Fees on rent, wallet, utility, fuel and education spends compared
Updated 31 Oct 2026 · by SwipeWise editorial team · how we write
Since 2023 many large issuers have added a 1% fee on spend categories that earn no rewards and that cardholders use to move money rather than buy goods: rent, wallet top-ups, utility bills, fuel and education fees paid through third-party apps. The fee usually starts only above a threshold, and the thresholds differ by issuer. This page puts the published rules from fourteen issuers’ Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC), key fact statements and notices side by side, read on 31 October 2026. Our rent payment guide works through the rent case with examples and the fuel surcharge guide covers the separate fuel surcharge waiver; this page compares all five categories.
The rules, issuer by issuer
A fee marked “on the total” is charged on the whole amount once the threshold is crossed, not only on the part above it. Taxes (GST at 18%) are added where the issuer’s document says so.
| Issuer | Rent | Wallet loads | Utility bills | Fuel | Education via third-party apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank (from 1 Jul and 1 Oct 2025) | 1% of each transaction, capped at ₹4,999 | 1% on the total if loads exceed ₹10,000 a month (cap ₹4,999 a month) | 1% on the total if utility spends exceed ₹50,000 a month (cap ₹4,999 a month) | 1% of a transaction above ₹15,000 (cap ₹4,999 per transaction) | 1% per transaction (cap ₹4,999) |
| SBI Card | not in the MITC text we read | 1% of every load above ₹1,000 (from 1 Nov 2025) | 1% on the total if a cycle’s utility payments exceed ₹50,000 | 1% on the total if a cycle’s fuel exceeds ₹50,000 (from 1 Dec 2026, per notice) | 1% (from 1 Nov 2025); payments direct to schools and colleges are free |
| Axis Bank (from 20 Dec 2024) | 1% per transaction (nil on Olympus and Primus) | 1% on cumulative loads of ₹10,000 or more a cycle | 1% on cumulative utility spends of ₹25,000 or more a cycle | 1% on cumulative fuel of ₹50,000 or more a cycle | 1% per transaction |
| IDFC FIRST | 1%, minimum ₹249 per transaction | not found | 1% if a cycle’s utility spends exceed ₹20,000 | 1% if a cycle’s fuel exceeds ₹30,000 | 1%, minimum ₹249 |
| ICICI Bank (Amazon Pay card MITC, 10 Jul 2026) | 1% of the transaction on any merchant (from 20 Oct 2022) | 1% on loads of ₹5,000 or more (from 15 Jan 2026) | 1% of utility payments exceeding ₹50,000 (from 15 Nov 2024) | 1% of fuel transactions exceeding ₹10,000 (from 15 Nov 2024) | 1% (from 15 Nov 2024) |
| American Express India (Mar 2026) | not found | not found | not found | Convenience fee: 1% per HPCL transaction of ₹5,000 or more (none below), 1% (min ₹10) at BPCL and IOCL, 2.5% (min ₹10) at other fuel stations | not found |
| RBL Bank (MITC, file dated Oct 2026) | 1% of the transaction on any merchant | not found | 1% on aggregate utility spends above ₹50,000 a month per card | 1% on each fuel and auto transaction above ₹10,000, at most ₹3,000 per transaction | 1% through third-party apps; school and college payments free |
| IndusInd (premium cards) | 1% + GST per transaction (not on some top cards) | 1% on cumulative loads above ₹20,000 a cycle | 1% on cumulative utility above ₹25,000 a cycle | From 15 Jun 2026: 1% above ₹30,000 a cycle on Legend and EazyDiner Platinum, ₹50,000 on some premium cards | 1% on cumulative education above ₹45,000 a cycle |
| Kotak (League Platinum) | 1% of the transaction | 1% on cumulative loads above ₹10,000 a cycle | 1% on cumulative utility above ₹35,000 a cycle | 1% on cumulative fuel above ₹25,000 a cycle | 1% on all such payments |
| Federal Bank | 1% (from 1 Apr 2023) | 1% of every load (from 1 May 2024) | not found | not found | not found |
| YES Bank | 1% or ₹199, whichever is higher (₹1 minimum up to ₹1,000), at most 5 transactions per 30 days | 1% of loads above ₹2,000 (max ₹5,000 a transaction) | 1% on utility transactions if the previous month’s utility spend exceeded ₹50,000 (₹1,00,000 on YES Private) | not found | 1% + GST, capped at ₹5,000 a month |
| Standard Chartered (Smart card) | 1% processing fee | not found | not found | not found | not found |
| HSBC India | 1% processing fee | not found | not found | not found | not found |
| AU Small Finance (MITC updated 12 Oct 2026) | 1% on domestic rent, minimum ₹99 | not found | 1% on the aggregate if a month’s utility spends exceed ₹50,000 | 1% when a month’s fuel exceeds the lower of 50% of the credit limit or ₹50,000; from 1 Jul 2026 also when one transaction exceeds ₹10,000 or the month exceeds ₹25,000 | 1%, minimum ₹99 |
Notes on the table. “Not found” means the document we read does not state a fee for that category, which is not the same as no fee. RBL charges 1% on FASTag loading and toll payments above ₹10,000 per transaction from 7 January 2026; ICICI also charges 1% on transportation transactions exceeding ₹50,000 (from 15 January 2026) and 2% on skill-based gaming; AU also charges 1% on transport spends (MCC 4111, 4112, 4784) from 14 June 2026 above a monthly limit, SBI announced a 1% fee on each transport transaction above ₹30,000 from 1 December 2026, and Axis and Kotak charge 1% on online skill-based gaming above ₹10,000 a cycle. Several fees do not apply to a few top-tier or private cards of the same issuer. The documents cover specific card families in some cases: Kotak’s is the League Platinum statement, IndusInd’s covers its premium cards and Standard Chartered’s is the Smart card MITC.
What it costs: examples
Utilities. The thresholds sit at four levels: ₹20,000 a cycle (IDFC FIRST), ₹25,000 (Axis, IndusInd), ₹35,000 (Kotak) and ₹50,000 (HDFC, ICICI, SBI, AU, YES). At the issuers that charge on the total, the fee jumps at the threshold. SBI’s own illustration shows ₹64,000 of utility payments in a cycle costing ₹640. On the same logic a ₹49,999 month costs nothing and a ₹50,001 month costs about ₹500, so splitting a large bill across two cycles or paying part by another method saves the whole fee.
Rent. The percentage is the same, 1%, so the choice between issuers is about the minimum and the cap. On a ₹10,000 payment the fee is about ₹100 at most issuers, ₹199 at YES Bank (its ₹199 minimum), ₹249 at IDFC FIRST (its ₹249 minimum) and ₹100 at AU (1% against its ₹99 minimum). On ₹40,000 every issuer in the table that states a rent fee charges about ₹400 before GST, and HDFC’s cap of ₹4,999 per transaction does not matter until the rent is almost ₹5 lakh.
Wallet loads. The thresholds differ the most: SBI charges on any load above ₹1,000 and YES Bank above ₹2,000, while ICICI charges on loads of ₹5,000 or more, Axis and Kotak start at ₹10,000 a cycle, HDFC at ₹10,000 a month and IndusInd at ₹20,000. Loading ₹15,000 into wallets in a month therefore costs about ₹150 at SBI, ₹150 at YES Bank, nothing at IndusInd and ₹150 (on the total) at HDFC.
Fuel. For a typical household the fuel fee does not bite: ₹30,000 a cycle is about ₹1,000 a day. It matters for unusually heavy use, and HDFC applies its ₹15,000 threshold per transaction, so a single fill above that triggers it; ICICI’s is lower still at ₹10,000 per transaction. The fuel surcharge waiver, a separate 1% credit, is described in the fuel guide.
What to do with this
- Check the category before you pay. Merchants are classed by network merchant category codes on a best-effort basis (SBI says so about its own fees), so a payment through a bill-payment platform can be classed as utility, wallet or education without your noticing.
- Prefer a method with no fee for these payments. A bank transfer or UPI payment carries no card fee for rent and utilities.
- Remember the fee is added to the credit card bill. Where the document says so it is billed with GST, and it forms part of the amount due.
- Treat the thresholds as moving. HDFC, Axis, SBI, IndusInd and AU all changed these rules in 2024 to 2026, and IndusInd’s fuel threshold changed on 15 June 2026. Read your own card’s current terms before relying on the figures here.
Amex’s other fee lines are not category fees we could find, though it also charges a 1.8% convenience fee on railway tickets booked online and a 3.5% currency conversion factor. ICICI’s row comes from the MITC for its Amazon Pay card rather than the general ICICI document, which could not be read. This is general information, not financial advice.
Sources
- HDFC Bank, Key Fact Statement cum MITC for credit cards, version 4.17: rent, fuel, utility, education and wallet fees with their effective dates. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- American Express India, Most Important Terms and Conditions for American Express credit cards: convenience fees on fuel and railway tickets (file dated 23 Mar 2026). Read 31 Oct 2026.
- RBL Bank, MITC cum key fact statement for credit cards: fees on rent, utilities, fuel and auto, education and FASTag/toll. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- SBI Card, Most Important Terms and Conditions (sections K to M: utility, education and wallet fees) and customer notices (fuel and transport fees from 1 Dec 2026). Read 31 Oct 2026.
- Axis Bank, MITC for credit cards: rent, wallet, fuel, education, utility and gaming fees. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- ICICI Bank, MITC for the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card (10 Jul 2026): rent, education, utility, fuel, transportation, gaming and wallet fees. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- IDFC FIRST Bank, credit card MITC: rent, utility, fuel and education fees (file dated 2025). Read 31 Oct 2026.
- IndusInd Bank, MITC for premium credit cards: fair usage fees, fuel thresholds from 15 June 2026. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, League Platinum key fact statement: fees on rent, fuel, gaming, education and utility. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- Federal Bank, MITC (7 September 2026): rent and wallet loading fees. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- YES Bank, credit card MITC V18 (October 2026): rental, wallet, education and utility charges. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- Standard Chartered, Smart credit card MITC: rental payments fee. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- HSBC India, credit card MITC: charges towards rental. Read 31 Oct 2026.
- AU Small Finance Bank, MITC with schedule of charges: fair usage charges (updated 12 Oct 2026). Read 31 Oct 2026.