My Credit Card Blog

My gosh, gas prices are so incredibly and insanely high these days it’s getting ridiculous. These days I’m paying more than $50 just to fill up my Honda Accord sedan and it’s hurting my wallet more and more. If this keeps up I may need to invest in a fuel efficient moped or Segway scooter just to save money. Is the planet really running out of gasoline or is this recent ramp up in fuel prices caused by temporary squeezes in supply and demand speculation? I’m not sure the exact cause of the price hikes. Perhaps the supply costs have been skyrocketing because of recent world wide instability and ongoing conflicts in gas producing regions of the world such as the oil rich Middle East. Whatever the reason, it’s the everyday Joes and Janes like you and I who suffer the most.

As ordinary consumers, we really have little say on the matter beyond griping to ourselves and shaking our fists in pointless defiance at the almighty gas pump. Unless our government or society as a whole can expedite plans to develop self sufficient alternative forms of energy to power our vehicles, gas prices will likely continue to increase unabated for the foreseeable future. Until we can replace our total dependence and thirst for such fossil fuels, and substitute it with other alternative fuels such as solar, hydrogen, ethanol, or heck, even vegetable oil (or at the very least greatly improve on the efficiency of our current electrical fuel cell technology), we are likely going to keep suffering through super high gas prices for some time.

But as consumers, we do have a valuable financial tool at our disposal - gas credit cards, which offer cardholders the ability to earn cash back rebates and rewards of up to 10% back in some cases on all gas related purchases. Of course, clipping coupons is another option, but then again, when was the last time you actually saw a coupon out there that offered gas station related savings - they just don’t exist. Using an online tool like Gas Buddy to seek out the lowest gas prices in the neighborhood or area is a great way to lower the cost of gasoline spent, but the reality is that it’s not always possible to make it to the cheapest gas station everytime. Sometimes you just have to make do with what’s nearby.

That’s why gas credit cards are so useful for those who can properly manage the use of credit cards and credit card rewards. The cash back rebates you can earn on all gas purchases is universally applicable and can be earned at any gas station location or brand regardless of where you go. These gas cards are oftentimes going to be the best overall bet when it comes to saving money on gas at the pump.

After searching and carefully scrutinizing all of the best gas credit cards available, here are the top gasoline rebate deals I think are the most worthy of mention.

My List Of the Best Gasoline Credit Card Reward Offers:

1. Chase BP Visa Rewards - Get 10% cash back for gas at all BP gas stations and 4% back for all dining and travel purchases for the first 2 months. Thereafter, cardholders earn 5% cashback for BP gas, 2% for dining and travel, and 1% cash back for everything else. If there is a BP gas station near you that you visit often, this is a great credit card offer to snap up.
2. Chase PerfectCard - Get 6% rebate on all gas purchases for the first 90 days with this “Perfect Card” (pun intended). Earn 3% rebate on all gasoline purchases thereafter. Earn 1% for everything else. Rebates are automatically credited on your monthly statement towards future purchases made on this card.
3. Discover Open Road Card - Get 5% cash back for gas purchases and auto maintenance. If your car repair shop or auto dealership takes Discover, this is one outstanding rebate card to own.
4. American Express Blue Cash - Get up to a tiered 5% cash back on all purchases at gas stations, supermarkets, and drugstores, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. This is one of the top cash back credit cards out there. For more information, check out this Blue Cash credit card review.
5. Chase Freedom Credit Card - Get 3% cash back on your top 3 shopping categories that may include purchases for gas. Earn 1% for everything else. For more info, read this Chase Freedom credit card review.
6. Citi Dividend Platinum Select Student Card - Get 5% cash back on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores, and utilities including cable service for 6 months. Earn 2% cash back after that.
7. Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card - Get 5 reward points for every dollar spent at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores for 12 months. Cardholders can earn 1 point for each dollar spent thereafter.
8. American Express True Earnings Card From Costco - This credit card offer is ideal for Costco warehouse club members. All rebate rewards earned are awarded as Costco cash redeemable for money and merchandise. It offers 3% back for gas, 3% for restaurant dining, 2% for traveling, and 1% for everything else including purchases made at Costco warehouse clubs. This card has no annual fee as long as the cardholder has a paid Costco membership.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 6:27 am and is filed under credit card, gas rewards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.