Imagine being able to get as much as five percent cash back on all of your gas purchases each month. No hassles, no gimmicks, no fine print, you get money, not points or prizes for all of your gas purchases at the end of each month. Thankfully there are plenty of gasoline bonus cards out for the taking.
A few decades ago credit cards were just credit cards, with no bells or whistles. However intense competition and the advent of the internet has made credit card companies offer much better rates, terms and bonuses than ever before. There are specialty cards of all different types, reward cards, no annual fee cards, free balance transfer cards, gasoline bonus credit cards… there is a card for almost anything and anyone, which is good for you, the consumer. You get plenty of choices, better APR rates, less fees and better customer support.
If you are looking to get money back from your gas purchases you have two main options. Your first option is to just use a standard bonus point reward credit card when making purchases at any gas station. This is a good option because you can use your credit card at almost all gas stations and it is very convenient to use the same credit card for all of your purchases. However a standard bonus point reward card earns you points that you can redeem for prizes, airfare and other expenses, they generally do not pay out cash to you which is a negative.
Another viable option is to get a specialty gasoline bonus credit card straight from the gas company. Gas companies offer discount cards so that they can get your business consistently and possibly make money off of interest if you do not pay off your monthly balance on time. Do you really think there is a huge difference between the average Exxon station and the average Chevron station? The gas companies realize they all offer the same product so they go to great lengths to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. You will generally get a higher bonus rate if you opt for this option, 2-3% back instead of 1-2% back; however you will be restricted to only using one gas station if you want cash back and you will have to apply and keep up with an extra credit card.
If you do decide to opt for a credit card straight from the gasoline company here are a few of your best options:
Shell
Shell features a Drive for Five Card (http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/shell/shell-crd.jsp). This card offers 5 cents off per gallon as long as you purchase at least 45 gallons and no more than 100 gallons of gas monthly. Assuming your car gets around 20 miles on each gallon of gas you would have to drive over 2,000 miles a month to exceed the 100 gallon limit, the 100 gallon rule should only affect 5-10% of Americans. You have to drive at least 900 miles a month, or roughly 30 miles a day to meet the minimum requirement by Shell, the majority of Americans do drive 30 miles a day or more on average. There are no gimmicks or scams with Shell’s gas card, but you are only getting 5 cents a gallon off. Assuming gas is 3 dollars a gallon you are getting 1.6% off every time you fill up, which is better than nothing but not life changing.
Chevron
Chevron has gas stations all across the United States. They do offer three different gasoline bonus reward cards that give consumers a very good deal (https://www.chevrontexacocards.com/dualcardimages/generic/chevron/en/landing_grid.html). The first card they offer is a standard Chevron credit card. You get 10 cents off for each gallon of gas you buy. Assuming you drive 1,000 miles monthly and get 20 miles a gallon you are looking at saving 5 dollars a month effortlessly. Chevron also offers what they call their “premium card”. The premium card also offers 10 cents off per gallon, but they offer discounts on hotel and rental car rates as well along with many other discounts. Unfortunately this card has an annual fee of $25 which can really eat into your yearly savings on gas. If you are a big traveler for work or pleasure the extra twenty five dollars may be worth it to you yearly when you get big discounts on lodging and rental cars. The last card Chevron offers is called the Chevron and Texaco Visa card. You get 10 cents a gallon back on all purchases at Chevron and Texaco stations along with 3% off all non-gas purchases inside Chevron and Texaco stations (snacks, drinks) and 1% off every other purchase wherever Visa credit cards are accepted! To top all of this off there is no annual fee whatsoever! This is as good of a deal as you can find, you will be able to use this card not only as a gasoline rebate card but also as a cash back card for all of your general purchases.