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Electric vehicles have a ways to go before they’re as ubiquitous as their gas-powered counterparts. EVs made up 10% of new U.S. car sales in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2026 Global EV Outlook.
While that’s higher than it was five years prior, when EVs made up a mere 2% of new U.S. car sales, demand fluctuated when a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for new EV purchases expired on Sept. 30, 2025. Kelley Blue Book estimates found that EV purchases increased before that cutoff date, but decreased significantly after buyers could no longer be eligible for the tax credit.
Despite some bumps in the road, EV demand could continue thanks to high gas prices. And credit card companies scrambled to get in on the ground floor of a spending trend, before there’s an EV in every driveway.
U.S. Bank was one of the first major issuers to feature credit card rewards for EV owners, announcing in January 2022 that its cards that earn bonus rewards on gas purchases will extend that same rate to purchases at EV charging stations.
“We are proactively adding this reward to the U.S. Bank consumer and business card portfolios that reward for gas because we know many people are either in the process of purchasing an EV or considering an EV purchase in the future,” Steve Mattics, then the head of U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions, said in an email in 2022. Other major banks came on board after that:
- The Sam's Club® Mastercard®, issued by Synchrony, followed suit in May 2022, extending its 5% rewards rate on gas to EV charging stations (up to a cap).
- Wells Fargo joined the fray later in June 2022 when it rolled out the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card, which earns triple points per $1 spent at both gas stations and EV charging stations.
- In September 2022, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi started including EV charging stations as a 4X-back category.
- Chase got in on the act, too, specifically calling out EV charging as a first-time 5% bonus category for the Chase Freedom Flex® for Q3 2023. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card added EV charging as a bonus category in June 2026.
- In August 2023, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card expanded its "gas" bonus category to include EV charging. Later that year, the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card — also issued by Bank of America® — did the same thing.
- In November 2024, the Apple Card added ChargePoint, which operates a network of car-charging spots, as a merchant that earns 3% back on the card when you use Apple Pay.
On top of all those traditional banks, several new, smaller players in the credit card space have also debuted rewards aimed at EV owners. Here are some reasons behind the trend.
EV charging became a distinct purchasing category
Bonus rewards for EV charging became technically possible in 2019 when the Visa and Mastercard payment networks added EV charging as a distinct merchant category code or MCC. Because credit card issuers use MCCs when deciding which purchases are eligible for extra points, this paved the way for EV charging as its own bonus category.
Of course, the MCC assigned to different EV charging stations may vary. Note that your credit card may classify EV charging as another kind of purchase.
» MORE: What’s it cost to fill up an EV?
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EV investment has slowed, but not stopped
A few years ago, car companies set ambitious goals to dramatically change their vehicle offerings in the near future. Those goals aren’t gone, but they’ve been adjusted as automakers contend with reduced demand for EVs, easing rules for auto emissions, and other pressures.
Support from the federal government, once strong, has waned. A bipartisan infrastructure law was passed in November 2021, allocating $5 billion to states to build a national EV charging network and $2.5 billion to increase EV charging access in rural and disadvantaged communities. Since then, though, the program has had funds frozen, thawed and cut.
Still, investment hasn’t totally stalled. General Motors Co., for instance, partnered with EV charging network EVgo to build nearly 2,400 fast-charging stations around the country as of August 2026. Some automakers will be releasing “extended-range EVs,” which are electric cars with gas-powered generators to charge the batteries. (These are different from plug-in hybrid cars, where the gas-powered engine can actually move the car.)
EV buyers may get financial incentives
Depending on where you live, you may be eligible for rebates and tax credits when you buy or lease an EV. The amount you could save depends on the program in your state or county, and there may be other limitations to keep in mind, including the price of the car and your household income.
Some local governments or utility companies also provide rebates or reduced electricity costs if you install an eligible home EV charger.
Cards that offer EV charging rewards
As noted above, multiple payment cards now specifically earn bonus rewards on EV charging:
- The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card earns 2 points per $1 at EV charging stations.
- The U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card earns 4 points per $1 at EV charging stations (up to $1,000 in spending each quarter).
- The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card offers customizable rewards you can change each quarter, including the option to earn 2% cash back at EV charging stations.
- The Sam's Club® Mastercard® earns 5% cash back at EV charging stations (on up to $6,000 spent per year, then 1%).
- The Wells Fargo Autograph® Card earns 3 points per $1 spent at EV charging stations.
- The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi earns 5% cash back on gas purchases at Costco and 4% back on other eligible EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year (1% thereafter).
- The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card earns 3% back in a category of your choice (from a list of options that includes EV charging stations) and 2% back on grocery stores and wholesale clubs for the first $2,500 of combined bonus category/ grocery store/wholesale club spending per quarter; after hitting that threshold, you’ll earn 1% back on these purchases.
- The Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card earns 2 points per $1 spent on eligible EV charging.
- The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card earns 5 points per $1 spent at EV charging stations.
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 3 points per $1 on EV charging.
- The Apple Card earns 3% cash back when you use Apple Pay to pay for EV charging at public ChargePoint stations, or for home charging purchases through ChargePoint.
- There are also new cards offering other eco-friendly benefits.
As for whether these kinds of cards are the right fit for you? That will likely depend on a variety of factors, including how often you use EV charging stations.
But keep in mind that if EV charging does (or might soon) represent a big part of your budget, you could also opt for a more general rewards card that earns a high flat rate on everything you buy. The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, for instance, earns 2% cash back on all purchases, EV charging included.
Credit cards that reward different ways to get around
Even before EV charging came onto the rewards scene, ground transport-related credit card rewards had been expanding beyond gas station purchases or, in the case of travel cards, rental car bookings.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, for instance, earns 3% cash back* at U.S. gas stations, and it also offers 3% back on transit, which includes trains and subways, buses, cabs, ridesharing services, ferries, tolls and parking. Terms apply (see rates and fees).
Even if "transit" isn't specifically or conspicuously promoted as a bonus category for your card, it doesn't necessarily mean that your card can't help with your commute. Many cards, whatever they may earn rewards on, offer the ability to redeem those rewards for travel or transit expenses like trains, buses or cabs.
Among such products are Capital One’s family of Venture cards:
*Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, see this page.
A previous version of this article misstated the availability of the FutureCard Visa Card. The product has already launched. This article has been corrected.
