Best Gas Credit Cards: Rewards and Cash Back

by Ryan on August 19, 2008

Rising gas prices are affecting everyone across the country. Even if you don’t drive very often, high fuel costs are causing price increases for food and other commodities. Even though gas prices are affecting many aspects of our economy, anyone can save money on gas if they shop smartly. One of the best ways to do that is with a gas rewards credit card.

Most of these cards listed will earn you 3-5% cash back on gas purchases. With gas prices sitting around $4 per gallon in much of the US, that equals a savings of $0.12-0.20 per gallon, or a couple dollars per fill up. Most of these cards also offer additional cash back on other purchases as well, including grocery stores, restaurants, travel, and more. Using these gas rewards cards can easily save people several hundred dollars per year.

Keep in mind that while some of these cards are business credit cards, anyone can apply for a business credit card.

The best gas credit cards: rewards and cash back

Discover More Card

Discover® More(SM) Card

My wife has the Discover More Card and we have been very pleased with it so far. You earn 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at Top Online Retailers, 1% cash back on other purchases, and there are other cash back rewards for reaching certain spending plateaus. The Discover More Card also comes with a $50 bonus after you spend $599 within your first 3 billing cycles. There is no annual fee. Click here to open a Discover More Card.

Chase Freedom

Chase Freedom(SM) Credit Card The Chase Freedom(SM) Card offers 1% Cash Back on every purchase, up to 3% Cash Back on rotating categories such as gas, home improvement stores, groceries, etc., and a 0% introductory balance transfer offer. There is no annual fee for this card. Click here to apply for Chase Freedom.

TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express

Like the Blue Cash Credit Card from American Express, there are both business and standard versions of this card. The TrueEarnings Business Card is much better for gas than it’s non-business counterpart, but let’s look at them both though, and you decide which is a better overall option for you.

The TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express offers 5% cash back for gas purchases, 3% for eating out, 2% for travel purchases, and 1% for virtually everything else, including Costco. There is no annual fee for Costco members and no fee for additional cards. There are also several other categories that can earn you additional cash rewards.

The TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express offers 3% cash back for gas purchases, 3% for restaurants, 2% for travel purchases, and 1% everything else, including Costco. There is also a $25 Statement Credit with Your First Purchase with the card. The TrueEarnings Card Serves as Both Your American Express Credit Card and Your Costco Membership Card. Basically, the only difference is 3% cash back on gas vs. 5% cash back on gas.

SimplyCash Business Card from American Express

This is another business card that anyone can apply for. The SimplyCash Business Card from American Express offers 3% cash back on gas (up to the first $12,000; 1% thereafter) and has no annual fee. makes this a very nice card to carry around in your wallet. Additional cash back rewards include 5% cash back for wireless services and office supplies, and 1% on almost all other purchases. There are no limits to the amount of cash back you can earn. There is also a 0% Introductory APR for up to 12 Months for those interested in transferring a balance.
Blue Cash for Business Credit Card and Blue Cash from American Express

Depending on how much money you spend with your credit cards every year, this may be the best cash rewards credit card out there. For the first $6500 in annual purchases, Blue Cash customers receive 1% cash back at gas stations, grocery stores, and drugstores, and 0.5% everywhere else. For purchases above the $6500 threshold, Blue Cash customers receive 5% cash back on gas, grocery, and drugstore purchases and 1.5% on everything else. Another great thing about this card is that there is no limit on the amount of rewards you can earn and there is no annual fee. This card comes in two varieties: The Blue Cash for Business Credit Card, and the Blue Cash from American Express. Both offer great benefits, but the Blue Cash for Business Credit Card offers a few more cash back options for things like travel, rental cars, FedEx, and more.

Store brand cards and credit unions

There are dozens of store brand cards available that offer cash back or discounts, but I didn’t list those here. Some of them only offer $.05 off per gallon which is just over 1%, and very few of them can be used at locations other than gas stations, and usually don’t offer cash back if they can be used elsewhere. you may also be able to find a great deal with your credit union if you belong to one. Be sure to shop around.

Credit cards are great tools when used correctly. I pay my credit card bill monthly and I enjoy the cash back rewards programs credit cards companies have to offer. Use your cards responsibly, and reap the benefits. ;)

Do you know of any better deals?

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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Brian August 19, 2008 at 9:48 am

I Have a Chase AAA Visa which gives 5% back on all gas purchases and renewals with AAA. Love it

Reply

2 Ryan August 19, 2008 at 10:10 am

Brian,

I haven’t seen that card, but it sounds like it’s a great card to have! Thanks for sharing. :)

Reply

3 Scott @ The Passive Dad August 19, 2008 at 1:04 pm

Blue Cash has been a great CC for gas purchases. I use it at Cotsco for everything, including gas. If you’ve got to use credit, the blue card is wonderful. You can also use it at the post office and earn cash back on shipping and stamps.

Reply

4 Ryan August 19, 2008 at 1:10 pm

Scott, I think the Blue Cash card is probably the best overall cash back card for those who spend well over the $6,500 threshold every year. If you spend less than that, I would recommend the Chase Freedom Card. I’ve been very pleased with it so far! :)

Reply

5 Todd August 19, 2008 at 11:49 pm

Boy you have done a great job in researching the most effective cash back rewards to combat rising gas prices! I didn’t know there so many options out there. Every little bit we can do to save will add up in the long run. I have to be very careful with credit cards, though!

Reply

6 Ryan August 20, 2008 at 7:12 am

Todd,

We all have to be careful with credit cards! But if used properly (paid off every month), there are some very nice rewards to be had.

Reply

7 Adam August 25, 2008 at 4:34 pm

no mentionof the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Rewards Visa? statement credit of 5% on gas, 2% on groceries, 1.25% on everything else. https://www.penfed.org/productsandrates/creditcards/rewardcards.asp

have to join NMFA for $20 to get the card if you don’t qualify any other way to join penfed but well worth the cost

Reply

8 Ryan August 26, 2008 at 7:11 am

Adam: As I noted near the end of the article, I left credit unions out of my search because there are too many credit unions to search all of them. Some have limited membership requirements, while others, like PenFed, are easy to join. Thanks for sharing the info, and I hope people take advantage of it! :)

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