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Best Credit Cards for Gas Purchases
With gas prices breaking new highs every day (a gas station in Mendicino, CA was charging an insane $9.60 a gallon yesterday!), you may be wondering…. “What are the best credit cards for gas?”
If you’re not lucky enough to have an Electric Vehicle, you are probably spending $75 and up on a tank of gas, meaning this is becoming significant spend – worthy of thinking seriously about what card will earn you the most cash back or rewards.
Is it Worth Getting a Gas Rewards Credit Card?
With gas station purchases now a large enough monthly expenditure to rival that of things like groceries, I would say yes. But I don’t mean a card branded by a particular gas station. I mean a credit card that earns either cash or transferable rewards points.
I’ll go through some of the best gas station credit cards below. If you already have one, great! If not, it may be worth considering adding one to your stable of credit cards.
Tips for Picking the Best Gas Credit Cards
Make sure that you know upfront if you want to earn straight cash back or transferable points to use for travel. Unless you have a good reason, avoid co-branded cards that lock you into one program. And keep in mind that all points are not equal – some are worth much more than others.
Top 5 Credit Cards for Gas (Personal Credit Cards)
Citi® Custom Cash: Earns 5% back on your top category each month up to $500 in spend. It could be worth getting this card to use exclusively for gas station purchases. You’d be earning 5% cash back on all your gas (unless you spend more than $500 in a month!), and if you also have a Citi Premier® credit card, you would even have the option to transfer points to airline and hotel partners. It’s worth noting that you can get the bonus on the Custom Cash credit card even if you have another ThankYou card that you’ve gotten a bonus on in the last 24 months. The bonus offer is currently $200 in the form of 20,000 bonus ThankYou points when you spend $750 within 3 months.
Citi Premier: Though the Citi Premier credit card has a $95 annual fee, it also comes with a pretty large signup bonus worth at least $600 and earns 3X points at gas stations. It also earns 3X points on dining, groceries, and flights and hotels, so it’s a pretty good card even aside from gas. There’s no monthly limit and this card comes with the ability to transfer earned points to airline and hotel partners.
US Bank Altitude® Connect: A solid cash back credit card for gas station purchases at 4% cash back (points earned equate simply to cash). While 1% less than the Custom Cash, there’s no annual fee, no monthly limit and a nice signup bonus of $500 (in the form of 50,000 points) when you spend $2,000 in your first 120 days.
Costco Anywhere Visa Credit Card by Citi (Costco membership required): If you are a Costco member, you can get this credit card that will earn 4% cash back on gas with no annual fee, but only up to a limit of $7,000 per year.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Earn 3% back on US gas stations. Unlike the Custom Cash (which earns 5% up to $500 a month), you earn straight cash back rather than an option to combine with points from another Amex card. On a new card you’ll earn $300 as a statement credit when you spend $3,000 within 6 months. Terms apply.
Top 5 Credit Cards for Gas (Business Credit Cards)
American Express® Business Gold Card: If you spend a LOT on gas for a small business, this is your credit card. You’ll fork over a $250 annual fee, but you’ll earn a sweet 4X Membership Rewards points (up to a limit of $150,000 in spend per year at U.S> Gas Stations, in combined purchases with other select 4X categories). These points will be combined with your other Amex points and if you are getting a new card, you’ll earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $10,000 within first 3 months. Terms apply.
U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite™ Mastercard ®: Earn 3% cash back on gas purchases with no annual fee, at gas stations – including EV charging stations. There is no monthly or yearly limit, no annual fee, and you’ll get $500 when you spend $4,500 in your first 150 days
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: This small business credit card earns 2% cash back on gas station purchases, but if you have a Chase Ink Business Preferred, a Sapphire Preferred, or a Sapphire Reserve, these become transferable Chase points which I value at 1.75 cents a piece. You are limited to $25,000 a year in spend in the multiplier category that includes gas and dining. No annual fee and a massive bonus offer to get $750 in the form of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $7,500 in your first 3 months.
World of Hyatt Business Credit Card: 2X World of Hyatt points on all gas purchases. I’d like this better without the $195 annual fee, but I do value World of Hyatt points highly. Still, I’d rather have a Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card combined with one of the other Chase cards mentioned above. Then I could transfer to Hyatt all the same, or optionally transfer to airlines instead. It does have an enticing bonus offer for 60,000 bonus World of Hyatt points when you spend $5,000 within 3 months.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earns 2X American Airlines AAdvantage points on gas purchases. While I don’t often recommend co-brand cards for serious spend, it’s worth noting that all spend on AA credit cards now earn Loyalty Points towards elite status, so that is definitely a consideration for some people.
Honorable Mention: Costco Anywhere Visa Business Credit Card by Citi (Costco membership required): If you are a Costco member, you can get this credit card that will earn 4% cash back on gas purchases with no annual fee, but only up to a limit of $7,000 per year.
Honorable Mention: While earning Wyndham points are a niche proposition, the Barclays Wyndham Business Earner credit card earns 8 points per dollar on gas and the card can also be used as an on-ramp to the Status Match Merry Go Round.
Have another favorite card for gas purchases? Let me know in the comments.
Want to see even more cards that earn bonus multipliers on gas? I have an entire list of of the 20 best credit cards for gas at Your Best Credit Cards.
Thoughts?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
For military/veterans and I believe some government workers/contractors: USAA Cashback Rewards Plus (AmEx) – 5%.
For PenFed CU members (military/veterans or people who make a one-time $15-donation to certain charities): PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa – 5 points (value of 4.25%-5% for certain redemptions).
Chase Freedom currently offers 5% on gas for the first year.
Dave: for whatever reason you left out Sam’s Club master card which gives a 5% credit on gas purchased with this card..