I need a little Credit Card advice from my fellow savers...

[Pitman]

Hey fellas,

Do you think it's a good idea to open up a new CC account, and use it strictly for gas?

Currently I have two CC cards, both paid off , and I would use one of them for gas, but there's no rewards with those cards whatsoever. And since I've got a job where I travel a lot, I'll need to fill up often sometimes twice a week, so I'm thinking getting a card dedicated to gas w/ great rewards won't hurt.

What do you guys think? And before you ask, I'll be paying off said CC off every month, no finance charges for me .

All Comments Welcomed.

[tzsgti]

Depends on how disciplined you are. I did the same exact thing "get a card for just gas and pay it off". I thought if i was spending the money i might as well cash in for the rewards. But what happends is i started using it for other things. And don't forget that cars with great rewards tend to have higher and sometimes much higher intrest rates. So if you are not carefull it would end up costing you alot more for stupdi rewards like a penny on a dollar cash back. I think i paid more intrest then the rewards are worth

[boosami]

Many gas stations offer a revolving credit line attached to a card that is NOT a Visa/MC so you can't use it anywhere except at that chain of gas stations. That would keep you from using it for other things. Though you could probably still buy things from the attached gas station store. Also, you would always have to go to that one brand of gas stations to use it.

[boosami]

Other than that, the PenFed credit card offers unlimited 5% cash back on gas purchases and it's a regular Visa. I doubt you can find a better reward program than that for gas purchases. It has no annual fee, but you have to join PenFed to get it which might require a one-time or annual fee depending on your occupation.

https://www.penfed.org/productsAndRa...ewardCards.asp

[disneysteve]

I think it is a perfectly fine idea as long as you have the discipline to pay it off in full each month. I would NOT get a card tied to a particular brand of gas because you may find yourself paying more for gas in order to use your card rather than going to the cheaper station down the street, thus negating the value of the reward. Also, don't go to stations that charge more for using a credit card (unless the reward earned more than makes up for the difference).

[disneysteve]

I think Discover has a good gas card. You can probably find it at discovercard.com

[boosami]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I think Discover has a good gas card. You can probably find it at discovercard.com

Discover offers 5% cash back for auto-related purchases, but it's capped to the first $100 you spend on it each month.

Plus, it's a Discover card

Seriously, though, if you expect to spend less than $100 a month, the Discover would be a better choice because there is no annual fee or association you have to join in contrast to PenFed.

Discover Open Road Card Overview :: Discover Financial Services

[kork13]

Originally Posted by boosami

Discover offers 5% cash back for auto-related purchases, but it's capped to the first $100 you spend on it each month.

Plus, it's a Discover card

Seriously, though, if you expect to spend less than $100 a month, the Discover would be a better choice because there is no annual fee or association you have to join in contrast to PenFed.

Discover Open Road Card Overview :: Discover Financial Services

Agreed. I've got both the Discover card and PenFed card, and they both are pretty decent. Biggest downside to the Discover is the fact that rewards only apply for the first $100/mo. Honestly, I prefer the PenFed one because it's unlimited rewards, it also has 2% for grocery and 1.25% for the rest, and you get the rewards as cash-back every month, whereas Discover only lets you redeem your rewards in $20 increments.

[conancare]

Hi Kork,
I that case eve i too prefer for PenFed one, but one thing to note here is that why don't the Discover card offer similar facilities. It's not that they are not aware of their competitors. Don't you think that $20 increments is regular to receive.

[swanson719]

Why not just get a gas card? Some chains have cards that lower the price you pay per gallon by 10 cents or something like that. If you fill up that often, you would probably save more money by paying less than you would "earn" with the rewards.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by swanson719

Why not just get a gas card? Some chains have cards that lower the price you pay per gallon by 10 cents or something like that. If you fill up that often, you would probably save more money by paying less than you would "earn" with the rewards.

This depends on your travel pattern and needs. I am not loyal to one station or brand. I'll go wherever happens to be cheaper when it is time for a fill-up. It also depends on where I happen to be at the time.

I'd rather get 5% cashback from any gas purchase than 5% back only from one brand (that may or may not be the cheapest option).

[boosami]

Originally Posted by swanson719

Why not just get a gas card? Some chains have cards that lower the price you pay per gallon by 10 cents or something like that. If you fill up that often, you would probably save more money by paying less than you would "earn" with the rewards.

If you assume gas price will be going up because of inflation and/or recovery from the economic recession, it is better to choose a percent-off gas card rather than a fixed gallon discount card.

For the example of a fixed 10 cents off per gallon: As soon as gas prices go above $2/gallon, 5% is a better deal than 10 cents off.

[Pitman]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I appreciate it. I've decided to go ahead and get a CC with gas rewards. I'm looking at every option, whether it be a gas station card or the discover card that DisneySteve mentioned.

Thanks again fellas.

[am_vanquish]

Originally Posted by boosami

If you assume gas price will be going up because of inflation and/or recovery from the economic recession, it is better to choose a percent-off gas card rather than a fixed gallon discount card.

For the example of a fixed 10 cents off per gallon: As soon as gas prices go above $2/gallon, 5% is a better deal than 10 cents off.

It is possible to have both. We get our groceries and gas at Kroger. The Kroger card isn't a credit card, it's just a membership or loyalty card. There's no fee at all to get the card, it just keeps track of how much you spend on groceries & gives you discounts. We get 10 cents off gas just for spending over $100 in groceries during a given month, regardless of how we pay for the groceries or the gas. Then we pay with a Citi rewards card that gives us 1% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. Great deal!

[Hypersion]

Convert one of your other credit card to a cash back credit card.

[boosami]

Originally Posted by am_vanquish

It is possible to have both. We get our groceries and gas at Kroger. The Kroger card isn't a credit card, it's just a membership or loyalty card. There's no fee at all to get the card, it just keeps track of how much you spend on groceries & gives you discounts. We get 10 cents off gas just for spending over $100 in groceries during a given month, regardless of how we pay for the groceries or the gas. Then we pay with a Citi rewards card that gives us 1% back on groceries and 3% back on gas. Great deal!

You have to buy gas from a Kroger station, though, right?