will earn reward points as per the card terms and conditions.

However, offline UPI transactions under Rs. 2,000 done at small merchants using this card will not be eligible for Fuel Points and milestone benefits or any other product benefits, unless stated otherwise. In this case, small merchants mean merchants with turnover of not more than Rs. 20 lakhs during the previous financial year.

Fees

The card comes with a joining and annual renewal fee of Rs. 1,500 + Taxes. The cardholder gets a welcome benefit of 3,000 Fuel Points on spending Rs. 500 or more in a single transaction within the first 30 days of getting the card. The welcome benefit is applicable only on payment of the joining fee.

The annual fee is waived on spending Rs. 2,75,000 in the previous year. The spends on excluded categories will not be counted towards calculating the spends for the annual fee waiver.

Should you go for the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card?

The IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card offers a good valueback of 8.5% in the form of Fuel Points and surcharge waiver on fuel spends at IndianOil fuel stations. The Fuel Points can be redeemed for free fuel purchases at IndianOil fuel stations. So, if you have high monthly fuel spends, and IndianOil fuel stations are your go-to fuel stations, you may consider taking the IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.