Best Gas Rewards Credit Cards

As crude oil went over $110 a barrel, gasoline prices are also surging. According to GasBuddy.com, (BTW, a good site to find the cheapest gas in your area) the national average price of regular gas is $3.257 per gallon. Though New Jersey has the lowest gas prices in the nation, filling up our cars every week becomes more and more expensive. Both my wife and I have to drive to work everyday and we spent nearly $80 every week on gas. So far we haven’t reached the point that we have to change our plan because of the high gas price, or cut down spending on other items as fuel costs get bigger and bigger, but we do want to reduce our gas bills.

In addition to finding stations in our area that sell gas at a lower price, we also take advantage of the cash rewards offered by our credit cards to get a little bit back on what we have to buy. We are both credit card person and paying gas with credit cards is almost like a no brainer to us. For me, I use a Chase Freedom Card to get 3% cashback on gasoline. My wife uses a Fidelity 529 College Rewards Card for 2% rebate on everything, including fuel. Though every time we can only get something like a buck reduced from our gas purchase by using a credit card, savings add up little by little, especially when the money saved are invested

The following is a list of credit cards that give cardholders solid rewards on gasoline purchase. None of them charges a membership fee, some even offer extra benefits such as 0% APR balance transfer for a year, or cash incentives of using the card. Take a look if you are in the market for a gas reward credit card. Or share with us if you know a card that allows card member to earn better rebates.

Discover Open Road Card

• Program highlight: With Discover Open Road Card, you can earn 2% cashback on fuel purchases at any stations where Discover is accepted. Plus, it also offers 2% Cashback Bonus at any restaurant.
• Free $75 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate with first purchase
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at over 150 top retailers through our online shopping mall
• Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases
• 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then the Regular APR
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then the Regular APR

Chase Freedom Credit Card

• Program highlight: Chase Freedom Card used to be one of the best gas reward cards out there. The card currently has rewards categories that rotate every quarter and give cardholder 5% cashback on purchases in those categories during the three month period. Gas is one of the rewards categories that can earn members 5% cashback. Right now the card offers $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months.
• 0% Intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers
• 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases
• 5% Cash Back in quarterly bonus categories like gas, home improvement and department stores, subject to quarterly enrollment and maximum.
• Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases with no spending tiers
• Up to an additional 10% cash back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase
• No Annual Fee

American Express and Costco TrueEarnings Card

• Program highlight: The TureEarnings Card just added gas to its reward program last month. Now it allows cardholders to earn 3% cashback on all gas purchase. The problem is not every station accept AMEX. The TrueEarnings card also gives back 3% bonus for restaurants, 2% for travel, and 1% everywhere else including at Costco. There’s no limit on cash rebates you can earn.
• No annual fee for Costco members
• 0% intro APR on purchases for six months
• Earn cash back wherever you buy, including 3% for gasoline for annual gasoline purchases of up to $3,000 (1% thereafter), 3% for restaurants, 2% for travel, and 1% virtually everywhere else
• Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars in Overall Satisfaction Rating, based on feedback from current TrueEarnings Cardmembers from Costco and American Express

PendFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card

• Program highlight: If you are in the military, then PendFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card makes a good choice to earn cashback on gas fast. With this card, you can earn 5% cashback from gas purchases paid at the pump. There’s no limit on cashback you can earn.
• Earn 2.00% cash back on supermarket purchases good through February 28, 2011
• Earn 1.00% cash back from all purchases you make with the card during each billing cycle
• Up to $50,000 limit
• No Annual Fee
• Cash Rewards credited each month

Citi ThankYou Premier Card

• Program highlight: The Citi ThankYou Premier Card is a new offer from Citibank. With the ThankYou Premier Card, you can earn higher cashback rewards on gas purchases than other Citibank cards. Plus, new card member can get 30,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $1,500 in purchases within 3 months of account opening. The ThankYou Points are enough to redeem $300 in gift cards.
• 1 ThankYou Point for every $1 you spend on purchases
• Earn 1.2 points per $1 spent when you use your ThankYou Premier Card at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores
• Earn points for the miles you fly when you purchase a ticket with your Citi ThankYou Premier Card.
• Travel anywhere, at any time and enjoy no foreign transaction fees on purchases
• Experience more together with an annual complimentary domestic companion ticket when booked through our travel benefits provider, Spirit Incentives
• Enjoy a 15% discount on all air travel when booked through our travel benefits provider, Spirit Incentives

In addition, there are other credit cards that offer extra bonuses when purchasing a particular brand of gasoline. Though the rewards are usually higher those from the general cards listed above, I am not interested in these “special” cards because of the limitations on where the gas is purchased. All the cards in this category also offer 1% cashback on purchases made elsewhere:

• BP Visa Card: 10% cashback at BP/Amoco gas stations for the first 2 months, 5% afterwards.
• Citgo MasterCard: 4% bonus on Citgo gas.
• ExxonMobil MasterCard: 3% rebates at Exxon/Mobil gas stations.
• Gulf Platinum MasterCard: 3% cashback on gasoline purchases at Gulf stations.
• Hess Visa Card: 5% rebate on gas purchases at Hess, Hess Express and Wilco Hess stations.
• Lukoil MasterCard: 4% on gas purchases made at Lukoil/Getty stations.
• Conoco Phillips MasterCard: 4% rebate on gas purchases at Conoco/Phillips gas stations.
• Shell MasterCard: 5% rebate on Shell gas purchases.
• Sunoco MasterCard: 4% rebate on Sunoco gas.

What’s your preferred gas reward credit card?