Effective 15 April 2016 Hdfc Bank credit cards stops the reward points given on Petrol/Fuel spending.
Previously also company was not refunding the service tax on surcharge refunded back to customer.
Now this another negative added to the list of Hdfc bank credit card.
For eg if one spends Rs.1000 at any petrol pump the statement would show following transactions:
12 May 2016 —-Rs.1000-Dr ——— blah blah fuel station
12 May 2016 —-Rs.25-Dr ———— fuel surcharge
12 May 2016 —-Rs.3.62Dr ———— Service tax on fuel surcharge
12 May 2016 —-Rs.25-Cr ———— fuel surcharge waiver
Now the service tax transaction is levied on fuel surcharge amount now this surcharge is getting reversed(as per card feature) however the service tax levied on it is not getting reversed by Hdfc credit card department.
This means one is paying 0.36% from his pocket to pay via Hdfc credit card at fuel pumps. Still even then many customers used the card because the points earned on the fuel transaction is worth more than 0.36% service tax one pays.
That too is possible only in higher end hdfc credit cards because most the value of reward points earned in lower variant Hdfc credit cards is so dismal that it barely recovers the 0.36% service tax surcharge.
However now that reward points are being stopped on fuel transactions by Hdfc bank it would be no more be saving to use HDFC credit card whether higher or lower variant.
Better use Citibank Indian Oil credit card instead or cash. Citibank is good in this as they don’t levy fuel surcharge at all if card is used at IOC pump citibank terminal.