BP Visa Credit Card: Potentially 5% Rebate on Nearly Anything for 90 Days

BP recently announced a few brand new credit cards, one of which may be quite attractive to some people. The new BP Visa® Credit Card, issued by new partner Synchrony Financial, offers a reward of 25 cents off per gallon for every $100 you spend everywhere Visa is accepted for the first 90 days, excluding non-BP gas stations. After 90 days, you’ll earn a discount of 25 cents per gallon for every $100 you spend at BP, 15 cents per gallon for every $100 you spend on eligible groceries, dining and travel, and 5 cents per gallon on everything else, excluding non-BP gas stations. There are a number of restrictions to note, however.

Among the restrictions to note are:

• All rewards are valid for a single use only, up to 20 gallons.
• Rewards expire 365 days after the end of the month they are earned. Any unused rewards are forfeited.
• Not valid where prohibited by law and in Alabama or California.

Breaking down the Intro 90 Days Offer
As previously mentioned, during the first 90 days, you’ll get a reward of 25 cents off per gallon when you spend $100 anywhere (except at non-BP gas stations.) This means that if you can redeem a reward for exactly 20 gallons, you’re getting 5% cash back on those purchases. (25 cents per gallon x 20 gallons = $5 for $100 in spending.) If instead you redeem your reward towards a 16 gallon purchase, you’re getting a 4% rebate value. (25 cents per gallon x 16 gallons = $4 for $100 in spending.) Similarly, a 12 gallon purchase results in a 3% rebate value. Any of these should be considered nice deals, considering that you can meet the spending requirements almost anywhere.

Of course, it does require that you have BP gas stations located nearby. And if you normally would purchase your gas somewhere else that is cheaper, that would effectively cut into your savings as well.

While there doesn’t appear to be a limit to the amount of rebate you can earn during your 90 days, there is a practical limit, as you must redeem all your rewards within a year of when they were earned or lose them and depending upon your driving habits, there is only so much gas you can buy. But for those with convenient BP gas station locations, getting a 3-5% rebate on virtually anything for 90 days is a nice deal.

For those who don’t buy that much gas, there is also an option to redeem your rewards for statement credit. From the terms:

You can choose to redeem your Rewards in the form of a statement credit on your Card Account. If you choose this option, the total amount of your earned Rewards will be multiplied by 15 and the product will be applied as a credit to your Card Account. For example, if you have earned $0.10 (ten cents) off per gallon in Rewards, you can choose to have $1.50 applied as a credit. You may make this choice by logging on to the BP Credit Card e-service site or by calling 1-844-832-0035.

So, you should be able to also alternatively get a 3.75% rebate for your 25 cent per gallon reward. (15 * 25 cents = $3.75 which is 3.75% of $100.)

After the Intro Period
After the intro period is over, the card becomes a lot less attractive. If you are able to redeem your rewards with the optimal 20 gallon fueling, you would be earning 5% on BP gas, 3% on groceries, dining and travel and 1% on everything else. Those rebates would be nice, but most people won’t be able to consistently redeem exactly for 20 gallon rewards.

In the long term, though, most people would be better served by using one of the recommended gas credit cards. Both the Sallie Mae and Fort Knox cards, for instance, offer 5% cash back on gas at any gas station without the need to redeem for exact amounts.

Conclusion
For the right person, this can be an attractive offer purely for the intro bonus period. For instance, if you can always redeem at the optimal 20 gallons reward, and you spend $10,000 within the first 90 days, you’ll earn $500 in rewards. That would also mean, however, you would need to eventually redeem 100 20 gallons rewards within a year. That’s a lot of gas, considering the typical American household only uses about 1,200 gallons of gas per year. If you would normally use that amount of gas, though, then the card may be worthwhile. Alternatively, you could sacrifice a bit of return and redeem for a statement credit.

If you’re interested in learning more or applying for the BP Visa Credit Card, see this link