Considering a Gas Rewards Card...

[Slug]

Go with PenFed. I've been a member for about 5 years now. The card used to be great for many things (1.25% on gas, 2% on groceries, and 5% on gas). It's now 5% on gas and 1% on everything else, but they also occasionally do rotating rewards a la Discover. The reward is great because it requires you to do nothing. Your rewards are simply automatically deducted from your bill. You don't have to sign up or enroll or cash in or anything. There's also no limit on the reward that I know of. Their customer service is outstanding. Additionally, PenFed offers members other good benefits. They have a great car buying process and excellent rate on auto loans as well as some mortgages. Further, they have in the distant past run special CD programs around the holidays where the rates were phenomenal. What I'm trying to say is there are many more benefits than just that card. I got in exactly the way you suggest - pay the fee and open an account with $5 (mine's up to about $5.20 now though). Oh yeah, and did I mention the gas reward is 250% better than Discover? Take the risk. If you have good credit it should not be an issue.

PS I have a Discover card. It's fine. I use it for the 5% cashback categories, and that's it. Beyond that it holds little utility for me.

I wanted to add that PenFed recently changed their foreign transaction fee policy. Now none of their cards charge foreign transaction fees.

Also, I wrote a review of the PenFed card here: Review of PenFed VISA Platinum Gas / Cash Rewards Card | Sunk Costs Are Irrelevant

[bjl584]

Sadly, we can not pump our own. Drives me insane. The only good thing is we have among the lowest gas prices in the country.

What I was referring to, though, was stations practically next to each other with a 20 or 30 cent price difference.

I don't see much of that around here. Most of them will only vary by a penny or two. But there is one gas station close to the airport that inflates their prices by 20 cents or so. They are playing off the business travelers returning their rental cars.

[disneysteve]

I don't see much of that around here. Most of them will only vary by a penny or two. But there is one gas station close to the airport that inflates their prices by 20 cents or so. They are playing off the business travelers returning their rental cars.

Right near my house is a Shell station directly across a small 2-lane street from a US Gas station. Shell is consistently 25 cents higher per gallon. I realize it is brand name vs. generic but who cares? If US Gas is $3.15 and Shell is $3.40, even with a 5% discount with a Shell card, US Gas is still 8 cents cheaper.

[bjl584]

Right near my house is a Shell station directly across a small 2-lane street from a US Gas station. Shell is consistently 25 cents higher per gallon. I realize it is brand name vs. generic but who cares? If US Gas is $3.15 and Shell is $3.40, even with a 5% discount with a Shell card, US Gas is still 8 cents cheaper.

True. And most likely, both those gas stations receive their gas from the same refinery, so chemically speaking, they are identical.

[greenskeeper]

I believe that Discover's 1% on everything is actually tiered. Per the cardholder agreement, "Up to 1% Cashback Bonus - Automatically earn 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3000; purchases that are part of your first $3000 earn .25%. Warehouse purchases (those made at select warehouse clubs, wholesale distributors, discount stores and their affiliates) earn .25%." Thus, you aren't earning 1% until you've spent $3,000 first.

Also, the monthly categories you describe are actually usually quarterly and have a limit to $300 worth of purchases.

Based on these limitations, you should explore the Chase Freedom card which has the same features you describe here without the tiers and with higher purchase limits on the 5% categories.

I still have a Discover card, but its share of my wallet is very low.

however it works, I did the math and my "cashback" return is 2.7% based on how much I have put on the card YTD.

[amarowsky]

in regards to all the "name brand' and "no name brand" gas station remarks. People do realize that there are only 4 different oil refineries in the United States that produce gasoline. And I would bet dollars to doughnuts that there isn't any significant difference in any of the 4 that supply the Xthousand different gas stations in the US

[photo]

actually you can't pump your own gas in Jersey,

I thought you guys were joking until I looked it up. I had no idea!

Off-topic a bit, but do the gas attendants make drivers turn off their engines before filling? I pump my own gas and have not seen any places that do it for you for probably 20 years. (Obviously, I don't live in or near New Jersey.) In the winter especially, I see a lot of people filling their tanks while the engine is still running, which makes me very uncomfortable and nervous when I'm using a pump near them. Small children in the car are not going to freeze to death in the two minutes the engine is off to fill the tank, but my best is they'd be a lot safer.

[greenskeeper]

in regards to all the "name brand' and "no name brand" gas station remarks. People do realize that there are only 4 different oil refineries in the United States that produce gasoline. And I would bet dollars to doughnuts that there isn't any significant difference in any of the 4 that supply the Xthousand different gas stations in the US

additive packages


hmmmm.....doughnuts....