At their peak last year, petrol prices were close to $4. That’s a big ouch on top of the high costs of owning a car and all the recent inflation.
Petrol credit cards can be a saving grace, cutting almost a quarter of the bill.
Still, the best credit card fits with the rest of your lifestyle – because you’re going to spend on more than just petrol. That’s why today we’re evaluating the best petrol credit cards for Singapore, looking at aspects like:
- Fuel discounts
- Cashback and other benefits
- Spending profiles each card is designed for
- Annual fees and eligibility requirements
- Current promotions
Without further ado…
10 Best Credit Cards for Petrol in Singapore (2023)
| Credit Card | Fuel Savings | Cashback | Good For |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBS Esso Card | Up to 21.6% | N/A | Fuel savings at Esso |
| OCBC 365 Card | Up to 26.8% | 5% | Discounts from multiple petrol franchise names |
| UOB One Card | Up to 22.66% | 3.33 – 5% | Highest cashback rates + fuel savings at Shell and SPC |
| UOB Absolute Cashback Card | Up to 21.15% | 1.7% | High unlimited cashback + fuel savings at Shell and SPC |
| Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card | Up to 20.7% | 1.5% | Fuel savings at Caltex |
| Citi Cash Back Card | Up to 20.88% | 8% | Welcome promotions + fuel savings at Esso and Shell |
| POSB Everyday Card | Up to 21.8% | N/A | High cashback on food delivery + fuel savings at SPC |
| HSBC Visa Platinum | 21.15% | 5% | High combined rebates at Caltex and Shell |
| Maybank Family & Friends Card | N/A | 8% | High cashback on a variety of categories, including fuel |
| Maybank Horizon Visa Signature | N/A | N/A | High local miles-per-dollar earn rate |
1. DBS Esso Card
DBS Esso Card
You’ll get considerable savings at Esso with this card, but only if you incur at least S$180 in fuel spend every month. Don’t bother charging anything besides Esso transactions to this card, though.
Of the cards on our list, this one offers the highest petrol discounts at Esso service stations. You’ll get up to 21.6% fuel savings at Esso, comprising an 18% instant fuel discount and S$8 fuel savings with minimum S$180 nett fuel spend monthly.
The card automatically enrolls you into Esso’s loyalty programme as well. You’ll earn Smiles Points for every litre of Synergy fuel you buy, which can redeem additional discounts on petrol.
Not so good: You’ll get max Smiles Points only at Esso, so be sure there’s an Esso service station near you. There are little to no other benefits if you use this card for any other retail spending.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for first year
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
Current promotion: Get up to S$200 cash rebate for new-to-DBS credit card with a minimum spend of S$600 within first 2 months and with at least 1 fuel spend per month at any Esso service station in Singapore from the date of card approval. (Valid until 31 August 2023)
2. OCBC 365 Card
OCBC 365 Card
While not the best cashback card in Singapore, the OCBC 365 Card is a well-rounded general spend card for families. It offers fuel savings at Esso, Caltex, and Sinopec along with up to 6% cashback for everyday expenses.
This card offers versatility to the average household with multiple drivers, since you don’t have to stick with a single petrol franchise. You’ll get:
- Up to 20.2% in fuel savings at Esso
- Up to 22.1% in fuel savings at Caltex, including 18% upfront discount on Techron® fuels
- Up to 26.8% in fuel savings at the three Sinopec stations in Singapore
- 25% off fuel on your first CaltexGO payment, and 18% off fuel on all subsequent CaltexGO payments
- 5% cashback on petrol at all service stations
These petrol promotions change regularly. You’ll find an updated list here.
You need to spend at least S$800 on this card monthly to maximise benefits on this card, but this won’t be difficult. You’ll get cashback for dining and food delivery (6%), groceries (3%), land transport (3%), utilities (3%), and online travel (3%).
Read also: 9 Best Cashback Credit Cards for Singapore
Not so good: An $80 cashback cap per month means you’ll have to monitor your spending to make the most of this card.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for two years. Thereafter, automatic fee waiver with S$10,000 annual spend
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
Current promotion: Receive an Apple iPad 9th Gen 10.2 Wifi 64GB (worth S$503.65), or an Apple Bundle [AirPods Pro (Generation 2) + MagSafe Charger] (worth S$421.90), or S$350 eCapitaVoucher or S$250 cash via PayNow when you spend at least S$500 on eligible purchases within 30 days of card approval. (Valid until 31 August 2023) Click to apply.
3. UOB One Card
UOB One Credit Card
The UOB One touts itself as “Singapore’s most generous cashback card,” which is true for the most part. You’ll get up to 10% cashback on everyday brands like Guardian, Giant, and Cold Storage. Even Shopee and public transport transactions get high cashback, so it should be easy for many families to maximise this card.
You’ll just have to jump through a few hoops to qualify for max rebates, like spending S$2,000 for three consecutive months every quarter. If that sounds doable, the UOB One is an appealing offer.
In the petrol department, you’ll get up to 21.15% in fuel savings from Shell and 22.66% from SPC. If you met the minimum requirements, you’ll get another 5% cashback on Shell transactions.
Not so good: Complicated cashback tiering system. For one, you’ll only get cashback quarterly instead of monthly. Two, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend for all three months in the quarter to qualify.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for one year
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
4. UOB Absolute Cashback Card
UOB Absolute Cashback Card
UOB seems to pride itself on offering the highest cashback rates, because it’s done it again here: the UOB Absolute Cashback Card has the “highest limitless cashback rate in Singapore” at the time of writing.
But unlike the UOB One Card, the UOB Absolute Cashback Card is a breeze to maintain.
For one, it has no minimum spend and virtually no spending exclusions to the 1.7% unlimited cashback rate. You don’t have to track your spending or ensure you meet all the requirements. Two, you’ll find other unlimited cashback cards exclude categories like hospital bills, GrabPay top-ups, or taxes – not this card.
Like the UOB One Card, you’ll get up to 21.15% in fuel savings at Shell and 22.66% at SPC.
Not so good: You need to be a high spender to make the most of this unlimited cashback card. Otherwise, a standard cashback card with monthly cashback caps would benefit you more.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for one year
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
5. Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card
Standard Chartered Simply Cash Card
On the surface, this card doesn’t look as attractive as the UOB Absolute Cashback Card. After all, it only offers a 1.5% unlimited cashback rate along with the ability to earn rewards on taxes, education bills, insurance premiums, and rental payments.
But combine that with all the current sign-up promotions and we think it’s worth another look.
Fuel-wise, it also offers 20.7% in discounts at Caltex and a 23% upfront discount for new-to-CaltexGO customers.
Not so good: Once you’ve redeemed the sign-up promotions, there’s little incentive to renew past the first year.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for two years
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
6. Citi Cash Back Card
Citi Cash Back Card
Step right up, foodies: this is a card designed to appeal to international taste buds. If you find yourself driving across the country (even foreign ones) in search of a good meal, the Citi Cash Back Card may be for you.
This card offers 6% cashback on dining, 8% on groceries, and 8% on petrol stations worldwide. Locally, you’ll also get up to 20.88% in discounts at Esso and Shell service stations.
Not so good: Doesn’t reward spending on anything besides groceries, dining out, and petrol. You’ll only get 0.25% cashback for all other retail purchases.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for one year
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
7. POSB Everyday Card
POSB Everyday Card
SPC, Lazada, Shopee, Foodpanda, Deliveroo, and Sheng Siong – if these are brands you regularly transact with, then you’ll find the POSB Everyday Card a practical option. The biggest downside is its low cashback cap per category.
Bringing us back to heartland Singapore is the POSB Everyday Card. This card is one of the few that doesn’t offer cashback at petrol stations, so we wouldn’t rank it at the top of our list. Still, they currently have a promotion offering up to 21.8% in fuel savings at SPC service stations until 30 September this year.
Other than that, the card offers:
- 10% cashback on foodpanda, Deliveroo, and WhyQ (notably, GrabFood is absent)
- 3% on all other dining spend, excluding fast food
- 5% on online shopping like Lazada, Shopee, Qoo10, Amazon.sg, iHerb, and Taobao
Not so good: Low S$15 cashback cap per category combined with an S$800 minimum spend means you’ll need to spend quite a bit on categories with low cashback rates.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for one year
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
Current promotion: New DBS/POSB cardmembers get S$150 cashback when they enter the promo code 150CASH and spend S$800 within 60 days of card approval. Valid until 31 January 2024. Terms and Conditions apply.
8. HSBC Visa Platinum Card
HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card
Think S$800 minimum spend is too high for one card? The HSBC Visa Platinum Card drops the requirement to just S$600. Besides the 21.15% in fuel savings at Caltex and Shell, you’ll get a 5% cash rebate on fuel, dining, and groceries.
Another plus: HSBC likes it when you get cards for the whole family. You’ll get S$30 cashback for every supplementary card you apply for (up to five cards).
Not so good: Only 5% cashback on petrol, dining, and groceries compared to the Citi Cash Back Card’s 6-8% or the Maybank Family and Friends Card’s 8%.
Annual fee: S$194.40 with fee waiver for two years. Thereafter, automatic fee waiver with S$12,500 annual spend
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
9. Maybank Family and Friends Card
Maybank Family and Friends
The Maybank Family and Friends Card offers a higher-than-average 8% cashback on five categories of your choosing. One of the available options is Transport, which covers everything from ride-hailing apps and public transport to petrol. Other than that, you can choose from:
- Groceries
- Dining & Food Delivery
- Data Communication & Digital Streaming
- Retail & Pets
- Online Fashion
- Entertainment
- Pharmacy
- Sports
- Beauty & Wellness
Read also: 9 Best Cashback Credit Cards for Singapore
There’s a minimum spend of $800 to qualify for the 8% rebate, and cashback is capped at $25 per category. (That equates to a max spending of $312.50 if you spend your Transport allowance all on petrol.)
Not so good: No promotional offers for fuel savings, so all you’ll get is the 8% cashback.
Annual fee: S$180 with fee waiver for three years
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income
10. Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card
Maybank Horizon Card
Some prefer maximising fuel savings, some cashback, and yet others prefer earning air miles for their next trip. That’s what the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card is for. With this card, you’ll get a market-leading 3.2 MPD (8X TREATS points) on all fuel spend, restaurants, public transport, Grab and taxi rides, and Agoda bookings.
Bonus TREATS Points are capped at 30,000 per calendar month, but this should be more than enough for a single card. (You’ll only max it out with about $4,285 in eligible spending.)
Not so good: Like the Maybank Family and Friends Card, there are no promotional offers for fuel beyond the 3.2 MPD on petrol.
Annual fee: S$180 with fee waiver for three years. Thereafter, automatic fee waiver with S$18,000 annual spend
Eligibility: Minimum 21 years old with at least S$30,000 annual income