Gas prices are on their way back up again. When the economy tumbled in the past few years, gas prices dropped from their highs, but they are now increasing fairly steadily. It’s hard to imagine where the price of gas will be just one year from now, but it makes sense to continue preparing for higher gas prices for an extended period of time.
Gas credit cards are an excellent way to reduce the effect of spending for gasoline each and every week. Depending on your situation, there may be a few options that suit your gas purchasing needs and after careful review, one gas rebate credit card stands out amongst the rest.
Editor’s choice
The Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back is one of two credit card offers on this list that offers a 5% cash back opportunity on gas purchases as well as a $100 statement credit after making $500 in purchases during the first three months. With rotating 5% cash back categories throughout the year, gas purchases, for example, can receive 5% cash back for three to six months of the year, subject to a maximum and quarterly enrollment. During the other remaining months of the year, gasoline purchases will receive a standard 1% cash back. The Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back card does not carry an annual fee. Chase is offering those who qualify for this card an introductory period of 15 months, during which purchases and balance transfers will accrue no interest.
Discover® Open Road Card. The Discover Open Road Card offers 2% cash back on all gas and restaurant purchases, up to $250 per billing period. This means that if you spend $300 on gas and restaurants during a billing cycle, only $250 will qualify for the 2% cash back, and the other $50 is considered a regular purchase, for which you get 1% cash back. (For the 1% cash back, you have to spend $3,000 for that year; until then, you earn 0.25% cash back.) The Discover Open Road Card does not carry an annual fee and comes with a 0% introductory APR of 15 months for both balance transfers and purchases. Discover also offers a $150 Restaurant.com gift certificate.
Ink CashSM Business Card. New cardholders approved for the Ink Cash Business Card can earn 25,000 bonus points, worth $250 when redeemed for a check. In order to qualify for the bonus points, you must spend $5,000 within the first three months. Although this is a business credit card, anyone can apply. You do not need to be incorporated or have a federal employer identification number in order to qualify — only a Social Security number is required. The card also offers a cash back bonus program featuring 5% cash back on spending within categories appropriate for business owners, such as purchases in office supply stores, cable services and telecommunication services. The 2% bonus on gas expenses helps this card benefit consumers who are looking for these rewards.
True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express. With 3% cash back for gas purchases year-round, many consumers consider the True Earnings Card one of the best in this category. The 3% cash back tier expires after $3,000 is spent in this category; most commuters won’t reach this threshold. For example, with an average price of $3.50 per gallon, a car that gets 30 MPG, and a driver who clocks 15,000 miles a year, the expected gasoline expense would be $1,750 during that year. The card also offers 2% cash back on restaurant and travel purchases and 1% cash back on everything else, excluding purchases at Costco. There is no fee for this card as long as you are an active member of Costco.
Blue Cash PreferredSM Card From American Express. If you spend a lot of money each year on your credit card, the Blue Cash Preferred from American Express is a good option. Cardholders are entitled to earn 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back on gas and department store purchases and 1% cash back all other eligible purchases, as well as $150 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of card ownership. There is no limit to the amount of cash back earned and cash never expires, so long as you maintain a good credit history. There is an introductory 0% APR offer on purchases for 12 months. The Blue Cash Preferred from American Express has an annual fee of $75.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Updated May 1, 2012 and originally published July 23, 2010. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Platinum
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Maybe I’m missing something obvious but how is the True Earning card the best when PenFed offers 5% rebate versus 3%? Gaining membership is so easy and plus it’s a Visa versus American Express. Plus a lot of people don’t have Costco membership so wouldn’t you end up having to pay for the Amex?
My preferred gas credit card is the Shell Mastercard from Citi. 5% cash back on Shell gas purchases, and .5% cash back on everything else. It used to be 1% on everything else, but they recently changed it, and also made the cash back in $25 increments, as opposed to automatically just coming off the following billing cycle. But still, 5% is 5%, and Shell stations are everywhere in Northeast Ohio.
I ALWAYS pump Shell gas, so I have a Shell Citi MasterCard. It returns 5% on Shell gas purchases. The interest rate is hideously high, but I pay off the balance every month. Also, there is an annual fee… that is waived if you make 9 Shell purchases in the prior year… for me, this essentially means no annual fee.
The PenFed card easily beats this one… but like I said, I only pump Shell gas, so it’s really no different.
I checked the Shell website and it said their card pays 5 cents per gallon, not 5%. That equals a little over 1%.
I would add to this list the Bank of America Cash Rewards card, it offers 3% back on gas and 2% back on groceries. For everything else it gives 1% back.
If you’re strictly after gas rewards your always going to get higher percentages of cash back when you get a card that’s partnered directly with a specific gas station, such as Anthony mentioned with his Shell card. However, if you’re looking for a mix of rewards with your card, we like the current Chase Freedom offer. You’ll still be able to rack up gas rewards plus it comes now with a $150 bonus (higher than the $100 bonus mentioned in this post) after $500 in purchases within 3 months. It’s a limited time offer…