Best Gas Rewards Cards for January 2019

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 $2.66 now, according to AAA.

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 five 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.

#1 Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card

This card offers 3% cash back in your choice category, 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs for the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases & 1% cash back on every purchase, which is pretty good in the gas category. New cardmembers get a $150 online cash rewards bonus after you spend at least $500 on 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 Bank of America® Preferred Rewards client, you get a 25%-75% rewards bonus when you redeem your cash back into a checking or savings account.

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.

#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%). 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, 1% cash back on other purchases. That’s a pretty good deal for those who use the card for gas and groceries. New cardmembers start off with a $200 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 — $200 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.

#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; Q2 gas stations, Uber and Lyft; Q3 restaurants; and Q4 Amazon.com.

While this card doesn’t specifically target gas, Discover will automatically match all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year.* So if you earned $600 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 your cashback bonus balance any time, and it never expires as long as it’s used within 18 months. You can also use your cash back to pay for items on Amazon.com.

Fine print: You only earn 1% cash back for gas spending, which is lower than other cards and you must register for the categories every quarter in order to get 5% cash back. The double cashback offer only covers your first year of spending. You can only earn 5% cash on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter. And you need Excellent/Good Credit credit to get it.

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, waived for first 12 months* annual fee. The three points per $1 spent includes gas and travel, and you get two points per $1 spent on dining out and entertainment. These are good rates for those who spend regularly in these popular categories. This card brings you in where you Earn 50,000 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 $625 — 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 $500 in gift cards redeemed from the ThankYou® Rewards collection.

Fine print: You need to decide if the spending required to Earn 50,000 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. The $95, waived for first 12 months* annual fee kicks in after the first year.

Uber Visa Debit Card from GoBank

We decided to include this new product even though it’s a debit card that’s only available to Uber drivers and delivery partners. You get 3% cash back at Exxon and Mobil, and 1.5% cash back on gas at all other stations, which is incredible for a debit card. You get 2% cash back at Walmart and Walmart.com, and a 15% discount on select services at Jiffy Lube.

You also get 10% cash back on purchases at Advance Auto Parts and participating Carquest locations at a maximum of $100 per month, up to $1,000 total spending per month.

The Uber Visa Debit Card from GoBank is attached to an FDIC-insured checking account that allows Uber drivers to instantly transfer their earnings into their account. You can either get a GoBank starter kit at participating Walmart stores for $2.95, sign up online or download a free app on your iOS or Android device.

The debit card has no minimum balance requirements, no overdraft charges and no setup, annual or monthly fees. There are no credit checks for this debit card, but ID verification is required. You can make cash deposits to your account for free at Walmart.

Fine print: You must be an Uber driver or delivery partner and open a checking account in order to get the debit card.  The Uber Visa Debit Card from GoBank charges 3% for purchases from foreign websites and merchants, where permitted. If you choose to deposit cash at 7-Eleven, Duane Reade, CVS, Walgreens or other participating stores, it will cost you up to $4.95. And this debit card doesn’t come with the same bonuses and perks that you expect with credit cards.

Bottom line

If you’re focused on getting a credit card with good gas rewards, these are among your best options. For Uber drivers or delivery partners who don’t want or can’t get a credit card, the Uber Visa Debit Card from GoBank, with its generous gas and other cash back categories, is a strong alternative.

For the two of the cards with sign-on bonuses — Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and Citi Premier℠ Card — you have to decide if the spending required to get the bonus is worth it to you. You also need to see if your spending can cover the costs of the three cards with annual fees — Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi and Citi Premier℠ Card.

While most of these cards have generous points for gas purchases, there are limits on how much you can earn. And some cards do charge a foreign transaction fee.

You may also be interested in our top picks for cards with travel insurance, as well as the cards that are best for car rentals.