Ways to Get 5% Rewards on Gas Purchases
Yes, gas prices are high. And yes, they’re going to stay high. But you can at least save a couple bucks each month if you pay by credit card AND pay off your balance monthly. Here are 3 cards that offer a full 5% cashback on gas purchases. All of them also offer 1% cashback for everything else (except where I note otherwise) and come with introductory 0% purchases rates between 6-12 months long if you qualify:
Discover® Open Road(SM) Card
This card is just a regular card, but with the added bonus of 5% cashback on gas purchases:
- 0% Intro APR for 6 months on Purchases, and 12 months on Balance Transfers
- Save at the pump and everywhere else.*
- 5% Cashback Bonus® on gas and auto maintenance purchases
- 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top retailers through our exclusive online shopping site
- Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases
- Unlimited cash rewards
- Increase, even double, the value of your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our 100 Cashback Bonus Partners
Discover® More(SM) Card
UPDATE: The categories change for the Discover More card on Oct 1 to “groceries, restaurants and movies”
With the Discover® More(SM) Card, you get rotating categories that earn 5% cashback and change every 3 months. The new promotion will be 5% cashback on Gas and Hotels (up to $400). The $400 cap stinks, which is why I recommend the other 2 cards first, but this Discover card does have the rotating categories feature. In fact, starting in October, the new categories will be Groceries, Restaurants and Movies!
- Earn more cash in more ways than anyone elseSM*
- Unlimited cash rewards, automatically
- Up to 20% Cashback Bonus® when you shop online*
- Double rewards with more than 100 Cashback Bonus Partners*
- Customer Service in less than a minute, anytime you want
- 0% Intro APR for 6 months on Purchases, and 12 months on Balance Transfers
Again, I only ask that you’re responsible enough to pay your balance off each month, even if the card has a 0% introductory rate. It’s easy to just let the balance run up while paying the minimum balance. Next thing you know, the intro period is up and you have a large balance subject to interest charges. Otherwise, definitely take advantage of these offers if you’re able (and responsible) because 5% is better than nothing, right!?!
Pentagon Federal Visa Platinum Gas Cash Reward Card
CD reader Ken alerted me to a card offered to members of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union that offers 5% cash back rewards on gas purchases. It even offers 2% on supermarket purchases! You have to be a Pentagon Federal CU member, but you don’t have to work for the Dept. of Defense to join. Check out the 6 ways to join page to see if your company is on the list!
Try one of these related posts too!:
- Credit Cards Do Have Their Rewards
- Just spent $2,600, but I get rewards!
- Ways to Save Money #10: Don’t Carry a Credit Card Balance
- Got one new Discover credit card and cancelled another
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Clever Dude and his bride started with over $110,000 in consumer debt and in just 3 short years, they have reduced it down to a mere fraction. The "Dude" writes about his mistakes in finances and marriage in hopes that you, the reader, can learn just a few nuggets of wisdom.
Good recommendations. These gas rebate credit cards seem to be getting more and more popular.
Yeah, they may be getting popular but surely there must be a catch somewhere.
The catch on gas cards is that they give you 5% back and most people tend to catry a balance at 20% interest. There is no savings that way.
With the Discover Open Road card, the 5% cashback bonus for automobile related expenditures is capped as follows:
“REWARDS: Earn unlimited cash rewards on all purchases. Earn a full 5% Cashback Bonus on your first $100 in combined gas and auto maintenance purchases each billing period - up $1,200 annually.”
A few thoughts from a PenFed cardholder:
* If you don’t qualify to join the credit union (i.e. non-military) you can still become a member by paying a one-time $25 fee.
* It’s probably one of the best rewards cards. 5% gas at the pump, 2% supermarkets, 1.25% all other purchases. No tiers or restrictions. I don’t know of a better gas card.
* From what I understand you need pretty good credit to be approved. PenFed asks you what you want your credit limit to be in the application.
* Rewards are automatic. If you spend $200 on gas in a month a $10 credit will eventually appear on your account. No redeeming is necessary.
* The website is mediocre and at times downright confusing. Even worse you can’t pay off your credit card balance with one click. Instead you have to do ACH transfers from your regular bank to your PenFed account AND THEN pay off your credit card from the balance in your PenFed account. Did I mention new members are only allowed to transfer up to $50 a day into their PenFed account?
* The over-the-phone customer service is great. That’s how I figured out how to pay off my credit card!
* Supposedly PenFed offers good rates on loans and mortgages. I’m not knowledgeable on these topics but that’s what I’ve read.