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5 Best Gas Rewards Credit Cards
Updated April 2012
Americans are having a tough time adjusting to the reality of purchasing gasoline at $3.00 a gallon or more. When possible, we’ve bought more efficient cars, moved closer to work, and taken fewer road trips. Nevertheless, gasoline continues to consume a disproportionate amount of our budgets, and we are always looking for a way to save anything we can in this critical area.
How to Pick the Best Gas Card
First, you want to consider the savings you will realize from each card. Some products offer a percentage off your total purchase, while others grant a fixed amount of savings per gallon. Next, think about where you buy gas and which stations in your area have the lowest price. Some cards are specific to a brand, while others allow you to choose most stations except for warehouse stores. Finally, consider the other benefits of each card. Several of the cards on this list offer excellent rates of cash back for purchases beyond gas, while others do not. This is important if you plan on using this card for more than just fuel purchases.
Our Top 5 Gas Rewards Cards
A few years ago, I signed up for a SimplyCash American Express Business card that offered fantastic 5% cash back on all gasoline purchases. Sadly, that deal is no longer offered, but I was able to save a few hundred dollars using that card. These days, a credit card that offers higher rewards for gasoline purchases can still slash your price at the pump by 15 cents a gallon. Here are my top picks.
Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card From PenFed
PenFed is the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. While they are not well known, and they are not even a bank, they do offer some of the most consumer friendly products on the market. Their Platinum Cash Rewards card offers 5% cash back on all gasoline purchases. Unfortunately, this card offers a paltry .25% back on other purchases. On the other hand, PenFed has a great reputation for low fees. This card has no annual fee, cash advance fee, foreign transaction fee, or over the limit fees. To apply for this card, you must be a member of the credit union, which is open to current and former members of the military, many government contractors, their relatives, and household members. Even if you do not qualify on this basis, you can do so by making a one-time, $15 donation to a military charity.
Amex BlueCash Preferred
Here is a top notch, all around rewards card that happens to offer a competitive 3% reward rate on gasoline purchases (it is also the best credit card for groceries). While there is no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn, this higher rate does not apply to fuel purchased at superstores and warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club. Other rewards include 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Citi ExxonMobil Mastercard
Citi and ExxonMobil are two giants of banking and energy, and their ExxonMobil MasterCard offers competitive cash back on both gasoline and other purchases. Cardholders will receive a 15 cent per gallon rebate on Exxon and Mobile purchases at over 10,000 nationwide locations. Essentially, customers receive a larger percentage of cash back when the price of gas goes down, and relatively fewer rewards when the price goes up. Customers will receive another 2% cash back on their first $10,000 of eligible purchases each year, and 1% cash back after that. Cardholders receive a free Speedpass device to make quick purchases, and there is no annual fee for this card.
Chase Marathon Mastercard
While Chase is a major national credit card issuer, Marathon only has stations in 18 states in the Southeast and Midwest. Nevertheless, this card offers a competitive 5% rebate on all purchases that is applied to future Marathon charges. Other charges also return a reasonable 1% cash back. There is no annual fee for this card.
Editor's Note: Another card offer has expired, so we have just four picks for now. We'll update this article when we get a new fifth pick.
The Downsides of Gas Cards
Now that you know about all the great deals out there, pause for a second and consider if one of them is really right for you. As with all reward cards, you are not saving any money unless you are paying each statement in full and on time. To do otherwise ensures that you will owe more in interest that you ever earn in cash back. Also remember that you are not saving much money if you have to pay a higher initial price or drive further to take advantage of credit card rewards. Finally, consider how much money your household can save with one of these cards over the course of the year. That amount has to easily exceed the cost of any annual fees, or the point is moot.
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.
I really like the American Express Blue Card. I use it exclusively for my gas purchases, but have recently debated getting the Costco TrueEarnings card mentioned. I love Costco and go quite often, so it might be more beneficial to me to pay for membership and get the credit card too.
What concerns me lately is that I'm seeing more and more gas stations have two sets of prices. One for cash paying customers and one for credit card/debit card users. I try to only put Chevron gas in my car so it kind of forces me to pay cash or even consider their corporate branded card (they charge the cash price if you use their branded card).
Wow, thanks for the heads up! We have the Costco card but honestly don't even use it anywhere else. From now on, we'll be using that card any time we get gas off base. We use our Military Star Rewards from Chase on base, since it gives 2% cash back on gas purchases on base; those prices are already lower than typical off-base prices.
Thanks again!
