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Jun 12, 2008 -- Are gas rebate credit cards a deal?

Gas rebate credit cards are hot right now. Is that any surprise? We're all shell-shocked by prices at the pump and the promise of HUGE rebates sounds great. But beware that these offers may only be good for a couple of weeks or months.

For example, BP has one heavily advertised offer for a card that gives you 10% back on gas for 2 months. After that, it drops to 5%, which is still not that bad.

But Clark doesn't recommend getting a rebate card for any one particular brand of gasoline. Consider this: The price of gas at BP may be, for argument's sake, 10 cents higher per gallon than other brands. So after the rebate drops down, you'd probably be better off having a plain vanilla MasterCard or Visa with rebates.

A word to the wise: Purchasing gas from a major oil company will usually cost more than at an independent. You can buy with confidence from indie brands because their gas is regulated by the government just like the majors. In fact, Clark only goes to the off-brands for gasoline because they're so much cheaper.


Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.

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What others are saying

  • Shell
    My Shell card gets me 5% rebate monthly. I may pay 2 or 3 cents more, but at $4 per gallon. I still save money.
  • Costco Amex
    If you can get the Costco Amex Business card then you get 5% back on gas and as far as I know,, you don't have to only buy gas from Costco to get the 5% so that leaves you flexible to buy gas wherever it's cheap and still get 5% back. Oh yeah and it doesn't have the $100 limit like the Discover card does. And if you can't get a business card then 3% isn't too bad when you factor in no limits (except 75 gallons per fill-up) as far as where you have to buy the gas,, it looks like a great deal to me.
  • Gas Cards
    There are good alternatives to the gas card. Kroger has their own card that offers a small discount at the pump and you also get ponts for shopping at kroger that comes to you as a check in the mail. Discover issues cards according to how you shop, mine is a gas card that I can use at any gas station and get pay back that I can deposit into my checking account.
  • I have been using Discover gas card (open road card now) for some time with 5% discount. But the monthly limit had dropped down to $100 now with the increasing gas price. Still, it mounts to $5 a month. I use chase freedom when i am above the $100. but that only gives 3% discount. The good thing is that from july through September regular discover card gives 5% on gas purchase up to $400. So I will use that card next month.
  • rebate... costco AMX car
    i've been using my costco AMX card, which gives a 3% rebate on gas, and it's been great. the gas at costco is considerably cheaper than the stations around my home and work, so it's great paying less and getting my 3%. the only drawback is that costco isn't always near home... but on the weekends, when i'm going anyway, i'm all over it. :)
  • gas credit card
    I use BP for the 5%. I also check nearby stations prices to see which is
    better. Usually only 1 - 2 cents diff. and sometime BP is less.

    My husband uses Marathon. They automatically send you $25 card to be used at their store. No having to request it.
  • Credit Card Rebates
    Visa Chase has a 5% gas rebate card for any gas purchase. No annual fee.
  • Independent gas stations may not take care of there tanks!
    I thought any gas station was fine until one independent gas station never cleaned there tanks and water condensation would get in the tanks. My car would have problems immediately after I would fill up. I took the car in they found nothing wrong with the car and suggested it might be the gas. I then would go to a major gas station and I have never had the problem since.
  • Kroger gas
    If you have a Kroger card (not their credit card-but that too is a good deal), you automatically get 3 cents off at the pump. Each time you buy $100.00 worth of groceries you get 10 cents off at the pump. It isn't with just one transaction but you can accumulate up to $100.00 as my friend doesn't buy that many groceries. She totals only $200.00 a month in groceries but then she gets 10 cents off on two purchases of gas. With my big household I spend at least that a week so I'm continuously getting 10 cents off plus enough for my husband and son when they buy gas when we use our Kroger cards!
  • BP
    Have been using a BP card for years and I have found their prices to only be 1-2 cents higher so the net effect is that your better off with the BP card:
    At $4 per gallon, 5%= 20 cents - 2 Cent price diff = 18 cents saving per gallon which in my case x 20 galons = $3.60 saving!! Or almost 1 free gallon every time I fill up.
  • amex
    i use amex business open card, no fees, pay 5%, but dropping to 3% mid july
  • Gas card rewards
    I have (2) cards from major companies.
    They are located near my home and offer
    5% disc. IN this NC area the majors
    are usually (3)-(5) cents above the
    independants,so there is a saving.
    The trick is to never carry a balance.
    We live a short drive to Virginia,
    where the gas is another (7) cents
    cheaper. So we can make out like
    real banditos. One card offers a $25
    gift card/$500. The other card has a
    5% disc at the pump, but if you make
    less than (9) trans/year they will
    charge you a $20 fee. So you have to
    watch that closer.
    Thought you'd like to know.
    Regards,
    Don

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