Top 10 Petrol Cash Rebate Credit Cards

The price for RON95 petrol and diesel went up by 20 sen per litre from 12.01am today. This means RON95 would now cost RM 2.10 while diesel will cost RM 2.00 per litre. So if you're spending RM 300 per month on petrol, you would need to pay extra RM 30 every month from now on.

How can we minimize the impact of petrol hike to our expenses? Firstly, you can consider switching petrol stations as each petrol station has its own reward system as I shared previously. Secondly, you can consider to apply for a credit card that gives you good rebate on petrol.

This is the top ten list (not by ranking) of petrol rebate credit cards that I compile:

Card	Rebate	Cap	Terms & Conditions
HSBC Amanah MPower Visa Platinum Credit Card-i	8% max	RM 100	Saturday and Sunday, RM 2001 and above
SCB JustOne Platinum MasterCard Credit Card	15%	RM 48 max	Everyday, RM 2999 and above
Shell-Citi Gold Credit Card	8% max	RM 64 max	Everyday, RM 2500 and above, Shell petrol station
PB-Esso Mobil Visa Gold Credit Card	5% max	RM 50	Everyday, RM 800 and above, Esso/Mobile petrol station
Maybank Islamic PETRONAS Ikhwan Visa Gold Card-i	8x TP	-	Saturday and Sunday, Petronas petrol station
Maybankard 2 AMEX	5% + 5x TP	RM 50	Saturday and Sunday, all petrol stations that accept AMEX
Hong Leong Wise Credit Card	10%	RM 100	Minimum 10 swipes of RM 50 and above
UOB One Card	5% + 2% SmartCash	RM25	Everyday, BHP petrol station
OCBC Titanium MasterCard	5%	RM 50	Everyday, all petrol station
CIMB Petronas Gold MasterCard	5%	RM 50	Every first weekend, Petronas petrol station

If you still use cash or normal credit card (RM 2 = 1 point) to pay for petrol, you should get one of the cards listed above. Select a card that is suitable for you according to your montly expenses, monthly petrol purchase amount and your choice of petrol station. 

For monthly petrol consumption of RM 500 and below, I would recommend you UOB One Card, OCBC Titanium MasterCard or Maybankard 2 AMEX. The reason is that these cards give high rebates and do not impose minimum monthly spend or swipes.

PB-Esso Mobil Gold Credit Card

In my previous post, I mentioned that Esso/Mobil gives the most rewards to their customers. Now, Petron has taken over Exxon Mobil petrol stations in Malaysia and the rebranding is in progress. Public Bank is currently having a campaign for its Esso Mobil Co-brand credit card, the PB-Esso Mobil Gold Credit Card, from 1st March to 30th June 2013.

The campaign is open to new and existing principal and supplementary PB-Esso Mobile Visa Gold Credit cardmembers. Eligible new principal cardmembers will be offered a RM50 Activation Cash Rewards payment (must swipe with minimum retail purchase of RM 80 within 2 months from card approval date) while all cardmembers can enjoy up to 5% cash rebate and up to 2,000 extra Smiles Points on purchase of fuel at Esso, Mobil or Petron service stations.

The maximum cash back each month per cardmember is RM 50. The cash rebate tier and extra smile points are shown in below table:

Total Monthly Purchase	Cash Rebate	Total Monthly Fuel Purchase	Extra Smile Points
≤ RM 100	0.5 %	≥ RM 100—RM 200	300
> RM 100—RM 200	1.0%
> RM 200—RM 500	2.0%	> RM 200—RM 500	500
> RM 500—RM 800	3.0%	> RM 500—RM 800	1000
> RM 800	5.0%	> RM 800	2000

The extra Smiles Points on fuel purchases at Esso, Mobil or Petron service stations is subject to a minimum total monthly fuel purchase of RM 100 at Esso, Mobil and Petron service stations and a minimum total monthly card usage of RM 600 on other retail purchase. For other retail purchases, cardmember can get unlimited cash megaBonus of 0.5%.

If your monthly petrol consumption is greater than RM 800, then this card is suitable for you. This card is free for life, so you can enjoy annual card fee waiver for life without any conditions.

Happy Day Campaign with Petronas Maybankard

If you're loyal customers for Petronas petrol, this would be a happy news to you! The Happy Day Campaign for Petronas Maybankard started from 1st November 2012 to 28th February 2013.

During the campaign period, every RM1 spent in all Petronas stations or groceries will earn 8x TreatsPoints everyday while every RM1 spent for other purchases will earn 5x TreatsPoints everyday as well. Please take note that it is not applicable for spending at other petrol stations.

During the campaign, the actual cash rebate you're able to get for petrol filling is 4.5%, for groceries is 4.0%, for other transactions is 2.5%. The best part is that there is no capping nor restriction on earning the TreatsPoints.

These are the features of Petronas Maybankard Visa & Ikhwan Visa:

• Earn 5x TreatsPoints for all purchases made at Petronas stations for weekdays and 8xTreatsPoints for every weekend (Saturday & Sunday)
• Free for life (No annual fees)
• Free petrol with TreatsPoints when you redeem with PETRONAS GiftCard
• Free Maybankard Touch n’ Go Zing Card – Get this automatic reload card that is linked to your PETRONAS Ikhwan Visa
• Etiqa Mutiara Takaful Plus Plan provides you with both protection and investment at only RM10 per month
• Enjoy Mesra points at all Petronas stations

BHPetrol eCard

I was a loyal customer of Shell petrol since I started driving. However, I've switched from Shell to BHPetrol since I tried a full tank of BHPetrol 2 months ago. I felt that my car became more powerful and had better acceleration with BHPetrol.

With my UOB One card, I'm able to enjoy 5% cash rebate and 2% smart cash. If you apply for the eCard, you can get 1 point for every RM you spend. So, in total, I get 7.8% rebate each time I pumped at BHPetrol with UOB One card and eCard. You can see the comparison of reward system for each petrol station here.

The eCard can be applied at the petrol station but you're not able to get it on the spot. The petrol station will send the application form to HQ to process. After 2~3 weeks, HQ will send out the card to your mailing address.

Comparison of Petrol Station Reward System

Most Malaysians have private vehicles instead of using public transport. Therefore petrol price is always a major concern for most of us. Are you interested to find out which petrol station actually offer the best reward system?

Update 3/9/13:
Most of the Esso and Mobil petrol stations have already been rebranded as Petron.

I have come out with a table that lists out all 5 major petrol stations available nationwide, ranking of rebates are from left (highest) to right (lowest), comparison & rebate calculation are based on RON95 petrol.

Petrol Station	Esso/Mobil	BHP	Petronas	Shell	Caltex
Reward Card	Smiles	eCard	Mesra	Bonus Link	-
Point Earning	1 point/RM	1 point/RM	1 point/litre	1 point/litre	-
Petrol Redeemable	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	-
Actual Rebate	1.5%	0.9%	0.5%	0.5%	-

It is very clear that Esso/Mobil offers the best reward system with 1.5% of rebate, follows by BHP, then Petronas & Shell.