SBI Card 1% fee on fuel and transport from 1 Dec 2026: who pays

From 1 December 2026, SBI Card will charge a fee of 1% on two kinds of spending: fuel, once your fuel payments in a billing cycle add up to more than ₹50,000, and transport payments of more than ₹30,000 in a single transaction. SBI Card posted the notice on its website on 27 October 2026 and has a revised-charges PDF that says the fees apply "on your SBI Credit Card".

Most cardholders spend well below both lines, so most will never see this fee. But the fuel rule has a sharp edge: once you cross ₹50,000, the 1% is charged on the whole fuel total, not just the part above ₹50,000. Below we quote SBI Card's own wording, work through examples, and list the points the notice leaves open.

What SBI Card's notice says

Transport, in SBI Card's words: "W.e.f. 1 Dec 2026, a fee of 1% of the transaction amount will be applicable on every transportation transaction (identified under MCCs 4111, 4784, 4131) exceeding Rs.30,000".

Fuel, in SBI Card's words: "W.e.f. 1 Dec 2026, if the total amount of all fuel transactions (identified under MCCs 5172, 5541, 5542, 5983) made in a billing cycle exceeds Rs.50,000, a fee of 1% will be charged on the total fuel spends".

• Transport is tested one transaction at a time. Each payment above ₹30,000 attracts 1% of that payment's full amount. Several smaller payments are not added together, as media coverage of the notice also reported.
• Fuel is tested per billing cycle. All fuel payments in the cycle are added up. If the total is more than ₹50,000, 1% is charged on the entire total. At ₹50,000 or less, there is no fee.
• Which payments count depends on the merchant category code (MCC) the card network assigns to the merchant, not on what you bought. SBI Card's PDF says the MCCs "are defined by the network partners and are subject to change basis their discretion" and that such changes can happen "without any requirement for intimation/information to the customers".
• The transport MCCs are 4111 (commuter transport), 4784 (tolls and bridges) and 4131 (bus lines), as described in media coverage. The fuel MCCs are 5172, 5541, 5542 and 5983.

Worked examples

These examples use SBI Card's stated rules. The rupee fee is 1% of the amount shown. GST is a separate question (see below), so we show the fee before tax, and then a version with 18% GST added as our own assumption.

• Fuel, ₹60,000 in one billing cycle: the total is above ₹50,000, so 1% applies to all ₹60,000. Fee: ₹600. If 18% GST is added (our assumption), ₹708.
• Fuel, ₹50,000 in one billing cycle: the notice says the fee applies only if the total "exceeds" ₹50,000. Fee: ₹0.
• Fuel, ₹50,001 in one billing cycle: 1% of the whole ₹50,001, or about ₹500. One extra rupee of fuel moves the fee from zero to about ₹500. This is the cliff to watch.
• Fuel, ₹55,000 every cycle for 12 cycles: ₹550 a cycle, or ₹6,600 a year before any GST. That is the cost for a heavy driver who keeps all fuel on one SBI card.
• Transport, one payment of ₹35,000: above ₹30,000, so 1% of the full ₹35,000. Fee: ₹350. With 18% GST (our assumption), ₹413.
• Transport, two payments of ₹25,000 each: neither payment is above ₹30,000, so no fee, even though the two add up to ₹50,000.
• Transport, one payment of exactly ₹30,000: not above ₹30,000. Fee: ₹0.

What is clear and what is not

Full amount or only the excess? SBI Card's wording settles it. The transport fee is "1% of the transaction amount", which is the whole payment. The fuel line says the fee is "charged on the total fuel spends", which is also the whole amount.

• GST: unclear. Neither SBI Card document mentions GST. Fees on cards usually attract GST, and Outlook Money's examples are stated "excluding applicable taxes", but SBI Card has not said so in these notices. Treat our 18% figures as an assumption.
• Which cards: SBI Card's PDF says the charges apply "on your SBI Credit Card" and lists no variant exemptions. Media described it as covering all SBI credit card variants. The notices do not specifically address co-branded fuel cards, so check your own card's terms if you hold one.
• Billing cycles that straddle 1 December: the notice does not say whether fuel payments made before 1 December count towards the ₹50,000 in a cycle that ends after it. We could not confirm this either way.
• Coding of individual merchants: whether a given toll, FASTag-style or travel payment is coded under one of the listed MCCs is decided by the network and can change. Your statement or SMS shows the merchant name; the MCC is often not shown, so ask SBI Card if you are unsure.

Who is likely to pay it

On our reading, the fuel fee matters mainly to people who put more than ₹50,000 of fuel a month on one SBI card: fleet owners, taxi operators, and long-distance commuters. The transport fee matters to people who make single large transport payments, such as a big toll or commuter-card top-up, or a bus booking above ₹30,000, if the merchant is coded under one of the listed MCCs. For most households, neither line will be crossed.

The broader pattern is the one we described in our credit card devaluation explainer: issuers are adding 1% fees on specific categories such as rent, wallets and utilities. Fuel and transport now join that list at SBI Card. We have not repeated that background here; see the related posts below for it, and for your rights when a card's charges change.

What you can do before 1 December

• Add up your fuel spends per billing cycle, not per calendar month. The fee follows your statement cycle.
• If your fuel total sits close to ₹50,000, decide in advance how you will pay the rest of the cycle's fuel. The rule is about fuel on your SBI card, so fuel paid another way does not count towards it.
• Do not assume another card is fee-free. For example, Axis Bank's Scapia card page lists a 1% fee on cumulative fuel spends of ₹50,000 or more per statement. Check the fee table of any card you switch to.
• Paying fuel with your SBI RuPay credit card through UPI is still a payment on your SBI credit card; we found nothing in the notice that exempts it.
• For a one-off big transport payment above ₹30,000, check before paying whether it falls under one of the listed MCCs, and whether this card is the way you want to pay it.
• After 1 December, check your first statement for a new 1% line against fuel or transport, and raise it with SBI Card if a payment was coded in a way you did not expect.

Spendzie reads your bank and card SMS to track spends, EMIs and card fees. For this change, that means you can see your fuel total building up through the billing cycle and spot a new 1% fee line on your statement. Spendzie does not give loans, does not give investment advice and is not a bank.

Publish notes and sources

• 1% fee on every transport transaction above Rs.30,000 under MCCs 4111, 4784, 4131, w.e.f. 1 Dec 2026, notice dated 27 Oct 2026; "1% of the transaction amount" — SBI Card customer notices, accessed 3 Nov 2026 — https://www.sbicard.com/en/customer-notices.page
• 1% on total fuel spends if fuel transactions under MCCs 5172, 5541, 5542, 5983 in a billing cycle exceed Rs.50,000, w.e.f. 1 Dec 2026 — SBI Card customer notices, accessed 3 Nov 2026 — https://www.sbicard.com/en/customer-notices.page
• Charges apply "on your SBI Credit Card"; MCCs defined by networks and subject to change without intimation; no GST or variant exemption stated — SBI Card revised-charges PDF, accessed 3 Nov 2026 — https://www.sbicard.com/sbi-card-en/assets/docs/pdf/revised-charges.pdf
• MCC descriptions (commuter transport, toll and bridge fees, bus services); threshold applies per transaction, smaller transactions not combined; examples ₹35,000 → ₹350 and ₹60,000 → ₹600 "excluding applicable taxes"; applies to "all SBI credit card variants" (media report) — Outlook Money, 30 Oct 2026 — https://www.outlookmoney.com/banking/sbi-credit-card-extra-fee-on-fuel-and-transport-spends-above-specified-limits-from-december-1
• Axis Scapia: fuel 1% on cumulative ≥ ₹50,000 per statement — Axis Bank Scapia card page, accessed 3 Nov 2026 — https://www.axis.bank.in/cards/credit-card/scapia-axis-bank-credit-card
• Worked examples (₹600, ₹708, ₹0, about ₹500 on ₹50,001, ₹550 a cycle and ₹6,600 a year on ₹55,000, ₹350, ₹413, ₹0 on 2 × ₹25,000 and on ₹30,000) — Spendzie calculation from SBI Card's stated rules; 18% GST is a Spendzie assumption, not stated by SBI Card
• Researched and verified by the Spendzie editorial desk on 3 November 2026. Figures may change; we will update this post if they do.

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Spendzie is not a bank, lender, SEBI-registered investment adviser or research analyst. Brand, product and card names are used for identification only and do not imply endorsement or partnership. Fees, rules and data change; always verify with the official source (RBI, NPCI or your card issuer) and your own card's terms before making a decision.