Best Gas Credit Cards
June 21, 2010
The best gas credit cards can take a bite out of your travel bills this summer. One of my tips earlier this week on preparing for a roadtrip was to take a gas saving credit card along with you.
I’ve gotten some questions about the best ways to take advantage of gas rewards cards and how to choose the best gas cards so today I’ll look at the top gas credit cards and one day next week I’ll answer a variety of questions about the best way to use them.
Blue Cash from American Express
The Blue Cash card is one of my favorite all around rewards cards; below is a snapshot of our cash back earned year to date from our card.
American Express has updated the card so you no longer have to spend a minimum amount to earn the higher cashback. They actually have two versions, the Everyday card and the Preferred Card. The Blue Cash Everyday has no annual fee and pays 2% cash back at the pump, the Blue Cash Preferred charges an annual fee and pays 3% back on gas.
Since it pays a high cash back rate on groceries and drugstore purchases in addition to the gas rebates, the Blue Cash card is a great option for a gas credit card.
Discover Open Road
The Discover Open Road card gives you a Double CashBack bonus on money you spend on gasoline and at restaurants. This means they double the cash back you get for all other purchases on the card, so currently you earn 2%.
The benefit of Discover Open Road over the Blue Cash card is that you start out earning 2% on gas, which is more than the base tier pays for Blue Cash. We always reach the second tier since we put everything on our card to earn the cash back. However, if you don’t think you’ll have enough purchases on the Blue Cash card to reach the 5% cashback rate then the Open Road card could be a good option for you.
If you like to get your cash back quickly then the Open Road card has another advantage over the Blue Cash card. Although Blue Cash pays 5%, they make you wait for it; you get your cash back annually. On the the other hand, as soon as you’ve earned $50 cash back you can have it deposited into your bank account with the Open Road card.
Anyone can use the two cards above to earn gas rewards; now I’m going to look at two other options that are great gas credit cards if you qualify for them.
PenFed Platinum Cash Back Rewards Card
The PenFed Visa Platinum card offers 5% cash back on gas purchases so it’s a great gas credit card if you qualify for it. It also pays 2% for supermarket purchases and they pay out your cash back every month.
PenFed offers several different credit cards to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and some government workers. I go into more detail on who can qualify in my review of PenFed rewards credit cards. If you can get the PenFed Visa Platinum card, it’s one of the best gas rewards cards.
True Earnings from American Express
The True Earnings Card from American Express and Costco earns you 3% cashback on gas purchases for the first $3000 annually (1% after that). You can also get 2% cash back at restaurants and 2% on travel; but unfortunately you need to be a Costco member to have a True Earnings card.
If you already have a Costco membership then True Earnings is a good card but if you’re not, does it make sense to become a member simply to get the card? It really depends on what you would buy at Costco and if the savings would make up for the annual membership fee.
American Express is running a True Earnings promotion where you get a $25 statement credit after your first purchase, which can help offset the cost of membership. Whether you already are a Costco member or decide to become one, the AmEx True Earnings card is good gas credit card option.
Other Gas Rewards Cards
The next three cards all offer a 5% cash rebate on gas but there are some limitations on when you can earn the 5%.
The Discover More card gives you 5% cashback on gas in the summer months. This card has a revolving rewards structure where different categories of purchases earn you 5% back at different times of the year. During the summer months the cashback bonus is on hotels and movies in addition to gas. The rewards categories for other times of the year are 5% back on Restaraunts, Fashion, Travel, and Home Improvement when you use your Discover More card.
With the Chase Freedom card, you also earn 5% cashback on gas in the summer months. Comparing Chase Freedom vs Discover More, both cards have a similar revolving rewards program and they both offer their 5% cash rebate in the summer. Probably the other most widely used categories would be drug store purchases in the spring and grocery purchases in the winter with the Chase Freedom card.
The Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards card offers 5 Citi ThankYou Points for every $1 you spend at supermarkets, drugstores & gas stations for the first 12 months you have the card. So basically you earn 5% on gas purchases for the first year. The nice thing about this card is you don’t have to spend a minimum amount before you start earning 5% on gas purchases and it’s all year long, not just seasonal. Of course the downside is that it’s only for one year, but you do get a $50 bonus when you sign up for the Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards card.
Gas Rewards Summary
So here’s a summary list of all the gas credit cards we’ve covered. I’ve indicated the different rules each one has about earning maximum gas rewards:
- AmEx Blue Cash Preferred – 3%
- Discover Open Road – 2%
- PenFed Platinum Rewards (qualified members) – 5%
- Amex True Earnings (Costco members) – 3%
- Discover More (summer months) – 5%
- Chase Freedom (summer months) – 5%
- Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards (first year) – 5%
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
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