5 Best Petrol Credit Card Malaysia 2026: Cashback Guide

[Updated on: 21 January 2026] Petrol cashback looks simple in ads: swipe your card, get a percentage back. In real life, Malaysians miss cashback for quieter reasons—cashback caps, minimum spend rules, and payment method/MCC classification. If you don’t understand those mechanics, “best petrol credit card 2026 Malaysia” becomes a meaningless phrase, because the “best” card on paper can return very little for your actual habits.

The good news: you don’t need to be a points hobbyist to use a petrol cashback card Malaysia strategy properly. You just need to evaluate petrol cards the way banks calculate rewards: by eligibility + caps + thresholds + transaction classification.

How we evaluate

We prioritize effective cashback after caps, minimum-spend realism, payment method compatibility (pay-at-pump, counter, Setel, e-wallet/QR), and clarity of terms. Where a detail isn’t clearly stated by the issuer, we treat it as a risk and tell readers what to verify before relying on it.

What to verify before you apply (quick checklist)

• Minimum income and fees (annual fee, SST)
• Cashback posting timing (statement cycle vs calendar month)
• Cashback cap mechanics (per category? combined cap?)
• Minimum spend requirement (petrol-only vs total retail spend)
• Excluded payment types / MCCs (e-wallet reloads, QR flows, app top-ups)
• Petrol brand tie-in (Shell/Petronas/Petron only)
• Weekend rules (if any) and how they’re defined (Fri–Sun vs Sat–Sun)

Petrol Cashback Card Comparison (2026)

1) CIMB PETRONAS Visa Infinite-i Credit Card

Application difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆. 

Min Monthly Income: RM10,000

Annual Fee: RM0 free for life

Petrol cashback mechanics:

• Eligible petrol-related spend stated: PETRONAS transactions + Setel App transactions at PETRONAS + EV charging at PETRONAS.
• Cashback tiers (tied to statement balance, not just spend):
  • 12% cashback, petrol cashback cap RM60/month if statement balance RM4,000+ monthly
  • 6% cashback, cap RM60/month if statement balance RM1,500–RM3,999 monthly
• Weekend/weekday rule: Not stated—verify issuer T&Cs / product disclosure sheet.
• Minimum spend petrol cashback: Not stated as a spend threshold; cashback eligibility is stated as statement-balance tiering. What happens below RM1,500 statement balance is not stated—verify issuer T&Cs / product disclosure sheet.

Pros:

• Explicitly includes Setel App at PETRONAS and PETRONAS EV charging as eligible petrol-related spend.
• Clear, high headline petrol cashback rate (tiered).
• Annual fee stated as free for life.
• Cashback tiers and caps are clearly stated (within the data pack).

Cons:

• Cashback depends on statement balance tiers, which many readers misunderstand as “spend.”
• Petrol cashback cap is RM60/month, which heavy drivers can hit.
• Weekend/weekday treatment not stated.
• Eligibility details for payment flows (pump vs counter vs QR) are not stated.

Gotchas:

• The “best” rate requires a statement balance of RM4,000+, not just petrol spend.
• The RM60 cap can be reached quickly at 12% (about RM500 petrol spend).
• If you also earn cashback in other categories that share the same cap (stated on the page), your effective petrol cashback cap may feel lower in practice.

Verdict: A PETRONAS-focused cashback card with strong stated rates, but the statement-balance tiering and monthly cap are what will decide your real returns.

2) PETRONAS Maybank Visa Gold/ Platinum

Best for: PETRONAS drivers who prefer rewards points (TreatsPoints) rather than cashback, and who refuel more on weekends for higher multipliers.

Application difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆.
Min Monthly Income: RM2,500

Annual Fee: RM0 free for life

Petrol cashback mechanics:

• Not a cashback card. Petrol reward type is TreatsPoints, not cashback.
• PETRONAS points multipliers (PETRONAS transactions):
  • Weekdays: 5x TreatsPoints (5 points per RM1)
  • Weekends: 8x TreatsPoints (8 points per RM1)
• Petrol cashback cap / minimum spend petrol cashback: Not applicable (no cashback rate/cap stated). Points caps are not stated—verify issuer T&Cs / product disclosure sheet.
• Weekend/weekday rule: Yes (weekday vs weekend multipliers stated).
• Petrol brand limitations: PETRONAS (stated).

Pros:

• Straightforward PETRONAS-focused points earning with clear weekday/weekend multipliers.
• Annual fee stated as free for life.
• Useful if you already redeem TreatsPoints for PETRONAS-related redemptions (positioning stated).
• Simple to understand compared with multi-tier cashback caps.

Cons:

• Not a petrol cashback card Malaysia option (it’s points-based).
• No TreatsPoints for e-wallet reload is explicitly stated.
• Points value depends on redemption (not stated here).
• Payment-flow eligibility (Setel, pay-at-pump vs counter) is not stated.

Gotchas:

• If your habit is topping up wallets, points may not post (e-wallet reload exclusion is stated).
• Weekend refuels matter—weekday refuels earn less.
• If you specifically want “cashback you can see in RM,” this card may not match expectations.

Verdict: Best treated as a PETRONAS rewards card with strong weekend multipliers—not a “best petrol credit card 2026 Malaysia” pick if your goal is cashback in ringgit.

3) Maybank Islamic PETRONAS Ikhwan Visa Gold/Platinum Card-i 

Best for: PETRONAS drivers who refuel mainly on weekends and want a simple cashback structure without a stated minimum petrol spend.
Application difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆. 

Min Monthly Income: RM2,500

Annual Fee: RM0 free for life

Petrol cashback mechanics:

• Petrol brand limitation: PETRONAS (stated).
• Weekend vs weekday rule (core mechanic):
  • Weekend PETRONAS spend: 8% cash rebate, petrol cashback cap RM50/month, spend stated as “any amount”
  • Weekday PETRONAS spend (Mon–Fri): 1% cashback, cap RM50/month, spend stated as “any amount”
• Minimum spend petrol cashback: Stated as “any amount” for petrol cashback; no threshold stated beyond that.

Pros: 

• Very clear weekend vs weekday petrol rebate structure.
• Weekend rate is high (within the data pack) and easy to plan around.
• No stated minimum petrol spend beyond “any amount.”
• Annual fee stated as free for life.

Cons:

• The RM50/month petrol cashback cap limits upside for heavy weekend drivers.
• Weekday cashback (1%) is modest.
• Setel / QR / e-wallet compatibility for petrol cashback is not stated.
• PETRONAS-only limitation

Gotchas:

• If you refuel mostly Mon–Fri, you may feel the card “doesn’t do much,” even if cashback posts correctly.
• The cap can be reached quickly with weekend refuelling (around RM625).
• TreatsPoints exceptions (government bodies, e-wallet reloads) are mentioned for points earning—cashback eligibility for those payment types is not stated.

Verdict: A straightforward PETRONAS weekend-focused petrol cashback card Malaysia option, as long as you accept the RM50 cap and don’t expect strong weekday returns.

4) Public Bank Petron Visa Gold

Best for: Petron-loyal drivers who spend consistently at Petron stations and want a tiered cashback structure that rewards higher monthly station spend.
Application difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆. 

Min Monthly Income: RM2,000

Annual Fee: RM0 free for life

Petrol cashback mechanics:

• Petrol brand limitation: Petron stations only (stated).
• What counts (as stated): Fuel + non-fuel at Petron stations only (tiering applies to total monthly spend at Petron stations).
• Tiered cashback (monthly Petron station spend):
  • RM1–RM100: 0.5% (cap RM50/month)
  • RM101–RM200: 1% (cap RM50/month)
  • RM201–RM500: 2% (cap RM50/month)
  • RM501–RM800: 3% (cap RM50/month)
  • RM801+: 5% (cap RM50/month)
• Minimum spend petrol cashback: Tiered by Petron station spend; the page highlights that 5% requires RM801+ monthly at Petron stations.
• Weekend/weekday rule: Not stated.
• Other spend: All local & overseas retail spends: 0.1% cashback, uncapped (stated).

Pros:

• Tiering is transparent and tied to actual spend at Petron stations.
• 5% tier is available once monthly station spend crosses RM801 (within the data pack).
• RM50 petrol cashback cap is relatively high compared with some petrol cards.
• Small uncapped cashback exists for other retail spend (0.1%).

Cons:

• Must be loyal to Petron to get meaningful value (Petron-only).
• Lower tiers are modest; casual drivers may see small RM returns.
• Payment-flow eligibility (pump vs counter vs QR) is not stated.
• Weekend/weekday treatment is not stated.

Gotchas:

• “Petrol” value here is really “Petron station spend” (fuel + non-fuel), which is different from cards that only reward fuel.
• If you don’t reach RM801+ at Petron stations, you won’t see the headline 5% tier.
• Always check how your Petron transactions are classified (MCC code petrol / station coding not stated—verify issuer T&Cs).

Verdict: A sensible Petron-only cashback structure where your real return depends on whether you can consistently reach higher monthly spend tiers at Petron stations.

5) RHB Shell Visa Credit Card 

Best for: Shell-loyal drivers who can reliably hit total monthly spend tiers and want petrol cashback at Shell—while accepting a relatively low petrol cashback cap.
Application difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆. 

Min Monthly Income: RM2,000

Annual Fee:  first year free, RM195 for subsequent years, waived if swipe minimum 24 times;

Petrol cashback mechanics:

• Petrol brand limitation: Shell (petrol cashback applies at Shell; stated).
• Tiered petrol cashback (Shell petrol spend), based on total monthly spend:
  • Total monthly spend RM3,000+ → 12% petrol cashback, petrol cashback cap RM30/month
  • Total monthly spend RM2,000–RM2,999 → 5% petrol cashback, cap RM30/month
  • Total monthly spend RM1,000–RM1,999 → 3% petrol cashback, cap RM30/month
• Weekend/weekday rule: Not stated.
• Minimum spend petrol cashback: Total monthly spend tiering applies (RM1,000 / RM2,000 / RM3,000 thresholds stated).

Pros:

• Clear Shell petrol cashback tiers tied to total monthly spend.
• Can reach a high headline petrol cashback rate at the top tier (within the cap).
• Annual fee waiver condition is stated (swipe count).
• The page states an effective date for benefits (useful for readers).

Cons:

• Petrol cashback cap is only RM30/month, even at 12%.
• To access the highest petrol rate, you must hit RM3,000+ total monthly spend.
• Weekend/weekday mechanics not stated.
• Payment-flow eligibility (pump vs counter vs QR) not stated.

Gotchas:

• At the 12% tier, the petrol cashback cap is reached after about RM250 Shell petrol spend—heavy drivers won’t get more petrol cashback after that.
• The petrol cashback tier depends on total monthly spend, not petrol spend alone (classic minimum spend petrol cashback trap).
• Benefits are stated as effective 8 Sept 2025 on the page; treat older screenshots or older blog posts cautiously.

Verdict: A Shell-only cashback card where the headline rate is less important than the RM30 petrol cashback cap and whether you can consistently meet the required total monthly spend tier.

Key Aspects of Petrol Credit Cards in Malaysia

Your Regular Petrol Brand (Shell vs Petronas vs Petron)

For petrol credit cards in Malaysia, brand loyalty isn’t just preference—it’s eligibility. Many petrol cards are co-branded or structured so that the “good” rate only applies at a specific network (e.g., Shell-only, Petronas-only, Petron-only). If you routinely refuel across brands based on price, location, or queue length, you’ll frequently land in the base rate (or no special petrol rate), even if the card advertises a big petrol number.

Practical way to decide:

• If one brand accounts for most of your refuels (home + work route), a brand-linked petrol cashback card Malaysia setup can make sense.
• If you’re mixed-brand, you should prioritize either:
  • a card with broad petrol eligibility (if clearly stated), or
  • a general cashback card where petrol is just one of multiple categories (so your rewards don’t collapse when you refuel elsewhere).

Cashback Rate vs Monthly Cashback Cap (why headline % misleads)

The headline percentage is the bait. The cap is the reality.A petrol cashback cap is the maximum monthly petrol cashback you can earn for that category. Once you hit it, extra petrol spending earns little or nothing (depending on the card’s base rate structure).A simple illustration:

• If a card offers 10% petrol cashback but caps petrol cashback at RM30/month, the “rewarded” petrol spend is effectively limited to about RM300/month at that 10% rate. Past that, you’re done for the month.

That’s why two people using the same card can have totally different experiences:

• Driver A spends RM250/month and feels it’s “amazing.”
• Driver B spends RM800/month and feels it’s “meh,” because the cap hits early.

When comparing “best petrol credit card 2026 Malaysia” options, the honest comparison is:

• Effective monthly return (after cap), not the headline percent.

Minimum Monthly Spend (the hidden deal breaker)

This is the most common reason petrol cashback doesn’t show up. Many petrol cashback cards require you to hit a minimum spend petrol cashback threshold—often based on total monthly retail spend, not petrol spend. So many cardholder will also check out other Cashback Credit Card instead of petrol cashback card. However,  if you don’t meet it, the petrol cashback might:

• drop to a lower tier,
• revert to a base reward rate,
• or not trigger at all (depending on the issuer’s rules).

How to protect yourself:

• Treat the minimum spend as “non-negotiable.” If you can’t reliably hit it, don’t plan your budget around the petrol cashback.
• If you’re short, shift predictable bills (groceries, utilities, telco) to the same card—only if those transactions are stated as eligible retail spend in the issuer’s terms.

Weekend vs Weekday Cashback (when it matters, how to plan)

Weekend multipliers or weekend-only cashback can look generous—but they’re only useful if they match how you refuel.

If you refuel:

• after work on weekdays → weekend-heavy cards may underperform
• family errands on weekends → weekend-weighted cards can be easy wins

Planning tips:

• If your card defines “weekend,” check what the issuer means (some define it as Sat–Sun; others include Friday).
• If you travel long distances, plan one larger refuel on the rewarded days rather than multiple smaller weekday refuels—but only if you’re not pushing beyond the monthly cap.

MCC Codes & E-Wallet Compatibility (why the same top-up may not count)

This is the technical piece that causes the most confusion: cashback engines often depend on how the transaction is classified, not your intention.

A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a 4-digit code used by card networks to classify merchants by business type. Banks use that classification for rules like “petrol cashback applies to petrol MCC only.”

What this means in daily Malaysian life:

• Paying at a petrol station doesn’t always guarantee the transaction is treated as “petrol.”
• Paying through an app or by topping up a wallet first can change how the transaction is classified.

This is why “e-wallet petrol cashback” is tricky: some flows may count, others may not, and issuers rarely explain it in plain language. Your safest move is always to follow what the issuer explicitly calls “eligible petrol spend” and treat anything else as “maybe.”

What Is MCC Code

An MCC (Merchant Category Code) is a four-digit classification assigned to a merchant by the card network (Visa/Mastercard/Amex, etc.). Banks use MCCs to decide whether your transaction qualifies for cashback categories like petrol.

The important part: banks reward the transaction category they see, not the category you meant.

That’s why a user can “do everything right” (they bought petrol!) and still miss cashback—because the transaction came through under a different classification.

Petrol paid via e-wallet/QR

Two common patterns:

1. Direct payment at station using your card
2. Top up an e-wallet, then pay via QR / wallet

In the second pattern, the card transaction might be treated as an e-wallet reload or payment service, not petrol. This is also why some platforms apply separate fees to credit card top-ups (it’s treated as a wallet top-up transaction, not a petrol purchase). For example, Setel states a convenience fee applies when topping up Setel Wallet using credit cards (fee level is shown in Setel’s help documentation). 

What to do: if your card’s petrol cashback is important, prefer direct petrol payments unless the issuer explicitly states that the wallet/app flow is eligible.

Petrol app / Pay-at-pump vs counter

Even within the same station, your experience can vary by payment flow:

• Pay-at-pump can trigger a pre-authorisation hold (a temporary hold amount) before final settlement. Shell’s Malaysia support notes a pre-authorised amount (e.g., RM200 for Visa/Mastercard) when paying at the pump, and that the unutilised amount is released after settlement.
• Counter payment may settle differently and can be simpler if you’re managing tight available credit.

Important: pre-authorisation is not the same as cashback eligibility—but it’s part of real-life “petrol card” experience and a common reason people think they were “charged extra.”

5 Things to Know Before Applying for Petrol Cashback Cards

Wrong Payment Method = No Cashback

Treat payment methods as “eligibility gates.” Your issuer might reward petrol when you:

• pay directly at the station terminal,
• but not when you route payment through a wallet reload or certain QR flows (depending on how transactions are classified and the issuer’s exclusions).

A simple habit that reduces disappointment:

• Do one small “test” refuel early, then check your statement/rewards posting before you commit to using that card for every refuel.

E-Wallet Reload Might Not Trigger Cashback

This is where many Malaysians get caught because it feels like petrol.

If you reload a wallet first, you’ve made a wallet top-up transaction. Some wallets explicitly charge a fee for credit card top-ups; Setel’s help documentation describes a convenience fee for credit card top-ups.

Even if the wallet is used for petrol later, the bank may see:

• “wallet reload” rather than “petrol transaction.”

So:

• Don’t assume e-wallet petrol cashback is automatic.
• Look for explicit issuer wording about eligible payment channels (app payments, QR, wallet reloads).

Missing Cashback Due to Monthly Spend Requirement

Minimum spend rules don’t care that petrol is essential spending. If your card requires a total monthly spend to unlock petrol cashback, you need a plan to hit it consistently.

Two patterns work for most households:

• “One-card month”: route groceries/utility/telco to the same card to meet thresholds.
• “Two-card split”: use the petrol card until cap is hit, then move to a general cashback card (only if the general card is better for your other categories).

If you can’t hit the minimum spend reliably, choose a card that doesn’t require it—or accept that your petrol cashback will be lower than the headline rate.

Petrol Benefits Change Over Time (review T&Cs + “effective date”)

Banks update caps, tiers, and exclusions. Your “best petrol credit card 2026 Malaysia” pick today can become average after a revision.

What to do:

• Check for an issuer “effective date” in announcements or the product disclosure sheet.
• In your own article, add a visible “last updated” date (you’re already doing this)—that’s an EEAT trust signal.

Islamic & Conventional Cards Restrictions (keep factual and neutral)

Islamic (“i”) cards can structure benefits as rebates rather than “interest-based” features. Functionally, you may still receive value back—but wording, posting mechanics, and certain restrictions can differ by issuer.

Practical advice:

• Don’t assume the Islamic and conventional versions are identical.
• Verify: fees, cashback/rebate posting timeline, and any excluded transaction types.

Conclusion

A petrol credit card Malaysia pick is only “best” when it matches three things: your petrol brand, your realistic monthly spend, and how you pay (terminal/app/wallet/QR). Most disappointment happens when people select based on headline cashback, then discover caps and eligibility rules after the first statement.

If you’re choosing based on patterns (not hype):

• Single-brand loyalists usually get the most value from brand-linked structures (Shell vs Petronas vs Petron).
• Mixed-brand drivers should focus on clarity, caps, and minimum spend realism; “petrol-specialist” cards may not be optimal if you can’t keep transactions within the rewarded brand/channel.
• Heavy drivers should treat the cap as the true limit and plan what card comes next after the cap is hit.

Choose in 3 steps (simple checklist)

1. Pick your fuel reality: Which brand do you refuel most often (and can you stick to it)?
2. Calculate your monthly ceiling: What’s your likely petrol spend (RM200–400 vs RM600–1,000), and how quickly will a petrol cashback cap cut you off?
3. Confirm eligibility: Can you meet minimum spend, and does your payment flow (pay-at-pump / counter / Setel / e-wallet/QR) match what the issuer treats as eligible petrol spend?