Discover periodically offers 5% on gasoline purchases under their Get More program. American Express gives 3% on gasoline purchases, but it has to be at Costco or a “free standing” gas station. 7-Eleven, AM-PM, etc are considered grocery stores so the 3% doesn’t apply.
Cheers,
Ken
Editor: Interesting points Ken, thanks so much for the clarifications! In many ways, Discover is tops when it comes to rewards.
PinayspeakOctober 4, 2008 at 7:22 am
American Express gives 3% on gasoline purchases, but it has to be at Costco or a “free standing” gas station.
I use the Citibank Simplicity Cash Rewards Card. It’s no longer available and pays back 5% on any gas stations.
Coles MyerAugust 26, 2009 at 11:09 pm
I’d like to apply for that kind of credit card. I’m an adventurer, always on the road all of the time and because of that, I spend a lot using my credit card.
If you like rewards cards, there are many to choose from, whether it be specialty or branded gas credit cards, general cash back credit cards or some other variant of a rebate card. The specialty cards are geared towards primarily rewarding you for your gas or automobile-related expenditures. Many general cash back credit cards offer a gas rewards component as well. But you’ll need to know your spending habits well in order to make the best credit card choices for yourself. For instance, if you’re loyal to a particular brand and consistently fill up in the same stations, then a branded card may be a better choice. Generalists will of course go with cash back or rewards cards that cover the gamut of spending categories.
Ernesto GomezFebruary 18, 2011 at 4:23 am
Don’t forget that you can also reduce commute expenses by making lifestyle adjustments. Use your car less often.
SeraphinApril 10, 2011 at 10:51 pm
You can maximize rewards with a good card, but many of these cards also have limits on how much you can earn. You need to be aware of those limits.
Good point on limits — I’m aware of general rewards cards that are set this way. Unfortunately, some of these limits are indeed capped.
I wanted to also point out that there are surveys that show that if you exclusively use a branded gas card at participant gas stations (that carry the same brand), you’ll get higher cash back rewards than you would from any other form of cash back credit card. The operative word here is “exclusively” (that is, you use the card greater than 70% of the time).
It’s important too, that you don’t use cash back cards at all if you won’t be able to pay off your balance in full each month or it won’t be worth it.
Caroline M.November 24, 2011 at 1:24 pm
With less income, my family’s more determined about cutting our spending, but it’s a shame that we can’t get our costs down all the way to zero, particularly because of our gas consumption. It’s just not practical. I actually get the hives whenever I watch the gas pump sucking out the dollars from my credit card.
My husband and I use cash back credit cards but we’d like to further optimize their use. So it’s helpful to know what else is out there that may get us better savings which won’t require us to do anything extra to pick up rewards. With gas spending a fairly fixed expense (at least for us), gas type cards are worth capitalizing on.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Discover periodically offers 5% on gasoline purchases under their Get More program. American Express gives 3% on gasoline purchases, but it has to be at Costco or a “free standing” gas station. 7-Eleven, AM-PM, etc are considered grocery stores so the 3% doesn’t apply.
Cheers,
Ken
Editor: Interesting points Ken, thanks so much for the clarifications! In many ways, Discover is tops when it comes to rewards.
American Express gives 3% on gasoline purchases, but it has to be at Costco or a “free standing” gas station.
I use the Citibank Simplicity Cash Rewards Card. It’s no longer available and pays back 5% on any gas stations.
I’d like to apply for that kind of credit card. I’m an adventurer, always on the road all of the time and because of that, I spend a lot using my credit card.
The card says only 2% now.
If you like rewards cards, there are many to choose from, whether it be specialty or branded gas credit cards, general cash back credit cards or some other variant of a rebate card. The specialty cards are geared towards primarily rewarding you for your gas or automobile-related expenditures. Many general cash back credit cards offer a gas rewards component as well. But you’ll need to know your spending habits well in order to make the best credit card choices for yourself. For instance, if you’re loyal to a particular brand and consistently fill up in the same stations, then a branded card may be a better choice. Generalists will of course go with cash back or rewards cards that cover the gamut of spending categories.
Don’t forget that you can also reduce commute expenses by making lifestyle adjustments. Use your car less often.
You can maximize rewards with a good card, but many of these cards also have limits on how much you can earn. You need to be aware of those limits.
Good point on limits — I’m aware of general rewards cards that are set this way. Unfortunately, some of these limits are indeed capped.
I wanted to also point out that there are surveys that show that if you exclusively use a branded gas card at participant gas stations (that carry the same brand), you’ll get higher cash back rewards than you would from any other form of cash back credit card. The operative word here is “exclusively” (that is, you use the card greater than 70% of the time).
It’s important too, that you don’t use cash back cards at all if you won’t be able to pay off your balance in full each month or it won’t be worth it.
With less income, my family’s more determined about cutting our spending, but it’s a shame that we can’t get our costs down all the way to zero, particularly because of our gas consumption. It’s just not practical. I actually get the hives whenever I watch the gas pump sucking out the dollars from my credit card.
My husband and I use cash back credit cards but we’d like to further optimize their use. So it’s helpful to know what else is out there that may get us better savings which won’t require us to do anything extra to pick up rewards. With gas spending a fairly fixed expense (at least for us), gas type cards are worth capitalizing on.