Use Credit Cards to Save Money on Gas

“Pain at the Pump” is, these days, a news headline regardless of where you live. In most places, the price of a gallon of gas has cleared the four dollar mark and there is not much discussion about that changing any time soon. Because of this, more and more people are finding themselves using credit cards when they fuel up; however, in many cases, they are not taking advantage of the ways in which they can use credit cards to save money on gas.

These days, in addition to making the choice to pay with just any credit card, customers who are fueling up have the option to look into reward cards that offer gas rebates. Much like the airline reward credit cards that helped travelers to earn frequent flyer mile points for the purchases that they made, gas credit cards offer points or small percentages of cash back to those who use the cards.

As a result, it is possible to take advantage of credit cards to save money on gas. While the rewards will vary from card to card, those who are looking to use credit cards to save money on gas will find that, in general there are some standard rewards. In some cases, these rewards will be based on points per dollar spent; some credit card companies focus on awarding one point per dollar spent on fill ups and other purchase while other cards offer other incentives.

For example, companies like Discover Card offer those who have their rewards cards to sign up for additional rebates on gas purchases from time to time – upping the benefit to 5% for gas purchases rather than the 1% they offer on other purchases. In other cases, those who use credit cards to save money on gas will find that the benefits are greatest with branded cards – gas credit cards that are meant to be used at specific gas station chains like Mobil, Exxon or Sunoco.

 If you are looking to use credit cards to save money on gas, you are going to find that it is a great idea to look at how an where as well as how frequently you fill up. If you find that you head to a particular branded gas station, you may want to take a closer look to see whether or not they offer a branded credit card; if you prefer to drive around and find the lowest price, you may find that you are able to save more buy using more general rewards credit cards that offer purchase rebates and cash back. 

In other words, when you want to be able to use credit cards to save on gas, it is important to look at your needs and your habits at the pump. You are also going to want to be sure that you are reading the fine print, that you are aware of whether or not there are annual fees and to factor interest rates into your cost to benefit analysis. When you are seeing the big picture, you will find that it is easier to use credit cards to save money on gas.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under Gas Rebates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.