NerdWallet’s Best Gas Cards, Spring 2012 Edition
We’ll let you in on a little secret if you’re looking to find the best gas card out there: it probably won’t be a station-branded one. Those cards – from Chevron, Shell and so on – often come with gimmicks like spending thresholds, rewards caps, and cent-per-gallon discounts that make for a very low rewards rate. But if you know where to look, you’ll find gas credit cards galore with unlimited rewards, excellent signup bonuses and rewards in many other categories. Here we’ve listed over 45 gas cards that provide more than 1% gas rewards, and provide the details behind the stated rewards rate. Read on for our take on the top cards’ rewards programs, auxiliary perks, fees, bonuses and more.
NerdWallet’s Top Gas Credit Cards:
American Express Blue Cash Preferred:
To put in context why we love the Blue Cash Preferred, here are our biggest complaints with most gas cards: their rewards are hard to use, the per-cent discounts obfuscate the cards’ (low) rewards rate, and they rarely give signup bonuses or extra rewards in other categories. The Blue Cash Preferred stands out where branded gas cards falter.
It gives an unlimited 3% cash back on gas, plus an impressive 6% on groceries, 3% on department store spending and 1% elsewhere. Since the card gives cash back, the rewards are incredibly simple to redeem, and you know you’re getting a high rewards rate. The card has a $75 annual fee, offset by a $150 signup bonus. If you’re anti-fee, the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday offers 3% back on groceries, 2% on gas and department stores and 1% elsewhere, and comes with a $100 signup bonus.
- 3% rewards on gas
- 6% rewards on groceries, 3% on department stores and 1% elsewhere
- Unlimited rewards
- $75 annual fee, $150 bonus
Chase Freedom:
Another cash-back credit card, the Chase Freedom offers an average of 3% rewards on gas with a killer signup bonus and no annual fee. It gives 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories that change quarterly, up to $1,500 spent. And in 2012, gas features in the bonus categories for the first and third quarter, so your average gas rewards rate is 3%. In addition, of course, you earn 5% cash back on other bonus categories that include Amazon.com, travel and groceries. The card also comes with a $100 signup bonus – not bad for a no-fee card.
3% average rewards on gas (5% two quarters, 1% two quarters)
- 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories, 1% back elsewhere
- Bonus rewards capped at $1,500 per quarter
- No annual fee, $100 signup bonus
Pentagon Federal Platinum Rewards:
The PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards gives pretty much the best rewards rate on gas out there. It provides an unlimited 5 PenFed Points per $1 spent on gas, plus 1 point per $1 spent anywhere, for no annual fee. It also has a $250 signup bonus, an introductory balance transfer promotion for 24 months and a low 9.99% APR. It’s a good one.
So what’s the downside? Well, there are few, but they can be significant. First, you need superlative credit to qualify – the Chase Freedom, by contrast, is much more accepting of low or no credit. Second, you don’t get bonus rewards on anything but gas, whereas the Blue Cash Preferred gives great rewards on groceries and clothing as well. Third, PenFed’s a credit union, so you’ll have to donate $15 to Voices for America’s Troops or the National Military Family Association to join.
- Unlimited 5% back on gas anywhere
- No annual fee, $250 signup bonus
- Requires beyond-excellent credit
Gas credit cards with greater than 1% rewards at the pump
|
Credit Card |
Gas Reward Bonus Rate |
Dollars per Month of Gas Spend That Qualify |
| Top pick, if all you want is gas rewards PenFed Platinum Rewards |
5% | No Limit |
| Warning: base rewards rate is 75% lower PenFed Platinum Cashback Rewards (Gives 0.25% back on all purchases, not 1%) |
5% | No Limit |
| American Express Costco True Earnings Business | 4% | $500 |
| ExxonMobil Credit Card | 3.9%* at Exxon | None |
| Top pick for fuel and food Amex Blue Cash Preferred |
3% | No Limit. Also get 3% at department stores and 6% on groceries. |
| Top pick for no-fee cards Chase Freedom |
3% average | $1,500 in bonus spending/quarter |
| Discover More | 3% average | $1,500 in bonus spending/quarter |
| American Express Hilton Honors Surpass | 3%** | No Limit |
| American Express Hilton Honors | 3%** | No Limit |
| US Bank FlexPerks Business Cash Rewards | 3% | No Limit |
| Citibank AT&T Universal Business Rewards | 3% | No Limit, but 100,000 total point limit per year |
| Chase Ink Cash and Classic | 2% | $25,000 in 2% bonus purchases/year |
| Amex Blue Cash Preferred | 3% | No Limit. Also get 3% at department stores and 6% on groceries. |
| Top pick, if you fill up at Costco American Express Costco True Earnings |
3% | $250 |
| Nationwide Business Platinum Visa | 3% | No Limit |
| Bank of America Cash Rewards for Business | 3% | No Limit |
| Bank Americard Cash Rewards | 3% | $1,500 per quarter limit on gas and groceries |
| Gulf | 3% at Gulf | No Limit |
| Chase BP Visa | ≤3% at BP | Rewards limited to one fill-up and ≤20gal |
| Chevron and Texaco Credit Card | 2.69%* at Chevron | No Limit |
| Top pick for overall rewards Capital One Venture Rewards |
2% | No Limit. Earns 2% on all purchases. |
| Citizens Bank Accelerator Rewards Platinum | 2% (10% for first 3 months) | No Limit |
| Amex Blue Cash Everyday | 2% | No Limit. Also get 2% at department stores and 3% on groceries. |
| Discover Business | 2% | $167 |
| Discover Business Miles | 2% | $416.67 ($5,000 per year limit on double miles for gas & travel) |
| Discover Open Road | 2% | $250 |
| Discover Student Open Road | 2% | $250 |
| 2% | No Limit | |
| Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards | 2% | No Limit |
| Citi Dividend Platinum Select | 2% average | $300 in rewards/year |
| Citibank Dividend Platinum Select for College Students | 2% | No Limit, but $300 total rewards limit per year. |
| MINI Platinum | 2% | No Limit |
| Quicken Rewards Visa | 2% | $2000 per month between Gas, Grocery, Pharmacy, Office Supply |
| American Express Premier Rewards Gold | 2% | No Limit |
| United Mileage Plus | 2% (Double Miles at gas stations) | No Limit |
| Fifth Third Bank Rewards | 2% | $500 |
| WorldPoints Business Rewards | 2% (2 Points per $1 at gas stations) | No Limit |
| Cards offered via Elancard, including: Heartland Bank Platinum Business Rewards, Comerica Bank Business Rewards, Platinum Business Rewards from ENT Credit Union | 2% | No Limit |
| First National Bank of Omaha Graphite AmEx | 2% | None |
| Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard | 2% | None |
| First National Bank of Omaha Discover | 2%, sort of | If you spend exactly $13,750, you get 2% back on everything, if not, you get less. |
| Capital One Cash | 1.5% | No Limit. Earns 1.5% back on all purchases |
| Shell Platinum MasterCard | ∼1.5% at Shell | Per-gallon discount on up to 100 gal a month. Get 2% rewards with $500 spent and 100gal purchased, otherwise far less. |
| Citi Hilton Honors | 1.5%** | No Limit |
*Based on gas price of $3.79 per gallon
**Based on our valuation of HHonors Points at 0.5 cents each
It’s not just about the rewards rate
The Costco Factor
- Costco has cheap gasoline, but most gas card programs exclude wholesalers from their 2%-5% gas category reward rates, somewhere in the fine print.
- In fact, it’s probably safe to assume that the only way to get more than 1% rewards pumping gas at Costco is with the Costco True Earnings card, or the Costco True Earnings Business card. The fine print on these cards explicitly states that Costco qualifies for the bonus reward rate.
- Card issuers that explicitly ban Costco gas from their “gas reward rate” include American Express, and Citibank.
- Costco only accepts American Express.
Cheap Gas Stations, like ARCO.
- Gas stations such as ARCO in California often charge about 5%+ less than other gas stations, but only if you pay in cash. They accept debit cards at a surcharge. Clearly, you should not pump with a 5% card at Shell if you are just as happy with ARCO gas which costs ~9% less.
Diesel, Airplane Fuel, Marine Fuel, and Huge Gas Tanks
- Many cards, such as the Shell card only pay bonus gas reward rates for gasoline, not diesel fuel.
- Many cards, including Shell and PenFed Platinum Cashback Rewards don’t pay bonus gas reward rates for airplane or boat fuel.
- Many cards have restrictions on the maximum number of gallons you can pump each time (e.g. 75 gallons with the Amex Costco card), or with the maximum you can spend each time ($400 with the American Express Blue Cash card). Check the fine print first!