SBI BPCL Octane Card – Mistake & Workaround
I recently made a bit of a blunder with my SBI BPCL Octane credit card, but luckily, I found a solution that worked out well. Here’s the whole story, along with the fix I discovered.
Best Fuel Card:
I’ve been recommending the SBI BPCL Octane card on Twitter as the best fuel card in India. It offers an unbeatable 6+% reward rate. However, I’ve recently encountered some issues with reward points after using the card for a while.
Worst Mistake I Did:
Although I usually check all my card statements, I neglected to review the credit card statement for about 3 months. Since I only use this card for fuel purchases, I didn’t suspect any discrepancies in the monthly total amount due shown on my repayment app.
Investigating the Missing Points:
I regularly fill up at the same BPCL station near my house. I noticed that I wasn’t receiving the bumper 25X reward points. To get to the bottom of the missing points, I reviewed my recent statements. I discovered a strange pattern: some transactions earned the promised 25X reward points, while others inexplicably didn’t.
A Clue at the Pump:
Determined to solve the mystery, I took a closer look at the Point of Sale (PoS) machine during my next fill-up. To my surprise, I found that the station had two different brands of PoS machines:
- Pine Labs machine
- Paytm machine
The Workaround:
Here’s where things got interesting. Only transactions processed through the Pine Labs machine earned the coveted 25X reward points. It seemed the Pine Labs machine was configured with BPCL’s software, while the Paytm machine was not.
A New Refueling Routine:
From that day forward, I adopted a new routine at every fuel pump I visited. Before swiping my card, I always make sure the PoS machine displays BPCL’s software. This simple step ensured I continued to receive the full 25X reward points always.
Your Turn:
Have you ever encountered a similar issue with a credit card reward program? What’s the biggest credit card mistake you’ve ever made? Share your experiences in the comments below!
Interested in learning how to avoid overspending with credit cards? Head over here for a useful 5-step guide!
