Best Gas Rewards Cards for January 2020
This article was last updated Dec 30, 2019. Terms and conditions may have changed. For the most accurate information, please consult the issuer website.
You’ve decided to find a credit card that focuses on rewards for gas purchases. Now might be a good time to do this, considering that national average prices for regular gas have risen from $2.38 a year ago to $2.56 now, according to AAA.
In this article:
- No. 1: Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card - $200 Cash Rewards Offer
- No. 2: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- No. 3: Discover it® Cash Back
- Honorable mentions:
- Bottom line
A credit card that offers gas rewards can help you offset the continuing rise in fuel prices. And it can be an even better option if you get rewards for spending in other categories. Below is a review of six cards you may want to consider when deciding which gas rewards credit card would be best for you.
Methodology: We ranked the cards based on carrying the highest potential for cash back at the pump. We gave a bonus to cards that had additional rewards potential.
Some of the best cards on this list aren’t gas-exclusive, which means you may have potential to rack up additional card rewards just about any time you shop.
No. 1: Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card - $200 Cash Rewards Offer
If you select gas as your choice category, you’ll earn a good cashback rate on gas purchases with the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card - $200 Cash Rewards Offer. The card offers 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, 1% on all other purchases. New cardmembers get a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening, which is a good start. All this comes with a $0 annual fee. The good news with this card is that you don’t have to sign up every quarter in different spending categories to get your cash back.
This card was bumped to number one on our list because of this extra perk: If you’re a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25% – 75% more cash back on every purchase.
Fine print: The 3% cash back you get for gas and the 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs is capped at $2,500 total each quarter. The card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee and you need excellent credit to get it. There’s no website where you can use your rewards, although you can apply them as a credit to your account when you redeem your cash back.
No. 2: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
This card offers you 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on U.S. streaming subscriptions and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and transit (e.g., taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more). There is also an additional offer – NEW 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions & 3% Cash Back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more. That’s a pretty good deal for those who use the card for gas, streaming servises, transit, and supermarket shopping. New cardmembers start off with a $250 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 3 months. It does charge a $95 annual fee, so you would need to spend $3,200 a year in gas alone to cover it.
You get a lot of flexibility when it comes to using the Membership Rewards points you accumulate on this card. Your points can be transferred to 16 airline or three hotel loyalty programs, they can be used to pay for all or part of your flight, prepaid hotel, vacation package or cruise booking at AmexTravel.com, or for gift cards from more than 100 brands. You can also use your points to buy merchandise, pay all or part of your card bill or donate them to charity.
Fine print: You need excellent/good credit to get this card. The welcome offer may be a bit high for some — $250 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 3 months. There is no first-year waiver of the card’s $95 annual fee. And if you travel out of the country, you’ll pay a 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. foreign exchange fee of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.
No. 3: Discover it® Cash Back
This card offers a generous 5% cash back at different places each quarter like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com and more up to the quarterly maximum, each time you activate, 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically. This year’s categories are: Q1 grocery stores, Walgreens and CVS; Q2 gas stations, wholesale clubs, Uber and Lyft; Q3 restaurants and PayPal; and Q4 Amazon.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com.
While the Discover it® Cash Back card only specifically targets gas during the second quarter of 2020, Discover will automatically match all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year.* So if you earned $600 cash back in your first year as a Discover it® Cash Back cardholder, that will be matched, for a total of $1,200.
The card has a $0 annual fee and if you travel outside the country, there’s no foreign transaction fee. You can redeem rewards in any amount at any time. Rewards never expire. Discover will credit your account with your Cashback Bonus balance if your account is closed or if you have not used your account within 18 months. You can also use your cash back to pay for items on Amazon.com.
Fine print: If the quarterly bonus category does not include gas, you will only earn 1% cash back for gas spending, which is lower than other cards. Plus, you must activate the bonus category each quarter to earn the 5% cashback rate up to the quarterly maximum. You need Excellent/Good credit to get the card.
*New cardmembers only
Honorable mentions
The benefits on these three cards weren’t quite as robust as our top three, but we felt there was enough there to present them as alternatives.
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
While the card doesn’t have a sign up bonus, it does offer 4% cash back on eligible gas for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter, 3% on restaurants & travel, 2% at Costco & Costco.com, 1% on all other purchases. There’s a $0 annual fee, but you do need to pay $60 a year for a Costco basic Gold Star membership before you can apply for this card. Costco gas tends to be cheaper than local gas stations, so your 4% cash back goes even further, plus it’s among the best offers for gas credit cards.
Fine print: You must be at least a Gold Star level Costco member before you can apply for this card. You only get 4% cash back on eligible gas on the first $7,000 you spend, then it drops to 1%. If you do any international travel, you will pay a 0% foreign transaction fee. You need excellent credit to get this card. Finally, your cashback rewards are only distributed once a year, in the form of a reward certificate, after your February billing statement closes. You have until Dec. 31 to use the certificate in a single transaction, either for merchandise or cash back.
Citi Premier℠ Card
This card was included because it lets you earn 3x points on travel, including gas stations, earn 2x points on dining out & entertainment, earn 1x points on all other purchases — with a $95 annual fee. These are good rates for those who spend regularly in these popular categories. Plus the card offers a generous sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Once you’re approved for the card and spend the required amount within three months, those points can be redeemed for $750 — a 25% bonus — in airfare on any airline with no blackout dates when you book through the ThankYou® Travel Center. It can also be used for $600 in gift cards redeemed from the ThankYou® Rewards collection.
Fine print: You need to decide if the spend threshold required to earn 60,000 bonus thankyou® points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening is a good trade-off for the points you get in return.
Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card offers rewards on every purchase. Earn 3X points on eating out and ordering in, 3X points on gas stations, rideshares and transit, and 3X points on travel including flights, hotels, homestays and car rentals. Earn 1X points on other purchases. Additionally, this $0 annual fee card lets members earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
Points can be redeemed for cash, travel, merchandise, charitable donations and gift cards.
Fine print: Cash redemptions are only available in increments of $25 by phone or online, and in increments of $20 from a Wells Fargo ATM. You must have a Wells Fargo debit or ATM card to redeem rewards at a Wells Fargo ATM.
Bottom line
If you have a long daily commute or a road trip in your near future, you should consider a credit card that offers rewards on gas purchases. There are currently several gas rewards credit cards to choose from. But before deciding which card is right for you, be sure to take into account the rewards rate, sign-up bonus, annual fee and other perks offered by the card.
