Gas Rebate Credit Card Roundup

Editor’s Note: While the information presented was accurate at the time of publication, it is now outdated. For the latest details on these cards, see the following links:


Posted May 17, 2006 — Is the price of gas hurting your pocketbook? If you don’t already have one, maybe it’s time to consider adding a credit card that gives you a rebate on your gas purchases. Below is a compilation of these cards:

  • Citi Dividend Platinum Select – 5% rebate at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores
  • Chase Cash Plus Rewards – 5% rebate at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores
  • American Express Blue Cash – 5% rebate at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores/1.5% everywhere else once your year-to-date spending reaches $6,500; 1% at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores/0.5% for the first $6,500 of spending in a year
  • Discover Platinum Gas Card – 5% rebate on gas
  • Hess Platinum Visa – 10% rebate at Hess during the first 90 days; 5% afterwards
  • Chase PerfectCard – 6% rebate on gas during the first 90 days; 3% afterwards
  • Marathon Platinum Mastercard – 10% rebate at Marathon during the first 60 days; 5% afterwards
  • BP Visa – 10% rebate at BP and Amoco during the first 60 days; afterwards, 5% rebate at BP and Amoco, 2% on eligible travel and dining; 0% at non-BP gas stations
  • Speedway SuperAmerica Platinum MasterCard – 8% rebate at Speedway, SuperAmerica, and Rich Oil during the first 60 days; 4% afterwards

Note: Unless otherwise noted, each card also earns a 1% rebate on other purchases. For each card’s full terms and conditions, please visit the card issuer’s web site.

If you carry a balance, then ignore what I’m about to say, as reward cards aren’t for you. Instead, you should focus upon getting the card with the lowest interest rate.

Otherwise, for those looking for a gas rebate card, most will be best off with either the Citi Dividend, Chase Cash Plus or American Express Blue Cash, as they offer the most cash back at gas stations after the promotional period without tying you to a particular brand. Among those three, I would recommend either the Citi Dividend or the Blue Cash, since the Chase Cash Plus card is no longer being actively marketed and appears to have an uncertain future.

For big spenders, the Blue Cash may make the most sense as you’ll be able to fully take advantage of the higher tier of rewards. For everyone else, the Citi Dividend will offer the most value, as you earn 5%/1% from your first dollar. Do keep in mind that there are limits to your rebates. The Citi Dividend limits you to $300 cash back in a year, while the Blue Cash limits your rebates to the first $50,000 of spending in a year.

New Revised Borders Visa: Now 3% back at Borders, 2% on Gas, Dining and Groceries

Chase has made changes to its Borders 3.2.1 Visa to make it much more attractive, increasing the number of points awarded and enabling “Borders Rewards” members to double-dip. As reported by CardTrak, some of the features of the new program include:

  • 3 points for every $1 spent when you use your Borders 3.2.1 Visa at Borders®, Borders Express, Borders.com, Waldenbooks® and Waldenbooks.com.
  • 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible Gas, Dining and Groceries purchases.
  • 1 point for every $1 spent anywhere else.
  • Redeem your 3.2.1 Visa points for Borders Gift Cards, Cash, Travel Rewards, Gas & Restaurant Gift Cards and much more! Plus, no cap on the points you can earn! Earn a $25 Borders Gift card with just 2,500 points.
  • 0% fixed APR* for up to 12 months
  • No Annual Fee

Previously, you would have only received 2 points per dollar spent at Borders and 1 point per dollar spent anywhere else. Redemption options were also limited to Borders gift certificates.

In addition, “Borders Rewards” members can elect to add their Borders Rewards number to their Borders 3.2.1 Visa. Doing so allows them to also accrue 5% of their qualifying purchases on the card towards their Holiday Savings Reward.

Edit 10/22/2010: This offer is no longer available. For a list of currently available Chase cards, please see this link.

Chase Unveils New Points System For United Mileage Plus Visa

Today, Chase announced a new kind of currency that its Mileage Plus Visa will earn called “Mileage Plus Choices.” These “Choices” will be redeemable for five new kinds of awards. From the Choices FAQ:

  • When you fly United, United Express, Ted or Star Alliance on a ticket purchased using your Chase Mileage Plus credit card on united.com, you earn:
    • Choices for the purchase
    • Mileage Plus Redeemable Miles and Elite Qualifying Miles/Elite Qualifying Segments when you complete the flight.
    • You earn a mileage bonus for booking on united.com.
  • You can redeem Choices for:
    • A statement credit against the purchase of any available seat on any available flight purchased on united.com, as well as any car rental purchased at www.united.com/cars or hotel purchased at www.united.com/hotels with your Mileage Plus credit card – No blackouts.
    • Economy Plus Access
    • Elite Qualifying Miles/Elite Qualifying Segments

Also, when purchasing free air tickets the amount of “Choices” needed is based on the price of the ticket rather than the traditional set redemption amounts. For example, if you buy a round trip ticket on united.com for $180, you can redeem 18,000 Choices to receive a $180 statement credit. This compares favorably with the 25,000 Miles that you would traditionally have to redeem for an award ticket. If the ticket cost exceeds $250, you could also use 25,000 Choices for a Saver award (assuming availability) but any Redeemable Miles you have in your Mileage Plus account will be used first before Choices are used. As an example, from the FAQ:

  1. Starting balance: Choices – 20,000 Redeemable Miles – 55,000
  2. Book a Saver Award for U.S. domestic travel: 25,000 Redeemable Miles
  3. Ending balance: Choices – 20,000 Redeemable Miles – 30,000
  4. Your Choices balance is not reduced, because Redeemable Miles are applied first and your Redeemable Miles balance still exceeds your Choices balance.
  5. Starting Balance: Choices – 20,000 Redeemable Miles – 30,000
  6. Book another Saver Award for U.S. domestic travel: 25,000
  7. End balance: Choices – 5,000 Redeemable Miles – 5,000
  8. Your Choices balance is reduced because your Redeemable Miles balance falls below your Choices balance, requiring that Choices be redeemed to complete the transaction.

In general, these changes look like a true enhancement to the redemption program, rather than an “enhancement” disguised as a devaluation, as is often the case. For more information on these changes, visit: http://www.united.com/chase.

BP Visa: 5% on BP, Amoco Purchases, 2% on Travel and Dining Purchases

Courtesy of CardRatings:

Effective May 1, the BP Visa is being revised to:

5% on BP, Amoco purchases (was 3%)

2% on travel-related expenses (hotels, airfare, car rentals) and dining out (new benefits)

1% on all else, except nothing on non-BP gas purchases.

AND …..

The rewards schedule is not not tied in with a BP gas purchase. It is based on a points total, and 2500 points gets you a $25 check or $25 gift card…

…New cardholders get double rebates for 60 or 90 days (I’m not sure which). Existing cardholders will be automatically switched to this new better program effective 5-1-06.

As a gas card, this offer is only mediocre since it requires that you fill up at BP, but the 2% on travel and dining is attractive.

Chase Pauses Cash Plus Offering

As of yesterday, Chase no longer offered their popular Cash Plus Rewards card online. The card was a direct competitor to Citi’s Platinum Select card, offering a 5% rebate on purchases made at grocery stores, drugstores and gas stations and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Apparently Chase is pausing this offer to allow time to evaluate its performance and back end results. No indication has been made at this point whether Chase will elect to resume the program in the future.

It may still be possible to apply for the Cash Plus card over the phone, but it’s unclear how existing card holders will be treated if Chase decides to discontinue the card. The following promotion codes should allow you to apply by phone until April 30, 2006 and receive a $100 statement credit after your first purchase. Call 1-888-787-0329 and reference either offer code 94C or 94P (either should work).

SonyCard Wish It Win It Promotion

Current and new Sony cardholders are eligible for a weekly sweepstakes. Every time you use your card, you’ll earn one entry into the sweepstakes. Each week, 3 winners will be chosen who can select between a $500 Sony Card Credit or a $599 Sony Style Gift Card.

In addition, there is a monthly drawing for up to $10,000 worth of Sony products.

Full details of this promotion are here. If you’re already a SonyCard holder, you can register here.

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